Choose your location
Votebeat
Wisconsin ballot questions on election administration are too vague, officials say
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.Wisconsinites will vote Tuesday on two proposed amendments to the state constitution that could reshape how elections are run in the state — but voters, and many election officials, don’t know exactly how the broadly written proposals would be interpreted by state election officials and the courts.Election officials said the second proposal could have especially unpredictable consequences. That one seeks to ban anybody besides election officials from performing “any task in the conduct of any primary, election, or...
Pennsylvania can require voters to put a date on mail ballots, U.S. appeals court rules
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 federal appeals court decision upholding Pennsylvania’s rules for voting by mail could mean that tens of thousands of ballots are rejected in this year’s election because they lack a date or are misdated. But the full impact of the ruling is still up in the air while the parties who brought the case decide whether to appeal.A panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 Wednesday that a Pennsylvania law requiring mail voters to...
New U.S. deadline for certifying election results adds to pressure on Pennsylvania officials
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.After the 2022 elections, a flurry of precinct-level recount petitions prevented Pennsylvania from certifying its election results until Dec. 22 — weeks later than usual.This year presents an even more difficult scenario: a new federal law that says states must certify their slate of presidential electoral votes by Dec. 11. That’s about five weeks after Election Day.Election officials and policy advocates are concerned that another influx of recount petitions after a much busier election could make it harder...
Kari Lake asks court to decide damages in Maricopa County official’s defamation case
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.Kari Lake is asking the court to quickly issue a judgment and to decide how much she will pay Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer in the defamation case he brought against her, according to a filing in Maricopa County Superior Court on Tuesday.Richer sued Lake — who ran for governor in 2022 and is now running for U.S. Senate — for defamation last year, alleging that Lake made defamatory allegations that he had assisted in rigging the gubernatorial...
Join us for a live discussion with Pennsylvania’s top elections official
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.This year, Pennsylvania voters will cast their ballots for president, members of Congress, top state offices such as attorney general and treasurer, and more.In 2020, the state was subjected to false claims of election fraud fueled by former President Donald Trump. The claims led to a flood of lawsuits, some of which went to the state’s Supreme Court and sowed distrust in Pennsylvania’s election system.On Tuesday, April 2, at 6 p.m. ET on Zoom, Al Schmidt, head of...
Michigan’s debut with early in-person voting: What the numbers tell us
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 Michigan’s first statewide test of early in-person voting, and the first presidential primary since Donald Trump and his allies spread conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, trust appeared to be a big factor in how voters decided to cast their ballots, a Votebeat analysis shows.The results show that 23 of the 25 counties with the highest rates of early in-person voting in last month’s primary were places that went for Trump in 2020, many by wide margins....
Critical federal election administration grant funding struggles through Congress
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.Here at Votebeat, we spend a lot of time and energy providing accurate information about elections to the public, so here’s a hard truth: Elections don’t run on pixie dust. They take money and planning, and a lot of both.No matter how many times election officials remind...
Texas county’s GOP officials declared hand count a success, but kept finding errors
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.FREDERICKSBURG, Texas — An hour after Gillespie County Republican Party Chairman Bruce Campbell declared the hand-counted primary election results completely accurate and certified them as final, he found another discrepancy.“It’s my mistake for not catching that,” he said, sitting in front of his laptop inside the Gillespie County election administration office Thursday. “I can’t believe I did that.”The late catch meant that Campbell had to ask the early voting ballot board chair, who had already left and lives...
Shelby County decision widened racial gap in voter turnout, new study finds. Now what?
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.Since the Supreme Court handed down its Shelby County v. Holder decision in 2013, striking down a key part of the landmark Voting Rights Act, scholars and voting rights advocates have tried to capture the impact of the decision on voters of color.Before the decision, counties and...
In a small Tohono O’odham village, Maricopa County uses tech to make voting more secure
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.GHAKA, Ariz. — The dirt roads of this tiny village are quiet on a recent Saturday morning, except for a few roaming dogs. Then, a caravan of trucks carrying county workers drives in.They’re here a few weeks later than planned. Flooding from a storm made the dirt road into the village impassable for a while, and they had to wait for it to dry out.They park near the one-room community center and begin unloading equipment on the ground...
