Tag: absentee voting

Pennsylvania County Commissioners’ Group Opposes Live-Streaming of Mail-In Vote Counting

Bradley Vasoli

Bipartisan enthusiasm for election-reform legislation appeared solid at a Pennsylvania Senate State Government Committee hearing on Thursday, save for one part: video live-streaming of mail-in-ballot counting.

Elements of the bill, sponsored by Sen. David Argall (R-PA-Pottsville) and Sen. Sharif Street (D-PA-Philadelphia), have arisen largely from recommendations in a June 2021 report by the Senate Special Committee on Election Integrity and Reform. Argall and Street’s proposal excludes some of the ad hoc panel’s more contentious ideas, particularly enhanced voter-identification rules, which Rep. Seth Grove (R-PA-York) is spearheading in separate legislation. (While Gov. Tom Wolf [D] vetoed Grove’s bill in June, the representative has reintroduced it in light of the governor’s subsequent remarks in favor of a strengthened voter-ID requirement.)

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Southern Poverty Law Center Files Latest Lawsuit Against Florida’s New Election Law

Peter D'Abrosca

A far-left legal nonprofit has filed the latest lawsuit against the state of Florida over its new election integrity measures. 

“The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the groups HeadCount and the Harriet Tubman Freedom Fighters Corp., is the fourth challenge to the law, which was passed in April by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed in May by Gov. Ron DeSantis,” Orlando Weekly reported. 

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House Subcommittee’s Orchestrated Actions ‘Emboldened and Protected’ an Activist Judiciary That Changed Absentee Voting Law

Laura Baigert

A resolution that would determine if a judge committed an offense worthy of removal for changing the law regarding absentee voting was killed in the House Civil Justice Subcommittee Tuesday through several orchestrated actions, which “only emboldened and protected the judiciary,” according to the resolution sponsor.
The resolution failed on a voice vote carried out by Chairman Andrew Farmer (R-Sevierville) with assistance by Rep. Michael Curcio (R-Dickson) who strategically timed his call for the question.

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Tennessee Republican Lawmakers Seek to Remove Davidson County Chancellor for Alleged Judicial Overreach During 2020 Election

Corinne Murdock

Tennessee’s Republican lawmakers are seeking to remove Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle from office. A proposed resolution would establish temporary committees in both the House and Senate to consider Lyle’s removal. An overwhelming majority of the Republican side of the House has co-sponsored the bill, with the exception of State Representatives Bruce Griffey (R-Paris), Johnny Garrett (R-Goodlettsville), Sam Whitson (R-Franklin), Brandon Ogles (R-Franklin), Michael Curcio (R-Dickson), David Byrd (R-Waynesboro), and Patsy Hazlewood (R-Signal Mountain).

State Representative Tim Rudd (R-Murfreesboro) proposed the resolution last week. It doesn’t have a companion in the Senate yet. In the preamble, Rudd recounted how last year’s General Assembly rejected legislation expanding absentee by mail voting. He explained that Lyle subsequently altered state election forms in June to expand access to absentee by mail voting. Rudd also noted that the state constitution grants the General Assembly the power to remove a judge from office with a two-thirds vote. 

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Georgia House Passes Bill to Bolster Absentee Ballot Laws

Peter D'Abrosca

Georgia’s Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill Monday aimed at making elections more secure, specifically in the way of absentee voting.

House Bill 531 passed Monday with a 97-72 vote, and along with sweeping reforms related to absentee voting, strips the Secretary of State from his role as chairman of the State Elections Board. That person will, if the bill passes and is signed into law, be chosen by the General Assembly.

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Ohio Secretary of State Restricts Ballot Drop Boxes, ACLU Vows to Fight

Peter D'Abrosca

Ohio’s Republican Secretary of State is catching heat from liberal groups, despite allowing the state to proceed with absentee voting via drop boxes.

“Even though Ohio law does not explicitly provide for the use of secure receptacles, commonly known as ‘drop boxes,’ for an absentee voter to return their ballot to the director, this Directive, once again, provides for the continued use of secure receptacles outside of the boards of elections,” Frank LaRose (R) said in a February 12 directive. 

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Virginia House Moves to Expand Ballot Drop Boxes, Allow Ballot ‘Curing’

Eric Burk

The Virginia House of Delegates passed a voting reform bill on Tuesday. Key provisions of HB 1888 require ballot drop boxes in all localities, allow voters to “cure” or fix errors on their own absentee ballots, and require elections officials to begin processing absentee ballots before Election Day. Additionally, it requires localities to provide ballot marking tools and  screen reader assistance technology for visually impaired voters.

