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Some communities are kicking off Michigan’s historic early voting with this fall’s municipal elections
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.Come Saturday, some Michigan voters will make history as the first residents to take part in a new option for early voting.While Election Day for several local races around the state is Nov. 7, some cities and townships are choosing to offer early in-person access to the polls in advance of the state’s full adoption of the option next year.At least 38 communities are providing early voting in the wake of last November’s passage of Proposal 2, the...
Harris County’s voter roll errors — if left unexplained — could fuel claims of voter fraud
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.A preliminary audit of Harris County’s 2022 election released last week by the Texas Secretary of State highlighted voter data discrepancies that could feed into fraud claims if they’re not clearly explained, even though such errors are not unusual, election experts say.The audit, required by state law, points out that the county had completely different numbers of registered voters and different numbers of absentee ballots it sent out than what the state’s own data showed. The report didn’t...
Pennsylvania’s voting law is filled with obsolete provisions, troublesome conflicts
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.On a rainy June Thursday, Pennsylvania lawmakers gathered in Harrisburg as the governor signed off on a complete revamp of the law that regulates elections.One new rule the legislature had landed on: the need to have lanterns, or a proper substitute, in polling places.The year was 1937, when electric lights were only in roughly two of every three American homes, and power was just starting to make its way to rural Pennsylvania.Today, that rule is still on the...
Michigan Appeals Court rules that secretary of state improperly set limits for poll challengers
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.The Michigan Court of Appeals last week ruled that Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson exceeded her authority last year when she put new restrictions in place governing poll challengers, the third time Michigan courts have rebuffed Benson for creating new election rules without going through an administrative process set by law.The panel of three appellate judges on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling from a year ago in a case brought by Republicans, finding that the Michigan Department...
Ballot drop boxes, hand-counting, and more: How Arizona election laws are shaping up for 2024
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.The governor and secretary of state are crafting proposals to clarify or change how Arizona’s elections are run, but it’s unclear if they will move forward prior to the presidential election, or would be enough to prevent a repeat of the controversies and errors from the midterm.Voter intimidation at ballot...
Protect Democracy’s Ian Bassin wins MacArthur genius grant
A version of this post was originally distributed in Votebeat’s free weekly newsletter. Sign up to get it delivered to your inbox every Saturday.Big news: The elections world has produced a certified genius! You know him as Ian Bassin, the co-founder and executive director of nonpartisan nonprofit Protect Democracy. Elections officials probably know Protect Democracy best for its VoteShield program, which works with states to track voter roll additions and subtractions and...
Arizona election officials push for special session to fix presidential election timeline
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.Election officials in Arizona are pushing Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and state lawmakers to hold a special legislative session to correct what they see as a potentially impossible timeline for next year’s presidential election resulting from new federal and state laws.County election directors and officials with the Arizona Association...
Heider Garcia appointed as Dallas County’s election administrator
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.Heider Garcia, a lauded Texas election official who resigned as elections director in Tarrant County under political pressure last spring, is set to become Dallas County’s next elections chief. Garcia’s first day will be Dec. 20, Dallas County officials said during an election commission meeting Wednesday. The announcement comes two weeks...
Movement to hand count ballots has consequences for Republican counties
A version of this post was originally distributed in Votebeat’s free weekly newsletter. Sign up to get it delivered to your inbox every Saturday.If you’ve noticed a lot of coverage of the movement to hand-count ballots lately, there’s a reason for that: This crusade is becoming a real problem.Like a lot of movements that seek to reshape elections based on an extremist agenda (see the results of the ERIC conspiracy theories), the...
Arizona’s mail ballot signature verification process is being challenged. So I tested it out.
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.I’m staring at a bubbly cursive signature on a screen with a loop in the letter T. It looks the same as the T’s in other signatures on the screen. I click “approve.”I scrutinized letters like this over and over again as I sat at Maricopa County’s elections headquarters...
Pennsylvania 2024 primary date apparently won’t change
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.The effort to move Pennsylvania’s 2024 presidential primary date appears to be dead due to a legislative impasse, leaving the commonwealth as the only state with an April 23 election that conflicts with Passover.In separate statements Thursday, state Senate leadership said the matter was “closed” and House leadership called...
Push to hand-count ballots in Kerr County prompts election chaos
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.Responsibility for running elections in Kerr County has shifted among three different people in the past two months. The first two officials bailed on the job after a months-long effort by one Republican county official to rid the county of electronic voting equipment and begin hand counting all ballots....
A government shutdown could still happen, with consequences for elections
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 it delivered to your inbox every Saturday.Congress managed to narrowly avert a shutdown of the federal government this month, passing a 45-day extension of funding to buy itself time to come to a budget deal. Then, in a...
How to vote in Philadelphia’s 2023 general election
Have you heard that the primary election is the only event when it comes to voting in Philly? Think again!While the mayoral race may be all but locked up by Democratic nominee Cherelle Parker, there is still a competitive city council race and races for statewide judges where you can make your voice heard.Votebeat has everything you need to know to make voting in Philly’s 2023 local elections go as smoothly...
Bill would move 2024 Pa. primary date to April 2, with no voter ID expansion
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.The Pennsylvania House has advanced a bill to change the date of the 2024 presidential primary while rejecting an effort to implement expanded voter ID requirements, mail ballot rule changes, and a slew of other provisions.In a contentious session Thursday that included singing, yelling, and arguments over the events...
Can Gov. Shapiro adopt automatic voter registration in Pa? Here’s what the law says.
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.Republicans at the state and national level are still crying foul over Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s announcement last month that the state had adopted automatic voter registration at motor vehicle offices.Conservatives are questioning not only the security and motives of the program, but also Shapiro’s authority to unilaterally make...
Pa. may expand voter ID law under bill to move 2024 primary date
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.Update, Oct. 4: The state House adopted two amendments that would overhaul election laws on Wednesday, including expanded voter ID requirements, which passed with bipartisan support. Democrats passed another amendment along a party line vote, which includes three days of pre-canvassing mail ballots, a requirement that counties notify voters of...
Questions for Benson, Raffensperger shows interest in nonpartisan elections
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 it delivered to your inbox every Saturday.Hi, y’all,I feel like this newsletter is the one that will finally justify that greeting, which I’ve been inflicting upon you, dear reader, since the very first Votebeat newsletter: It’s about the...
Local Labs, paid by a GOP group, requests voter data, claiming it’s for political research and journalism
This article was co-published in partnership with The Guardian.Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.In North Carolina, Local Labs wanted obscure voter records that would take weeks, or even months, to prepare. In Georgia, the company requested a copy of every envelope voters used to mail in their ballots. And in dozens of counties across...
Activists weaponize records requests to election offices on endless voter fraud hunt
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 it delivered to your inbox every Saturday.Hi, y’all,Our investigation into the torrent of public records requests that elections offices across the country are fielding from activists searching for a way to boost baseless narratives of a stolen election...
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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.
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