Category Archives: absentee ballots

[Equally Divided] “Pa. Supreme Court orders counties to set aside undated and wrongly dated mail ballots and not count them”

November 1, 2022, 2:24 pmabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

Philly Inquirer: Pennsylvania counties must segregate and not count mail ballots with missing or incorrect dates, the state Supreme Court said Tuesday, in a ruling that could affect thousands of votes in November’s midterm elections.“The Pennsylvania county boards of elections… Continue reading

“The Pa. Supreme Court is taking on the issue of undated mail ballots just weeks before Election Day”

October 24, 2022, 7:15 amabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

Philly Inquirer: The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is taking on the question of undated mail ballots.The court on Friday accepted a lawsuit filed by a coalition of Republican groups, including the Republican National Committee and Pennsylvania GOP, that seeks to block… Continue reading

“[NY Trial Court] rules part of N.Y. absentee voting law is unconstitutional; State Democratic officials expect to appeal the ruling before Election Day. COVID-19 exemption remains in place.”

October 22, 2022, 11:17 amabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

Times-Union: A state Supreme Court justice issued a split ruling Friday that found New York’s absentee ballot laws are partially unconstitutional, a decision that will hurl an element of disorder into the midterm election in which mail-in voting is… Continue reading

Supreme Court Vacates as Moot Third Circuit Decision About Counting Timely But Undated Absentee Ballots in Pennsylvania

October 11, 2022, 7:15 amabsentee ballots, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Today’s order means the loss of a helpful precedent. Here’s how the cert. petition put the issue: Pennsylvania requires voters to sign and date a declaration when they vote by mail. In a private lawsuit filed after a local… Continue reading

“Judge upholds Georgia election laws on all counts in voting rights case”

October 1, 2022, 5:39 amabsentee ballots, votingVoting RestrictionsTabatha Abu El-Haj

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Fair Fights Action has lost its 2018 challenge to Georgia’s election laws after four years. Georgia’s voter registration and absentee ballot practices, while not perfect, the Judge concluded, did not violate either the Constitution or… Continue reading

What impact did policy changes, the political environment, and voter outreach have on mail ballot rejection rates in 2020?

September 29, 2022, 10:48 amabsentee ballots2022 Election CycleTabatha Abu El-Haj

In a concise new paper published by Harvard’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Tova Wang and Jose Altamirano analyze trends in mail ballot rejection rates in 2020. Were mail ballots rejected at a higher rate in 2020… Continue reading

“Michigan lawmakers agree on early absentee ballot processing”

September 28, 2022, 6:33 pmabsentee ballotsTabatha Abu El-Haj

AP News reports that legislators in Michigan have reached a deal to permit the pre-processing of absentee ballots in municipalities with populations of at least 10,000, starting two days before the Nov. 8 election. The deal does not change existing… Continue reading

“No major problems with ballot drop boxes in 2020, AP finds”

July 17, 2022, 7:18 pmabsentee ballots, fraudulent fraud squadDan Tokaji

AP: “The expanded use of drop boxes for mailed ballots during the 2020 election did not lead to any widespread problems, according to an Associated Press survey of state election officials across the U.S. that revealed no cases of… Continue reading

The Impact of Missouri’s New Voting Law

July 15, 2022, 5:40 amabsentee ballots, Uncategorized, voter idDan Tokaji

From KQTV in St. Joseph, on the bill signed last month. HB 1878 was signed by Governor Parsons just over three weeks ago, but concerns for voter accessibility continue to grow. The bill introduced many procedure changes for Missouri… Continue reading

“Michigan activists push for ballot initiative to expand voting access”

July 12, 2022, 4:19 amabsentee ballots, voter idDan Tokaji

WaPo: “Voting rights proponents in Michigan submitted petitions Monday to guarantee at least nine days of early voting, expand the use of ballot drop boxes and ensure that people who forget to bring their ID to the polls can… Continue reading

“Massachusetts’ highest court upholds new mail-in voting law”

July 11, 2022, 4:46 pmabsentee ballotsDan Tokaji

AP: “An effort led by Massachusetts Republicans to block election officials from putting into effect the state’s new mail-in and early voting law was denied Monday by the state Supreme Judicial Court.”

GAO Report on 2020 Elections

July 11, 2022, 4:27 pmabsentee ballots, Election Assistance CommissionDan Tokaji

From GAO’s summary of the report, entitled “2020 Elections: State and Local Perspectives on Election Administration during the COVID-19 Pandemic”: GAO surveyed state election offices and local election jurisdictions about steps they took to prepare for and conduct the… Continue reading

Wisconsin Supreme Court Holds That State Law Prohibits Ballot Drop Boxes

July 8, 2022, 7:23 amabsentee ballotsDan Tokaji

The 4-3 decision in Teigen v. Wisconsin Election Commission is here. From Justice Rebecca Bradley’s opinion for the majority: We hold the documents are invalid because ballot drop boxes are illegal under Wisconsin statutes. An absentee ballot must be… Continue reading

Arizona Coalition Submits Signatures for Initiative to Expand Voter Registration and Early Voting

July 8, 2022, 4:27 amabsentee ballots, direct democracy, voter registrationDan Tokaji

WaPo: Citing efforts by Arizona’s Republican-controlled legislature to restrict access to voting, a coalition of advocacy organizations, community groups and volunteers is attempting to drastically expand voting rights in the battleground state through a ballot initiative. On Thursday, the… Continue reading