As a new tide of voter disenfranchisement rises across the country, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today announced a new campaign to expand an Oregon-style vote-by-mail program nationwide and tear down barriers to voting. “My home state of Oregon has led the nation in making voting more accessible. No one has to take time off work just to exercise his or her constitutional rights,” Wyden said. “My proposition is the rest of our country should follow Oregon’s lead and offer all voters a chance to vote by mail.” Voters across the country have faced unreasonable delays and new obstacles to voting. This year … Read More
Testimony wraps up in dispute over rules for Ohio ballots
Associated Press: Testimony in a federal trial that could impact how thousands of ballots are cast and counted in swing state Ohio is set to wrap up. At issue in the case are several changes to the requirements for absentee or provisional ballots that the Republican-led state legislature passed in 2014. The Ohio Democratic Party along with advocates for the homeless are suing the state’s elections chief claiming that the laws and the procedures for counting those ballots create new hurdles for voters, particularly minorities. Among other arguments, they allege that numerous valid ballots are being rejected because of technical … Read More
New Postal Service Guidance on Election Mail, Absentee Ballots
PEW: The United States Postal Service (USPS) recently released guidance about the design and distribution of election mailings during the 2016 presidential election cycle. The report includes detailed instructions to local election officials regarding appropriate ballot labels and important mailing deadlines for absentee ballots, including those sent to and from members of the military. USPS support of elections grows increasingly critical as states expand vote-by-mail and absentee ballot options. During the last presidential election, USPS handled more than 25 million return ballots, not including those from military voters. Currently, 27 states and the District of Columbia allow no-excuse absentee voting by mail, … Read More
Angry Arizona Voters Demand: Why Such Long Lines at Polling Sites?
New York Times: Cynthia Perez, a lawyer, stopped by a polling site on her way to work here on Tuesday, thinking she could vote early and get on with her day. She changed her mind when she found a line so long she could not see the end of it. The line was just as big when she came back midafternoon — and bigger three hours later, after she had finally cast her ballot. “To me,” said Ms. Perez, 31, “this is not what democracy is about.” Days later, angry and baffled voters are still trying to make sense of … Read More
There Were 5-Hour Lines to Vote in Arizona Because the Supreme Court Gutted the Voting Rights Act
Aracely Calderon, a naturalized citizen from Guatemala, arrived just before the polls closed at 7 pm in downtown Phoenix to vote in Arizona’s primary last night. “When Calderon arrived, the line spanned more than 700 people and almost 4 blocks,” the Arizona Republic reported. She waited in line for five hours, becoming the last voter in the state to cast a ballot at 12:12 am. “I’m here to exercise my right to vote,” she said shortly before midnight, explaining why she stayed in line. But many other Arizonans left the polls in disgust. The lines were so long because election officials in Phoenix’s Maricopa County, the … Read More
EAC, FVAP Letter To USPS Flags Delivery Issues, Seeks Cooperation On Mailed Ballots
Election Academy: There have been lots of stories in the news – and on this blog – recently about election officials’ concerns about how the U.S. Postal Service handles and delivers voting materials and ballots. With 2016 just around the corner, the Election Assistance Commission and the Federal Voting Assistance Program have decided to be proactive and see if there’s any way to get the USPS and election offices on the same page in this crucial election year. Here’s the text of a letter they sent earlier this week: The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and Department of Defense’s Federal Voting Assistance Program … Read More
ElectionlineWeekly Examines the U.S. Postal Service And Vote-By-Mail
This week’s electionlineWeekly focuses on a new report recommending the U.S. Postal Service do more to encourage vote-by-mail and the USPS’ response. As always, Mindy Moretti has the story: The U.S. Postal Service is the largest self-funded agency of the U.S. government and is supported entirely by revenue from postage and products. Because of that, unlike most federal agencies that are always looking for ways to cut costs, the Postal Service is also always looking for ways to boost revenue. Therefore, with the increasing popularity of vote-by-mail, the Office of the Inspector General of the USPS (USPSOIG) set out to evaluate voting methods to identify … Read More
Vote-By-Mail Rates More Than Double Since 2000
PEW Trusts: The way Americans vote is changing, with more and more of them receiving and casting their ballots by mail. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 10 percent of all ballots cast in the 2000 presidential election were cast by mail. By 2012, the practice had nearly doubled, to 19 percent of voters. In last year’s midterms, data from the Survey of the Performance of American Elections (SPAE) found that around a quarter of all voters voted by mail. But not all voters who receive their ballots in the mail return them that way. The SPAE estimates that in 2014 around 1 out of every 5 mail … Read More