Archive for April 2020

A Texas judge ruled yesterday that voters’ fear of contracting COVID-19 was a valid reason for requesting an absentee ballot, contradicting the Attorney General, whose office advised it does not – setting the stage for further litigation in advance of the state’s July primary runoff elections and the general election this November.

A proposal by Virginia’s governor to move May local elections to November in response to the coronavirus pandemic is encountering some resistance from officials and candidates.

As today’s deadline arrives for absentee ballots in last week’s Wisconsin primary, state and local election officials are grappling with the effect of postal issues – especially postmarks, which are emerging as a trouble spot in the tabulation process.

The latest electionlineWeekly features a collaborative effort spearheaded by the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to assist election officials nationwide with rapidly standing up absentee voting and vote-by-mail in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission informed states last week that $400 million in federal funds allocated for election support in the CARES Act coronavirus stimulus bill will be subject to the standard 20% state match.

Amy Wilson, training coordinator for the Colorado Secretary of State’s office, will host a webinar today at noon Central on pollworker training, focusing on how adults learn and what it means for election officials who rely upon them for assistance before, during and after Election Day.

The State of Wisconsin will conduct its primary today, despite coronavirus fears, after efforts to cancel in-person voting and extend absentee balloting were rejected in court.

Wisconsin’s April 7 primary is still on as scheduled after an eventful weekend that included an unusually brief special session of the legislature, a lawsuit that reached the U.S. Supreme Court and intense partisan rhetoric over the wisdom of holding in-person voting during the coronavirus pandemic.

Next Tuesday’s Wisconsin primary is still on as scheduled despite lawsuits, criticism and public concern about coronavirus – and the city of Neenah is making the best of it by channeling the spirit of TV’s DIY hero MacGyver and constructing plexiglass shields to protect pollworkers and voters alike.

The entire Pickens County, SC election office – board, election director and staff – have resigned en masse, leaving the office completely empty with just two months before the state’s June primary.