Latest news with #ElectronicRegistrationInformationCenter
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Governor vetoes GOP bill to close schools on Election Day, convert gyms to polling places
Image via Getty Images A Republican proposal that would have closed Arizona schools on Election Day and forced them to allow their gymnasiums to be used as polling places was vetoed Tuesday for being 'nonsensical and objectionable.' It was one of a series of election-related bills that GOP lawmakers sent to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs that were rejected. One of those bills would have effectively created a bounty system to reward Arizonans who sued local governments that present election information 'in any manner that is not imperial or neutral,' while another would have required the Arizona Department of Transportation to also send voter registration information directly to county recorders instead of solely to the Secretary of State's Office. A third would have barred Arizona from participating in the Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, a multistate partnership to cross-check for duplicate voter registrations across state lines. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Hobbs was pointedly critical of Senate Bill 1097, the measure that would have turned public schools into polling places. The legislation would have shut down every Arizona school on every primary and general Election Day. But while students would be home, it would be illegal for teachers and staff to have the day off — they would have been mandated to report to in-service or professional development training. And for schools with a gymnasium, if the county elections department asked to use the facility as a polling location, it would have to comply. Similarly, county elections officials could have forced state, county, city and school district offices to open up their doors to be polling places. That was in service of another provision tucked into the bill: A requirement that every county return to precinct-style voting with 'specifically designated polling places.' Counties could still operate vote centers, where anyone registered in the county could show up to cast a ballot, but could only do so in addition to the precinct voting sites. Arizona's two largest counties, Maricopa and Pima, exclusively use the voting centers, as do six other counties. Another four use a hybrid system with both vote centers and precincts. Only three counties use precincts exclusively. Under the precinct model, only voters assigned to a precinct can vote there, and if they vote at the wrong location, their ballot won't be counted. 'This bill is Detrimental, Ineffective, Nonsensical, and Objectionable,' Hobbs wrote in her veto letter. Other vetoed election bills include Senate Bill 1036, which would have expanded the existing prohibition on using government resources to influence an election to include presenting information about the election 'that is not impartial or neutral.' It also aimed to give every Arizona resident the chance to sue the governmental body — and directly collect the civil penalty of up to $5,000 if a court agreed an election was illegally influenced. Hobbs called the bill 'far too broad and subjective' in her veto letter and said it 'opens the door to infringe on First Amendment rights and general public discourse.' And the two voter registration bills — House Bill 2767, directing ADOT to send voter information to counties, and House Bill 2206, barring participation in ERIC — both place 'significant' costs on county recorders, the governor wrote in her veto letters. In two other vetoes, Hobbs took aim at GOP lawmakers for what she said was clear hypocrisy. One measure, House Bill 2927, would have required public bodies — city councils, school boards and more — to post meeting minutes online within three days and leave them on their website 'indefinitely.' It also would have ordered that public records be provided 'in the least expensive manner possible,' with electronic records being the default, and it would have limited any charge for the records to the cost of the materials. But Hobbs said it was bold for lawmakers to insist that the rest of Arizona government retain records indefinitely considering they exempted the legislature from public records law in 2023. 'As the legislative body changed rules to allow their own public records to be discarded after just 90 days, it is unclear as to why this bill attempts to hold others to a more lengthy and costly standard,' the governor wrote. And Hobbs sharply criticized GOP lawmakers for their push to remove qualification requirements for their own appointments to a litany of state boards and commissions. The governor and Senate Republicans have been fighting for two years over Hobbs' nominees to lead state agencies, with legislators accusing her picks of being overly partisan and unqualified as they subject the agency heads to intense grillings, often focusing on political beliefs and comments they've made in the past that are unrelated to the agency they were chosen to lead. 'It is the height of hypocrisy for this Legislative majority to attempt to exempt themselves from the standards to which they hold others,' Hobbs wrote in her veto letter. In all, Hobbs vetoed 13 bills on Tuesday, bringing her total for the year to 137 — just six shy of the record 143 she vetoed in 2023, her first year as governor. Since taking office, Hobbs has vetoed 353 bills, the most of any governor in Arizona history. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Georgia Senate passes bill that will change state's election laws. What to know about HB 397
