Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

The state of voting: August 1, 2022

The state of voting: August 1, 2022

This weekly update summarizing legislative activity affecting voting and elections is powered by the Voting Rights Lab. Sign up for VRL’s weekly newsletter here.

The Voting Rights Lab is tracking 2,185 bills so far this session, with 579 bills that tighten voter access or election administration and 1,041 bills that expand the rules. The rest are neutral or mixed or unclear in their impact.


Georgia is processing thousands of challenges to voter registrations following the enactment of a new law authorizing such challenges. And Texas’ Harris County was selected as the only one of 254 counties to be audited in consecutive election cycles.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a package of election bills, including legislation that helps facilitate mail voting. A Nevada court declared a proposed voter ID ballot initiative unconstitutional. And North Carolina begins voter registration for residents regaining their right to vote after a felony conviction.

Here are the details:

New Jersey enacts legislation to facilitate mail voting. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a package of election bills, including legislation that facilitates mail voting. A.B. 3822 allows election officials to begin tabulating mail ballots prior to Election Day. A.B. 3817 allows voters to request mail ballots through an online portal. It also allows voters to sign up for the permanent vote-by-mail list, as well as make changes to their voter registration, online. Meanwhile, A.B. 3832 aims to boost poll worker recruitment by exempting poll worker compensation from state income tax and unemployment eligibility. The bill also requires an additional review of death records two months before an election.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

Nevada court declares voter ID ballot initiative unconstitutional. Last Friday, a Nevada state court ruled that a ballot initiative designed to create stricter voter ID requirements violates the state’s constitution. The initiative would have created a strict photo ID requirement for in-person voting and would have restricted the types of IDs voters could use to verify their identity when curing mail ballots. The court ruled that by imposing new costs on the state without providing a mechanism for funding, the initiative would create an unfunded mandate, which is forbidden by the Nevada constitution.

Voter registration begins for North Carolinians on probation and parole. On Wednesday, North Carolina residents who are on probation or parole due to felony convictions regained their right to vote thanks to a March court ruling. This change is expected to impact 56,000 individuals who previously would not have been able to vote until they completed every term of their sentence, including probation or parole. North Carolina is among the 24 states where citizens with past felony convictions can vote while on community supervision.

Georgia processes mass challenges to voter registrations, following passage of new law authorizing such challenges. In Georgia’s six most populous counties, the registrations of over 25,000 voters have been challenged by other registered voters in 2022 alone. These challenges were authorized by last year’s S.B. 202.

Texas selects Harris County for consecutive audits. The Texas Secretary of State’s office announced that the four counties selected for randomized audits following the November 2022 election are Harris, Cameron, Guadalupe and Eastland counties. The randomized audits will be conducted due to the enactment of S.B. 1 in 2021. As one of the four counties audited following the 2020 election, Harris will be the only one of Texas’s 254 counties to be audited in consecutive election cycles.

Read More

Ed Martin’s Plan to Shame Trump's Enemies Threatens the Rule of Law

The Department of Justice logo is displayed.

Getty Images, Andrew Harnik

Ed Martin’s Plan to Shame Trump's Enemies Threatens the Rule of Law

For a long time, scholars, commentators, and officials have debated the efficacy of shame as a form of punishment. Opinion has been divided over the efficacy and appropriateness of using it as a response to a criminal conviction.

But nowhere did anyone ever suggest that shaming someone would be an acceptable reason to prosecute them. Until now.

Keep ReadingShow less
Congress Bill Spotlight: Preventing Presidential Inaugurations on MLK Day, Like Trump’s

Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th President of the United States.

Getty Images, Pool

Congress Bill Spotlight: Preventing Presidential Inaugurations on MLK Day, Like Trump’s

The Fulcrum introduces Congress Bill Spotlight, a weekly report by Jesse Rifkin, focusing on the noteworthy legislation of the thousands introduced in Congress. Rifkin has written about Congress for years, and now he's dissecting the most interesting bills you need to know about, but that often don't get the right news coverage.

President Donald Trump falsely claimed his January 6, 2021 speech preceding the Capitol Building riot “had more people” in attendance than Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Keep ReadingShow less
RCV Momentum, Young Voters, and Faster Runoffs

RCV Momentum, Young Voters, and Faster Runoffs

RCV Momentum, Young Voters, and Faster Runoffs - This Week’s Expand Democracy 5

Welcome to the latest edition of The Expand Democracy 5. From Rob Ritchie, with Eveline Dowling’s help, we explore five ways democracy is evolving—locally, nationally, and globally. Today's stories include:

🌟 Future of RCV is Bright - Energy & trends favor voter choice

Keep ReadingShow less
Just the Facts: Trump Administration Pauses International Student Visas
woman wearing blue denim jacket holding book

Just the Facts: Trump Administration Pauses International Student Visas

The Fulcrum strives to approach news stories with an open mind and skepticism, striving to present our readers with a broad spectrum of viewpoints through diligent research and critical thinking. As best we can, we remove personal bias from our reporting and seek a variety of perspectives in both our news gathering and selection of opinion pieces. However, before our readers can analyze varying viewpoints, they must have the facts.

Has the Trump administration put a hold on issuing student visas for this coming fall?

The Trump administration has paused new student visa interviews as part of an effort to expand social media screening for applicants. The State Department has instructed U.S. embassies and consulates to stop scheduling new student and exchange visitor visa appointments until further guidance is issued. However, previously scheduled interviews will still proceed.

Keep ReadingShow less