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☆ Over 200,000 trans people could face voting restrictions because of state ID laws
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | Jo Yurcaba Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +12 min

Seaton showed his state ID. “So I expect that we’re going to hear more stories of trans people being harassed, whether by voters, poll workers, poll monitors or other folks who are present during the election.”Impact of voter ID laws on trans votersVoter identification laws differ widely by state. Eight of those states have strict photo ID laws. Since the 2020 election, 12 states have enacted new or stricter voter ID laws, according to VoteRiders, a nonpartisan voting rights organization. In the 15 states without ID laws, voters’ identities are usually verified by checking them against their voter registration information, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Republicans, who have largely embraced former President Donald Trump's false claims of fraud in the 2020 election, say the measures are necessary to ensure election integrity. Some states' laws restricted mail-in voting one way while easing it other ways. Proponents of limiting mail-in voting say it adds to the cost of running elections and creates more opportunities for ballots to be intercepted by unintended recipients who might fraudulently cast them. Advocates of expanding mail-in voting say limiting it hinders voters who cannot go to a polling place. Advocates of the laws say they are necessary for ensuring only eligible voters are kept on the list, whereas opponents say the laws make it harder for voters to know they have been removed or remedy wrongful removals.

☆ Voters must show identification in 38 states to cast their ballot on Election Day
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Kayla Gallagher | Taylor Tyson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

In 38 states, voters are required to present a form of ID when casting their ballot on Election Day. The other 13 states do not require voters to show any form of ID when casting their ballot. Non-photo ID states accept mail that verifies the voter's name and address, including pay-stubs, bank statements, and rent or utility bills. Stricter states require voters to cast a provisional ballot or later provide proof of residency to their election officials in order for their votes to count. In less strict states, voters without the required documentation are allowed to cast a sworn affidavit, reasonable impediment declaration, or have a poll worker vouch for them to vote.

If election deniers in those races win, their ability to affect future elections could be made more robust by having cooperative election deniers in their state houses to help push legislation remaking certain election laws in those states. The group’s analysis found that election deniers were most prevalent in Arizona state legislative races, where they made up 87% of all Republican nominees in those races. In both Pennsylvania and Michigan, 62% of all Republican state legislative nominees in each state were election deniers, the group found. In Minnesota, 42% of all Republican nominees in state legislative races were election deniers, while in Nevada, 31% were. That included several incumbents and candidates in Minnesota who'd who had questioned or challenged the results of the 2020 election.

Senior FBI officials recently warned of “unusual levels of threats” against election workers in seven states, including Colorado, Michigan and Wisconsin. California saw a need to pass legislation last month aimed at protecting election workers. Second, to election officials, election workers, volunteers and voters: We have your back. We personally toured our local election offices and observed existing election administration safeguards, such as mail ballot signature review by bipartisan teams. We pledge to do our part, and we call on our colleagues in law enforcement and election administration to join us.

☆ 'We're going to hang you': DOJ cracks down on threats to election workers ahead of high-stakes midterms
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

That is just one example of the rising number of violent threats election workers in the days leading up to the Nov. 8 midterms. "These threats against election officials continue," Michael McDonald, a professor of political science at the University of Florida, told CNBC. Additional funding from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan can also be used to protect election workers, Polite said. DOJ launched an election threats task force in July 2021 to ensure voters are safe at the polls and to look into the rise in threatening behavior against election workers like Moss. Jared Polis signed an act protecting election workers from threats, coercion or intimidation into law.

☆ Democrat Christopher Deluzio faces off against Republican Jeremy Shaffer in Pennsylvania's 17th Congressional District election
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Hanna Kang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Democrat Christopher Deluzio is running against Republican Jeremy Shaffer in Pennsylvania's 17th Congressional District. Pennsylvania's 17th Congressional District candidatesDeluzio, Lamb's Democratic replacement, is an Iraq War veteran and voting rights attorney. He was endorsed by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and named to the "On the Radar" list as part of the National Republican Congressional Committee's Young Guns program. Voting history for Pennsylvania's 17th Congressional DistrictPennsylvania's 17th Congressional District encompasses the Pittsburgh suburbs of Mt. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, National Republican Campaign Committee, GOP-backing super PAC Congressional Leadership Fund, and Democrat-backing hybrid PAC House Majority PAC are the top spenders in the race.

