Supreme Court May Weigh in on Partisan Gerrymandering Fight
Last Friday, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a temporary stay on the redrawing of legislative maps in Ohio and Michigan. Ohio’s lower court decision, by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, sought to redraw 16 Congressional districts prior to the 2020 election. The…
Congressional Hearing Highlights Importance of Federal-State Partnerships in Election Cybersecurity
On Wednesday, the House Oversight and Reform Committee held a hearing, “Securing U.S. Election Infrastructure and Protecting Political Discourse”. While partisan chatter often dominates the discussion on securing our elections from cyberattacks, industry leaders and agency officials had the opportunity to present a fact-based review of the steps required to…
House Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on HR 1
Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on HR 1. Hans von Spakovsky of The Heritage Foundation testified (internal citations omitted): In summary, many of the provisions of H.R. 1 are clearly unconstitutional. Others are redundant and unnecessary, covering areas and issues where existing federal law is more than…
In partisan move, Illinois Senate ignores necessary changes by Gov. Rauner to automatic voter registration
The Daily Northwestern reports that the Illinois Senate voted 38-18 to override the veto of Governor Bruce Rauner to the automatic voter registration bill. Governor Rauner called the legislation as originally drafted “injurious” to the Illinois election system. The veto had included slight changes to the bill to conform to federal law and ensure…
Ongoing SBI investigation into Durham NC election office handling of provisional ballots
In North Carolina, the State Bureau of Investigation is investigating the mishandling of more than 1,000 provisional ballots during the March primary. According to an interim report ballots were being counted twice and election officials presented the vote count as true when it was wrong. The fraud investigation is in Durham the same…
North Carolina Tight Race for Governor: McCrory Campaign prepares for “extended contest”
The media is reporting that Pat McCrory, the incumbent Governor of North Carolina, is preparing for a recount and “extended contest” of irregularities in the counting of ballots in Durham County. According to local media, a complaint for recount was filed to review 90,000 ballots in Durham County that had multiple issues on…
Governor Walker: Claim that Voter ID hurt election turnout is a “load of crap”
In the 2016 general election, Wisconsin Republicans appeared to gain additional advantage in the Wisconsin state legislature. Executive Director Neal Albrecht of the Milwaukee Election Commission complained to the media that the Wisconsin Photo ID law impacted the city’s turnout. In response to that complaint, Governor Walker told Wisconsin radio listeners of Charlie Sykes that the claim…
Mail Ballot Fraud and Mishandling in Florida
While the election results in Florida yesterday did not end up being close, mail ballot fraud and the outright mishandling of mail ballots in Broward County could have damaged the integrity of the election in a meaningful way had the vote been closer, and they certainly shook voters’ confidence in…
Missouri Passes Constitutional Amendment to Allow Voter ID
With 63% voting in favor, voters in Missouri passed a constitutional amendment that will allow the state to enact a law requiring photo ID to vote. The amendment gives state constitutional approval to a bill passed earlier this year to require a photo ID. With the passage of the constitutional…
Maine Approves Ranked Choice Voting
Voters in Maine narrowly passed Question 5, which will allow voters to rank their choice of candidates in future elections: Maine residents have approved a ballot question that will allow voters to rank their choice of candidates. Under the election overhaul, ballots are counted at the state level in…