Elections

How a common election integrity law is keeping Idaho from fixing its crumbling schools

An influential conservative group is targeting local bond and levy elections, which districts rely on heavily to build and repair schools.

  • By Becca Savransky, ProPublica

Why so many election officials are leaving

Some states are seeing high rates of turnover among local election officials, according to new research. It’s a troublesome trend that may have a silver lining.

  • By Chris Teale

Legislative inaction and dissatisfaction with one-party control lead to more ballot initiatives, with 60% of them in 6 states

COMMENTARY | Citizen-led ballot measures have been used in various states to expand Medicaid, preserve abortion rights and raise minimum wages, but over the past five years, lawmakers have increasingly made it harder to get these initiatives and referendums on the ballot.

  • By Thom Reilly, The Conversation

GOP attorneys general charge into battle over state election rules

If the 2024 election is contested, Republican AGs look well-placed to push conservative legal arguments that could directly influence court decisions and infiltrate the broader public debate, experts say.

  • By Zachary Roth, Stateline

Supreme Court appears wary of restricting government action to control misinformation

The justices' skepticism in the case has state and local election officials breathing a little easier as they worry about misinformation efforts ahead of November elections.

  • By Kery Murakami

In rural Arizona, Maricopa County uses tech to make voting more secure

Providing voting access in rural areas has long been a challenge in the state, and across the country. Now, Maricopa county is hosting a big test of its efforts to improve access to the ballot in remote polling locations.

  • By Jen Fifield, Votebeat

There are 100,000 fewer Election Day polling places in 2024

A major Supreme Court decision, a pandemic and localized issues have all conspired to reduce the number of physical voting locations. Advocates say that’s bad for democracy.

  • By Chris Teale

What does a state’s secretary of state do? Most run elections, a once-routine job facing increasing scrutiny

COMMENTARY | As the chief election official, a secretary of state’s influence over the democratic process can extend to every single elected office.

  • By John J. Martin, The Conversation

A transparent, open-source vision for U.S. elections

Voting technology in the U.S. is secretive and often expensive. Can an open-source alternative take its place?

  • By Spenser Mestel, Undark

West Virginia’s top election official on trust, social media and secure elections

Ahead of what promises to be a hectic election season, Secretary of State Mac Warner spent part of his last National Association of Secretaries of State Winter Conference touching on conspiracy theories, among other topics.

  • By Chris Teale

Feds preach vigilance amid multiple physical, cyber threats against election officials

In response, agencies as varied as CISA and the Postal Inspection Service are offering a slew of free and low-cost resources in a bid to help states and localities keep issues under control.

  • By Chris Teale

Counties want more money for elections. Washington is unlikely to provide it.

“I just don't want anybody to walk out of here thinking that all of a sudden a massive flow of funds is going to come forward,” a House committee chairman told county officials.

  • By Kery Murakami
Featured eBooks
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AI misinformation a ‘whole new area’ for elections officials to deal with

Intergovernmental collaboration will be crucial in fighting the proliferation of AI deepfakes this election cycle, especially in helping voters navigate increasingly sophisticated robocalls and political ads.

  • By Chris Teale

AI technology sparks new worries, but poses familiar challenges to elections

With adequate technology policies in place, artificial intelligence may not be as disruptive to elections as previously thought.

  • By Jessica Huseman, Votebeat

The failed promise of independent election mapmaking

In Washington and other states, independent redistricting commissions have fallen prey to partisanship, just like the legislative bodies they were meant to replace.

  • By Marilyn W. Thompson, ProPublica

Voters don’t always have final say—state legislatures and governors are increasingly undermining ballot measures that win

COMMENTARY | Election year 2024 will see citizen initiatives on the ballot across the country, some focused on abortion rights. But there’s a growing trend of lawmakers altering initiatives after they have passed.

  • By Anne Whitesell, The Conversation

Preparing for climate change risks to the 2024 elections

COMMENTARY | A natural disaster could quickly overwhelm a voting district and render prior planning moot, so officials should plan and practice how they will conduct elections in the wake of a disaster that displaces voters, destroys blank ballots or damages election equipment.

  • By Quentin E. Hodgson

State elections board debates using race as a criterion in signature verification pilot

A North Carolina pilot program looks to verify mailed ballots using a signature-matching software after a debate over using race to ensure diversity.

  • By Lynn Bonner, NC Newsline

Why the 14th Amendment bars Trump from office: A constitutional law scholar explains principle behind Colorado Supreme Court ruling

COMMENTARY | Colorado’s Supreme Court has removed Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 presidential ballot. A scholar of constitutional law explains why.

  • By Mark A. Graber, The Conversation

Documents show Republican-led states struggling to clean voter rolls after leaving ERIC

Officials encounter new obstacles and costs in trying to replace just some of the data they used to get from the Electronic Registration Information Center, unreleased records show.

  • By Jen Fifield, Votebeat

Michigan to automatically register people to vote when exiting prison

The law signed this week is the first in the nation and expands the state's Department of Corrections’ current effort to restore voting rights to returning citizens.

  • By Oralandar Brand-Williams, Votebeat