Georgia Senate amended multiple laws to House Bill 397 that would allow for significant changes to the state's election laws. The bill was amended Wednesday with a 33-23 vote, largely along party lines. Here is what we know about the bill. House Bill 397, sponsored by Republican Rep. Tim Fleming, proposes increasing paper ballot options, expanding the State Election Board's power, and removing Georgia from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). The bill removes the State Election Board from the oversight of the Secretary of State, granting the board control over investigative reports and communications. This bill also prohibits dropping off absentee ballots after the advance voting period. Republicans argue that these changes protect election integrity, citing last year's high voter turnout. "This protects the integrity of our elections," said Republican Sen. Max Burns. Democrats contend that the bill suppresses voter turnout and creates unnecessary barriers to voting. One Democrat, Sen. Jason Esteves, called the bill a "Frankenstein whack-a-mole," highlighting its numerous provisions affecting various aspects of the election process. Now, the bill is sent back to the House for final passage. Vanessa Countryman is the Trending Topics Reporter for the Deep South Connect Team Georgia. Email her at Vcountryman@ This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Georgia elections could drastically change thanks to HB 397
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Does Trump's executive order on voting affect elections in Rhode Island? What we know.
President Donald Trump's latest executive order could require Rhode Island to change the way it administers elections – most notably, by requiring people to prove they're citizens when they register to vote. Secretary of State Gregg Amore said on Wednesday that his office is currently reviewing the executive order, and noted that it will ultimately be up to the courts to determine if it stands up to legal challenges. Currently, Rhode Islanders who register to vote are required to attest that they are citizens, under penalty of perjury. But the order would require them to also provide documentary proof, like a passport. In a statement, Amore expressed his opposition to that policy, saying that it "effectively creates a poll tax for voters." States have broad latitude to set their own rules for administering elections, so the policy is sure to be challenged in court. Amore also said that some of the mandates laid out in the executive order are already part of Rhode Island's standard procedure for administering elections. Among them: The executive order requires local officials to use voting systems that "provide a voter-verifiable paper record to prevent fraud or mistake." Rhode Island already uses paper ballots, and "even votes marked via touch-screen accessible ExpressVote devices generate a paper record." The executive order requires states to share voter lists with federal agencies so that they can identify potential election fraud and ineligible voters. Rhode Island already participates in the Electronic Registration Information Center, which serves that purpose. All ballots in Rhode Island also already must be cast by 8 p.m. on Election Day, with the only exception being ballots for military and overseas voters. Additionally, Amore said, Rhode Island "already undergoes regular voter list maintenance efforts" and removed 60,619 inactive voters from the rolls in 2020. He noted that his office has asked the General Assembly for funding "to support an additional voter list maintenance mailing effort." "President Trump has a long history of undermining voters' confidence in our election systems and spreading misinformation about how elections work," Amore said. "Despite these efforts, which are at the heart of this executive order, I remain confident that our elections, managed by professional administrators, are safe, secure, and trustworthy." This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Trump's voting executive order could impact Rhode Island elections
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Michigan plans to remove 318,000 inactive voters. Why officials say that's a good thing
Michigan is set to remove more than 318,000 inactive voter registrations next month from its voter rolls, the Michigan Secretary of State office, announced Tuesday. 'This is a milestone for Michigan's secure and accessible election system,' Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said. 'State and local election officials are constantly working to maintain our voter rolls transparently, accurately, and in accordance with state and federal law." There is no evidence than inactive voter registrations have been used to fraudulently cast ballots in Michigan elections, Benson's office said in the news release. Michigan has approximately 7.3 million active registered voters and a voting age population of about 7.9 million people. Registration numbers also include inactive voters, which raises the total registrations. Some people — including billionaire Elon Musk — suggested the total showed more people were voting in 2024 than actually live in the state, and therefore were cheating. 'Jocelyn Michelle Benson, shame on you for blatantly lying to the public!' Musk, who owns X, wrote in an X post directed at Michigan's secretary of state. 