election laws
Experts warn of election ‘havoc’ across the U.S. if North Carolina case succeeds
WASHINGTON — Legal experts last week warned lawmakers on the U.S. House Administration Committee that if the U.S. Supreme Court upholds a North Carolina case that embraces a fringe election theory, it would undermine future elections across the country. “To be blunt, it would be extraordinary destabilizing,” said Carolyn Shapiro, a law professor at the Chicago-Kent […]
State elections officials struggle with paper shortages, harassment, insider threats
MADISON, Wis. — Elections officials from 33 states, gathered for a conference under tight security, warned that the next few election cycles will be affected by paper shortages and the potential for threats from inside elections offices. The meeting of the National Association of State Elections Directors this week was held with stringent security precautions, […]
Election officials risk criminal charges under 31 new GOP-imposed penalties
Second in a two-part series. See part one here. Since the 2020 election, Iowa has enacted one new felony and two new misdemeanor offenses targeting election officials. The state’s omnibus election law, passed in 2021, criminalizes election officials who fail to perform their duties, don’t adequately maintain voter lists, or interfere with other people performing their […]
Criminalizing the vote: GOP-led states enacted 102 new election penalties after 2020
First in a two-part series During the 2020 election, Rhonda Briggins and her sorority sisters spent days providing voters in metro Atlanta with water and snacks as they waited in long lines at polling places. The lines for early voting and on Election Day at times stretched on for hours. As the national co-chair for […]
Those who voted, registered illegally could face prosecution
More than 100 non-citizens could face penalties for having cast ballots or being illegally registered to vote during the 2020 election cycle, but it may take years to fully investigate and prosecute them. Secretary of State Frank LaRose recently announced plans to refer 104 cases of non-citizens being illegally registered to vote and 13 other […]
LaRose: 104 illegally registered to vote in Ohio, 13 voted in 2020
More than 100 people in Ohio are accused of illegally registering to vote and casting ballots during the 2020 election cycle, Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced Monday. LaRose acknowledged some of these cases involve “honest mistakes” and reflect only a small portion of the millions of ballots cast here in 2020. Though he touted […]
U.S. Supreme Court upholds Arizona ban on ‘ballot harvesting’
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld Arizona’s ban on third-party ballot collections, reversing the 9th Circuit’s ruling last year that the prohibition violated the Voting Rights Act and raising the bar on future voting rights lawsuits. In a 6-3 opinion, the high court ruled on Thursday that Arizona’s 2016 law doesn’t violate Section 2 of the Voting […]
Congressional Democrats scrutinize state elections laws for effect on minority voters
WASHINGTON — Members of a U.S. House panel on Monday debated whether some state elections laws disenfranchise certain voters, including people of color, and split along party lines in their conclusions. The chair of the elections subcommittee of the House Administration Committee, Rep. G. K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), voiced his concerns about recent voting requirement laws […]