Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

The state of voting: Aug. 29, 2022

voting legislation updates

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 2,195 bills so far this session, with 581 bills that tighten voter access or election administration and 1,048 bills that expand the rules. The rest are neutral or mixed or unclear in their impact.

North Carolin continues to be a prime battleground for changes to election laws, with the state’s Republican Party filing a new lawsuit seeking to create grounds for rejecting mail ballots. And a federal appeals court affirmed a decision upholding Mississippi’s permanent disenfranchisement for citizens with past felony convictions.

But the California Assembly passed a bill that would provide protections for election workers while the state Senate passed a bill mandating drop boxes on college campuses.

Looking ahead: Georgia’s secretary of state confirmed that a performance review of the Fulton County Board of Elections will not be completed before the midterm elections. And a new lawsuit in Alaska seeks to ensure valid ballots are not automatically thrown out due to minor errors and omissions on absentee ballot envelopes.

Here are the details:


California is close to enacting election worker protections and drop boxes on college campuses. The Assembly passed a Senate bill that would offer comprehensive confidentiality protections for election workers and officials who face threats. Because the Assembly passed a different version than the Senate originally did, the Senate must agree to the Assembly’s version before the bill can be sent to the governor. The relevant Senate committee recommended the Senate “concur” in the bill, making its enactment likely.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

Meanwhile, the California Senate passed an Assembly bill that would require drop boxes be made available on state college campuses for statewide elections. Similar to the other bill, the Senate’s version is slightly different and the Assembly must concur before the bill can go to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Advocates sue to require Alaska’s adoption of a cure process. The Arctic Village Council, the League of Women Voters of Alaska and others filed a lawsuit in state court claiming that by failing to provide voters with notice and opportunity to cure problems with their absentee ballot envelopes, the state is violating voters' right to due process and unduly burdening their right to vote. Similar litigation has succeeded in federal court in other states, including Indiana, North Carolina and North Dakota. The Alaska lawsuit comes on the heels of a recent special primary election, in which thousands of registered voters, particularly rural and Native voters, were disenfranchised because their absentee ballot envelope missed a signature or was not notarized. A cure process would ensure voters are notified and given an opportunity to correct these issues, so their ballots could be counted. Most states have a statewide cure process; Alaska is one of 19 states that do not.

The North Carolina Republican Party files litigation seeking to create new grounds for rejecting mail ballots. Under current state law, voters are required to sign their mail ballot envelope in front of either a notary or two witnesses. The North Carolina GOP recently filed a lawsuit seeking to allow county boards of election to reject mail ballots that have been properly notarized or witnessed, so long as the county board of elections determines the signature does not match the signature in the voter registration file.

A federal appeals court allows Mississippi to continue to permanently disenfranchise citizens based on past felony convictions. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit affirmed a district court ruling upholding Mississippi’s permanent disenfranchisement of individuals convicted of certain felonies, including forgery, perjury, and obtaining money or goods under false pretense. The policy, which dates back to 1890 and is enshrined in the state’s Constitution, was established as part of an effort to prevent Black citizens from voting after the Civil War. Experts estimate that nearly 16 percent of voting-age Black Misssissipians are disenfranchised by this law.

State takeover of Fulton County Board of Elections will not be completed before midterm elections. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger confirmed that the ongoing performance review of the county’s board of elections, which could result in the installation of a state-appointed interim superintendent to oversee the county’s elections, will not be completed until sometime after November’s elections.

Read More

Trump to the Nation: "We're Just Getting Started"

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 04, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump is speaking about the early achievements of his presidency and his upcoming legislative agenda.

(Photo by Mandel Ngan-Pool/Getty Images)

Trump to the Nation: "We're Just Getting Started"

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump addressed a joint session of Congress, emphasizing that his administration is “just getting started” in the wake of a contentious beginning to his second term. Significant themes, including substantial cuts to the federal workforce, shifts in traditional American alliances, and the impact of an escalating trade war on markets, characterized his address.

In his speech, Trump highlighted his actions over the past six weeks, claiming to have signed nearly 100 executive orders and taken over 400 executive actions to restore “common sense, safety, optimism, and wealth” across the country. He articulated that the electorate entrusted him with the leadership role and stressed that he was fulfilling that mandate.

Keep ReadingShow less
Trump’s Tariffs: a burden on workers, a boon for the wealthy

An illustration of a deconstructed dollar bill.

Getty Images, rob dobi

Trump’s Tariffs: a burden on workers, a boon for the wealthy

Earlier this year, President Trump imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China, claiming they would fix trade imbalances and protect jobs. However, instead of helping American workers, these tariffs act as hidden taxes; they drive up costs and feed inflation. While average Americans bear the brunt of higher prices and lost jobs, the wealthy are insulated from the worst effects.

Many economists assert that tariffs are stealth taxes, that is, the burden is not distributed equally—while corporations may adjust by diversifying suppliers or passing costs along, working households cannot escape higher prices on essential goods like groceries and electronics. Analysts estimate these tariffs could add $1,250 to the annual cost of living for the average American household—a substantial burden for families already struggling with inflation. Additionally, according to the well-regarded Tax Foundation, the tariffs are projected to reduce GDP by 0.5% and result in the loss of approximately 292,000 jobs.

Keep ReadingShow less
Veterans diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases should apply for compensation

An individual applying for a program online.

Getty Images, Inti St Clair

Veterans diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases should apply for compensation

In 1922, the U.S. Navy identified asbestos as the most efficient material for shipbuilding insulation and equipment production due to its heat resistance and durability. The naturally occurring asbestos mineral was also the most abundant and cost-effective material on the market. During the difficult WWII years, asbestos became critical to the U.S. Military, especially for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force: shipping and shipbuilding were essential, and parts of the military aircraft and incendiary bombs also contained asbestos.

Even as demand exceeded supply, in 1942, a presidential order banned the use of asbestos for non-military purposes until 1945. The application of asbestos-based material by the Military continued to increase until the 1970s when its carcinogenic nature came to light, and the use of asbestos started to be regulated but not banned.

Keep ReadingShow less
S.E. Cupp: Where is the Democratic Party’s Ronald Reagan?

President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump arrive for the inauguration ceremony in the U.S. Capitol rotunda in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025.

Getty Images/TCA, Melina Mara/POOL/AFP

S.E. Cupp: Where is the Democratic Party’s Ronald Reagan?

With all the attention deservedly on President Trump and what he intends to do with his defiant return to the White House, there’s a more than good chance we’ll spend the next four years consumed once again by all things Trump.

There’s already been a dizzying amount: a giant raft of executive orders; attacks on a constitutional amendment; his threats to invade sovereign nations; a seeming Nazi salute from one of his biggest surrogates; his sweeping Jan. 6 pardons; his beef with a bishop; his TikTok flip-flop; his billion-dollar meme coin controversy; scathing new allegations against one of his Cabinet picks; unilaterally renaming a body of water; a federal crackdown on DEI; promises of immigration raids across major cities. All this in just the first three days of Trump’s second term.

Keep ReadingShow less