voter suppression
A top GOP lawyer wants to crack down on the college vote. States already are.
A top Republican election lawyer recently caused a stir when she told GOP donors that the party should work to make it harder for college students to vote in key states. But the comments from Cleta Mitchell, who worked closely with then-President Donald Trump to try to overturn the 2020 election, are perhaps less surprising […]
After switch, they’re set to party hearty
The forces in North Carolina’s General Assembly aligned with what typically are seen as progressive causes – including strong public schools, fair and adequate taxation, wide access to decent health care, racial justice, elections open to meaningful participation by all qualified voters – began the month of April with their hopes hanging by a thread. […]
Federal agencies lag in registering voters despite Biden executive order, advocates say
Within weeks of taking office in 2021, President Joe Biden issued an executive order — hailed by voter advocates as potentially transformative — that for the first time committed the U.S. government to registering new voters at federal agencies. But just over two years later, most of the 10 agencies examined in a recent report […]
Déjà vu: NC Supreme Court rehears arguments in voter ID case
For the second time in two days, the Republican-majority high court rehears arguments in a case decided by a Democratic majority just months ago The North Carolina Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday on whether a voter ID law passed in 2018 was intended to discriminate against prospective voters of color.
Concerns grow that voter intimidation could disrupt midterm elections
NC is on the list of states where worries are high PHOENIX — The two outdoor ballot drop boxes in Maricopa County are both unassuming—secure metal boxes, about the size of blue mailboxes, located just outside county buildings. But in recent weeks, they’ve at times been monitored by volunteers with far-right organizations, prompted by former […]
NC democracy groups establish “election protection” hotlines
With conservative activists and conspiracy theorists poised to engage in an array of voter suppression tactics in this year’s elections, North Carolina democracy groups have established the following points of contact for groups and individuals that run into voting problems. Democracy North Carolina & Southern Coalition for Social Justice 1-888-OUR-VOTE is a nonpartisan election protection […]
State officials move to curb another dangerous virus that threatens North Carolina
As the global pandemic has reminded us with tragic ferocity in recent years, viruses can, despite our best efforts, be enormously destructive and hard to contain – especially as our world has grown ever-more-crowded and interconnected. And sadly, that goes not just for physical viruses like COVID-19, but viruses of the mind as well. In the era of instant global communication, it’s easier than ever for ideas – even delusional lies and fantasies – to spread like wildfire and do enormous damage before they are exposed and debunked.
Election officials risk criminal charges under 31 new GOP-imposed penalties
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 duties in or near a polling place. The first offense carries a potential five years in prison.
Criminalizing the vote: GOP-led states enacted 102 new election penalties after 2020
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 social action with the Delta Sigma Theta sorority for Black women, Briggins felt compelled to help, and she and her sisters unofficially adopted one DeKalb County location where many elderly Georgians cast their ballots.
The NC GOP’s copycat crusade against voting rights continues
It’s a familiar childhood scene – perhaps even from your own. A group of cool, older kids engages in some kind of rebellious action or expresses a shared opinion on an issue of perceived import and soon thereafter, a younger sibling or friend, trying hard to keep up, attempts to mimic their behavior or statements. The younger kid never gets it quite right, or often, even fully grasps the substance of the subject matter, and their behavior will likely be barely acknowledged by the older ones...
State Board of Elections will rule on GOP request for signature checks on mail-in ballot requests
Proponents tout election security, but opponents say signatures change and predict significant voter disenfranchisement The North Carolina Republican Party wants local county elections officials to set aside requests for absentee ballots and double-check the mail-in ballots themselves based on whether they think voter signatures match.
Misinformation, violence and a paper shortage threaten midterm elections, officials say
Members of a U.S. Senate panel and election administrators raised a bevy of concerns Thursday about the challenges elections officials will face this fall, saying problems ranging from a lack of paper to coordinated misinformation campaigns could affect confidence in U.S. democracy. A bipartisan panel of current and former elections officials and experts told the […]