YAKIMA, Wash. -- Voting-rights groups want Yakima County residents to rank candidates in elections.

How would that benefit the county?

Latino community members and other groups have sued the Board of Yakima County Commissioners under the Washington Voting Rights Act, alleging the current election system disenfranchises the large Latino population.

Colin Cole, policy director for the group More Equitable Democracy said under ranked choice, winning candidates would need to get at least 25% of votes.

He said under the new system, if a voter's preferred candidate failed to reach that threshold, their second choice would move to the top of their list.

"If you can walk into an ice cream shop, you ask for rocky road, and they say they don't have it - if you understand that you don't have to leave the store because you have a second choice - if you get that, you get ranked-choice voting," Cole explained.

Latinos make up about half of the county's population. For its countywide elections of three seats, Latinos have only won a seat once.

The city of Yakima faced a similar issue and drew districts to create better representation. But Cole noted Latinos are widely dispersed throughout the county, making districts less effective.

Aaron Hamlin, executive director for the Center for Election Science, said there are many varieties of ranked-choice voting.

He said the process has to be well-explained and transparent to the public to work effectively, but has potential to create better representation.

"It would definitely give people more of a sense of involvement and empowerment," Hamlin said. "And seeing that through their vote they're actually having a meaningful outcome in terms of making sure that people who represent them are being elected."

Robin Engle, communications and development director for OneAmerica, said the Latino population in Yakima County has been frustrated with the commission, especially in response to COVID-19, which is disproportionately affecting Latinos.

"We heard again and again that the county commission doesn't represent the Latino community, doesn't invest in the Latino community," Engle said. "And that just the way that the democracy is working in Yakima County isn't working."

The Board of Yakima County Commissioners is being sued under the Washington Voting Rights Act but could settle the case.

Commissioners have expressed interest in working with the community to come up with a solution. Two dozen jurisdictions across the country have adopted ranked-choice voting.

Alabama civic-engagement groups are searching for strategies to maintain voter engagement outside of major election years.

As candidates gear up for the runoff election in Alabama's 2nd Congressional District, grassroots organizations such as Faith in Action Alabama are finding ways to amplify residents' voices and address critical issues.

Muaath Al-Khattab, community organizer at the Montgomery hub for Faith in Action Alabama, said they are shifting efforts to fostering civic participation beyond election cycles.

"We wanted to transition from a strictly election-based type of phone banking to a year-round phone banking," Al-Khattab explained. "Where we have voter engagement and voter education throughout the year as opposed to right before elections."

He pointed out the goal is to target diverse demographics including youths, middle-aged adults and seniors. Through targeted outreach and education initiatives, Faith in Action Alabama seeks to bridge gaps in voter knowledge and foster civic participation across the state, especially for local races.

Beyond the ballot box, Al-Khattab noted advocacy is extending to pressing issues such as community safety. He highlighted their push for voting restoration and gun-violence reduction programs.

"We try to educate people on this community involvement," Al-Khattab emphasized. "Whether it be what we call the night walks, which is going through at-risk or high-risk areas of gun violence, and just kind of strengthen the bonds with the communities, and then also pushing for publicly funded community violence intervention programs."

The group is also lobbying for bills to help reduce barriers to voting for people previously incarcerated. Al-Khattab added he sees their initiatives as vital steps toward fostering a fairer and more inclusive electorate. He stressed their work extends across their offices in Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile and Montgomery, with established hubs in areas such as Tuskegee, Phenix City, Greenville and Selma.

A new report examines election official turnover since 2000 and found it's something that has been increasing steadily and might continue to rise.

Rachel Orey, senior associate director of the Elections Project with the Bipartisan Policy Center, is among several researchers who dove into the issue. She said their analysis draws on an original dataset of more than 18,000 local chief election officials across more than 6,000 jurisdictions in all 50 states.

Orey said local election officials around the nation have experienced intense levels of scrutiny and hostility, especially prevalent in certain states such as Arizona.

"We know that counties like Maricopa have been in the limelight, and it makes it challenging when these election officials are receiving a lot of public scrutiny. We had an official in Maricopa County last year come out publicly and say that he was experiencing PTSD," she explained.

According to the report, the Federal Bureau of Investigation received more than 1,000 tips about threats to election workers since June of 2021, 11% of which warranted the FBI opening an investigation. The agency deemed Arizona as one of the states with "an unusual level of threats to election workers."

But Orey said turnover is being seen nationwide. While the report states it "discourages" legislators from making statutory changes in an election year, they can still help ensure officials have adequate resources and funding to do their jobs.

Despite the high turnover rates, Orey said there is no cause for concern when it comes to the integrity of elections, including the likely high-stakes rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Orey said their research shows 65% of local election officials have experience administering a presidential election.

"Where there are new officials, we find that they have an average of eight years of experience in an election office. Typically that looks something like a deputy clerk position where they're supporting that chief election official. "

The report recommends investing in training and mentorship, evaluating training programs as well as calls for developing comprehensive systems for capturing institutional knowledge to not only mitigate the immediate impacts of turnover, but promote a more resilient election official workforce over time.


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It just got easier for Hoosiers to study who is running in the upcoming May primary.

The Indiana Citizen, a nonpartisan news platform, has published its election guide to help make sense of the thousands of candidates whose names will appear on ballots.

Bill Moreau, its publisher, said this is the fourth election in which The Indiana Citizen has participated, but it is its first primary election. He hopes voters will use the online tool to improve the state's civic health.

"Indiana continues to be ranked among the very bottom for voter registration, civic literacy and turnout," Moreau pointed out. "We wanted to do something to contribute toward the civic health but also providing unbiased information to voters."

According to Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales, voter turnout for Indiana in the last comparable election for May 2020 was 65%. The highest turnout in the state was 75% in Hamilton and Wells counties. The lowest turnout was 59% in Delaware and Madison counties.

The Indiana Citizen is working with Franklin College and The Statehouse File and will provide election results in November. The partnership is the result of the Free Press Indiana initiative.

Moreau noted the goal is to display every candidate's name -- from president to state convention delegates -- on any Indiana voter's primary ballot.

"That will permit voters to, just by typing in their address, find out who's on their ballot and click on the name and go to the information about that candidate," Moreau explained.

Early voting is underway through May 6 in Indiana.


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