voting stories

A poll worker handles ballots for the midterm election, in the presence of observers from both Democrat and Republican parties, at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Elections Center in Phoenix on Oct. 25.

False information is everywhere. 'Pre-bunking' tries to head it off early

4:54pm October 29, 2022

by Shannon Bond

The idea is to show people the tactics and tropes of misleading information before they encounter it in the wild — so they're better equipped to recognize and resist it.

Line chart showing the share of people voting early, by mail or on Election Day. In 2020, more people voted by mail and early in person than ever before.

Politics & Government

2020 changed how America votes. The question now is whether those changes stick

5:00am October 28, 2022

by Miles Parks

The pandemic led to a historic rise in early voting, as 70% of the electorate cast ballots before Election Day in 2020. In 2022, it looks like more of the same.

The warehouse at the Maricopa County Elections Department is seen on Sept. 8. The Maricopa sheriff says he's stepped up security around ballot drop boxes after a series of incidents involving people keeping watch on the boxes.

Politics & Government

Monitors at Arizona ballot drop boxes draw complaints of voter intimidation

5:00am October 26, 2022

by Ben Giles

Arizona's secretary of state has referred at least six potential voter intimidation complaints near ballot drop boxes to law enforcement.

A hexagonal map of the U.S. shows the variation in state laws restoring the right to vote for people with felony convictions.

Politics & Government

In the U.S., some 4.6 million people are disenfranchised due to a felony conviction

7:00am October 25, 2022

by Ashley Lopez

An estimated 2% of the U.S. voting age population is ineligible to cast a ballot due to a felony conviction. State-level felon disenfranchisement rates vary dramatically.

A Dominion Voting Systems ballot scanner is seen in this 2021 file photo. Election deniers have spread conspiracies about the Denver-based company's voting machines.

Politics & Government

Clerks battle false claims as they prepare to administer elections

5:02am October 25, 2022

by Bente Birkeland

Even though it wasn't a swing state in 2020, Colorado has been at the forefront of false claims that the election was stolen.

Conspiracy theories about Brazil's electronic voting machines, shown here, have spread online. Far-right influencers in the U.S. have seized on Brazil's election as a way of keeping conspiratorial narratives alive ahead of the U.S. midterms in early November.

Politics & Government

Why false claims about Brazil's election are spreading in far-right U.S. circles

9:24pm October 22, 2022

by Shannon Bond

American election deniers are recycling lies about voting machines to claim Brazil's presidential election is being rigged and to cast doubt on the U.S. midterms.

Voters fill out their ballots at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds in Bozeman, Mont., on Nov. 3, 2020.

Politics & Government

Late changes to election laws mean Montana voters were sent inaccurate information

5:09am October 20, 2022

by Shaylee Ragar

A pamphlet sent to voters includes information based on laws passed last year by Republicans. But a district court judge struck down the laws late last month.

Republican state officials in Louisiana are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on which voters should be categorized as Black when testing whether a map of election districts dilutes the political power of Black voters.

Politics & Government

Who counts as Black in voting maps? Some GOP state officials want that narrowed

5:04am October 18, 2022

by Hansi Lo Wang

Republican officials in Louisiana are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to set a narrower definition of "Black" for redistricting that excludes some Black people and could minimize their voting power.

Matthew DePerno, the Republican nominee for Michigan attorney general, speaks during a Trump rally on Oct. 1 in Warren, Mich. DePerno is being investigated for his involvement in an alleged scheme to tamper with voting machines.

Politics & Government

The Republican nominee for Michigan attorney general is under investigation himself

5:00am October 18, 2022

by Colin Jackson, Michigan Public Radio Network

Matthew DePerno, the Trump-backed nominee for state attorney general, is being investigated for an alleged plot to seize and tamper with voting machines.

A poll worker sanitizes ballot marking machines at an early voting location in Inglewood, Calif., on Oct. 29, 2020. The Los Angeles County district attorney alleges that the CEO of Konnech, which makes scheduling software for poll workers, improperly gave Chinese contractors access to sensitive employee data.

Election software CEO is charged with allegedly giving Chinese contractors data access

7:36pm October 14, 2022

The Los Angeles County district attorney alleges that the CEO of Konnech, which makes scheduling software for poll workers, improperly gave Chinese contractors access to sensitive employee data.