Author: Joseph Greaney
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States enact the most new extreme risk protection order laws since 2020
So far this year, two states, Michigan and Minnesota, have enacted extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs). They became the first states to enact new ERPOs since New Mexico and Virginia did so in 2020. The new laws in Michigan and Minnesota raise the total number of states with ERPOs to 21. ERPOs are also commonly…
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U.S. Election Assistance Commission set to retire current voting system standards, transition to updated certification guidelines
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), an independent and bipartisan commission established by the 2002 Help America Vote Act (HAVA), will retire the standards currently used to test and federally certify voting equipment, known as Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG) versions 1.0 and 1.1, on November 16, 2023. A new version of the VVSG, version…
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Trump leads in 2024 Republican presidential primary polling and PredictIt markets
As of June 8, 2023, former President Donald Trump (R) leads in both RealClearPolitics’ (RCP) Republican presidential primary polling average and PredictIt’s Republican presidential primary market. Trump’s polling average currently stands at 53 percent, followed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) at 22 percent. No other candidate has more than a 10 percent polling average.…
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Texas set to become ninth state to withdraw from ERIC, Arizona’s possible withdrawal vetoed by Gov. Hobbs (D)
Texas lawmakers sent SB1070 to Gov. Greg Abbot (R) on May 29, 2023, positioning the state to become the eighth to withdraw from ERIC this year, and the ninth overall. Elsewhere, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) vetoed SB1135 on May 26, a bill including provisions that would have effectively withdrawn Arizona from ERIC. ERIC is…
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Enactment rate of single-topic versus omnibus-style election bills on par with 2022
The percentage of all enacted election-related bills dealing with single or multiple topics has stayed consistent from 2022 to 2023. As of May 2023, 53.5% of enacted bills address a single topic (61 of 114 bills), compared to 55.6% (158 of 284) of bills enacted by the end of 2022. Enactment of omnibus-style election bills,…
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Enacted ballot collection bills make mostly small changes, several states considering new restriction and penalties
Ten states are considering legislation related to ballot collection, or ballot harvesting, while three states have enacted legislation on the topic so far in 2023. In 2022, seven states enacted bills while 15 others considered legislation. The number of bills and states considering ballot collection measures is smaller in 2023 than last year. Most legislation…
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Utah in the top-three for rate of election policy legislation enactment for second straight year
Utah is among the top three states enacting the highest percentage of their introduced election-related legislation for the second year in a row. It is the only state among the top three in 2022 and 2023. Utah lawmakers enacted 12 of the 29 election-related bills (41.4%) introduced in 2023 and nine of 18 in 2022…
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North Dakota Senate sustains Gov. Burgum’s (R) veto of HB1273
The North Dakota State Senate voted to sustain Gov. Doug Burgum’s (R) veto of HB1273 on April 19, 2023. The bill would have prohibited the use of approval or ranked-choice voting methods in the state. Twenty-eight Senators voted to override the veto while 19 voted to sustain. In the North Dakota Senate, a two-thirds majority…
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North Dakota House passes veto override on ranked-choice voting prohibition
The North Dakota House of Representatives voted on April 10, 2023, to override Gov. Doug Burgum’s (R) veto of HB1273. The bill would ban the use of ranked-choice and approval voting methods in the state. Ranked-choice voting is an electoral system in which voters rank candidates by preference on their ballots. Approval voting allows voters to…
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More ranked-choice voting bans considered in 2023 legislative sessions than previous years
State legislatures are considering a similar number of bills related to ranked-choice voting in 2023 sessions as they did last year, but the number of measures prohibiting or banning RCV has nearly doubled. So far this year, South Dakota and Idaho have enacted such prohibitions, joining Florida and Tennessee who became the first states to…