Oregon Public Radio — Oregon currently has the highest rates of voter turnout in the entire country. Two factors political scientists point to are the state’s vote by mail system and the “motor voter” law that automatically registers people to vote when they get their driver’s license. We talk with former Oregon Secretary of State and vote-by-mail advocate Phil Keisling about the numbers and what they mean.
Hartford Courant — In a move to follow 35 other states, Connecticut senators voted overwhelmingly Tuesday night for a constitutional amendment to allow absentee voting for any reason in all elections.
After debating for about 90 minutes, the Senate voted 26-8 on a bipartisan basis as three Republicans joined with 23 Democrats in favor of the resolution. All eight negative votes were by Republicans.
The resolution will allow voters to vote with any excuse to obtain an absentee ballot.
Civic Nebraska — For decades, mail voting has been a safe, easy, and convenient way for Nebraskans to cast their ballots. Any Nebraska voter can request an absentee ballot for any reason, while 11 rural counties employ all-vote-by-mail. Mix in a once-in-a-century pandemic in 2020 that provided many voters their first vote-by-mail experience, and it’s easy to see why nearly 40 percent of Nebraskans opted to vote by mail in 2022.
Simply put, mail voting has been good for democracy by driving higher participation in our elections. You may ask: How does Nebraska compare to its sister states? According to an analysis by the National Vote At Home Institute, Nebraska’s rules, processes, and systems put our state near the middle of the pack.
