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.

As Ohio heads into a pivotal election season, the divide between rural and urban voters might seem deep - but one expert says the gap isn't as wide as it appears.

An upcoming webinar on "Understanding Rural Voters" will dive into what brings voters from different backgrounds together. One of the presenters, Elizabeth Currid-Halkett, James Irvine chair in urban and regional planning and professor of public policy at the University of Southern California, said rural and urban voters share common ground on many important issues.

"Their values are very much aligned on the basics," she said. "We all care about the environment. We care about our families. We hope for a better future for our country. We believe in democracy."

Research from Ohio's John Carroll University confirms that both rural and urban Ohioans care deeply about issues such as family, faith and preserving their communities. Despite what's often portrayed in the media, they share similar concerns about social policies and the environment.

Currid-Halkett also pointed to a lack of accessible, reliable news sources that she said makes it harder for many people, especially in rural areas, to see beyond the political divide.

"If we had easier access to understand varying political perspectives," she said, "we might, one, realize we aren't so divided, and two, we might get a sense of why people think differently than us. But it's very hard to do that in the current way we get media."

She said it doesn't help that so many online media outlets have paywalls that restrict access to their content.

The webinar, coming up Oct. 21, will feature experts from across the country, providing insights into how folks with different political perspectives can better understand each other. Registration is free on the USC Price School of Public Policy website.

Voting may be a bit more confusing than expected in Utah this year, as two of the four amendments on the ballot have now been voided.

The Utah Supreme Court nixed Amendment D, which would have allowed state lawmakers the power to change voter initiatives and prohibit "foreign influence in the initiative process." And this week, a Third District Court judge also voided Amendment A, which would have allowed state income taxes to be used for needs other than public education.

A new report from the Utah Foundation examines each of the four amendments. Annalisa Holcombe, the foundation's board chair, said information is power, especially around election time "because we know how important it is to provide clarity around public policy issues that affect us and the state of Utah as voters, and to have an independent, nonpartisan view of these amendments."

Amendments A and D will remain on the ballot, but won't be counted. Instead, voters will weigh in on Amendments B and C. Amendment B would increase the limit on annual distributions from the State School Fund to public schools from 4% to 5%, and Amendment C would require counties to elect a sheriff every four years. Both face little to no opposition.

Utah Foundation President Shawn Teigen described some of the information surrounding the amendments as "misleading" and unclear about the real issues at hand. Teigen said the topics of both Amendments A and D are likely to make a comeback in the future, and encourages people to learn more about these issues now.

"There's a chance to educate some folks here, to give people a little bit of information," he said, "so that when and if these come back that we'll have something to fall back on, in terms of some past education."

The report also explains that enacting amendments and changing the Utah Constitution is a long and complex process. Constitutional amendments have to pass the Utah Legislature by 66% and then be ratified by 50% of the public. By contrast, most Utah laws pass with a simple majority of legislators.

The Indiana Citizen, a nonpartisan voter information platform, aims to improve civic engagement in Indiana by helping voters make informed choices. The publication's "virtual ballot" provides unbiased, accessible information on candidates and issues.

Publisher Bill Moreau emphasized the state's need for better civic health.

"One of the things that we wanted to address," he said, "is this chronic civic health crisis that Indiana is mired in - a whole wide range of metrics, voter registration, turnout and civic literacy - where voters can go and become informed voters."

Moreau highlighted its commitment to younger voters. The platform has facilitated more than 2,400 new voter registrations and now focuses on providing these first-time voters with detailed information. By inputting their address, users can see a personalized ballot featuring profiles of candidates for offices ranging from the presidency to local school boards.

Moreau underscored the importance of sharing accurate data, especially amid widespread misinformation. The Indiana Citizen's profiles pull from diverse sources, including candidates' own websites, and sometimes media reports on candidates' past issues, such as DUIs, to present a comprehensive picture.

Moreau said now that information is assembled, it's focusing on getting it into voters' hands.

"We're going to actively use social media and digital advertising to get right to them," he said, "and say, 'OK, now that you're registered, here's access to information about the candidates and the issues.'"

The Indiana Citizen collaborates with Free Press Indiana and Franklin College's Statehouse File to ensure voters have access to the information.


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