AUSTIN, Texas - Record or near-record turnouts are being reported in some of Texas' largest counties for early voting, in advance of the Nov. 6 election.

This is the final week for early voting in Texas, and poll-watchers who are doing their part to ensure the process is fair say voting early is a good idea - especially if you think there might be problems finding your polling place or proving your identity. It means having a little bit of extra time to resolve those questions, most likely at a county election office.

Luis Figueroa, an attorney with the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), one of the groups on "election protection" watch, says they're already hearing some of the usual complaints, such as poll workers closing for lunch breaks.

"We have heard about election officials asking for identification that is not necessarily required under the current law. We have had some concerns about electronic voting machines."

Figueroa says MALDEF has a toll-free number for reporting voting-related concerns: 877-224-5476.

With all the controversy about voter ID laws in Texas, Figueroa says it's important to remember that photo identification is not required - although it can come in handy if you have it. Poll workers are confirming three things: your identity, that they give you the correct ballot for your precinct in early voting, and that you're voting in the right place on Election Day. Figueroa says redistricting has meant many polling sites have changed.

"They do use the identification to match you up to their statewide voter database list and to the list of names that they have, and make sure that you're at the right place, and that you're not on what's called a 'suspense list.' "

The “suspense list” includes names of voters for whom their county needs to update information, or those who are registered but haven't voted for a long time. Figueroa says voters should bring the Voter Registration Certificate to the polling site with them.

If you haven't received your certificate or you're unsure of the status of your registration, he says, now is the time to contact the county election office.

Volunteers are working at a frantic pace to remind Texas' almost 13 million registered voters to take the all-important step and use their right. At the Southwest Voter Education Project, vice president Lydia Camarillo says the process should intimidate no one.

"We like to look at the glass half-full, not half-empty. We've registered voters; we stopped the voter ID law from taking place. So now, right now, I'm just hoping that as we contact the voters, we share with them - especially those that are new voters - it really is a process that, once you understand it, is not that difficult."

Camarillo sees every vote as, in her words, "a weapon to fight for what's just."


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South Dakota's June 4 primary will be the first national election here since ballot dropboxes were banned in 2023.

It is one of 12 states to ban using dropboxes to cast votes, although no state election offices using the boxes in 2020 found a connection to voter fraud or stolen ballots, according to an Associated Press survey. The change is more likely to impact rural and tribal voters, who already face barriers to voting.

Sen. Shawn Bordeaux, D-Mission, a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, said although Native voter turnout for tribal elections is good, turnout for statewide elections is lower. He said dropboxes helped.

"It was something that a lot of people utilized on our reservation communities, where you might have to travel 70 miles to go vote," Bordeaux explained.

A 2022 federal report on Native American voting rights encourages local officials to provide sites for voter registration, polling and mail ballot collection in places convenient for Native voters.

Early voting is still possible with a mail-in absentee ballot. But Bordeaux pointed out it can be complicated on reservations, where most homes do not have street addresses. The state's voter registration form allows applicants to describe or draw a map of where they live, but they cannot use post office box numbers.

"I can't get UPS or the typical person to find my house on a map," Bordeaux noted. "It makes it even more difficult for me to figure out how to get our tribal membership so that they can vote, you know, without the P.O. box number."

Plus, South Dakota does not accept tribal ID cards for voter registration. Bordeaux sponsored a bill to change the rule in the last legislative session, but he said it was pulled from the House floor by a different sponsor who predicted it wouldn't pass. The deadline for voter registration is May 20.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Alabama has long been at the forefront of voting rights issues in the United States and despite some progress, advocates said residents continue to face barriers at the ballot box.

In a recent discussion held in Montgomery, the Center for American Progress brought together voting rights experts to shed light on the ongoing struggle against voter suppression in the state.

Kathy Jones, president of the League of Women Voters-Alabama, was on the panel and highlighted ongoing efforts hindering equitable access.

"Just this past year, we've had Wes Allen, and his office has eliminated the phone app for voter registration and being able to check your polling places," Jones pointed out. "Which is a real hardship for people who rely on their phones to be able to do the business that they need to do if they need to register to vote."

The latest way Jones noted ballot access is being blocked is the recent passage of a law criminalizing assistance with absentee ballot applications. Supporters said they believe the measure will prevent ballot harvesting.

She added other ways of restricting access to the ballot box include regulating early voting, voting by mail, voter registration and voter-list maintenance. Other laws bar thousands of persons who have served felony convictions from regaining the right to vote.

JaTaune Bosby Gilchrist, executive director of the ACLU of Alabama, said in response to the challenges, federal laws being proposed would bolster voting rights across the country. One of them is the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

"The John Lewis Voting Rights Act would essentially allow us a level of equitability across the board from, as well as the Freedom to Vote Act, making voting a holiday, ensuring early voting," Bosby Gilchrist emphasized. "Alabama is one of three states without early voting, including Mississippi and New Hampshire."

The Freedom to Vote Act would help expand voter registration, limit removing voter from voter rolls and even outlines criteria to prevent gerrymandering. Advocates also see engaging young voters and increasing overall voter turnout as ways to combat measures hindering access.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Pennsylvania is among the states where massive protests and tent encampments opposing the war in Gaza are growing.

Elez Beresin-Scher, a sociology student at Bryn Mawr College, is at the Free Gaza encampment on campus. She explained there are about 44 tents full of students who have been sleeping there since Saturday night.

She spoke to Sonali Kolhatkar on the TV and radio show Yes! Presents: Rising Up with Sonali.

"We are here because our college has $5 million of its endowment invested in Israeli technology," Beresin-Scher pointed out. "We know that this money is complicit in the genocide of Palestinians; over 30,000 Palestinians have been murdered by the State of Israel."

Beresin-Scher added they are calling on the college and the university president's office to divest Israeli holdings and endorse a cease-fire resolution passed by 89% of the student body about a month ago. She added they will be at the encampment indefinitely until their two demands are met.

Pro-Israel groups argued the war is justified given the massacre perpetrated by Hamas, which kicked off the most recent violence. Beresin-Scher noted they are taking a significant risk but they believe genocide is occurring in Palestine and they want to see it end.

"We're recognizing that Palestinian students have been murdered, or are not able to continue their education because every university in Gaza has been bombed, has been destroyed," Beresin-Scher emphasized. "That's the perspective that we're coming from."

Beresin-Scher has been a member of Jewish Voice for Peace since her freshman year, and said it is upsetting to hear the encampments are being portrayed as anti-Semitic. She noted it is something she has never encountered as someone who has organized with Students for Justice in Palestine.

This story was produced based on original reporting by Sonali Kolhatkar for Yes! Media.