Commissioners office shakeup leads to tension in Philadelphia, raising concerns about distraction ahead of 2024 election
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 power shift and restructuring within the Philadelphia Board of City Commissioners is causing strife among its three elected members, which observers warn could create the appearance of dysfunction in the office as it enters a high-pressure year overseeing the city’s elections.In January, commissioners Seth Bluestein and Omar Sabir voted to replace longtime Commissioner Lisa Deeley as chair and have Sabir take over the role. The newly reorganized board also shuffled responsibilities among the office’s top employees, removing...
Texas county’s hand count results impossible to verify, and state law doesn’t require recount
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. A version of this analysis 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.Hi, y’all,This week, Republicans in Gillespie County, Texas hand counted every single one of the ballots cast in their primary. There were about 8,000 ballots, each of which contained choices for more than 30 races. It took around 200 people 21 collective hours to count all of...
Arizona voters face more scrutiny of their citizenship and residency, after judge upholds 2022 laws
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.Arizona election officials will begin frequently checking voters’ U.S. citizenship and requiring voters to submit proof of residency when they register, under new laws upheld by a federal judge last week.Under those laws, if the citizenship checks show that someone has an ID typically given to someone who is not a U.S. citizen, they will be barred from registering to vote, or will be kicked off the rolls. And if new registrants don’t provide documents proving they live...
‘Are you kidding me’: Gillespie County Republican hand count stretched into early morning hours
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.FREDERICKSBURG, Texas — Bruce Campbell, chairman of the Gillespie County Republican Party, predicted that results from the 13 GOP precincts would start trickling into the county elections office by 8:30 p.m.By 9:30 p.m., he expressed surprise that none had returned.Shortly after, he informed county Elections Director Jim Riley it might be hours before workers finished hand counting the thousands of early and mailed ballots — a task they’d begun at 7:30 that morning in a glass-walled tasting room...
I’m an elections reporter — and I just cast my first vote as a naturalized U.S. citizen
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 still remember the first time I was told I could not vote.After leaving our home in Mexico to live in Texas, my mom and I, with my stepfather’s help, had spent months shuttling between government offices and appointments with an immigration lawyer, part of the lengthy process required to become permanent United States residents.The final step was an appointment with an immigration official in San Antonio. I was about 12 years old at the time. He told...
Can a group of experts take the politics out of funding 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 future editions, including the latest reporting from Votebeat bureaus and curated news from other publications, delivered to your inbox every Saturday.We write to you this week with news of a promising new group of experts examining why “funding election systems is so difficult” in contrast with other government services, which don’t receive nearly the same pushback and hesitancy to commit regular funding.Election funding (or, the lack thereof)...
Under new law, Arizona cities and town clerks must open on weekend before election. No one knows why.
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.Arizona lawmakers last month rushed to enact an emergency fix to a looming crisis with the state’s election timeline. Now, city and town clerks across Arizona say the legislation passed to fix that problem has created a new one that will unnecessarily cost taxpayers.The emergency law requires county, city, and town clerks’ offices to be open the weekend before this month’s presidential preference election, and all federal elections until 2026, even though city and town clerks don’t provide...
For Pennsylvania candidates, ballot order determined by luck of the draw
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.As Sajda Blackwell approached the front of the room, she did a little dance of excitement — a shimmy as she pumped both fists in the air.“All right, all right,” she said, as the woman standing in front of her shook a green leather bag filled with number tiles in preparation for Blackwell — a candidate for the 10th legislative district in west Philadelphia — to select one.“Thirty-five, I feel alive,” she sang after pulling out her tile.This...
Everything you need to know about Pennsylvania’s voting machines, how the state keeps them secure, and more
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here.During what is likely to be another contentious presidential election in Pennsylvania, you may hear contradictory, confusing, or downright false claims about voting machines.Politicians in the past few elections have promoted fabricated claims about how they work or taken advantage of routine problems to cast doubt on their security and accuracy.In Pennsylvania, all voting systems produce paper ballots that can be audited. This allows election officials to verify the accuracy of the outcome long after voting has concluded.These...
Why some voters jumped on the chance to vote early in-person, while others passed
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 Michigan, Democrats have taken advantage of absentee voting at higher rates than Republicans. But the first person to vote in Harrison Township using the state’s new early in-person voting option was a Republican activist, Brian Pannebecker, who was on his way to a Donald Trump rally where he would join the former president on stage and encourage supporters to vote early.“If we don’t use every tool possible to vote and get people’s vote banked as early as...
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.