Choose your location
Votebeat
Texas tells local election officials to withhold information that could undermine ballot secrecy
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for Votebeat Texas’ free newsletter here.Texas’ top election official Thursday issued emergency guidance to counties aimed at protecting ballot privacy, after Votebeat and The Texas Tribune confirmed that the private choices some voters make can later be identified using public, legally available records.“It is imperative that we make every effort possible to provide protections to voters while balancing the public’s interest in transparent elections,” Christina Adkins, the election division director for the Texas Secretary of State’s Office, wrote in the memo to...
Lawsuit could complicate absentee voting in Wisconsin
This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Watch’s Forward weekly newsletter. Sign up here.Update, June 4, 2024: The scheduled June 5 hearing in this case was cancelled after the Marinette County judge accepted a request from intervenors, Disability Rights Wisconsin and League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, to substitute judges.A lawsuit that could complicate Wisconsin’s absentee voting process, create additional last-minute work for election officials, and confuse voters is coming before a Marinette County judge Wednesday.The lawsuit asks Marinette County Circuit Court Judge James Morrison to require voters who request their ballot through MyVote, Wisconsin’s online voting portal, to return a signed...
Election administrators struggle to navigate bans on outside assistance
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. A version of this post was originally distributed in Votebeat’s free weekly newsletter. Sign up to get future editions, including the latest reporting from Votebeat bureaus and curated news from other publications, delivered to your inbox every Saturday.Good morning,Wisconsin last month became the 28th state since the 2020 election to ban private funding for election administration, the latest in a remarkable wave of legislation.The new laws all stem from a conservative backlash to millions of dollars in private grants awarded for the 2020 election...
How Arizona hopes to avoid a ‘nightmare’ if November ballot stretches to a second page
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for Votebeat Arizona’s free newsletter here.Paper jams. Rejected ballots. Higher costs. Incorrect voter turnout numbers. All of these problems have happened in elections across the country when the ballot was so long that it stretched onto a second sheet of paper.In Arizona, officials are worried about all of that and more, as they prepare to add an extra page to ballots for November’s election, which includes the presidential race.For most Arizona counties, it would be the first time in recent history that...
Redesigned envelope leads to fewer rejected ballots, but a new type of error sticks out
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for Votebeat Pennsylvania’s free newsletter here.Fewer mail ballots were rejected for voter errors overall in this year’s primary election, a Votebeat and Spotlight PA analysis shows, an achievement that the state credits to a modified ballot return envelope designed to help voters avoid mistakes.But state data points to a new type of voter mistake affecting ballot rejections. And the way counties have diverged in their response to this error has opened up a new avenue for litigation ahead of November’s presidential contest.Compared...
Top Texas election official acknowledges concerns about threats to ballot secrecy
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for Votebeat Texas’ free newsletter here.A top state election official acknowledged that Texas’ efforts to increase election transparency have made it easier to breach the secrecy of the ballot and discover how some people vote.In testimony to state lawmakers Wednesday, Christina Adkins, the election division director for the Texas Secretary of State’s Office, confirmed reporting this week from Votebeat and The Texas Tribune that found the choices voters make in the private voting booth can later be identified in some cases using...
Pennsylvania’s rule on dating mail ballots faces new challenge in state court
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for Votebeat Pennsylvania’s free newsletter here.Voting rights groups are trying again to invalidate Pennsylvania’s requirement that mail voters write a date on their ballot return envelope, following a recent defeat in federal court.The ACLU of Pennsylvania and the Public Interest Law Center filed a lawsuit in Commonwealth Court on Tuesday against Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt, this time arguing that the election code’s requirement that voters write the date on their ballot envelopes violates the state constitution’s clause on free and...
How Texas’ push for election transparency undermines the secret ballot
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for Votebeat Texas’ free newsletter here.This story was reported in partnership with The Texas Tribune, a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy.Texas’ efforts to make elections more transparent allows the public — in limited instances — to pierce the anonymity of the ballot and find out how people voted, undermining the secrecy essential to free elections.The choices voters make in the private voting booth can later be identified in some cases using public, legally available records,...
Harris County judge whose electoral win was deemed invalid will remain on bench as legal battle continues
This article was co-published with The Texas Tribune, a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy.A day after a fellow judge ruled that he may have incorrectly been named the winner of a 2022 election to Harris County’s 180th District Court, Judge DaSean Jones sat in the courtroom on the 18th floor of a downtown Houston courthouse last week and presided over a trial.While Judge David Peeples ordered a new election for what was a narrow judicial race, his ruling didn’t strip Jones of his position — and it didn’t undo any of the myriad...
Order for new Harris County vote raises pressure on election officials to get things right
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for Votebeat Texas’ free newsletter here.A judge’s decision to order a new election in a close Harris County race from 2022 is putting election officials statewide on notice: Any type of error — large or small — has the potential to trigger a challenge and disqualify votes if the margins are narrow enough.Some of the problems that prompted the judge’s order occur frequently around the state, especially in high-turnout elections, election officials told Votebeat. With the prospect of election outcomes being negated...
