Archive for March 2017

Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill, ranking Democrat on the U.S. Senate Homeland Security Committee, has written a letter to the Secretary John Kelly of the Department of Homeland Security with a long list of questions about DHS’ plans for the designation of elections as “critical infrastructure.”

State officials and local prosecutors are trying to figure out what went wrong after reports that numerous 17-year-olds improperly cast ballots in last year’s Wisconsin presidential primary. This story illuminates both the policy and informational challenges involved when voters who are not yet of voting age but will be 18 at the general election want to cast ballots in the primary.

Fifteen states have filed an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief in the U.S. Supreme Court asking it to hear a case in order to clarify if and how states may use evidence of non-voting as a factor in removing voters from the rolls. It’s a seemingly small point that could have significant impact on states’ list maintenance processes in 2017 and beyond.

Montana has set Thursday, May 25 as the date for a special election in which voters will choose the state’s new at-large U.S. Representative. Unfortunately, the state has yet to decide on how that vote will take place because of disagreement over a bill designating the special as an all-mail election. Election officials need to know soon as “drop-dead” dates for preparation are rapidly approaching.

This week’s electionlineWeekly features a story about a new program in Dane County (Madison), WI which is intended to give the public a window into the voting process by posting ballot images online.

I’m traveling today so blogging time is scarce, but I wanted to re-share a piece on voter fraud I did back in September 2012 that considers the issue from a disease and contagion perspective. It’s been on my mind a lot lately with all the talk of voter fraud.

In 2016, Massachusetts joined the list of states offering early voting, with over a million voters taking advantage of the opportunity. Now, the state is considering a bill to reimburse some local early voting costs after the state auditor found that those costs constitute an unfunded mandate.

In February, the Maine state legislature moved to declare a “solemn occasion” under the state Constitution and seek review of the new ranked choice voting provision enacted by voters in 2016. The briefs in that case were due last Friday, and they set up a clash between RCV supporters and several state officials over the constitutionality of RCV.

In Arizona’s Maricopa County (Phoenix), a former Secretary of State has indicated his interest in taking over the county election job – but only if it is separated from the county recorder’s office which just changed partisan hands for the the first time in decades. It doesn’t appear the county is interested, however, and is focused instead on hiring a new elections director who can “air traffic control” the busy operation.

This week, electionline’s Mindy Moretti has a look in the weekly newsletter at how King County (Seattle), WA’s postage-paid ballot pilot fared during a recent election. It’ll be interesting to see if the idea gathers steam in Washington state or elsewhere nationwide.