ballot

Growing threat of political violence looms over 2024, former members of Congress warn

BY: - December 8, 2023

Former members of Congress are deeply concerned about political violence ahead of the 2024 presidential election, former Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama and former Rep. Barbara Comstock of Virginia said at a Thursday joint appearance sponsored by the liberal Center for American Progress and the nonpartisan McCain Institute. Jones, a moderate Democrat who lost reelection […]

Oregon Secretary of State Griffin-Valade won’t block Trump from ballot

BY: - November 30, 2023

Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade won’t bar former President Donald Trump from appearing on primary ballots despite an ongoing pressure campaign, she announced Thursday. Griffin-Valade cited legal guidance from the Oregon Department of Justice, whose attorneys told her that presidential primaries operate differently than other races and she doesn’t have the authority to determine […]

Colorado judge rejects attempt to bar Trump from 2024 ballot under ‘insurrection’ clause

BY: - November 19, 2023

A Colorado judge has ordered the state’s top elections official to place former President Donald Trump on the 2024 primary ballot, rejecting a lawsuit from a group of voters who argued the Republican frontrunner is constitutionally ineligible to hold office under a Civil War-era insurrection clause. “The Court orders the Secretary of State to place […]

Former President Donald Trump speaks to supporters in a campaign visit to Council Bluffs, Iowa, on July 7, 2023. He was back in Iowa on July 18 to participate in a cable TV interview. (Jared Strong/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Michigan judge says only Congress can keep Trump off of the 2024 ballot

BY: - November 15, 2023

A Michigan Court of Claims judge on Tuesday agreed with Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson that her office lacks the authority to disqualify former President Donald Trump from the ballot for the 2024 Republican primary election. The ruling by Judge James Robert Redford determined that arguments as to whether Trump should be barred based on […]

Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, right, Republican speaker nominee, talks to his Chief of Staff Kevin Eichinger and Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., after the House of Representatives failed to elevate Jordan to speaker of the House for the third time in the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 20, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Jim Jordan’s bid to be U.S. House speaker ends after rejection by GOP in closed meeting

BY: and - October 20, 2023

(This story was updated at 1:45 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023.) WASHINGTON — Ohio Republican Jim Jordan is no longer the Republican nominee for speaker of the U.S. House. Shortly after a failed floor vote Friday on Jordan’s bid, Republicans held a closed-door meeting where Jordan failed to garner enough votes from his fellow […]

Canvasser hands a man a flyer with information on Ohio's Issue 1.

Ohio voters are deciding if it’s too easy to pass ballot measures. Other states are watching.

BY: and - August 7, 2023

CLEVELAND — Ohioans over the last century have used the state’s ballot initiative process to pass constitutional amendments that raised the minimum wage, integrated the National Guard and removed the phrase “white male” from the constitution’s list of voter eligibility requirements. Now, lawmakers want to make it much tougher for an initiative to be approved. […]

Arkansas lawmakers seek investigations of ballot canvassing allegations

BY: - July 6, 2023

The unusual business of ballot initiative canvassing was on full display at the Arkansas State Capitol Thursday morning.  A legislative committee heard allegations of harassment, assault and even arson during a contentious three-hour hearing on last year’s signature-gathering battle over the license for a new casino in Pope County. The testimony, which included a host […]

U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, speaks at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol after he was nominated for speaker of the House by members of the House GOP, on Nov. 15, 2022. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

U.S. House conservatives tank McCarthy bid to be speaker on multiple ballots

BY: and - January 3, 2023

(This story has been updated to reflect that House Republicans adjourned after three unsuccessful votes to choose a new speaker.) WASHINGTON — Republican control of the U.S. House got off to a rocky start Tuesday when the party was unable to decide who should become speaker amid a sharp disagreement within the party’s more conservative faction. […]

red early vote yard sign

Nonprofit offers Spanish translation services, voter hotline during election

BY: - November 4, 2022

Immigrant advocacy group Arkansas United is providing translation services and assistance for Spanish-speaking voters during this year’s 2022 General Election. Arkansas United will host a “Party at the Polls” on Nov. 5 where the statewide nonprofit will have translators available at early voting locations in Benton, Washington and Pulaski Counties to assist Spanish-speaking voters. “Due […]

A Maricopa County , Arizona, ballot drop box, October 2022. (Kira Lerner/States Newsroom)

Concerns grow that voter intimidation could disrupt midterm elections

BY: - November 3, 2022

PHOENIX — The two outdoor ballot drop boxes in Maricopa County are both unassuming — secure metal boxes, about the size of blue mailboxes, located just outside county buildings. But in recent weeks, they’ve at times been monitored by volunteers with far-right organizations, prompted by former President Donald Trump’s claims of widespread fraud and misinformation […]

Ballot propositions in five states, including Arkansas, would legalize marijuana, adding to a growing list of states defying federal law. This photo is from the 2021 march in Washington against the federal laws that criminalize cannabis.(Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Weed on the ballot: Voters could approve legal marijuana in 5 more states

BY: - November 3, 2022

Midterm voters in five states will determine if they should join the growing list of places where recreational marijuana use is allowed, even as any use of the drug is still illegal under federal law. Referendums to legalize recreational use of marijuana are on Nov. 8 ballots in Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, South Dakota and North […]

Poll worker and voter in Georgia in May 2022.

The fight against an age-old effort to block Americans from voting

BY: and - October 10, 2022

This ProPublica story was co-published with Gray TV/Investigate TV and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. It is part of The Right to Read, a series examining America’s literacy crisis.   For nearly 10 hours on Georgia’s primary day, Olivia Coley-Pearson tracked down every potential voter she could find, working two cellphones as […]