Voter Registration
As states hunt for new voters, Massachusetts adds thousands via Medicaid applications
Massachusetts saw a more-than-fivefold jump in voter registration applications through social service agencies in the last election cycle, new federal data shows. The striking increase comes after the state implemented an automatic voter registration system that includes Medicaid applicants. Any eligible voter in the state who applies for Medicaid is automatically added to the rolls, […]
U.S. Supreme Court To Hear Arizona Voter Registration Case
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether states may require a would-be voter to first prove citizenship — a case likely to answer larger questions about the sometimes conflicting roles of state and federal governments in regulating elections. On Monday (October 15) the high court accepted an appeal from the State of Arizona, whose citizenship […]
Wisconsin Voter ID Law Unlikely to Apply in November
Wisconsinites this November won’t likely need to show photo identification at the polls. That’s because the state Supreme Court says it won’t immediately consider whether to reinstate a voter ID law blocked in a lower court. With hopes of enforcing the law for Election Day, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen had asked Wisconsin’s high court […]
Out-Of-State Students May Vote in New Hampshire, Judge Rules
Residents of other states who are in school in New Hampshire will be able to vote there in November, a state judge ruled Monday (September 24), reversing the legislature’s attempt to say otherwise. Strafford County Superior Court Judge John Lewis ordered the state to print up new voter registration forms, striking a paragraph recently added […]
In New Hampshire, a Primary Full of Unfamiliarity
The primary ballot may look unfamiliar to New Hampshire voters on Tuesday (September 11). That’s because the state’s longest serving governor in more than two centuries will not be an option. John Lynch, New Hampshire’s popular moderate Democratic governor, is not seeking reelection this year, creating a window of opportunity for Republicans wishing to take […]
Election Day Mostly Smooth
Six years after being ordered to overhaul their voting systems, states showed they were largely prepared for 2008’s historic election and near-record voter turnout. “I was pretty proud. The story today around the country – unlike in 2000 or in some cases 2004 and 2006 – was not about the election administration, it was about […]
State Laws Pose Hurdles for Student Voters
College students who registered to vote in the state where they attend school have faced sometimes daunting regulations that vary from state to state. And they may confront one more hurdle – showing acceptable identification at the polls. While the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1979 that students can register to vote at their college […]
Registration Drives Go Down to the Wire
As voter registration deadlines edge closer in several states, groups as varied as Rock the Vote, Focus on the Family, MySpace.com and Wal-Mart are stepping up campaigns to encourage more people to go to the polls Nov. 7. While none of the registration drives promotes specific candidates, many of the states targeted by get-out-the-voter […]
Voting Surged in 2004, Census Says
Nationally, voter turnout in the United States increased to 64 percent of all adult citizens in 2004, up from 60 percent in 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau reports. More white and black Americans went to the polls in 2004 than four years earlier when the struggle between Republican George Bush and Democrat Al Gore also […]