American democracy is in mortal danger as the 2024 election approaches, according to experts at a conference held at the University of California, Los Angeles on Friday.

Millions of Americans still believe the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen, and the insurrection that took place on January 6th of 2021 proves that some are willing to resort to violence.

UCLA Law Professor Rick Hasen organized the conference and said some groups are actively working against the will of the voters.

"Elections deniers won office in non-swing states, and many are in Congress," said Hasen. "Local election officials have shared voting machine code with conspiracy theorists, and some local election boards have tried to require the hand count of ballots or refuse to certify election results."

In December, Congress passed reforms to the Electoral Count Act of 1887 - a rare bipartisan move to make it harder to attempt to overturn the results of a presidential election, as former President Trump did in 2020.

Republicans have defeated Democratic proposals to reduce the influence of money in politics and expand access to voting.

Neal Kelley, who served as registrar of voters in Orange County for 20 years and now chairs the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections, said citizens must combat efforts to undermine trust in the election system.

"We should continue to expand audits," said Kelley, "partner with prosecutors on any violations of election law, improve the voter experience and use election materials to communicate facts about misinformation directly with voters."

Michigan Secretary of State Jocyeln Benson said election denier groups are trying to infiltrate local elections offices.

"I found the effort to replace people of integrity in every potential position in democracy from poll workers to Secretaries of State," said Benson, "with people who are not beholden to the law on the principles of democracy and are willing to skirt the law in order to advance political goals."

Michigan Democrats are pursuing bills to increase the penalty for harassing election workers, and to ban deceptive practices in elections, such as lying to voters when seeking petition signatures and knowingly sharing false information about elections and the ability to vote.

Support for this reporting was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.




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Just a few months after some South Dakota absentee ballots were illegally challenged, officials are concerned slow mail delivery could affect outcomes on Election Day.

Members of the National Association of State Election Officials have sent a letter to the U.S. Postmaster General, expressing concerns about Postal Service performance over the last year. It cited patterns of inconsistent training among staff, lengthy delivery times and a rise in mail returned as undeliverable, which can affect a voter's registration.

Samantha Chapman, advocacy manager for the ACLU of South Dakota, hopes election officials across the state are educating people who request absentee ballots.

"About the possibility of delayed mail service and the importance of expediently filling out those ballots and mailing them back as soon as possible," Chapman stressed.

Chapman encouraged South Dakotans to check the status of their voter registration in case they have been purged through routine maintenance or other changes. The registration deadline is Oct. 21.

A challenge to some absentee ballots cast during the June primary in Minnehaha County nearly caused 100 to be rejected, in a race where candidates were separated by just 83 votes, according to the ACLU. The South Dakota Secretary of State's Office advised state law did not deem the ballots challengeable.

Chapman hopes there are no similar issues on the upcoming Election Day.

"We really, really, really are pushing all of our election administrators to follow the laws that are in place," Chapman explained. "And to use their positions to be an accurate source of information for voters."

The U.S. Postal Service last month proposed a plan to adjust mail delivery starting next year to increase reliance on regional hubs, which could slow delivery to rural areas. It is estimated the plan will save the service $3 billion per year.

National Voter Registration Day is tomorrow, and voting-rights advocates in Nevada want to ensure everyone is set to make their voice heard in November.

Agelina Saldana is the field manager at Silver State Voices, and said despite there being a presidential election this year, she is stressing the importance of down ballot races and initiatives that can have a direct impact on the lives of everyday Nevadans.

"I tell people you aren't just voting for a person when you go to the ballot, we also have these ballot initiatives," said Saldana. "We have many going out this year, many that are really important. One of them is including the right to reproductive rights in our state constitution."

Saldana acknowledged that while apathy surrounding elections is a real struggle, she encouraged voters to take the opportunity to get educated on candidates and initiatives - and vote for the issues that matter to them.

You can check your voter registration at registertovote.nv.gov.

Saldana said their partners have noticed an uptick in Nevadans showing interest in registering to vote.

But she said she does want to remind folks that the deadline for registering to vote in the Silver State depends on how you register. She said October 8 is the deadline for paper voter registration forms.

"This is the deadline essentially if you're going to be mailing in your voter registration form, or if any organizations are registering people using a form," said Saldana. "This is the deadline that we are all looking at."

She added that if you have recently legally changed your name, you should register over a paper form that should then be dropped off at your local elections department.

Saldana added that Nevada also has same-day registration - which is permitted during early voting, starting October 19 through November 1, and on Election Day.

Saldana added that tomorrow throughout the state there will be many events geared towards getting eligible voters registered and ready.

"A lot of our partners will be hosting all types of events," said Saldana. "We are going to be registering high school students, there is going to be puppies, there is going to be DJs, so I really, really encourage people to checkout our Instagram, @SSV.NV, to see all the events that we will be hyping up with our partners."

Groups from Virginia and across the country are working with federal lawmakers to improve voting rights.

They are building support for voting rights bills like the Freedom to Vote Act, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Native American Voting Rights Act. Virginia passed its own voting rights law in 2021, which is modeled after stronger federal legislation.

Christine Wood, co-director of a coalition called the Declaration for American Democracy, said the bills can help clarify questions about how to vote.

"It would create national standards for voting," Wood explained. "No matter what state you moved to or lived in you would have the same baseline access to the polls and the ballots as anyone else."

Virginia is one of many states purging voter rolls of possible noncitizens, amid false claims noncitizen voting in federal elections is an ardent nationwide problem. The opposite is true. Noncitizens voting in federal elections rarely occurs. Some think voter registration form errors are the true culprit. The state removed over 6,300 noncitizens from voter rolls since August.

The groups are also building support for a bill to give Washington, D.C., statehood. Bills providing statehood for D.C. passed twice in the House of Representatives but have not gone further.

Chaitram Aklu, a retired teacher and member of the American Federation of Teachers, said it only seems fair since Washington, D.C., does not have the same rights as states.

"There are several hundred thousand people living in D.C.," Aklu pointed out. "While their representatives are allowed to participate in debate, they do not have a vote and that has been going on for over 220 years."

He added D.C. already pays more taxes per capita than 22 other states, with higher federal taxes than 19 states.

D.C. residents have said a major reason for statehood is the lack of autonomy they have over the district's governing bodies. The President and Congress have the final say on legislation or judicial nominations for D.C. courts. Meanwhile, they only have a lone representative in the House who does not have voting power and no Senate representation.