Massachusetts early voting begins Oct. 22, and voting-rights advocates say it is important to have a plan for when, where and how you will cast your ballot.
The VOTES Act, signed earlier this year by Governor Charlie Baker, made several permanent changes to election laws in the Commonwealth, including expanding use of mail-in ballots and early voting options. The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 29, and you can do it online at RegisterToVoteMA.com, where you can also check the status of your voter registration.
Julia Kupferman, communications and civic engagement coordinator for Massachusetts Voter Table, said you can register and vote early on the same day.
"If you go to your town hall on an early voting day in that week," Kupferman said. "And if you have not registered to vote yet, you should be able to register to vote there and fill out a provisional ballot, so that you are in the system and your vote is counted."
Requests for mail-in ballots must be received by Nov. 1, but Kupferman suggested getting it done sooner at MailMyBallotMA.com. Mail-in ballots should begin arriving in mailboxes this week.
If you prefer to vote in person on Election Day, you can bring any information you may need into the voting booth; notes on candidates, or a voter guide on this year's ballot questions.
Kupferman said you can also bring someone to help you vote should you need assistance, and be provided with election materials in a language other than English.
"For example, if you live in Boston and you speak Spanish primarily, you should be able to completely vote in Spanish, and get assistance from a poll worker or an interpreter in Spanish," Kupferman said.
If you make a mistake when voting, you can request up to two replacement ballots. All polling places must also be accessible to voters with disabilities, including an accessible voting booth.
Young voters are expressing great interest in the midterm election - but students, anyone new to the state or who has moved since the last election need to re-register to vote using their new address. If it sounds like a hassle, Kupferman reminded people how Boston City Council at-large candidate Julia Mejia won her seat in 2019 by just one vote.
"Even if the margin is slightly bigger," Kupferman said. "It definitely makes a difference when we go vote, and when we turn out our friends and family to come with us."
She added there is still time to volunteer on Election Day. Each city and town has a different process for becoming a poll worker, and the clerk of your city will have the information.
Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.
get more stories like this via email
Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has emerged from a long court case with another win.
After nine years and multiple delays, prosecutors are going to drop securities fraud charges against the embattled official. As part of the deal, Paxton must perform 100 hours of community service, pay almost $300,000 in restitution and take advanced legal education courses.
Dan Cogdell, attorney for Ken Paxton, said they welcomed the deal.
"It is not a plea bargain, he didn't plead," Cogdell emphasized. "There is no admission of guilt, there will never be an admission of guilt, because he's not guilty."
In 2015, Paxton was accused of persuading investors to buy stock in a tech startup, without disclosing he would be compensated for the deal. He was also accused of steering clients to a friend's investment advising business without registering with the Texas State Securities Board.
The deal is the second recent legal ruling in Paxton's favor. Six months ago, he was acquitted on 16 corruption charges in an impeachment trial in the Texas Senate but he has not been cleared of all accusations against him. Paxton is being sued by four of his former deputies, who say they were fired after making reports to the FBI he was using his office to help a supporter.
Cal Jillson, professor of political science at Southern Methodist University, said the federal investigation will be handled differently.
"They're taking their time turning over all the rocks," Jillson observed. "If they think there has been illegal behavior on the part of the attorney general, that will be a much different process than the political process that we saw in the Texas Senate."
Despite his legal troubles, Paxton has remained a popular politician. He's been reelected two times since he was indicted. Prosecutors in the case said if Paxton does not comply with the terms of the deal, he could still be tried on the original fraud charges.
get more stories like this via email
The New Hampshire House passed a bill to eliminate any exceptions to the state's voter ID law and requires documented proof of citizenship in order to register.
The bill would eliminate "affidavit voting" for those without ID and give any registered voter the right to challenge a person's voter registration on Election Day.
Rep. Heath Howard, D-Strafford, said challenges would require the lowest burden of legal proof and could prevent eligible voters from casting a ballot.
"It doesn't seem logical to me or fair that somebody could walk into a polling place, sign an affidavit, and take away somebody else's right to vote," Howard stressed.
Howard explained people would have to visit a state superior court to reclaim their eligibility, an often lengthy and costly process. Supporters said the bill simply aims to solidify existing ID law and prevent voter fraud.
Voting-rights advocates said more than 2,000 Granite Staters without identification used affidavits to vote in the 2022 midterm election and strict voter ID laws disproportionately impact Black, Native, elderly and student voters.
Howard noted not everyone has their birth certificate, and passports or naturalization papers can take months to receive. He emphasized several state investigations of voter fraud in 2020 yielded zero criminal proceedings.
"I think that we've experienced enough of this nonsense when it comes to accusations of voter fraud," Howard asserted. "This is just further perpetuation of that's not necessarily grounded in facts."
Howard added the latest attempt to tighten ID requirements could also be in violation of the Help America Vote Act and National Voter Registration Act. A similar law in Kansas was struck down in 2020 by a federal appeals court as unconstitutional.
Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.
get more stories like this via email
More than 86,000 Wyoming voters have been purged from voter rolls, thanks to a state law requiring county clerks to remove people who did not vote in the most recent election, according to a new analysis by AARP Wyoming.
Wyoming is one of 20 states to purge inactive voters, a policy affecting more than one in three Americans.
Tom Lacock, associate state director for AARP Wyoming, said it is important for people who sat out the midterm elections to make sure their registration is up-to-date.
"For folks who have not voted during the 2022 election, it's really the right time now to get to their county clerk's office and register for the 2024 presidential election," Lacock emphasized.
The high number of purged Wyoming voters is largely attributed to higher than normal turnout in the 2020 presidential election followed by near record low turnout in the 2022 general election. Lacock noted county clerks typically send postcards to those being purged, encouraging voters to contact their clerk to remain registered.
Secretary of State Chuck Gray has also proposed changes to the state's voting rules, which could make it much harder for people who do not have a valid driver's license to vote, such as nursing home residents or older voters who have stopped driving. Lacock noted the window for early voting is also closing.
"The other big change this year is we're going to see the number of days that voters can participate in early voting dropped from 45 days to just 28 days," Lacock pointed out.
A new state law also changes how Wyoming voters can vote in primary elections. Lacock explained people must now pick which party's primary they want to vote in no later than May 15.
He encouraged all eligible voters to make sure they can participate in the upcoming November election, which will determine the makeup of half the U.S. Senate, the entire House of Representatives...
"... and the presidential election, all hitting in the same year," Lacock stressed. "This is really an opportunity to make sure that candidates understand what is important to you, and to stand up and be counted."
Disclosure: AARP Wyoming contributes to our fund for reporting on Civic Engagement, Consumer Issues, Health Issues, and Senior Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
click here.
get more stories like this via email