The Bridgeport Ballot-Stuffing Controversy Reaches the Connecticut Supreme Court
November 14, 2024
By: Jayli Esber
The Connecticut Supreme Court’s decision regarding a ballot-stuffing controversy comes at a crucial time in the context of American elections. But the decision—a dismissal for lack of standing—might be an unsatisfying resolution to an inflammatory matter.
Ranked-Confusion: A Fitting System for Undecided Voters in San Francisco’s Mayoral Election
November 14, 2024
By: Caroline Olsen
The City of San Francisco has used ranked choice voting (RCV) for its local elections since 2004. RCV allows voters to rank candidates by preference, effectively eliminating the need for subsequent runoff elections—and San Francisco was the first major city to try it.
Pop-Up Polling Locations: Voter Enfranchisement or Partisan Tactic?
November 13, 2024
By: Katy Bortz
Young people in America historically vote at lower rates than other age groups. While there are several possible explanations for this low turnout, one of the most notable is the added challenge of moving away from home to attend college outside of the county in which young people first registered to vote. Several organizations are trying to combat this low turnout by advocating for changes like additional polling locations actually located on college campuses around the country.
In Minnesota, a new state law took effect on June 1, 2023 that authorizes the creation of temporary polling locations. The law amends Minnesota Statute Section 203B.081 to allow the county auditor or municipal clerk to create additional polling locations that do not necessarily have to operate on the same days and hours as the existing statutorily required early voting locations. Thus, these temporary voting centers have been nicknamed “pop-up” voting locations. The law specifies that these temporary locations must be decided upon at least 47 days prior to election day.
This change in Minnesota has attracted national attention for the resulting “pop-up” early voting location at the University of Minnesota. The campus polling center was utilized not only by students, but also local community members to cast their ballots early for the 2024 general election.
Additionally, the Minnesota legislature has debated other measures to encourage young voter turnout prior to the upcoming election. In February, Minnesota State Representative Kristi Pursell introduced House File 3447 that would add an additional provision to Minnesota Statute Section 203B.081 that gives postsecondary institutions and their student governments the ability to actively request a temporary polling location on their campus. If requested at least 53 days prior to the election, the county auditor or municipal clerk would be required to provide that requested pop-up voting location. This proposed language that the polling location must be provided if requested is similar to the portion of the already enacted legislation that relates to polling locations on Tribal reservations. Section 203B.081, as amended, requires that the county must provide a temporary polling location on Tribal lands if requested by “a federally recognized Indian Tribe with a reservation in the county.”
On the floor of the Minnesota House of Representatives, HF 3447 received criticism. One area of concern was its limited applicability only to schools that have student body populations of over 1,500. Republican Pam Altendorf criticized the bill for this exact reason, expressing concern that “smaller schools might tend to lean more conservative,” and they would be left out of getting temporary polling locations. Additionally, she stated that the bill seems to be “picking and choosing who we are driving to the polls to vote.” HF 3447 was not enacted in the 2023-2024 Minnesota legislative session.
As the Minnesota law currently reads, the decision about when and where to provide these “pop-up” early voting locations is left to county auditors and municipal clerks. The statute itself is unclear as to how exactly those officers are supposed to decide where and when to open these temporary locations, but they are required to notify the Secretary of State of their ultimate decision.
Noncitizen Voting: A Non-Issue in Pennsylvania
November 10, 2024
By: Natalie Hatton
In the presidential debate in Philadelphia in September, former President and Republican candidate Trump claimed that Democrats are bringing noncitizens into the country in order to vote in the November general election: “They can’t even speak English. They don’t even know what country they’re in, practically. And these people are trying to get them to vote, and that’s why they’re allowing them into our country.”
Republican National Committee v. Whitmer
November 10, 2024
By: William & Mary Student Contributor
In March of 2021, the Biden/Harris administration issued executive order 14019 which directed agency heads to examine ways in which they could promote voter registration. The following year, in September of 2022, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced partnerships with Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Michigan to provide “voter registration information, materials and — if requested — assistance to Veterans, eligible dependents and caregivers at select VA facilities across the country”. This was followed by an announcement by the Small Business Administration (SBA) in March of 2024, that they too would be in partnership with Michigan “to promote civic engagement and voter registration in Michigan”.
Anticipating Violence Post-election, D.C. Enacts New Protections for Poll Workers
November 10, 2024
By: Megan Killpatrick
In the fallout of the 2020 presidential election, Washington D.C. had a front-row seat to the violence of January 6th, 2021. In response to this chaos and in advance of the 2024 presidential election, the Council of the District of Columbia announced in early 2024 that they had enacted new measures in an attempt to prevent violence against election workers by increasing the penalty for crimes targeting these public servants.
Louisiana’s “Election Integrity Legislative Package” Risks Disenfranchising Voters with Disabilities
November 10, 2024
By: Hannah Barrios
Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act (“the VRA”) ensures that anyone who needs assistance to vote because of blindness, disability, or inability to read or write may be assisted “by a person of the voter’s choice.” After Louisiana’s recent enactment of several laws regarding absentee ballots, a disability rights group is now worried about disabled individuals’ access to absentee ballots and the potential prosecution of those who assist disabled individuals. The group is challenging the validity of the Louisiana laws, arguing they are a violation of Section 208 of the VRA.
Alabama Purges Naturalized Citizens from its Voter Rolls
November 10, 2024
By: Krishan Patel
As the home of the case that led to the demise of Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act, and by extension preclearance under Section 5, Alabama certainly does not have a reputation as the state with particularly wide access to the ballot. In the decade following Shelby County v. Holder, the turnout gap between white voters and Black voters in Alabama has tripled from a mere 3% in the 2012 election to a 9% in the 2022 election (this is not just because 2022 was a midterm cycle, as the gap was 8% in 2020), and the turnout gap between white voters and non-white voters increased from 7% in the 2012 election to 13% in both the 2020 and 2022 elections. Alabama has again lived up to its reputation as a state with more difficult access to the ballot in 2024: the Alabama legislature both passed a law making it illegal for Alabamians who are not disabled or illiterate to help people other than close family members and or cohabitants to return, fill out, or request absentee ballots and attempted to add 120 new felonies to Alabama’s felony voter disenfranchisement list before the 2024 election. When it comes to voter suppression efforts this year, however, Alabama has not stopped at absentee voters and people with felony conviction histories.
Where Companies Outnumber Humans 2-1: Delaware’s fight to keep corporations in (or out of) its local elections
November 10, 2024
By: Marley Fishburn
With over 2 million corporations registered in Delaware, it is safe to say the first state is no stranger to the business side of things. Nothing exemplifies the history of Delaware’s relationship with corporations better than when political activist Ralph Nader said, “General Motors could buy Delaware if DuPont were willing to sell it.”
A Deep-Dive into California’s “Deepfake” Disclosure Requirements
November 8, 2024
By: Caroline Olsen
When Vice President Kamala Harris launched the first advertisement of her campaign for President, Christopher Kohls (@MrReaganUSA) quickly responded with a computer-generated voiceover parody, entitled “Kamala Harris Campaign Ad PARODY.” After Elon Musk reposted the parody on X (formerly Twitter), California Governor Gavin Newsom vowed to sign a bill that would make “manipulating a voice in an ‘ad’ like this one . . . illegal.” On September 17, 2024, he signed three. Despite having received bipartisan support, California’s latest legislation demonstrates the inherent challenges of designing deepfake regulations to “ensure . . . elections are free and fair.”