Posts by Doug Chapin

A federal judge signaled yesterday that he intends to rule against Florida in a lawsuit over voting rights for individuals with former felony convictions, setting up both a rush to register these voters and a likely appeal.

A federal judge yesterday reversed a decision by the New York State Board of Elections to essentially cancel the Democratic presidential primary, ordering it to proceed as scheduled on June 23.

Oklahoma’s Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the state cannot enforce its requirement that mail ballots be notarized in order to be counted, handing a victory to opponents of the law who claimed it will interfere with voters’ ability to cast ballots during the COVID-19 pandemic.

States and localities are racing to ramp up their vote-by-mail programs this year in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic – and the nation’s ballot printers are racing right alongside them. In fact, the debate over VBM could soon run aground on a lack of capacity to print, prepare and mail those ballots to voters nationwide.

A new report looks at election costs and finds that state and local election officials will fall way short of the cash they need to conduct the 2020 election. It’s the latest indication that the nation’s normal practice of underfunding election administration is going to be even more painful than usual this year.

As states and localities across the country prepare to conduct elections under conditions intended to prevent transmission of the coronavirus, they are increasingly confronting the prospect of a difficult situation: what to do if a voter shows up despite appearing to be ill?

On May 19, Oregon voters will choose nominees for the fall’s race for Secretary of State, filling an open seat for the second consecutive statewide election. A long-time vote-by-mail state, Oregon has avoided many of the fights surrounding COVID-19, but the new SoS will still be important in managing the future of elections in the Beaver State.

Georgia’s absentee ballots for the upcoming June 9 primary omit a second inner envelope – a step taken to help speed processing of what is expected to be a record mail turnout given the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kentucky’s Governor and Secretary of State have reached a bipartisan agreement that shifts the Bluegrass State largely to vote-by-mail for the upcoming June 23 primary. It’s an encouraging effort to work together on election changes given the need to protect voters and election workers alike during the coronavirus crisis.

The April 23, 2020 electionlineWeekly focuses on a topic certain to be top of mind for every election official nationwide: vote-by-mail – or more specifically, the cost of vote-by-mail. Not surprisingly, those costs can and do vary significantly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction … but they add up fast.