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July 29, 2020

Less Than 100 Days to Go

WhoWhatWhy’s Election Integrity Weekly is written by Gabriella Novello, and edited by William Dowell and Sue Rushford. Have a tip or want to suggest a story? Send us an email at ei@whowhatwhy.org.   Less than 100 Days to Go: We’re rounding the final corner of the 2020 election cycle, so have you made a plan to vote? Are you unsure of whether to cast an early vote, vote-by-mail, or go the traditional route of casting a ballot on Election Day?   Whatever your decision, it is crucial that you act as soon as possible. Most states have deadlines to vote...

Election Integrity Newsletter

July 21, 2020

Honoring a Civil Rights Icon

WhoWhatWhy’s Election Integrity Weekly is written by Gabriella Novello, and edited by William Dowell and Chris Carley. Have a tip or want to suggest a story? Send us an email at ei@whowhatwhy.org. Honoring a Civil Rights Icon: We lost a giant on Friday. Rep. John Lewis, known as the “Conscience of the Congress,” spent his entire life fighting to protect democracy. Lewis played a pivotal role in the creation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and spent his final months advocating for the Senate to pass H.R. 4, the Voting Rights Advancement Act. Voting rights should not be a partisan issue, but there is...

Election Integrity Newsletter

July 13, 2020

What Would Donald Do?

WhoWhatWhy’s Election Integrity Weekly is written by Gabriella Novello, and edited by William Dowell and Chris Carley. Have a tip or want to suggest a story? Send us an email at ei@whowhatwhy.org.   What Would Donald Do? We’ve heard PresidentTrump say it before, even if only jokingly.  "Under the normal rules, I'll be out in 2024. So, we may have to go for an extra term."   President Trump’s rhetoric about the 2020 election is becoming increasingly erratic, especially as his poll numbers continue to take a hit due to his failure to manage the spread of COVID-19. He is not interested in being a...

Election Integrity Newsletter

July 6, 2020

Preventing a Catastrophe

The presidential primaries are nearly over — Delaware, New Jersey, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, and Connecticut’s elections will take place over the next two weeks — and it would be nice to say in the end that all of the issues we saw have been corrected in time for November. Unfortunately, and not surprisingly, that is not the case. It’s simply unrealistic to expect that everyone will cast a mail-in ballot. There have been several attempts to curb absentee voting and to require that photo ID requirements stay in place — despite the fact that offices that issue such IDs have...

Election Integrity Newsletter

June 29, 2020

Remembering Shelby v. Holder

Seven years ago last week, the Supreme Court struck down Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act — known as the preclearance requirement. This section had required states with a history of discriminatory practices to have any changes to voting laws cleared by the Justice Department.   Since then, at least 25 states have passed laws or changed election rules in ways that have made voting more difficult for communities of color and young people. In many southern states, at least 1,000 polling places have been closed. (read more)   FEC Closes Its Doors (Again): Few campaign finance reform advocates were fond of...

Election Integrity Newsletter

June 22, 2020

2020 Election Update

2020 Election Update: Six states and Puerto Rico will hold their primary elections over the next couple of weeks. Here’s the rundown: Tomorrow, voters in Kentucky and New York are holding presidential primaries after postponement due to the coronavirus. Delaware, New Jersey, Louisiana, and Puerto Rico will hold theirs throughout July. Connecticut will be the final state to hold its primary, just days before the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. If you live in one of these states, and were unable to request an absentee ballot or never received your ballot in the mail, you can still vote in person. Find your...

Election Integrity Newsletter

June 15, 2020

“We are following election and industry standards”

“We are following election and industry standards”: This was the response by Georgia GOP Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s spokesperson after election integrity advocates claimed officials failed to ensure that all absentee ballots were fairly counted in last week’s primary elections.   Raffensperger’s office is once again embroiled in controversy over his state’s new voting system. This time, election security advocates are alleging that mail-ballot tabulator scanners were discarding votes marked with X’s or check marks.   At least five counties are reporting this issue, but no formal investigation has been announced. Gabriel Sterling, a spokesperson for Raffensperger’s office, got...

Election Integrity Newsletter

June 8, 2020

DC Statehood Battle Reignited by the Federal Response to Protests

DC Statehood Battle Reignited by the Federal Response to Protests: George Floyd's murder and its aftermath re-energized efforts to achieve DC statehood, in part because of the Trump administration's activation of federal law enforcement operations against peaceful demonstrators.   Washington, DC, is unique because its mayor lacks the authority to do many things that governors can — like keeping federal law enforcement and other states’ National Guards out of their states.    House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) has renewed his promise to bring a DC statehood bill up for a vote before the year ends. The effort was already...

Election Integrity Newsletter

June 1, 2020

Understanding Where We Are Now

Understanding Where We Are Now: The entire country is on edge. We are in the middle of a pandemic. Demonstrators are risking their lives to protest the death of George Floyd. And, the president of the United States is still offering wild conspiracy theories about widespread voter fraud despite voting by mail himself.   How will all of this impact the 2020 election?   We saw what happened during the Wisconsin primary, where state health officials attributed dozens of coronavirus cases to in-person voting. Will election officials learn from that disaster and prevent another nightmare scenario from happening in their...

Election Integrity Newsletter

May 25, 2020

The FEC is Back in Business

Happy Memorial Day! We’ll be brief so you can enjoy the rest of your holiday. The FEC is Back in Business: At least, it should be in the coming weeks. Texas Republican Trey Trainor was confirmed as commissioner last week, albeit along party lines. It’s a major development nevertheless, because the Federal Election Commission has been effectively shut down since it lost its quorum of four commissioners in September. The agency will finally be able to take on the backlog of over 300 pending cases. (read more) The Battle to Protect the 2020 Election: One would think that the concept of carrying out the November election without...

Election Integrity Newsletter