Tag: voter registration

Voter Data-Sharing System Issues Dominate Schmidt’s Pennsylvania Senate Confirmation Hearing

Bradley Vasoli

At Acting Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt’s initial confirmation hearing on Wednesday, many senators inquired about the commonwealth’s participation in a controversial voter data-sharing program. 

Schmidt, a moderate Republican former Philadelphia city commissioner who subsequently was president of the left-leaning nonprofit Committee of Seventy, will sit for a second hearing covering non-electoral issues his department oversees (e.g., professional licensure). But Senate State Government Committee Chair Cris Dush (R-Bellefonte) suggested discussion of Pennsylvania’s participation in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) will come up then as well. 

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Resolution Introduced to Offer Election Day Voter Registration in Ohio

The Center Square

A proposal in the Ohio Senate would allow Ohioans to register to vote on Election Day and force potential voters to register again if they have not voted in four consecutive years.

State Sen. Paula Hicks-Hudson, D-Toledo, introduced the resolution she says expands voting rights and is an effort to lessen the effects of voting legislation passed by the General Assembly last year.

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Pennsylvania State Senators Propose Withdrawal from Multi-State Voter-Data System

Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania State Senators Cris Dush (R-Bellefonte) and Jarrett Coleman (R-Allentown) are preparing legislation to withdraw the commonwealth from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). 

Over two dozen states and the District of Columbia participate in the election data-sharing system which they use to identify errors in their voter rolls. But seven states — Alabama, Florida, Iowa, Ohio, Louisiana, Missouri and West Virginia — recently cancelled their membership in the program. 

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Chairman Lonnie Spivak Explains the Davidson County GOP’s Goals

Julie Carr

Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Davidson County Republican Party Chairman Lonnie Spivak in studio to discuss the primary role of voter registration, raising money, and pushing Republican candidates past the finish line.

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Bill Demands Elections Commission Cleans Up Wisconsin’s Voter Rolls

M.D. Kittle

A bill released last week for co-sponsorship aims to remove ineligible voters from the state’s official voter registration list in a more timely fashion, a key election integrity concern that has dogged Wisconsin’s voter rolls for years. The legislation, authored by state Rep. Ty Bodden (R-59th Assembly District) and Sen. Andre Jacque (R-1st Senate District), would require the Wisconsin Elections Commission to clean up the WisVote database.

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Bill Would Clean Up Pennsylvania Voter-Record Errors

Bradley Vasoli

Over the weekend, Pennsylvania state Senator Ryan Aument (R-Lititz) told colleagues he will reintroduce a measure to clean up his state’s voter rolls.

Concern about the Keystone State’s voter records grew after Democratic Auditor General Eugene DePasquale issued a report in December 2019 alerting lawmakers to copious apparent errors in the Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors (SURE). 

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Michigan, Minnesota Among States Democrats Move to Rewrite State Voting Laws After Midterm Wins

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Democrats are moving to implement new voting laws at the state level following their midterm wins, according to The New York Times.

Democratic governors and state legislators have expressed plans to push automatic voter registration, voter pre-registration for minors, an expansion of early and absentee voting and criminalization of election misinformation, according to the NYT. The party retained most of its governors in the 2024 election and maintained its hold over several key state legislatures, creating a clear path to instating many of its favored voting policies.

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State Sen. Sonny Borrelli: Over 21,000 Ballots in Five-Percent Sample Appear Illegally Cast in Maricopa County’s 2020 Election

Rachel Alexander

State Sen. and Majority Whip Sonny Borrelli (R-Havasu City) announced on Friday during a presentation that he has discovered at least 21,202 ballots were likely illegally cast during the 2020 election in Maricopa County. A group of concerned citizens he has been working with examined five percent of the voter registration records from Maricopa County residents who voted, and discovered that 1,298 ballots were cast by dead voters, 17,822 were mismatched ballots, along with thousands of other statutory discrepancies.

Borrelli said the findings, which “are just the tip of the iceberg,” and include many “class two misdemeanors,” will be presented to the new legislature next session. He declared, “This is even more of a reason for Prop. 309 to pass, despite the county recorder saying no.” Borrelli was referring to the comprehensive election integrity measure on the ballot this fall, Arizonans for Voter ID, and taking a dig at Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer. The Arizona Attorney General’s Office is looking into whether Richer allegedly used government resources to oppose Prop. 309. Richer started his own PAC for GOP election fraud deniers.

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Colorado Mistakenly Sends Voter Registration Notices to 30,000 Non-Citizens

Just the News

The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office mailed voter-registration instructions to roughly 30,000 non-citizens living in the state. 

The agency said it is attempting to determine why the registration postcards were sent to people who had non-citizen state driver’s licenses, Colorado Public Radio reported last week.

