Primaries

Same Day Voter Registration in Hawaii

Election Law Society · February 23, 2018 ·

By: Avery Dobbs

The Hawaii legislature took an important step towards reducing barriers to voting rights in 2014 by voting to allow same day voter registration at the polls. This is a significant change from the state’s previous rule, which required voters to register at least thirty days before an election to be allowed to vote. The state sought this measure in hopes of addressing its chronically low voter participation rates and to make voting rights more accessible for all Hawaiian citizens. Hawaii’s Chief Elections Officer, Scott Nago, spoke in support of the bill at the time by saying, “any qualified person who wants to vote should be able to register and vote”. The state will soon start to see the benefits of this law as it takes full effect in 2018.

The Front-Loading Problem: North Carolina Joins the Primary

Election Law Society · November 4, 2015 ·

By: Laura Wright

On September 24^th, the North Carolina legislature passed House Bill 373 which, if signed by Governor Pat McRory, will move North Carolina’s presidential, state, and local primaries up from May to March 15^th. Sponsored by Riddell (R), Whitmire (R), Brockman (D), and Iler (R), the bill passed with a 52-49 vote in the House and a 30-13 vote in the Senate.

With this move of the primary date come some other changes. The last day for candidates to submit their name to the primary ballot is December 16^th. In order to get on the ballot, candidates must collect 10,000 signatures from qualified voters who are registered to the party of that candidate. These signatures must be verified at least 10 days before filing. For candidates wishing to get their name on the primary ballot, be they presidential, state-wide, or local, the clock is ticking.

UT: Count My Vote

Election Law Society · October 1, 2015 ·

By: Benjamin Ader

With a presidential election on the horizon, many state election offices and party organizations are beginning their process for electing nominees for various offices up for a vote. In Utah this will be a significant test for a new nomination process inspired by the Count My Vote (CMV) initiative. This movement was a response to the fact that Utah was one of seven states with a caucus system, but the only state that did not have any other means of getting a candidate on a ballot.

[Read more…] about UT: Count My Vote