KDKA TV – The state Supreme Court on Tuesday heard oral argument from lawyers on whether the state’s no-excuse mail-in ballot system is constitutional.
State Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument On Whether Voting By Mail Is Constitutional
Anchorage Voters Can Now Get Tracking Updates for Their Ballot in the Upcoming City Election
Anchorage Daily News – Anchorage voters can now sign up to receive automatic tracking alerts for their ballots in the city’s vote-by-mail system.
An Election Without ‘I Voted’ Stickers? Election Officials Scrambling Amid Paper Shortage
USA Today – American elections are the latest industry to feel the squeeze of inflation and global supply chain disruptions.
Lawmakers Debate No-Excuse Absentee Ballots for This Year’s Election
NBC Connecticut – In 2020 for the first time, Connecticut voters were able to use COVID-19 as an excuse to vote by absentee ballot, but that provision has expired.
A Paper Shortage Is Looming Over the 2022 Elections. Seriously.
Politico – Supply chain snags are making it harder for election officials to secure the raw materials they need to put on this year’s primaries: paper and envelopes. Read More
Continue readingLawmakers Leave Door Open to Compromise for Absentee Ballot Amendment
CT News Junkie – The legislative committee with oversight of election policy raised a resolution to amend the state constitution Friday, taking another swing at courting Republican votes to expand absentee ballot voting.
Frustrated Michigan Clerks Call for Election Reforms: ‘Now Is the Time’
The Detroit News – Two organizations that represent hundreds of Michigan clerks called on state lawmakers Monday “to set aside their agendas” and make bipartisan improvements to voting policies ahead of the November statewide election.
Evaluating Mail-Based Security for Electoral Processes Using Attack Trees
Since the reports of Russian interference in the 2016 United States General Election, the security of voting processes has received increased attention from both state and federal authorities. The declaration by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in January 2017 that election systems be classified as the seventeenth component of critical infrastructure is just the beginning of a need for more secure voting processes. More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 U.S. General Election has placed greater emphasis specifically on mail-based voting processes for electoral systems. The objective of this research is to provide greater insight into potential threats to mail-based voting processes.
Vote at Home Policy and the 2020 Presidential Election
A recent study of mail-ballot use and voter participation found that turnout increased an average of 5.6% during the 2020 presidential election in states that mailed a ballot to every registered voter. The effects of mail-ballot delivery were even greater in jurisdictions with historically low mail-ballot usage, boosting turnout by as much as 8%.
The National Vote At Home Institute on Florida Advancing Voting Rights
The National Vote at Home Institute has released a statement addressing the success of the 2020 election while also looking forward to the new challenges in voting that we face as a nation. Now is not the time for Florida to go backward.
According to recent national polling from Voting Rights Lab (VRL) that included Floridians, the American people are pleased with these policies as well. The NVAHI team issued the following as seven clear policies that can be passed to improve voting access in Florida:
- Maintain and improve the single sign-up process for mail-in voting: According to national polling, 74% majority of Americans believe that all voters should have the option of voting using an absentee ballot in future elections, including majorities of Republicans (62%), independents (78%), and Democrats (86%).
- Improve ballot tracking and voter notification: Allowing voters to track their ballot like an Amazon package is also cost-effective and can be seamlessly integrated into many voter registration systems. State bill H 103 would make significant progress in providing ballot tracking for Floridians if passed.
- Create an online mail ballot request system
- Provide postage-paid return envelopes: 73% of Americans support including pre-paid postage on absentee return envelopes. Florida bill H 103 would enact this rule.
- Improve data integrity and infrastructure
- Allow Election Day postmark acceptance: 60% of American’s oppose rejecting ballots mailed before Election Day but arriving later.
- Increase options for ballot return: 70% of Americans approve of changes to increase voting options while only 26% disapprove.
To learn more about The National Vote At Home Institute and how the organization is changing the face of voting rights, visit www.voteathome.org