Milwaukee election shakeup triggers doubts about whether new leader is ready to run 2024 vote
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for Votebeat Wisconsin’s free newsletter here.Update, May 23, 2024: This article has been updated to note the terms of an employment contract for former executive director Claire Woodall’s new role.Several members of Milwaukee’s election staff have voiced concerns to the mayor’s office about the inexperience of the new leader chosen to replace the Election Commission’s recently ousted executive director, two people close to the matter told Votebeat.The new head, Paulina Gutiérrez, became deputy director of the commission in 2023 and had worked...
Kari Lake lawyer would be barred from challenging 2024 election, under recommended punishment
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for Votebeat Arizona’s free newsletter here.Lawyer Bryan Blehm, who challenged the results of Arizona’s 2022 election in court on behalf of GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, faces a suspension of his law license that would likely block him from challenging the results of the state’s upcoming election.Blehm’s law license should be suspended for six months and one day, counsel for the State Bar of Arizona recommended to Arizona Supreme Court’s presiding disciplinary judge, Margaret Downie, during a hearing Tuesday.The bar’s lawyers said...
Arizona weighs when lawyers’ long-shot election challenges cross the line
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for Votebeat Arizona’s free newsletter here.At a state bar association event on election law last month, a jovial mood turned to silence after Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes told the assembled lawyers that they need to do a better job of upholding their professional standards.Election lawyers are filing too many frivolous cases “just because the plaintiffs are mad at their political opponents,” Fontes said at the podium, and they’re endangering public faith in democracy.To back up his admonition — which has...
ACLU signals effort to target disparate ‘notice and cure’ policies for flawed mail ballots
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for Votebeat Pennsylvania’s free newsletter here.The ACLU of Pennsylvania is suing one county, and may file more cases, in an effort to challenge a policy that it says disenfranchises voters who make an error when casting ballots by mail.The case against Butler County, filed after the April primary, appears to be the start of a broader statewide effort by the group targeting the “notice and cure” process, a major gray area in state law that leads to uneven rules for voters across...
Gillespie County’s election worker costs more than double after switch to hand count
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for Votebeat Texas’ free newsletter here.The hand count of thousands of Republican primary election ballots in Gillespie County is on track to cost taxpayers more than double the wage costs of the 2020 Republican primary, according to records obtained by Votebeat.Public records show Republicans employed 350 people to hand count, who collectively reported working more than 2,300 hours the day of the election at a rate of $12 per hour. That means more than $27,000 in wages.Those numbers aren’t final, and they’re...
Rural Wisconsin voters and election officials face additional hurdles without ballot drop boxes
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for Votebeat Wisconsin’s free newsletter here.If voters in Burnside, Wisconsin, want to drop off their absentee ballot before an election, they have to go several miles outside of town, down a hilly, rural county road that requires four-wheel-drive most of the year, and to the doorway or mailbox of Melissa Kono’s house.Kono is the part-time clerk for Burnside, a 500-person town in the western part of the state. She mostly works from home, since Burnside’s town hall does not have internet service.Ideally,...
Pennsylvania state House advances bill to give counties more time to count mail ballots
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.Pennsylvania House Democrats are again pushing to allow counties time to process mail ballots before the day of the election. But the effort appears doomed because of the Senate GOP majority’s insistence on pairing the measure with an expanded voter ID law.A House bill passed Wednesday in a party line vote would allow counties up to seven days before election day to open ballot envelopes and run ballots through scanning machines, though results would still be tabulated on...
Georgia bill to strip QR codes from ballots would cost tens of millions of dollars
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.Tucked inside a massive elections bill passed last month by Georgia’s legislature is a provision that requires the state to spend millions of dollars to overhaul the state’s existing voting system, or to purchase a new one before 2026.Election officials and experts say it’s an impossible timeline, and that the vague language of the bill may prevent the use of electronic tabulators altogether. Lawmakers allocated no money for the change, which would remove computer-readable QR codes and other...
Arizona may fund tool to allow candidates to verify election results, ballot by ballot
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.Candidates for election in Arizona would potentially be able to verify the results in their race, ballot by ballot, under a proposal likely to end up in this year’s state budget.State Sen. Ken Bennett, who is leading the effort, says his fellow Republican lawmakers endorse designating $2 million that’s already set aside in the budget for election integrity efforts to support the creation or adoption of a tool that would allow for this type of analysis.Bennett’s budget proposal...
With lawsuits and recount petitions rising, some Texas elections seem to go on forever
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.It has been 15 months since Democrat DaSean Jones was sworn in as a Harris County criminal district court judge. He’s presided over hundreds of cases since then. And he’ll be on the ballot again in November, this time for a seat on the Texas Supreme Court.But there’s an asterisk on his 2022 election win: His opponent, Republican Tami Pierce, is still challenging the outcome in court, arguing that there were “improper or illegal votes that shouldn’t have...
Votebeat
262+
Posts
2M+
Views
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization committed to reporting the nuanced truth about elections and voting at a time of crisis in America. Our mission is to help people understand our system of democracy so they can participate in strengthening it. Our approach is to cover and explain the mechanics of voting — no political polls, candidate platforms, or Election Day results; instead we will focus on how elections are run, from early and mail-in voting to voter registration and election security. Because we believe that elections are fundamentally a local issue, our coverage is rooted in local communities. Votebeat’s stories are available at no cost to readers, as well as to all local and national news outlets.
Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments. It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency: our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. We strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation. Join us in shaping the news narrative together.