The New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Waterloo. The Senior High School in Fort Dodge. The Masonic Temple in Council Bluffs. This story also appeared in Iowa Public Radio News and NPR Iowa voters won’t be able to cast their ballot at those locations this Election Day, or at many of the state’s other usual polling […]
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Analysis: New and age-old voter suppression tactics at the heart of the 2020 power struggle
This is a news analysis from the Center for Public Integrity. “You will not replace us!” The words chanted in 2017 by tiki torch-wielding white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, get right to the heart of what voter disenfranchisement tactics are all about in the 2020 election. Non-Hispanic white people are a shrinking percentage of the U.S. […]
In Idaho, voter ID law, language barriers limit voter access
Idaho has made some progress in expanding voter access, but advocates say challenges remain. Susan Ripley, president of the League of Women Voters of Idaho, said same-day registration and no-excuse absentee voting, measures that typically increase voter turnout, have laid the groundwork for expanded voter access. Overall, voter registration is up about 5% from 2016, […]
GOP lawsuit in Nevada is a second attack on state’s expanded mail-in voting
Update: November 2, 3 p.m.: On Monday, Nov. 2, Carson City District Court Judge James Wilson denied the Trump campaign and the Nevada Republican Party’s request to halt and add cameras to observe the review of mailed-in ballots in Clark County, Nevada. “There is no evidence of debasement or dilution of any citizen’s vote,” Wilson wrote […]
Trump’s pullback of pollution controls is even more hazardous than you think
This story was published in partnership with Vox. The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates betrayals of public trust. Sign up to receive our stories. The Permian Basin is one of the most prolific oil and gas plays in the world, responsible for more than a third of the United States’ oil and […]
In Nebraska, voting by mail could be even more accessible, advocates say
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Nebraska sent mail-in ballot applications to all eligible voters for the general election. The move followed a similar effort during the state’s record-smashing primary, when more than 75% of votes were cast by mail. Mailing applications worked well in the primary, said Danielle Conrad, executive director of the ACLU […]
Volunteers in Utah help Navajo residents with addresses so they can vote
Indigenous Utah residents who live on the Navajo Nation reservation in the southeastern part of the state have gained tools in recent years that will help them vote in the upcoming general election. And through legislation and court battles, access to ballot boxes across the state has also broadened. Voters can register on Election Day, […]
Maine, an otherwise progressive voting rights state, won’t change absentee ballot deadline
Maine led the nation in voter turnout in both the 2016 presidential election and the 2018 midterms, at nearly 73% and 66%, respectively. Along with Vermont and Washington, D.C., it stands alone in placing no restrictions on voting by people who have been convicted of a felony, including while they’re in prison. The state extended […]
In Delaware, early voting will have to wait, and late ballots will be tossed
Voters in Joe Biden’s home state don’t have access to early voting this fall, and if their absentee ballots are delayed in the mail, they won’t count. Delaware also has two laws on the books that research shows disproportionately disenfranchise Black and Latino voters — requiring that particular forms of photo ID be shown at […]
Dollars from wealthy donors, including Schwarzenegger, add muscle to voting access
This article was published in partnership with Stateline. This story also appeared in Stateline Poll worker training doesn’t usually involve a call to do 200 push-ups. It also doesn’t usually involve Arnold Schwarzenegger. “Let’s pump it up!” the actor, businessman, former professional bodybuilder and former Republican California governor told a crowd of 16 surprised trainees […]
In Minnesota, broad access to voting rights does not extend to thousands of parolees
Tens of thousands of Minnesotans with felony convictions are prohibited from voting every year because they haven’t finished serving out the terms of their probation or parole. For years, some lawmakers and voting rights advocates have been trying to restore their right to vote through the legislature and courts. On most other fronts, Minnesota voters […]
Steady progress on voting rights in Illinois, but challenges remain
Illinois, dominated by Democrats in the legislature in recent years, has among the most open voting access laws in the country. It allows no-excuse mail-in voting and accepts late-arriving ballots for up to two weeks — so long as they’re postmarked by Election Day. In June, Gov. J.B. Pritzker also signed into law an emergency […]
In North Carolina, court decisions favor voter enfranchisement
North Carolina has been held up as a state with some of the most restrictive voting laws and rules. But voting rights advocates have had success this year in limiting efforts to erect barriers that disproportionately affect people of color. In August, a federal judge ruled that many of the restrictions to voting will stand […]
Colorado’s voting laws are a model for other states looking to expand access
Reforms passed in Colorado in 2013 broadened access to the ballot box. They are now a model for other states looking to make it easier for residents to vote. The Voter Access and Modernized Elections Act of 2013 requires ballots to be mailed to every registered voter for most elections, created voting centers where any […]
You’ll either need a copy machine or a notary to vote by mail in Oklahoma
At the beginning of the pandemic, Oklahoma told its citizens they needed to seek out a notary if they wanted to vote by mail. After a successful lawsuit challenging that, and a counter-move by conservative lawmakers, they can now seek out a copy machine instead. If they don’t get their ballots notarized, Oklahomans must submit […]
