Elections

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

In face of threats, election workers vow: ‘You are not disrupting the democratic process’

But the threats, including a recent fentanyl scare, have spurred some officials to leave.

  • By Matt Vasilogambros, Stateline

2024 mission for state and local leaders: Protect democracy

COMMENTARY | By making voting easy, transparent and secure, state and local leaders can ensure election systems remain strong in 2024.

  • By Debbie Cox Bultan

Pennsylvania’s election audit starts with a roll of the dice

Department of State officials rolled ten-sided dice to generate a seed number needed for risk limiting audits.

  • By Harrison Cann

Misinformation, cybersecurity among top issues ahead of 2024 elections

State and local officials face a new threat from the proliferation of deepfakes and misinformation, driven by artificial intelligence.

  • By Chris Teale

How the issue of housing and homelessness factored in state and local elections

It impacted mayoral races, and landed on the ballot as communities debated the merits of homeless encampment sweeps, tax hikes and affordable housing developments.

  • By Molly Bolan

Ohio voted on abortion. Next year, 11 more states might, too.

The push for sending the contentious issue to voters comes on the heels of last year’s string of ballot measure wins for abortion rights in six states.

  • By Bram Sable-Smith, KFF Health News

Election security threats require more federal resources, officials say

Facing growing cyber and physical threats, state and local election administrators told U.S. senators that more federal assistance is needed to safeguard voting systems and personnel.

  • By Edward Graham

Counties use high school students as poll workers to shore up staff

Aging poll workers leaves some Indiana communities short-staffed during election time. A statewide program helps fill those workforce gaps by recruiting high school students to help with administrative tasks during elections.

  • By Whitney Downard, Indiana Capital Chronicle

Supreme Court to hear arguments in key case about gerrymandering

COMMENTARY | An upcoming Supreme Court case that turns on race and party could affect how state legislatures shape voting maps and how Americans vote for decades to come.

  • By Claire Wofford and Gibbs Knotts, The Conversation

A potential federal shutdown is yet another thing for election officials to worry about

Chaos in Congress could leave local election officials without the resources they need for 2024.

  • By Carrie Levine, Votebeat

How efforts to restrict democracy in Ohio also make it harder to fight climate change

Gerrymandering, voter suppression, dark money and other moves insulate policymakers from accountability when they prop up fossil fuels at the expense of clean energy.

  • By Kathiann M. Kowalski, Energy News Network
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GOP states announce new voter roll systems. Are they as secure as ERIC?

An expert in elections administration and one of the founders of ERIC says the new systems could suffer from low data quality, high costs and inadequate security.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

New voter roll system unveiled after ERIC withdrawal

Alabama debuted a new system to manage the state’s registered voter rolls, completing a goal to replace the Electronic Registration Information Center system. Observers said the state seemed to simply be creating a newer version of the system it left behind.

  • By Ralph Chapoco, Alabama Reflector

As ranked choice voting gains momentum, parties in power push back

This year, several states banned the increasingly popular voting system.

  • By Matt Vasilogambros, Stateline

Re-imagining democracy for the 21st century, possibly without the trappings of the 18th century

COMMENTARY | The modern representative democracy was the best form of government mid-18th-century technology could invent. The 21st century is a different place scientifically, technically and socially.

  • By Bruce Schneier, The Conversation

Ohio voters are deciding if it’s too easy to pass ballot measures. Other states are watching.

What Ohio voters decide on Aug. 8 is likely to shape whether similar efforts to restrict ballot measures are brought in other states.

  • By Zachary Roth and Morgan Trau, Stateline

Fighting election denial one community at a time

With the presidential election more than a year away, one former state senator is traveling across Wisconsin to prepare local election officials for skeptical voters by educating them on election processes and technologies.

  • By Henry Redman, Wisconsin Examiner

The New Hampshire governor's decision not to run leaves 2024 field wide open

But Republican Chris Sununu’s exit gives Democrats their best pickup opportunity in a year when only a few governorships seem to be in play. Plus, more news to use from around the country in this week's State and Local Roundup.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

Deepfakes: Events that never happened could influence the 2024 presidential election

COMMENTARY | AI can manipulate a real event or invent one from thin air to create a ‘situation deepfake.’ These deepfakes threaten to influence upcoming elections, cybersecurity experts warn.

  • By Christopher Schwartz, The Conversation

As states hunt for new voters, Massachusetts adds thousands via Medicaid applications

Any eligible voter in the state who applies for Medicaid is automatically added to the rolls, unless they opt out. Other states are exploring similar systems, which experts say could be more effective in increasing voter rolls.

  • By Zachary Roth, States Newsroom