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Where the Republican Party Stands: Virginia’s Political Shifts in the 2020 Election

Corinne Murdock

The 2020 election outcomes revealed a telling political trajectory occurring in Virginia and the nation. Final tallies indicated that Republicans’ future chances of winning in the state may be ever-slimming. A consistent theme across the board – Republicans fell short with the unprecedented number of absentee voters.

Although Republicans increased their presidential vote totals from 2016 by about 185,000, Democrats increased their votes by nearly 400,000. In every election since 2008, Democratic candidates had only enjoyed about a 10,000 vote increase per year.

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At the State Voter Registration Deadline, Almost One Million Virginians Have Already Cast Their Ballots

Jacob Taylor
Woman voting at booth

With Tuesday’s voter registration deadline having now passed, the Commonwealth is entering the final stretches before the general elections in November and Virginians have been feverishly casting their votes with nearly 1 million in-person and absentee ballots already submitted.

Specifically, 532,983 in-person votes and 444,390 votes by mail have already been cast in the state with an additional 642,687 absentee ballot applications that have not yet been returned to general registrars, according to the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP) early voting dashboard.

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Senate Advances Bill on Election Voting Provisions after Nearly Two Hours of Debate on Amendments

Jacob Taylor

The Senate advanced House Bill (HB) 5120, sponsored by Sen. Howell (D-Fairfax County), to its third and final reading after spending more than half of the three hour session debating Thursday morning. 

The topic which garnered the most discussion during the session was not the bill itself, however, rather one of the multiple amendments within Howell’s legislation. 

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Tennessee Supreme Court Hears Case Concerning Availability of Absentee Ballots for All Tennesseans

Sam Medley

The Tennessee Supreme Court heard arguments Thursday concerning the citizens’ right to vote via absentee ballot.

The cases presented (Earle J. Fisher et al. v. Tre Hargett et al. and Benjamin Lay et al. v. Mark Goins et al.) have become the focal point of the ongoing debate surrounding the efficacy of absentee and mail-in ballots and voters’ rights to absentee and mail-in ballots during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Wealthy Donors Pour Millions into Fight over Mail-In Voting

The Associated Press

Deep-pocketed and often anonymous donors are pouring over $100 million into an intensifying dispute about whether it should be easier to vote by mail, a fight that could determine President Donald Trump’s fate in the November election.

In the battleground of Wisconsin, cash-strapped cities have received $6.3 million from an organization with ties to left-wing philanthropy to help expand vote by mail. Meanwhile, a well-funded conservative group best known for its focus on judicial appointments is spending heavily to fight cases related to mail-in balloting procedures in court.

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New Polling Finds Nearly Half of Americans Believe Mail-In Voting Is Vulnerable to Significant Levels of Fraud

Admin

Nearly 50% of American voters believe mail-in voting is likely to result in significant fraud as officials search for ways to secure the electoral system amid a]the coronavirus pandemic, a Washington Post/ABC poll published Sunday found.

Only 43% of people surveyed in the poll think there are adequate protections against potential instances of fraud. The WaPo/ABC poll also showed that 38% of Americans say they prefer to vote through mail, while another 59% want to vote in person.

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Database Swells to 1,285 Proven Cases of Voter Fraud in America

Admin

All-mail elections have received heightened attention in the media these past few weeks. Prominent liberals highly endorse the idea, claiming it allows people to do their patriotic duty without risking being infected by the coronavirus.

In reality, without rigid safeguards to prevent fraud, misuse, and voter intimidation, absentee ballot fraud—while it may occur sporadically—already has affected the outcome of elections in states and counties across the country.

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Groups Sue to Expand Absentee Voting in Tennessee

Anthony Gockowski

Two legal organizations have filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Tre Hargett in an effort to overturn Tennessee’s “unconstitutional” restrictions on absentee voting.

The lawsuit was filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the Campaign Legal Center. The two groups filed the complaint on behalf of several Tennessee organizations “whose many members are not eligible for vote by mail under current law.”

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All New Hampshire Residents Will Be Able to Vote Absentee in Upcoming Elections

Admin

Election officials recently determined all New Hampshire residents are eligible to cast absentee ballots for municipal, primary, and general elections to keep themselves and poll workers safe from COVID-19.

“New Hampshire is working to make sure a voter will not have to choose between their personal safety and exercising their right to vote,” David Scanlan, deputy secretary of state, told The Center Square.

Under the law, voters can cast absentee ballots due to a disability.

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Minnesota Secretary of State Says Statewide Vote by Mail Possible for 2020 Election 

Anthony Gockowski

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said his office is exploring a number of “pandemic election options,” including conducting the entire presidential election by mail-in ballots.

“The current public health crisis has been a serious test for all Minnesotans. It has also been a test for our democracy. I’ve heard from many Minnesotans who wonder how, or even if, we will vote in this high-stakes election year,” Simon said in a statement released last week.

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