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Watchdog Files Lawsuits in Minnesota over Voter Registration Duplicates, Finds Millions Lacking Required ID

Just the News

With midterm elections a month away, an election integrity watchdog has filed multiple lawsuits in Minnesota over duplicate registered voters while also finding millions of voter registrations in New York missing personal identifying information.

Public Interest Legal Foundation, a conservative election law nonprofit, filed six lawsuits in Minnesota counties over 515 duplicate registrants. The lawsuits were filed in Nicollet, Dakota, Hennepin, Olmsted, Todd and Ramsey counties.

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Pittsburgh Schools to Partner with Nonprofit with Ties to Obamas on Student-Led Voting Initiative

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Pittsburgh Public Schools is looking to partner with a nonprofit headed by high-level former Obama administration officials to implement a program created by former First Lady Michelle Obama to get students involved in political activities, including voter registration drives.

A critic of the partnership said schools should focus on improving lagging performance, not indoctrinating students.

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Early Voting for November Election Begins in Virginia

The Center Square

With Congressional elections about a month and a half away, Virginians who want to cast their ballots early can begin doing so.

Registered voters can cast their early ballots in person at the general registrar’s office for the jurisdiction in which they are registered, according to a news release from the Virginia Department of Elections. Some jurisdictions also offer satellite locations for early voting in addition to offering them at the general registrar’s office.

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Pennsylvania’s Latest Mail-In Voting Decision Has Local Officials Scrambling

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Pennsylvania authorities contentiously combined voter registration and mail-in ballot applications into one document this month, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the latest in a series of disputed election-related policies.

The state’s Department of State issued an updated form Aug. 19 allowing citizens to register to vote and request a mail-in ballot, which had previously required multiple forms, The Federalist reported. Pennsylvania Deputy Secretary for Elections and Commissions Jonathan Marks said this was intended “to simplify the process,” but many county elections officials argued the change occurred without warning and demonstrated a continuing lack of respect for them, according to the Inquirer.

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Mark Brnovich Fires Back After Department of Justice Threatens to Sue Arizona over Election Integrity Law

Neil Jones
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) recently fired back after receiving a letter from the Department of Justice (DOJ) stating they are prepared to file a lawsuit against Arizona over an election integrity law.

“In addition to free rooms and transportation for those illegally entering our country, the DOJ now wants to give them a chance to vote. It’s another round of Brnovich v. Biden. I will once again be in court defending Arizona against the lawlessness of the Biden administration,” Brnovich shared with the Arizona Sun Times via email.

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Moms for America Launch MomVote Initiative During Press Conference in Nashville

Kaitlin Housler

Moms for America launched its new initiative, MomVote, during a press conference in Nashville Saturday. The group’s newest initiative “empowers moms around the country to find voter information quickly and easily.”

Moms for America, founded in 2004, is a nonprofit educational corporation with a mission to “empower moms to raise patriots and promote liberty for the healing of America.”

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RNC Holds Cinco de Mayo Voter Registration Drive at Phoenix Gas Station

Cooper Moran

The Republican National Committee (RNC) held a voter registration drive on Cinco de Mayo at a gas station in Phoenix to target new voters who are tired of high gas prices.

Furthermore, the event is a portion of a nationwide effort from the party for Latino voter outreach.

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Loeffler Nonprofit Holds Voter Registration Drive in Metro Atlanta

Peter D'Abrosca

A voter registration group led by a former U.S. Senator held a registration drive over the weekend at gas stations across the metro Atlanta area. 

“Part of Greater Georgia’s broader mission that has already registered tens of thousands of lean-conservative voters, this latest registration drive will continue at a variety of consumer marketplaces over the coming weeks, including at gas stations, grocery stores, and gun stores,” that group said in a press release. “It will also include an accompanying digital and text registration campaign in counties across the metro area.”

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Greater Georgia to Launch Voter Registration for Individuals Impacted by Inflation

Cooper Moran

Greater Georgia, a nonprofit focused on voter engagement in the state, announced that they will begin voter registration for individuals in Atlanta that have been impacted by inflation.

The registration drive will center around gas stations in the area, as drivers across the country have felt the weight of record-high gas prices. In addition to gas stations, the group will target grocery stores and gun stores.

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Initiative Modeled After Federal HR 1, ‘Arizonans for Free and Fair Elections,’ Seeks to Get on Ballot

Rachel Alexander

A consortium of Left-leaning groups is seeking to add an initiative on the Arizona ballot that is very similar to the federal HR 1. “Arizonans for Free and Fair Elections” rolls back recent election integrity laws passed by the Arizona Legislature, makes it easier for people to vote without proving citizenship, and removes standard election fraud safeguards like requiring registering to vote in advance of elections. 

