Cuomo proposes changes to NY absentee ballot counting, early voting
Governor Andrew Cuomo is set to push a number of election reform proposals in New York. These include allowing no-excuse absentee voting, extending the time voters have to request absentee ballots, extending early voting times, requiring early voting sites to stay open later, and allowing absentee ballots to be processed as they are received. The latter-most proposal would help speed up the counting and reporting process for absentee ballots.Visit the Auburn Citizen to learn more.Image credit: Pat Arnow (CC BY-SA 2.0) Voter Education Week Young adults
Virginia Democrats push to end constitutional rule stripping felons of voting rights
Virginia is one of three states, along with Kentucky and Iowa, whose laws allow for permanent disenfranchisement of people convicted of felonies. Several high-profile Democrats in Virginia, including Governor Ralph Northam, are seeking to change that by pushing for a state constitutional amendment which restores voting rights to convicted felons upon their release from prison. There is an alternative amendment being proposed by some Virginia state legislatures which would allow felons to vote while in prison. Currently, only Vermont, Maine, and Washington, D.C. allow
Dominion Voting Systems files $1.3B defamation suit against ex-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell
Dominion Voting Systems—a corporation which sells electronic voting hardware and software—is suing former Trump attorney Sidney Powell for spreading false accusations that the company changed votes for President Trump to President-elect Joe Biden. Dominion is suing others who spread similar rumors in the wake of the election, including Rudy Guiliani. Twenty-eight states used Dominion hardware to tabulate their results during the 2020 election.Visit USA Today to learn more. Image credit: Nicholas Youngson (CC BY-SA 3.0) Voter Education Week Young adults will be the nation’s largest voting bloc
Mount Rainier lowers voting age to 16
On January 5, the City Council in Mount Rainier, Maryland, voted unanimously to allow 16-year-olds to vote in city elections. Four other cities in Maryland—Takoma Park, Hyattsville, Greenbelt, and Riverdale Park—already allow 16-year-olds to vote in city elections, making Maryland a national leader in the campaign to lower the voting age to 16.Visit Route 1 Reporter to learn more. Voter Education Week Young adults will be the nation’s largest voting bloc in the upcoming election and the National Voter Education Week plans to equip them with
Pence announces Biden’s victory after Congress completes electoral count
Over thirteen hours after being evacuated from the Capitol when a pro-Trump mob stormed the building, Congress completed its verification of President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral victory. Vice President Pence announced the results at 3:40am on January 7. Biden will be sworn in as President on January 20.Visit CBS News to learn more.Image credit: Michael Vadon (CC BY-SA 4.0) Voter Education Week Young adults will be the nation’s largest voting bloc in the upcoming election and the National Voter Education Week plans to equip them with the