Los habitantes de Kentucky tienen menos de una semana para registrarse para votar en las elecciones primarias del próximo mes. Si las personas no cumplen con la fecha límite del 22 de abril, aún pueden registrarse para votar en las elecciones presidenciales de este otoño.
La presidenta de la Liga de Mujeres Votantes de Kentucky, Laura Weinstein, anima a la gente a actuar ahora. Los votantes deberán traer una identificación con fotografía a las urnas. En el sitio web de la Secretaría de Estado encontrará una lista de formas de identificación aceptables. Weinstein agrega que el sitio web vote411.org incluye información personalizada sobre el registro y lo que incluye la boleta.
"Publicaremos lo que se llaman guías para votantes, por lo que los candidatos completarán cuestionarios para que los votantes puedan tener una mejor idea de las posiciones de los candidatos antes de ir a las urnas," argumentó también Weinstein.
Las urnas estarán abiertas de 6 a. m. a 6 p. m. el día de las elecciones, el 21 de mayo, y la votación anticipada se realizará del 16 al 18 de mayo. Este año, los habitantes de Kentucky votarán para cargos legislativos estatales y locales, nominarán candidatos para el Congreso y elegirán a su candidato para el próximo presidente de Estados Unidos.
Weinstein explica que todavía hay tiempo para inscribirse para ser trabajador electoral, a través del sitio web 'powerthepolls.org'.
"Y puede recibir una compensación (obtendrá $260 por el día de las elecciones) y es una excelente manera de aprender más sobre el proceso. Entonces, es otra excelente manera de participar en una elección primaria, además de como votante este año," enfatizó además Weinstein.
Las investigaciones muestran que las primarias suelen tener una menor participación de votantes que las elecciones generales. Weinstein dice que en un clima de polarización generalizada y desconfianza en las elecciones, es más importante que nunca que la gente participe en el proceso electoral.
"También sabemos que votar crea hábito. Entonces, aunque puede que no haya una carrera competitiva en su distrito, cuanto más vote, más probabilidades tendrá de votar en el futuro," insistió la entrevistada.
Más de tres millones de habitantes de Kentucky acudieron a las urnas en las últimas elecciones presidenciales de 2020, según la Junta Electoral del Estado de Kentucky.
El apoyo para este informe fue proporcionado por The Carnegie Corporation de Nueva York.
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A new report showed turnover among California chief election officials reached 57% in 2022, a record high. It then declined this year to 40%.
Researchers at the University of California-Los Angeles partnered with the Bipartisan Policy Center to analyze the data from 18,000 jurisdictions nationwide.
Rachel Orey, senior associate director of the Elections Project for the Bipartisan Policy Center, said the jobs of election workers have become significantly harder in recent years.
"Today, election officials must manage everything from cybersecurity risks posed by foreign adversaries to people who are doubting the outcome of elections, to information technology, legal disputes, political pressures," Orey outlined.
The turnover rate is defined as the percentage of jurisdictions in a state where the chief local election official changed within the prior four years. It has been an issue in California for decades. The turnover rate stood at 41% back in 2004. But things got much worse after 2020, when election officials became targets of threats and harassment, often spurred by former President Donald Trump's evidence-free claims about a rigged election.
Orey noted she expects this year's presidential election to go smoothly, because dozens of states, including California, have done a lot to "beef up" the elections workforce.
"Sixty-five percent of local election officials have experience running a presidential election," Orey pointed out. "Where there are new officials, we find that they have an average of eight years of experience in an election office. So all in all, we see that election officials are well-prepared to administer the 2024 presidential election."
The report recommended better funding for elections offices, higher salaries and more training in order to attract and retain a highly skilled election workforce.
Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.
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North Dakota's June 11 primary is inching closer and those running for legislative seats are trying to win over voters, including Native American candidates who are part of a movement energized by newly drawn political boundaries.
The organization North Dakota Native Vote said there are seven candidates with Indigenous roots seeking spots in the Legislature. Most are running in District 9, which was recently updated to reflect representation needs for two Native American tribes.
Natasha Gourd, a board member of North Dakota Native Vote, described them as a good mixture of candidates coming from both reservations in the area, with some running as Democrats and others as Republicans.
"We've seen an upturn in participation and just getting leadership development through Native candidates," Gourd observed.
The election wave comes after the state saw 10 Native candidates in legislative races two years ago. For her group, Gourd acknowledged the boost can be tricky because they cannot endorse everyone running. But she noted having greater assurances the areas will be represented by people from their community -- no matter if they have a different stance on certain issues -- is still a positive.
Gourd added trying to build on the momentum is also important for off-reservation districts.
"What they do at the state level, regardless of Native American people in North Dakota (being part of) federally recognized tribes, it does affect us," Gourd pointed out. "Most Natives in North Dakota do live off the reservation, so it does affect our populations."
Gourd stressed they need more Native voices at the state level speaking out about priorities within education, the housing crisis, energy issues and health care. She hopes the positive trends they're seeing inspire more civic participation among other racial and ethnic groups trying to get a seat at the policy table in North Dakota.
Disclosure: North Dakota Native Vote contributes to our fund for reporting on Civic Engagement, Housing/Homelessness, Livable Wages/Working Families, and Native American Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
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A new poll finds a near 20-year low in the number of voters who say they have a high interest in the 2024 election, with a majority saying they hold negative views of both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. A group of Arizona elections officials and experts recently gathered to discuss the growing discontent with the state's current electoral landscape.
Stephen Richer, Maricopa County Recorder, said that if politicians are what he calls "single-minded seekers of re-election," he contends the state should change the political incentive structure.
"And if those incentives will change, then maybe we will be talking about more things in the Arizona Voter's Agenda and less things that are currently right now incentivized by what I still believe to be a minority, but a very passionate, very loud, and a minority that is definitely committed to acting on those issues," he said.
Richer added it is important to remember that despite Independent and unaffiliated voters being able to participate in the July 30th statewide primary, they were excluded from the state's March Presidential Preference Election, and that has caught the eye of some in the state. The bipartisan group Make Elections Fair Arizona is pushing for open primaries, but proponents of closed primaries believe they're crucial to maintaining the integrity of party ideals.
Amanda Burke, executive vice president with the non-partisan, nonprofit organization Center for the Future of Arizona, said more than half of unaffiliated voters do not feel they have leaders or candidates running who speak to the issues and causes they care about. She contends that then translates to who decides to show up at the ballot box and vote, and encourages Arizonans to imagine a different primary system if they want different outcomes.
"Otherwise we are going to continue to have some more outcomes in terms of people who are incentivized to speak to a small percentage of their base on either side who are really not representative of the larger views," she explained.
The Grand Canyon State allows voter-initiated amendments to the state constitution, but the Arizona Require Partisan Primary Elections Amendment would add the state's current primary practice to the state constitution, prohibiting future changes without another constitutional amendment. Make Elections Fair Arizona is still collecting signatures to get its measure on the November ballot.
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