The Arizona Free Enterprise Club called the initiative “a leftist wish list of election law changes.” AFEC contends, “[T]heir federal takeover of elections has been held up in the U.S. Senate for months, so they have moved to ‘Plan B ’— taking over the election process in Arizona.”

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One Year After Disputed 2020 Election, Many Practices That Riled Conservatives Still in Effect

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Mail in ballot with U.S. flag

Just a year after the disputed 2020 election, states are in various stages of reforming election laws. Many of the same practices that angered conservatives are still in effect.

The Heritage Foundation published an Election Integrity Scorecard of all 50 states and the District of Columbia on their election laws. The scorecard examines voter ID implementation, the accuracy of voter registration lists, absentee ballot management, vote harvesting/trafficking restrictions, access of election observers, verification of citizenship, identification for voter assistance, vote counting practices, election litigation procedures, restriction of same-day registration, restriction of automatic registration, restriction of private funding of election officials or government agencies.

During a Just the News Special Report with Heritage Action for America and Real America’s Voice, HAFA Executive Director Jessica Anderson praised Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, and Texas for their efforts on election integrity reform this past year. Those states currently rank at no. 19 (tied with Mississippi and Pennsylvania), 4 (tied with Arkansas), 1, 11 (tied with Kentucky), and 6, respectively.

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Newly Redrawn Congressional and Legislative Districts in Arizona Favor GOP Now, But May Not in the Future: Schweikert

Rachel Alexander
David Schweikert

The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission has mostly finalized its 10-year maps redrawing congressional and legislative districts in the state, and the results appear mixed for Republicans. While they appear to shift more districts in favor of Republicans, the advantage in some of those districts is so slim that in future years when the country’s mood shifts back against Republicans, several of those districts will be easier for the Democrats to capture, making it possible for the Democrats to take back the Arizona Legislature.

Rep. David Schweikert (R-06-Ariz.), whose district will become the most competitive after the redistricting, told The Arizona Sun Times, “The results are a mixed bag. While superficially it looks better for the GOP, in five of the districts there is such a small Republican advantage that we stand a good chance of losing all five of those seats to the Democrats in 2026 — and if we don’t take the White House back in 2024, we could lose them as soon as that year.”

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DeSantis: Florida Republicans Overtake Democrats in Voter Registration

Steve Stewart
Ron DeSantis speaks on bad policy with the national government

This past Friday, in a speech at the National Conference of State Legislatures, Gov. Ron DeSantis said that Republicans have surpassed Democrats in Florida voter registration numbers for the first time in the state’s history.

“Today, and it’ll probably be fully publicized very soon, today for the first time in the history of Florida we’ve now overtaken Democrats,” DeSantis said. “There are more registered Republicans in Florida than Democrats.”

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Commentary: Biden’s Unlawful Plan to Federalize Elections

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Person voting in poll booth

The White House recently issued a statement regarding new actions dozens of federal agencies are taking related to voter registration. These actions come in response to an order President Joe Biden issued back in March.

The order commanded the heads of every federal agency to submit a plan outlining their strategy to engage in voter registration and mobilization efforts to the director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, Susan Rice. This is an unlawful effort by the Biden administration to federalize elections and keep the president and his political party in power.

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Independents Surge, Equal Number of Democrats in Arizona

Rachel Alexander

New quarterly voter registration numbers from the Arizona Secretary of State’s office reveal that independents now tie Democrats with 32 percent of voters each, behind Republicans who make up almost 35 percent. Democrats only gained 539 new voters this past quarter, whereas Republicans gained 3,093 and independents gained almost 90 percent of the 28,042 new voters. 

The 2020 presidential election in Arizona may be what caused the recent defection from Democrats according to one longtime Arizona political consultant. Paul Bentz, senior vice president of research and strategy for HighGround Consultants, theorized, “While you can vote in other races, you can’t vote for the president without being of the party. We saw a pretty significant shift to Republicans, a significant uptick in Republican registration, for people who either wanted to vote for Trump or vote against Trump.” Arizona is one of 31 states where residents must choose a party in order to vote in the primary. 

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Minnesota Democrats Respond to ‘Incredibly Harmful’ Voter ID Bill, Call for Permanent Mail-in Voting

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Minnesota Senate Democrats announced a sweeping elections platform Monday and attacked their Republican colleagues for introducing “incredibly harmful” voter ID legislation.

“Over the past year, we watched as Republican leaders across the country and here in Minnesota helped spread the big lie that our elections are not fair,” Senate Minority Leader Susan Kent, DFL-Woodbury, said at a Monday press conference, accusing Republicans of participating in a “voter suppression” campaign.

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No Updated Voter Registration from Georgia Secretary of State as Early Voting Begins

Corinne Murdock

A week after the new voter registration deadline, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger hasn’t issued an updated version of Georgia’s voter registration list.