'You only plan to remove ineligible voters AFTER this election. That necessarily means that there are far more people registered to vote than there eligible voters.' Benson responded on X, stating: 'Let's be clear: @elonmusk is spreading dangerous disinformation. Here are the facts: There aren't more voters than citizens in Michigan. There are 7.2 million active registered voters and 7.9 citizens of voting age in our state. Musk is pushing a misleading number that includes 1.2 million inactive records slated for removal in accordance with the law.' In addition to the 318,000 that will be removed in April, there are approximately 577,000 inactive registrations slated for cancellation at later dates. There are about 600,000 inactive voter registrations belonging to voters who have not cast a ballot in the last six years and who may have died or moved. Michigan ranked fifth in the nation in 2022 for removing registrations of voters who died, according to data from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Clerks receive information daily from the Social Security Death Index and can use other information, like obituaries or death notifications from the voter's family, to remove them from the voter file. State and federal law requires inactive registrations to stay in the qualified voter file unless election officials receive reliable information that the voter is no longer eligible to vote. Michigan participates in the Electronic Registration Information Center, a non-partisan national tool that compares voters files and will alert officials if a voter has recently registered in another state. Federal law requires that voters who are inactive remain on the voter rolls for two federal election cycles (four years) unless they confirm that they have moved. Officials can cancel registrations if voters don't respond to their clerk or vote in that period. The Bureau of Elections sent election mail to every registered voter in 2020, and every mailing returned by the post office as undeliverable triggered the two-federal cycle waiting period for that voter, the release said. Inactive voters also received notice prior to the 2022 election that their registration could be eligible for cancellation. Michigan has removed more than 1.1 million out-of-date registrations from the rolls since Benson took office, the release said. Voters who are slated for cancellation in April have a last opportunity to keep their registration active. Michiganders who want to keep their registration active can email ElectionData@ to request a copy of the cancellation list. They have until March 28 to review and update their registration prior to cancellation. Additionally voters can check their registration status online at or by contacting their local clerk. Jalen Williams is a trending reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan to remove inactive voter registrations. What to know
CBS News
04-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Michigan prepares to purge inactive voters from registration lists
More than 318,000 names of inactive voters are scheduled to be removed from Michigan's voter rolls in April. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson made that announcement in a press release Tuesday, citing a "careful and active voter list maintenance process" that has purged more than 1.1 million out-of-state registrations during the past six years. Michigan has about 7.3 million active registered voters; and a total voting age population of about 7.9 million residents. The state's Qualified Voter File database has about 577,000 inactive registrations that are scheduled to be canceled; along with an additional 600,000 voter registrations belonging to people who have not cast a ballot in the last six years and therefore may have died or moved out of the area. State and federal law requires the inactive registrations to remain in the QVF list until reliable information has been received such as election mail being returned as undeliverable. Michigan also participates in the Electronic Registration Information Center, a national network where member states notify each other if a voter has recently registered in their state. Federal law then requires that the voter receives notice and remain on the voter rolls for two federal election cycles – which is up to four years because congressional elections take place every two years. If no response is received or attempt to vote is made, officials can then cancel the voter's registration. The notices help catch people who might still be interested in voting even if they had not done so in recent years. One of the steps the SOS staff took that contributed to the pending list was following up on election mail sent to every registered voter during 2020. The mailings that were returned by the post office as undeliverable triggered the waiting period of two federal election cycles. Those inactive voters also received notice prior to the 2022 general election. In the meantime, the state clerks receive information daily from the Social Security Death Index, and use other information such as obituaries or death notifications from the voter's family, to remove individuals who have died from the active voter rolls. Voters who think their registration is slated for cancellation in April can email ElectionData@ to request a copy of the cancellation list. Listed voters have until March 28 to review and update their registration prior to cancellation. or by contacting their local clerk. Michigan voters whose registrations are cancelled can re-register at any time, including up to and on Election Day.
