Elections
Beshear’s inauguration is next week. Here’s the schedule.
Last month, voters gave Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman a second term. Next week, they’ll be inaugurated again at the State Capitol in Frankfort. The 62nd inauguration on Tuesday, Dec. 12, will feature Kentuckians to celebrate a theme of “Forward, Together.” The festivities include an inaugural ball, a parade, performances and […]
States that send a mail ballot to every voter really do increase turnout, scholars find
Lately, a rough consensus has emerged among people who study the impact of voting policies: Though they often spark fierce partisan fighting, most changes to voting laws do little to affect overall turnout, much less election results. But one fast-growing reform appears to stand out as an exception. When every registered voter gets sent a […]
Kentucky Supreme Court must weigh constitutionality of partisan gerrymanders
FRANKFORT — The Kentucky Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday about whether Republican-drawn U.S. and Kentucky House districts are gerrymandered and if that matters under the state constitution. Kentucky Democrats filed the lawsuit after the Republican supermajority in the General Assembly adopted the maps last year. Attorneys for the Democrats and the Commonwealth of Kentucky argued […]
On Democracy Day, newsrooms unite for pro-democracy coverage
It’s no secret: U.S. democracy is under serious threat. Politicians use rigged maps to entrench themselves in power, allowing them to ignore the will of voters. Hundreds of members of Congress, state lawmakers, and top state officials — including chief elections officials — deny the results of the last presidential contest. And a leading candidate for 2024 talks […]
Across Kentucky, election workers needed ahead of general election
Editor’s note: This article is part of U.S. Democracy Day, a nationwide collaborative on Sept. 15, the International Day of Democracy, in which news organizations cover how democracy works and the threats it faces. To learn more, visit usdemocracyday.org. For several years, Gregory and Wynella Bethards have worked at the polls on Election Day in Jefferson […]
Who’s who among the fake electors, conspirators indicted in Fulton DA’s 2020 election probe
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis says she’s aiming to start a trial against Donald Trump and his allies within six months of a grand jury’s Monday indictment on charges of a multi-state criminal conspiracy to overturn the former president’s narrow defeat to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. Trump, several members of legal […]
Fulton grand jury indicts Trump, members of his inner circle
This story has been updated. Former President Donald Trump and several members of his inner circle were indicted Monday in Fulton County’s sweeping investigation into 2020 election interference. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis held a press conference late Monday night to briefly discuss the grand jury’s felony conspiracy and racketeering charges being levied against […]
Ohio voters reject Issue 1 constitutional amendment changes, the Associated Press projects
Ohio voters have rejected state Issue 1, which sought to make it harder for voters to pass constitutional amendments, the Associated Press has projected. The full counting of unofficial results is ongoing, but the AP has officially projected that the “No” side has won. As of 9 p.m., 1,262,555 votes had been counted, and the […]
Ohio voters are deciding if it’s too easy to pass ballot measures. Other states are watching.
CLEVELAND — Ohioans over the last century have used the state’s ballot initiative process to pass constitutional amendments that raised the minimum wage, integrated the National Guard and removed the phrase “white male” from the constitution’s list of voter eligibility requirements. Now, lawmakers want to make it much tougher for an initiative to be approved. […]
With Beshear absent, Cameron pitches himself as the rural candidate in farmer forum
Values was the word of the day as Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron addressed a crowd of Kentucky Farm Bureau board members and employees in its Measure-the-Candidate forum. He pitched himself as a politician who embodies rural ideas and criticized the absence of his opponent in the gubernatorial race, incumbent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear. “Of […]
Changes in state election laws have little impact on results, new study finds
In recent years, U.S. politics has been consumed by partisan fights over states’ election policies. But a new study by two political scientists is causing a stir by finding that state legislators’ changes to election laws — both those that tighten election rules in the name of integrity, and those that loosen rules to expand […]
NC Republicans lose US Supreme Court case on legislatures’ power over federal elections
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected North Carolina Republican legislators’ argument that the state courts cannot review laws legislatures pass governing federal elections. Republican legislators claimed the Elections Clause in the U.S. Constitution makes legislatures the sole state authorities on federal elections law, including congressional redistricting. Critics said the high court’s endorsement of the independent state […]