elections
Arkansas AG rejects proposed measure to conduct elections via hand-marked paper ballots
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin on Wednesday rejected two proposed constitutional amendments to remove voting machines from Arkansas’ election process. One proposal would require hand-marked, hand-counted paper ballots, while the other would create absentee ballot procedures. Griffin cited several reasons for rejecting the proposed popular name and ballot title of both initiatives, including a lengthy […]
Top Arkansas election official resigns for job at Department of Education
Daniel Shults, the director of the Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners, will resign to take a position in the state Department of Education as an attorney. The board voted Wednesday to make its chief counsel, Chris Madison, interim director, beginning Nov. 15. Shults, who was previously chief counsel, has been the board’s chief executive […]
States that send a mail ballot to every voter really do increase turnout, scholars find
Lately, a rough consensus has emerged among people who study the impact of voting policies: Though they often spark fierce partisan fighting, most changes to voting laws do little to affect overall turnout, much less election results. But one fast-growing reform appears to stand out as an exception. When every registered voter gets sent a […]
Anti-democratic moves by state lawmakers raise fears for 2024 election
In Wisconsin, Republican lawmakers are threatening to impeach both the state’s election administrator, who is highly regarded nationally, and a state Supreme Court justice despite a ruling by the state’s judicial commission that the justice had done nothing wrong — effectively nullifying a recent statewide election she won, Democrats say. In North Carolina, a bill […]
On Democracy Day, newsrooms unite for pro-democracy coverage
It’s no secret: U.S. democracy is under serious threat. Politicians use rigged maps to entrench themselves in power, allowing them to ignore the will of voters. Hundreds of members of Congress, state lawmakers, and top state officials — including chief elections officials — deny the results of the last presidential contest. And a leading candidate […]
Ballot title submitted to exempt feminine hygiene products from Arkansas sales tax
An advocacy group on Monday submitted language for a 2024 ballot initiative to abolish Arkansas’ “tampon tax.” The initiated act would exempt feminine hygiene products from Arkansas sales tax, including “tampons, panty liners, menstrual cups, sanitary napkins, and other similar tangible personal property designed for feminine hygiene in connection with the human menstrual cycle.” A […]
As ranked choice voting gains momentum, parties in power push back
Over the past decade, ranked choice voting has become increasingly popular. From conservative Utah to liberal New York City, 13 million American voters in 51 jurisdictions — including all of Alaska and Maine — now use the system, under which voters rank candidates based on preference, leading to an instant runoff in a crowded race. […]
Changes in state election laws have little impact on results, new study finds
In recent years, U.S. politics has been consumed by partisan fights over states’ election policies. But a new study by two political scientists is causing a stir by finding that state legislators’ changes to election laws — both those that tighten election rules in the name of integrity, and those that loosen rules to expand […]
States with low election turnout did little in 2023 to expand voting access
This year’s state legislative sessions are almost all wrapped up. And on voting and elections policy, the headlines have largely focused on a new wave of restrictive voting laws passed in big Republican-led states like Florida, Texas, and Ohio, as well as expansive laws approved in Democratic-led states like Michigan, Minnesota, and New York. But […]
Plaintiffs hope SCOTUS decision in Alabama case bodes well for Arkansas redistricting lawsuits
Attorneys representing those who have challenged Arkansas’ state and federal redistricting plans believe a pair of Thursday U.S. Supreme Court decisions could breathe new life into their lawsuits against the state. The American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday, noting that Thursday decisions by the […]
Federal lawsuit challenging Arkansas’ congressional redistricting dismissed
This story was updated at 10:30 p.m. on May 25, 2023. A federal three-judge panel has dismissed one of the lawsuits challenging Arkansas’ newly drawn congressional districts, ruling those bringing the lawsuit failed to show that race was the “predominant factor” in forming the new maps. The federal judges had already dismissed much of the […]
Second suit challenges racial ‘gerrymandering’ in Arkansas’ congressional redistricting
Three Central Arkansas voters and a religious group filed another federal lawsuit on Tuesday challenging Arkansas’ new congressional district map. The voters and the Christian Ministerial Alliance claim that Arkansas’ 2nd Congressional District — which includes most of Central Arkansas – was racially gerrymandered. The complaint — like a similar lawsuit filed last year by […]