☆ Fact Check-No evidence of widespread ballot 'harvesting' ahead of the U.S midterm election
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Stuffing ballot boxes, ballot harvesting, gerrymandering, and the lonist goes on and on,” reads a tweet. A Reuters Fact Check explainer exploring examples of how and why voter fraud is exceedingly rare in the U.S. ahead of the midterms can be seen (here). According to Minnite, experts agree there is no evidence of systematic voter fraud happening during absentee voting. They found 491 cases of absentee ballot fraud from 2000 to 2012, a time when 146 million Americans were registered to vote (news21.com/archive/), (here), (here). A Reuters fact check article previously found that the film does not provide verifiable evidence of voter fraud (here).

☆ Ted Cruz reimbursed himself $555,000 after successfully challenging a political spending law at the Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ted Cruz's campaign paid him $555,000 to cover old personal loans to his Senate committee. Ethics advocates and some Supreme Court justices warned that the decision could lead to corruption. And the one-time presidential candidate and two-term senator has the US Supreme Court to thank for it. That allowed Cruz to initiate a lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission, which eventually made its way up to the Supreme Court. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan echoed that same argument in her dissenting opinion.

At an election office in Flagstaff, Arizona, voters will encounter bulletproof glass and need to press a buzzer to enter. Election officials around the country said they were coordinating more closely with local law enforcement to respond quickly to disturbances. The Justice Department says it has investigated more than 1,000 messages to election workers since the 2020 election, including more than 100 that could warrant prosecution. PROTECTIVE MEASURESMany election officials blame disinformation, such as Trump's baseless claims about election fraud in the 2020 election, for the surge in threats. In Michigan, Republican candidates for governor, attorney general and other positions have questioned the outcome of the 2020 election.

☆ Alzheimer's disease, retirement 'pacts,' and serving until you're 104 years old: Inside the federal judiciary's reckoning with age
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( C. Ryan Barber | Camila Dechalus | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +23 min

She was nearly two decades older than the median age — 68 — for all federal judges, according to an Insider analysis. More than a century later, in the 1920s, future Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes argued for a mandatory retirement age. In 1954, the Senate passed a resolution proposing a constitutional amendment that'd require retirement at age 75 for federal judges. A recent poll by Insider and Morning Consult found that 71% of 2,210 respondents said the federal judiciary should have a mandatory retirement age. For Scheindlin, the former federal judge in Manhattan, Weinstein was an example of an older judge who was "terrific to his last day."

☆ What is Moore v. Harper? Experts say the next big Supreme Court case 'could provide the path for election subversion'
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-03 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear the case of Moore v. Harper in October. Moore v. Harper is a North Carolina case regarding the independent state legislature doctrine and gerrymandering. The review was granted on June 30 with the case to be heard in the Supreme Court session this October. "And it would do so at a time when voting rights are under attack, including at the Supreme Court itself." Conservative Supreme Court justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito have all endorsed versions of the legal theory in previous court opinions.

Persons: Moore, Harper, —, Harper Moore, Robin Hudson, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Timothy K, SCOTUS, Leah Litman, Kate Shaw, Carolyn Shapiro, Brennan, Brett Kavanaugh, Richard Hasen, Cortez Organizations: Service, Republican, Democratic, North Carolina Supreme, General, United States, North Carolina House of, Independent, Washington Post, Supreme, Brennan Center, Justice, Conservative, New York Democrat Locations: North Carolina, North Carolina's, Alexandria

☆ Want to run for Congress but can't afford to pay your own rent or bills? This former House candidate has an idea.
▼ + stars: | 2021-03-23 | by ( Dave Levinthal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Nabilah Islam wants the Federal Election Commission to let federal candidates use donor money for expanded salaries and health insurance. "The current system makes it prohibitive for working Americans to run for office," Islam told Insider. "Every American should have a living wage and health insurance when they run for office," Islam told Insider. In general, federal law prohibits federal candidates from using campaign cash on personal expenditures — so forget that donor-funded Rolex or dream trip to Maui. For example, it ruled in 2018 that federal candidates may use campaign funds to pay for certain child care expenses.

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