Virginia governor urges Republicans to vote early despite Trump’s skepticism
Early voting for Virginia’s consequential 2023 election began Friday September 22nd, with every seat in the state’s senate and house of delegates up for grabs. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin surprised many members of his party by advocating for Republicans to get out to the polls and cast their ballot during the early voting period. While this action may not seem out of the ordinary, former president Donald Trump’s false claims regarding widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election centered on early and absentee
Virginia’s off-year election is next big test for reproductive rights
Multiple Virginia Democrats including Congresswoman Abigail Spangberger and state senate candidate Jason Ford are emphasizing the importance of the upcoming off-year election for reproductive rights in the state. Democrats are concerned that if Republicans take full control of the general assembly it could jeopardize abortion access in Virginia. The election may have broader implications as well, experts believe the results could provide a clear indication of voters' sentiments ahead of the 2024 election. Visit The Guardian to learn moreImage Credit:Drnette (CC BY-SA 4.0)
‘Ripe for political violence’: US election officials are quitting at an alarming rate
Over the last four years, over 40 of North Carolina’s 100 counties have had to replace their election directors due to retirements, resignations, and other career moves. A spokesperson for the state Board of Elections claims that number is significantly higher than North Carolina has ever seen before. This trend is not isolated in North Carolina, a Boston Globe analysis of data from the US Vote Foundation found that turnover of election officials spiked after the 2020 presidential election in battleground states like Arizona,
Ten years of a crippled Voting Rights Act: how states make it harder to vote
In 2013, the United States Supreme Court ended the pre-clearance requirement in a landmark case called Shelby county v Holder. Under pre-clearance, states with a history of suppressing voters were required to submit any voting changes for approval from the federal government before enacting them, but, after the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in Shelby county v Holder, they no longer have to. Over the past 10 years, Helen Butler and a coalition of activists have taken on the task of monitoring local election boards
He voted in Florida for the first time in 2020. Then came the criminal charges
John Boyd Rivers, a mason who once laid the bricks of the very courthouse in which he now stood trial, was recently found guilty of voter fraud after voting for the first time in the 2020 presidential election. Rivers registered to vote as a Republican while serving a prison sentence, received his voter registration card in the mail after he was released, cast his ballot that fall, but was then prosecuted by a new election security task force created by Florida Governor Ron Desantis.