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Mark Finchem is the latest in a wave of election deniers moving toward controlling elections
Mark Finchem, an Arizona state representative who has said he would not have certified the 2020 election, has won the Republican primary for secretary of state, making him the latest election denier to move closer to controlling his state’s election system. Venture capitalist Blake Masters, who has questioned whether the upcoming November midterm election will […]
Election officials risk criminal charges under 31 new GOP-imposed penalties
Since the 2020 election, Iowa has enacted one new felony and two new misdemeanor offenses targeting election officials. The state’s omnibus election law, passed in 2021, criminalizes election officials who fail to perform their duties, don’t adequately maintain voter lists, or interfere with other people performing their duties in or near a polling place. The […]
Criminalizing the vote: GOP-led states enacted 102 new election penalties after 2020
During the 2020 election, Rhonda Briggins and her sorority sisters spent days providing voters in metro Atlanta with water and snacks as they waited in long lines at polling places. The lines for early voting and on Election Day at times stretched on for hours. As the national co-chair for social action with the Delta […]
U.S. sues Arizona over proof of citizenship voting law
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division announced Tuesday that it has sued Arizona over a law signed by the state’s Republican governor in March that requires people registering to vote prove their citizenship to participate in a presidential election or to vote by mail in any federal election. Republican proponents of […]
UPDATED Trump’s fake electors: Here’s the full list
The 84 people who signed bogus documents claiming that Donald Trump won the 2020 election include dozens of GOP candidates, activists and officials.
A dozen Arizona GOP lawmakers follow at least 1 far-right Facebook group
More than 1 in 5 Republican state lawmakers across the country have joined at least one far-right Facebook group, according to a new report. In Arizona, 12 have done so — about 25% of the state’s GOP legislators. Together the lawmakers sponsored 963 bills during the most recent legislative sessions, said the group that wrote […]
Election officials in Arizona, other battleground states, stand up against restrictive voting laws
When Georgia legislators pushed through a restrictive voting bill during the 2021 session, Bartow County election supervisor Joseph Kirk said he felt frustrated and sidelined. Lawmakers largely didn’t take election officials’ views into account, he said, and what resulted was a law that included a number of provisions that he said election officials believe are […]
Arizona could force U.S. Supreme Court to again consider proof of citizenship for voting
A GOP-sponsored bill signed into law Wednesday in Arizona requires documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote, a mandate that the U.S. Supreme Court has said is unconstitutional. By signing the bill, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey is setting up Arizona for an inevitable legal challenge that will likely allow the U.S. Supreme Court to […]
Decline in federal grant funding for local elections criticized by advocates
WASHINGTON — The $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill passed by Congress last week includes $75 million in Help America Vote Act grants — a major reduction compared to years past. Experts say the $75 million is insufficient to fund local elections and leaves local election offices without resources to improve election infrastructure and protect the […]
States target ballot drop boxes in fight over voting rights
Ballot drop boxes are so secure they’ve survived getting hit by an SUV and rolled by a school bus — yet much of the battle over voting rights has centered on the big metal boxes. In the November 2020 general election, nearly 40 states had ballot drop boxes available and more voters used drop boxes […]
Trump’s fake electors: Here’s the full list
The 84 people who signed bogus documents claiming that Donald Trump won the 2020 election include dozens of local Republican Party leaders, seven current candidates for public office, eight current office holders and at least five previous state and federal office holders. Groups from Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin all allegedly […]
States weigh how to shield election officials from threats, harassment
Following the turmoil of the 2020 election, a photo of Washington state Election Director Lori Augino marked with crosshairs, her address, and the words “your days are numbered” was posted on a website alongside photos of numerous other state election officials described as “enemies of the people.” Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman said in […]