Tag Archives: Voting

Matt Vasilogambros, Pennsylvania Capital-Star The year started out strong for advocates trying to make it easier for people with felony convictions to regain their voting rights. In March, the Democratic-led legislatures in Minnesota and New Mexico enacted measures that cleared a pathway for residents serving prison time for felonies to …

Since the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its ruling in Shelby County v. Holder exactly 10 years ago Sunday, at least 29 states have enacted nearly 100 restrictive laws including many that are racially discriminatory, according to an analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice. The nonpartisan law and policy …

Ariana Figueroa, Florida Phoenix Republican election officials from Florida, Ohio and Louisiana on Friday detailed to lawmakers on a U.S. House Administration panel the success of their states’ handling of the 2022 midterm elections, and said they can run their own elections without federal intervention. The chair of the Elections …

John L. Micek, Pennsylvania Capital-Star From finding a job to securing a place to live, formerly incarcerated people face any number of challenges when they return to their hometowns and neighborhoods. And research shows that a steady job and access to opportunity are among the factors that play a key role in keeping someone from offending …

Kenny Stancil, Common Dreams Civil rights advocates on Friday condemned the Republican-led Florida Legislature for passing another voter suppression bill that far-right Gov. Ron DeSantis, a likely GOP presidential candidate for 2024, is expected to sign into law. The Florida House passed Senate Bill 4B by a margin of 77-33 …

by Bianca Fortis This story was originally published by ProPublica Leola Scott recently decided to become a more active citizen. The 55-year-old resident of Dyersburg, Tennessee, was driven to action after her son was stabbed to death and nobody was charged. In August, Scott tried to register to vote. That’s …

Kira Lerner, Virginia Mercury As of midday Tuesday, voting across the country has largely gone smoothly without any major issues or incidents of voter intimidation, voting rights advocates said. In counties that did experience problems, which were typical of any Election Day, the incidents were largely attributed to faulty technology …

Jennifer Shutt, Georgia Recorder More than 42 million Americans by mid-afternoon on Monday had gotten a jump start on Tuesday’s midterm elections, casting their votes through mail-in ballots or by heading to in-person early voting centers. The United States Election Project’s data showed a significant number of voters continue to prefer voting …

Karen Figueroa-Clewett, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences Leer in español With the general election drawing close, it’s important to know your rights in case your vote is challenged. The best way to ensure that your vote is counted is to advocate for yourself. I’m a civil rights …

Ariana Figueroa, Missouri Independent In Colorado, an error in early October involving voter registration postcards that were mailed to non-citizens in the state morphed into a conspiracy theory about voter fraud. In Iowa, voters in late September received phone calls spreading misinformation about how they could vote, with Iowans falsely told they could cast …

Jonathan Coopersmith, Texas A&M University Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the November 2020 election brought out about 155 million voters. That represented 67% of Americans over 18, and it was the highest voter turnout of any modern election. Americans also set records in the percent and number of people voting early …

Michael Moline, Florida Phoenix Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has loosened voting regulations in the counties most damaged by Hurricane Ian to account for disruptions to polling locations and early voting sites, loss of power and cellphone access, displaced voters, and unavailability of poll workers. The governor signed an executive order …

by Jacob Fischler, Florida Phoenix May 21, 2022 Members of a U.S. Senate panel and election administrators are raising concerns about the challenges elections officials will face this fall, saying problems ranging from a lack of paper to coordinated misinformation campaigns could affect confidence in U.S. democracy. A bipartisan panel …

The Biden administration last week announced that federal agencies will now allow employees to take time off to vote in federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial elections. Employees may also use leave to serve as non-partisan poll workers or observers. Vice President Kamala Harris highlighted the new guidance from the …

by Kira Lerner, Missouri Independent February 21, 2022 In mid-December, Texas’ highest criminal court revoked the state attorney general’s ability to use his office to prosecute election-related cases without the request of a district or county attorney. In an 8-1 opinion, the all-Republican court weakened Attorney General Ken Paxton’s power to independently …