Senate Intelligence Hearing on Election Security Shows Promise for Preventing Future Cyber Attacks on Federal/State Election Infrastructure
The United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence had a hearing today, questioning current Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, Executive Director of National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) Amy Cohen, and President-elect of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) Jim Condos (among others) on…
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…
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…
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…
Ballot Selfies Now Allowed in Colorado
The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado has enjoined the enforcement of Colorado’s ban on ballot selfies in Hill v. Williams and Harlos v. Morrisey, though the decision could certainly still be appealed on an emergency basis: U.S. District Court Judge Christine M. Arguello enjoined the Denver District Attorney’s…
Ballot Selfies Still Illegal in New York
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, in Silverberg v. Board of Elections of the State of New York, refused to enjoin New York’s prohibition of ballot selfies, finding (internal citations omitted): Plaintiffs’ important First Amendment rights must be reconciled with the cherished right to vote….
Kobach Lacks Authority to Create Two-Tier Registration System
The latest in the saga of litigation regarding Kansas’ proof of citizenship requirement for registering to vote was issued today by a Kansas state court in Brown v. Kobach. The court found that Secretary of State Kris Kobach lacked the authority to establish a two-tier voter registration system, in response…
9th Circuit Rules Ballot Harvesting Allowed in Arizona This Election
The latest in Arizona v. Feldman, the fast moving case regarding Arizona’s absentee ballot harvesting law: today, the en banc Ninth Circuit ruled that the law prohibiting absentee ballot harvesting is not in effect for this election. The case will continue after the election, and the state could appeal to the Supreme Court for…
16 Election Issues to Watch
electiononlineWeekly posted a list of sixteen key issues to watch regarding the election: Although millions of voters have already cast their ballots either through early voting, absentee voting or vote-by-mail, millions more will head to the polls on November 8 and cast their ballot for the 45th president of…