voting
Election officials make their voices heard as battleground states debate voting laws
When Georgia legislators pushed through a restrictive voting bill during the 2021 session, Bartow County election supervisor Joseph Kirk said he felt frustrated and sidelined. Lawmakers largely didn’t take election officials’ views into account, he said, and what resulted was a law that included a number of provisions that he said election officials believe are “to the […]
Florida gave voting rights to people with felony convictions. Now some face charges for voting.
Florida authorities arrested a Black man while he was staying in a homeless shelter and charged him with voting illegally in a case tied to Republicans’ drive to root out election fraud. But Kelvin Bolton’s arrest raises questions about the rollout of Amendment 4, passed by Florida voters in 2018 to restore voting rights to […]
White House report highlights voting barriers for Native American voters
Native Americans face recurring and unnecessary barriers when it comes to exercising their right to vote, according to a report released by the White House. “Many of the voting barriers faced by Native American communities are persistent and longstanding, with deep historical roots,” the report states. The report identified a wide range of barriers that impact […]
Early voting starts today. Here are the basics
Despite drawn out legal battles over district lines for state legislative and U.S. House seats, yes, there’s still a May 3 primary in Ohio. Monday was the final day to register to vote in time to participate in the May 3 primary. Early voting starts Tuesday. Here are some of the basics from there. May’s […]
Arizona could force U.S. Supreme Court to consider proof of citizenship for voter registration
A GOP-sponsored bill signed into law Wednesday in Arizona requires documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote, a mandate that the U.S. Supreme Court has said is unconstitutional. By signing the bill, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey is setting up Arizona for an inevitable legal challenge that will likely allow the U.S. Supreme Court to […]
Decline in federal grant funding for local elections criticized by advocates
WASHINGTON — The $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill passed by Congress last week includes $75 million in Help America Vote Act grants — a major reduction compared to years past. Experts say the $75 million is insufficient to fund local elections and leaves local election offices without resources to improve election infrastructure and protect the […]
Voting snafus in Texas primary show what may be on the way for other states
HOUSTON — Standing outside a polling location in the historically Black neighborhood of Kashmere Gardens on Election Day, lieutenant governor candidate Carla Brailey predicted that Texas’ performance in 2022’s first primary would gain national attention — no matter the outcome. Texas is already a model for other Republican-controlled states for its new law that makes […]
Religious groups, legislators butt heads on new election law
The following article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland. Ohio congregations are known for their efforts to encourage people to […]
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 […]
Senators deadlock on major U.S. elections bill in committee vote
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats on Tuesday tackled a massive voting reforms bill in committee in a heated daylong debate. But the final vote on the bill by the Senate Rules Committee was a 9-9 tie, which means Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer likely would have to use a Senate procedure to bring the legislation to […]
Voting is already safe and secure. Ohio’s new bill makes voting more difficult.
State elections officials and poll workers across the country never got their due in 2020. They ran one of their best elections, a feat that was overtaken by the circus trumpeting the Big Lie about a stolen election rife with fraud. The ringmaster of that ruse used the biggest bully pulpit in the land to […]
Georgia voting law pummeled at U.S. Senate hearing on ‘Jim Crow 2021’
WASHINGTON — Georgia’s new voting law was at the center of Tuesday’s U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, where senators discussed restoration of a key section in the Voting Rights Act that would prevent states, mostly in the South, from changing their election laws without federal approval. During the more than four-hour hearing, witnesses opposed to the […]