Senators Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) and David Perdue (R-GA) published a joint statement requesting an updated list.

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U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks Asks Attorney General William Barr to Join Georgia Investigation of Attempts to Register Illegal Voters

Jason M. Reynolds

U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL-05) on Friday said that he, along with 20 conservative House members and four House members-elect sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr asking that he join Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s investigation into organizations’ attempts to register illegal and invalid voters in Georgia.

The letter strongly urges Attorney General Barr to issue a restraining order or temporary injunction under federal law preventing organizations from registering illegal and invalid voters in the upcoming Georgia Senate runoff election.

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Organization Founded by Stacey Abrams and Previously Chaired by Warnock Under Investigation for Voter Fraud

Corinne Murdock

Georgia’s secretary of state’s office is investigating the New Georgia Project for voter fraud connected to registering dead or out-of-state voters. The organization was founded by Stacey Abrams and chaired previously by Senate Democratic candidate Raphael Warnock.

In a press conference on Monday, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger confirmed that his office had received substantiated evidence of the organization’s involvement in voter fraud. Raffensperger’s office confirmed their evidence included the organization soliciting registration for a dead individual, an ineligible voter, a multiple residents of other states.

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Analysis Reveals Milwaukee Presidential Election Voting Irregularities

Laura Baigert

An analysis of the City of Milwaukee’s 2020 U.S. Presidential election votes reveals several irregularities related primarily to voter participation.

Wisconsin is a key battleground state with 10 electoral college votes. In 2016, then first-time presidential candidate Donald Trump won the state over Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton, taking a little over 47 percent of the state’s nearly 2.9 million votes.

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Severed Fiber Cable Causes IT Issues for Department of Elections on Last Day to Register to Vote

Jacob Taylor

A severed fiber cable in Chesterfield County caused Virginia’s voter registration system and other systems used by state agencies to fail Tuesday. 

The outage came on the final day Virginians can register to vote for the upcoming November election.

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Local Officials Report Virginia Election System Malfunctioning – Election Commissioner Says It’s ‘Fine’

Corinne Murdock

Elections officials report that Virginia’s critical election system is malfunctioning during early voting, and worry it could fail on or before Election Day.
This isn’t the first time the Virginia Election and Registration Information System (VERIS) has presented issues. A 2018 report recommended the legislature replace VERIS. Specifically, the report stated that the system couldn’t be relied upon for elections.

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Governor Bill Lee Signs Several Election Bills Into Law

Anthony Gockowski

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed several election-related bills into law last week, which were passed by the General Assembly before it took a two-month recess caused by the coronavirus.

The most controversial bill signed by Lee scales back restrictions on community voter registration efforts that were put in place in 2019 by the Republican-controlled Legislature. The new bill removes “misdemeanor penalties for not completing certain administrative requirements” and eliminates fines for submitting an abundance of incomplete voter registration forms.

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Lawyer Activist Group Files Federal Court Injunction to Block Tennessee’s New Law Seeking to Stop Illegal, Incompetent Voter Registration Drives

Jason M. Reynolds

A lawyer activist organization in Washington, D.C., is trying to block Tennessee’s efforts to secure its elections from fraud and incompetence by filing an injunction in federal court, but one political observer isn’t buying it, saying the law combats illegal registration efforts.

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Democrats’ Same-Day Voter Registration Bill Is ‘Micromanaging’ That Would ‘Seize Control of Elections in Tennessee,’ Rep. Green Says

Jason M. Reynolds

U.S. Rep. Dr. Mark Green (R-TN-07) on Wednesday morning gave Democrats a tongue-lashing over legislation designed to force Tennessee and other states to offer voter registration the same day of elections. Green made the remarks during an Oversight and Reform Committee hearing over the Democrats’ H.R. 1 bill, “For the…

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Colorado Uses ‘Side-Door’ Tactic to Appoint Unelected Officials to State Legislature

Anna Marie Bolton

Iman Jodeh is hoping to be selected to fill a Colorado Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Daniel Kagan, who resigned as an investigation was heating up about his repeated use of the women’s rest room in the State Capitol. Jodeh, the daughter of Palestinian immigrants who was born and…

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Commentary: California’s Rigged Election Process Is Coming To America

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by Edward Ring   The conventional wisdom among experts who monitor elections in America is unvarying: Voter fraud is statistically insignificant. These sanguine claims are made despite the fact that internal controls are often so poor, or even nonexistent on election integrity, that it is nearly impossible to know if…

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Tennessee Among the 18 States Spurning Election Commission Also Showing Irregularities in Voter Registration

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Many of the states refusing to cooperate with President Donald Trump’s election commission aren’t in compliance with federal law on maintaining voter registration lists, according to government watchdog groups. So far, 18 states and the District of Columbia have declined or are still considering whether to provide election data to…

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