state of elections

Iowa Voting Legislation: Punitive Restrictions and “Technical Violations”

Election Law Society · October 28, 2021 ·

By: Peter Quinn

Iowans are no strangers to potentially hazardous jobs, as anyone who has ever worked with a thresher can attest. But recent legislation has caused an unlikely profession to rocket up the list of professions with great personal danger attached: election officials. The danger, however, comes not from pointy farm equipment, but rather from the sudden potential for large fines and criminal charges for simple mistakes.

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 Continuing Implications of Virginia’s Off-Year Elections

Election Law Society · February 21, 2018 ·

By: Jacob Dievendorf

As readers of this blog will well know, each state has its own particular electoral quirks. One of Virginia’s best known quirks is its off-year election of a governor. As a previous posting on this blog points out, Virginians have been electing their governor in off years for as long as they have been electing governors directly, since 1852.

Texas Takes Steps to End Mail-In Voter Fraud

Election Law Society · February 19, 2018 ·

Amid the passage of controversial voter ID laws, this session Texas lawmakers also tackled a different form of voter fraud in a significantly less controversial manner. The Texas Legislature took steps to end voter fraud stemming from mail-in ballots. Senate Bill 5 passed the legislature and was signed into law on June 15. The law becomes effective on January 1, 2018. This law expands the definition of mail-in voter fraud and increases the penalties for the crime. Several voter fraud cases were prosecuted in recent years, and there have been concerns from individuals who received mail-in ballots they never requested.

Escaping the Miry Red Clay

Election Law Society · February 16, 2018 ·

By: Dorronda Bordley

On March 27, 2015, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Delaware sued the Red Clay Consolidated School District in Chancery Court. The ACLU asserted that Red Clay violated, among other things, the Delaware Constitution guaranteeing “free and equal” elections.