Latest news with #votingaccess
CBS News
7 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Colorado State Sen. Jessie Danielson enters race for Secretary of State
Vowing to keep Colorado's elections fair, accessible and secure, Democratic State Sen. Jessie Danielson announced she's running to be the state's top election official. A fourth generation Coloradan, Danielson has represented Jefferson County in the legislature since 2015, passing laws to protect equal pay, disability rights, working families and voting access. Before running for office, she was the State Director at America Votes and was instrumental in creating and implementing Colorado's mail ballot election system. She says she will partner with all the state's clerks to protect that system. "There are extremists who very much would like to dismantle our election system and the way that Coloradans vote. I am dedicated to standing up against that kind of thing because we need to protect our democracy, and the accessibility of our polls, and our elections," she said. Danielson says she also plans to make the Secretary of State's Office more transparent and accessible. Jefferson County Clerk Amanda Gonzalez and republicans Cory Parella and Ross Taraborelli are also running for the office.
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NM launches automatic voter registration, two years after bill signed into law
Jul. 17—SANTA FE — For the last 30-plus years, New Mexico residents have had the option to register to vote while getting a new driver's license or updating their vehicle registration. But the state is now automatically registering eligible residents to vote while they're interacting with Motor Vehicle Division field offices statewide, under the latest Democratic-backed plan to expand voting access. As of this week, nearly 17,000 state residents had been registered to vote or had their existing registrations updated since July 1, when the new automatic voter registration system took effect, according to state Taxation and Revenue Department data. "This is a major step forward for voter access and election modernization in New Mexico," said Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, who added the system would make voter registration faster, more accurate and more secure. But not all state policymakers are convinced. Sen. James Townsend, R-Artesia, said he's lost trust in the Secretary of State's office after a dispute last year over mailers that were sent to more than 100,000 potentially eligible but unregistered voters in New Mexico. "I think there's much to be done to protect and sanctify the vote," Townsend said, while expressing concern residents who are not legally eligible to vote could be registered under the new system. The automatic voter registration stems from a 2023 state election bill approved by lawmakers — via a vote that broke down largely along party lines — and signed into law by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. While some parts of the bill took effect quickly, implementation of the automatic voter registration provision was delayed to give state officials and county clerks ample time to prepare, said Lindsey Bachman, the director of legislative and executive affairs for the Secretary of State's Office. She said the Secretary of State's Office worked with MVD officials for more than a year on getting the new system in place. Under the new system, individuals who are not eligible to vote are automatically screened out from the vote registration system, according to the Secretary of State's Office. That could be because they are not yet old enough to vote, are not United States citizens, or are not permanent New Mexico residents. "Just because someone doesn't meet the eligibility requirements for automatic voter registration does not mean they're automatically not a citizen," Bachman told the Journal. Meanwhile, people who do not want to be registered to vote can still opt out, but only by returning a notice they receive in the mail from their local county clerk after the MVD transaction. Eventually, automatic voter registration could also be expanded to other New Mexico state government offices or Native American tribal entities. But those offices would have to meet certain requirements in state law and also enter into a formal agreement with the Secretary of State's office, Bachman said. While specifics vary by state, a total of 23 states currently have some sort of automatic voter registration system in place, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. But only nine states have "back-end" systems like New Mexico's that allow residents to opt out post-transaction after receiving a mailer. Other states with such systems include Oregon, Nevada, Massachusetts and Washington. New Mexico is approaching a key 2026 election cycle that will feature numerous statewide offices on the ballot, including governor, attorney general, land commissioner and secretary of state. All three of the state's U.S. House seats will also be up for election next year, as will the U.S. Senate seat held by Ben Ray Luján, a Democrat. While roughly 69% of the state's registered voters cast a ballot in last year's general election, turnout in some previous state elections has been much lower. In the 2022 primary election, for instance, about 25.5% of registered voters ended up voting. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nevada governor vetoes bill to expand mail drop boxes before Election Day
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Republican Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed a proposal Thursday aimed at expanding ballot dropboxes. The proposal, Assembly Bill 306, would have required Clark County to establish 10 drop boxes be available between the end of early voting and the day before Election Day. The bill included smaller numbers for other counties. The proposal passed the Nevada Senate along party lines and in the Nevada Assembly with one Republican joining Democrats. 'Nevada is already among the easiest states in the nation to cast a vote,' Lombardo wrote in his veto message Thursday. 'AB 306 appears to be well-intentioned but falls short of its stated goals while failing to guarantee appropriate oversight of the proposed ballot boxes or the ballots cast. I believe additional election reforms should be considered as part of a larger effort to improve election security, integrity and allow Nevada to declare winners more quickly.' 'I am disappointed that Governor Lombardo vetoed AB306,' Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager said in a statement. 'AB306 was a bipartisan measure aimed at ensuring that voters, especially working families, seniors, and those with disabilities, have secure and accessible ways to return their mail ballots between the end of early voting and election day, allowing election workers to count votes quicker. However, I remain committed to protecting Nevadans' right to vote in a safe and secure manner and I look forward to working with Governor Lombardo over the waning days of session to find a mutually acceptable compromise.' Speaking with the 8 News Now Investigators after the 2024 general election, Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, a Democrat, said Clark County's tabulation infrastructure and the rush of ballots received on Election Day were to blame for delays. Nevada state law requires all mail-in ballots to be mailed and postmarked by Election Day. There is then a four-day period after Election Day when county clerks can accept the postmarked ballots and process them. If the ballot does not have a postmark, county clerks can process ballots up to three days after Election Day. Measures the Nevada Legislature put in place in 2021, alongside the mail-in voting law, scrubbed voter rolls of non-eligible and deceased voters. Just over half of Nevada's ballots cast in the 2022 general election were mail ballots, according to a thorough study released by the federal government. The state and counties routinely clear their rolls of inactive voters. In recent sessions, Republicans and Lombardo have pushed for election-related changes without success in the Democratic-controlled Legislature. Close margins often decide Nevada elections: In 2022, Nevada Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo won by about 15,000 votes; Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto won by about 8,000 votes. In 2020, former President Joe Biden won by about 33,000 votes. Nevada voters can opt in or out of receiving a mail-in ballot at Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