Missouri made it extra hard to vote by mail
Missouri expanded mail-in voting during the pandemic while making it nearly impossible for people to vote this way. People who want to avoid going to the polls can request a mail-in ballot, but it must be requested in person or by mail. Under the new law, most voters must also have their ballot signatures notarized, […]
Early voter-registration deadline can trip up New Yorkers, but voting gets easier
Only 57% of eligible New York voters cast a ballot in the 2016 presidential election, 41st for voter turnout in the nation. Participation will likely improve this fall since the state has added early voting and made it easier to get an absentee ballot this year. But until New York drops onerous voter registration deadlines and removes […]
Trump reshaped the courts. Now his lawyers want them to limit voting
In March, President Donald Trump phoned into the show “Fox & Friends” on Fox News to talk about his negotiations over a coronavirus aid bill. Democrats in Congress had been pushing to include billions to assist states in expanding mail-in voting, ensuring voters wouldn’t have to risk exposure to the virus on Election Day. Trump […]
In Alabama, a long history of suppressing Black votes continues
Alabama is the state that brought the lawsuit in 2013 that gutted the Voting Rights Act and allowed other states — mostly southern ones — to immediately pass long-wished-for voter laws and local rules that effectively suppress the Black and Latino vote. Alabama officials continue to defend voter restrictions imposed during the past few years […]
Clerical woes could present problems for rural Alaska voters
Alaska’s native communities and voting rights advocates scored a legal victory last week that makes it easier to vote — for the 2020 general election, at least. Ordinarily, the state requires voters to get their absentee ballots signed by a witness, but the Alaska Supreme Court ruled last week that witness signatures would not be […]
In Vermont, hope that universal mail-in balloting becomes the norm
Vermont has gone farther than almost any other state this year in making sure that residents can vote safely during the COVID-19 pandemic, temporarily switching to a universal vote-by-mail system in which every registered voter is sent a ballot. And there are few other barriers to voting in the state. For example, Vermont is joined […]
In Hawaii, switch to mail-in voting not a cure-all
Hawaii has long been plagued by an abysmal voter turnout rate. In 2018, less than 40% of the state’s voting-eligible population turned up for the general election — the lowest rate in the nation, according to a U.S. Elections Project analysis. But a glimmer of hope emerged this year: Despite the challenges posed by the […]
Georgia hotbed for voter suppression tactics
Georgia was infamous in the last century for its Jim Crow-era poll taxes and other intimidation tactics used to suppress Black citizens’ right to vote. This century, the state is known as an epicenter for battles over restrictive policies that civil-rights activists denounce as modern-day voter suppression. Eyes are on Georgia because of its reputation […]
In Rhode Island, strict voter ID law is a barrier
Rhode Island is the only “deep blue” state in the country with the kind of strict voter ID law that has disproportionately kept Black, Latino and Native American voters from casting ballots in a number of heavily Republican states. It will be in place for a November election even though the state’s Department of Motor […]
In Massachusetts, removing barriers to voting boosts turnout
Offer people more ways to cast their ballot, make it easier and more convenient, and a lot more people will vote. That’s the simple formula that advocates say has worked in Massachusetts. Now they’d like to see temporary changes made to accommodate concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic become permanent, and for the state to adopt […]
Voter registration isn’t available online in Wyoming, creating hurdles for residents
If the August primary election in Wyoming is an indication, the number of absentee ballots cast in the general election will set records. But could participation be higher? Some argue the “Equality State” could make it easier for voters to cast a ballot, especially on the Wind River reservation, the seventh largest Native American reservation […]
Indiana has made it harder for people to vote
About two dozen states have expanded mail-in voting to make it easier for people to vote during the COVID-19 pandemic. Indiana is not one of them. The state is one of five, including Texas and Louisiana, that have fought public pressure to allow all registered voters to cast a ballot by mail. Under current rules, […]
Louisiana expands who can vote by mail this year, but other barriers remain
Louisiana eased its voting-by-mail restrictions, so it’s safer for more residents to cast a ballot during the pandemic. But it took a court order to make that stick. Some rules that act as barriers to voting, meanwhile, remain in place. Here’s a look at the most significant updates on restrictions to voting rights and access […]
50 states of disenfranchisement
Barriers to voting that disproportionately impact Black, Latino and Native American communities are not exclusive to the group of mostly southern states formerly subject to federal oversight under the Voting Rights Act. From disenfranchisement of people who have formerly been imprisoned, to strict voter ID laws and restrictions on absentee balloting, every state in the […]
In New Hampshire, obstacles to registering, confusion over absentee ballots
Historic restrictions on casting absentee ballots and early voting — as well as more recent attempts by Republicans to restrict college students’ access to the polls — have prompted court battles this year in New Hampshire. Olivia Zink, executive director of Open Democracy, a nonpartisan New Hampshire-based nonprofit that advocates for campaign finance reform and […]