Category Archives: absentee ballots

“Bipartisan Election Officials Warn NC GOP Changes Could Cause Disruption at the Polls”

July 14, 2023, 6:34 pmabsentee ballots, election administration, provisional ballotsDan Tokaji

Raleigh News & Observer: “A bipartisan group of senior county election officials cautioned legislators that pending bills could cause significant disruptions to voting, threatening the very election integrity that the bills are supposed to address.” More from WRAL News… Continue reading

“‘Hypocritical’ — Sec. of State LaRose apparently changes law to help Issue 1 supporters”

July 13, 2023, 11:48 amabsentee ballots, direct democracyDan Tokaji

News on the Republican-backed referendum that would raise the threshold for amending the state constitution in August, before an initiative to protect abortion rights can go before voters in November: “Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose has seemingly changed the… Continue reading

“Republicans plan efforts to tout early voting tactics they once vilified”

July 12, 2023, 4:18 amabsentee ballotsDan Tokaji

WaPo: Former president Donald Trump and Republican allies have long vilified mail-in voting and what is called ballot harvesting, alleging without presenting evidence that the practices are rife with fraud and encouraging Republicans to vote in person instead. .… Continue reading

“Dearth of mail-in ballot requests raises fears of voter disenfranchisement”

July 10, 2023, 8:24 pmabsentee ballotsDan Tokaji

Florida Politics: Six months since prior vote-by-mail requests expired, just a fraction of voters have renewed their absentee request, arousing fear that millions of Floridians could discover too late that their ballot is not arriving in the mail. It’s… Continue reading

“North Dakota election official challenges mail ballot counting law in Trump-aligned group’s lawsuit”

July 7, 2023, 4:50 pmabsentee ballots, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

AP: A North Dakota county election official is suing the state’s election director to block the counting of mail-in ballots received after Election Day in a lawsuit filed by a conservative group that also brought lawsuits amid former President Donald … Continue reading

“Tens of thousands of Pa. mail ballots will be thrown out in the 2024 presidential election”

June 29, 2023, 9:03 amabsentee ballots, election administrationRick Hasen

Philly Inquirer: Tens of thousands of Pennsylvania ballots will be thrown out in next year’s presidential election as mail voting continues to evolve. And those rejected votes — coming disproportionately from Democrats, older voters, and Black, Latino, and low-income neighborhoods… Continue reading

Breaking: Kari Lake Loses Election Contest in Arizona Governor’s Race (Link to opinion)

May 22, 2023, 7:20 pmabsentee ballots, recountsRick Hasen

The trial judge in this opinion found no misconduct or illegal conduct in signature verification of absentee ballots. Kari Lake loses her election contest against Katie Hobbs for Arizona’s gubernatorial race on her final remaining issues. She can appeal, but… Continue reading

Settlement reached in 2022 Arizona voter intimidation lawsuit

May 21, 2023, 2:05 pmabsentee ballotsDerek Muller

Last fall, I highlighted two lawsuits in Arizona, one that failed for its overbreadth and one that ultimately succeeded. The successful case was brought by the League of Women Voters, and they secured a temporary restraining order as to… Continue reading

“Kari Lake election trial Day 2 recap: How much time does it take to verify a signature?”

May 19, 2023, 4:53 amabsentee ballotsDerek Muller

Arizona Republic: As her lawyers frame it, Kari Lake’s effort urging a judge to set aside her November loss to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs comes down to a matter of seconds. Specifically, whether a Maricopa County election worker could… Continue reading

“Kari Lake election challenge trial Day 1 recap: Lake’s witnesses verified voter signatures”

May 18, 2023, 4:16 amabsentee ballotsDerek Muller

The lede in the Arizona Republic: The first witness in the opening day of former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake’s trial, in which the Republican alleges Maricopa County didn’t verify signatures on ballot envelopes, was a woman who spent days… Continue reading

“Kari Lake’s latest election challenge on ballot envelope signatures is headed to trial”

May 16, 2023, 9:13 amabsentee ballotsDerek Muller

Arizona Republic: Former Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake is headed for a second trial in her election challenge, a case that has lasted nearly seven months beyond her loss to Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs in November. In a ruling… Continue reading

“Try again on no-excuse mail voting”

May 7, 2023, 4:44 pmabsentee ballotsJustin Levitt

Henry Berger, of the New York City Bar’s Election Law Committee and the state’s Commission on Judicial Conduct, and Kathy Boockvar, former Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, urge New York to return no-excuse mail balloting to the permanent policy… Continue reading

“The Impact of COVID-19, Election Policies, and Partisanship on Voter Participation in the 2020 U.S. Election”

May 5, 2023, 9:47 amabsentee ballots, election administrationJustin Levitt

New from Paul Herrnson and Charles Stewart: The COVID-19 pandemic had the potential to wreak havoc on elections. Democracies initiated varied policies to minimize health risks to voters and election workers. This study assesses the impact of voting policies,… Continue reading

Trial court enjoins Kansas prohibition on distributing personalized pre-filled absentee ballot applications

May 4, 2023, 8:47 pmabsentee ballots, campaigns, petition signature gatheringJustin Levitt

This is an intriguing decision, analogizing the challenge to cases protecting advocacy groups’ right to circulate petitions without undue regulation.

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