Political rallies and large-scale "get out the vote" events might conjure images of a packed arena in a major city but in states like North Dakota, groups connecting with Indigenous voters are bridging key messaging with entertainment.
This week, several hundred people packed a venue at the Spirit Lake Casino in St. Michael, where they were treated to a mix of popular music from well-known regional acts like Scotti Clifford to traditional drum music. It was all part of the "Snag the Vote" tour moving through the region.
Kirstin Cavanaugh, vice chair of the group North Dakota Native Vote, said between the guitar solos and singing was a reminder to participate in the election.
"We're working on getting that information for the voters to just basically have their voices heard," Cavanaugh explained.
In the 2018 midterms, North Dakota saw a surge in voter turnout in Indian Country after the state adopted a new restrictive Voter ID law, adding to long-standing barriers for people living on reservations. Rallies back then also featured big-name entertainers. The turnout regressed in 2020, with the effects of COVID-19.
Voters are often encouraged to pay attention to local races and not devote all their time to monitoring federal elections. But Cavanaugh acknowledged they sometimes have to reverse the order when reaching out to tribal populations, reminding them the race for the White House affects them, too.
"It's just been eye-opening for people where they're starting to be like, 'OK, yes, I want to be involved, I need to be involved with this,'" Cavanaugh observed.
At this week's outreach event, organizers gathered more than 250 "pledge to vote" commitments. Cavanaugh added while their efforts are vital just before an election, North Dakota Native Vote works year-round.
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In the final sprint toward Election Day, some Minnesotans might worry their absentee ballot won't arrive in time. Experts say there's no cause for panic because there are solutions.
They also highlight safeguards for keeping fraud in check. In Minnesota, ballots sent by mail must be received by Election Day or they won't be counted.
If you just put yours in the mailbox, Michelle Witte, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Minnesota, said you can check its status online. If there's real concern it won't arrive by Tuesday, she said, you can go to your local election office to sort things out.
"If something happened and it got lost or whatever," she said, "they could let you vote in person and not accept the absentee ballot."
She said the system has enough awareness to not accidentally let someone vote twice. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump continues to make false claims about voter fraud. Election analysts say it's very rare, and not enough to affect outcomes.
Witte pointed to a Minnesota case this fall in which a woman was charged with filling out her deceased mother's ballot in support of Trump as proof that these offices can quickly detect suspicious behavior and address it.
In the broader debate over election integrity, Witte said, it's important to remember that administrators have key information at their fingertips.
"The Secretary of State's Office is getting regular reports from Social Security, from DHS, from all those federal and state sources that track if people died," she said, "but also immigration and citizenship."
Witte said information sharing also works in tandem with Minnesota's new Driver's Licenses for All program, where all state residents can apply for such a license regardless of their immigration status. She stressed it will not allow an undocumented individual to vote, even if they have this form of ID.
As for ballot tracking, that online tool is featured on Minnesota's Secretary of State's website.
Support for this reporting was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
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By Mariah Alanskas for Kent State NewsLab.
Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi reporting for the Kent State-Ohio News Connection Collaboration.
Ohioans will face new restrictions at the ballot box this November, including new rules surrounding voter identification and drop box usage, and shortened deadlines for absentee ballots and early voting.
While these restrictions can affect all Ohio voters, voting rights advocates say they could disproportionately impact voters with disabilities, college students and voters who haven’t cast ballots in several years, including those listed within the recent Ohio voter purge, where around 160,000 “inactive” voters who hadn’t voted in 4 consecutive years were removed from voter registration without being notified.
House Bill 458, which introduced many of these rules, took effect in April 2023. But these laws may present a prominent issue for the first time in November’s election, said Greer Aeschbury, a senior campaign manager for “All Voting is Local,” a nonpartisan organization that works to educate and expand voter access across eight states, including Ohio.
While many of these changes have been in effect since 2023, they will affect some voters for the first time this fall, since November elections — especially presidential elections — generally see greater turnout than special and off-year elections.
“The people who voted [in August] are usually the most informed voters in Ohio. They’re the ones who follow the news and know what’s going on with the new voter ID laws,” Aeschbury said.
Voter limitations and their effect
The new requirements could disproportionately affect people like absentee voters who live out of state, Ohio college students, voters with disabilities and those without knowledge of the new voting laws and requirements.
According to Aeschbury, All Voting is Local expects to see an increase in voters being turned away from the polls this November due to expired or unacceptable IDs compared to 2023’s special and local elections.
The only forms of ID that are accepted now are an Ohio driver’s license, an Ohio state ID, interim identification form (which the BMV must provide for free upon request), a U.S. passport or a U.S. military ID.
IDs that are no longer accepted include expired IDs, a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, other government document, a concealed carry permit or a student ID — all of which were accepted in the 2020 presidential election.
“The ID laws impact everyone, no matter who you are,” Aeschbury said. “But, they particularly impact people who are least likely to have current Ohio IDs, like college students, disabled and elderly Ohioans, along with people of color.”
This can especially affect college students who only have a student identification card as their real ID and may not be able to easily get an Ohio ID.
Kent State University junior Adriana Dentici, an out-of-state student from Pittsburgh, says she wanted to vote in Ohio this year and thought about getting an Ohio ID, but missed the registration deadline for Ohio voting. Instead, she is casting a mail-in ballot in her home state.
“Honestly, I’m surprised with how short [the deadline] was,” Dentici said. “I feel like a lot of people didn’t know you needed it in 10 to 15 days before and I think that that definitely plays a big factor in [why I’m voting in Pennsylvania.]”
HB 458 also limited ballot drop boxes to one site per county, and ballot drop boxes can only be used during the board of election’s open hours.
And HB 458 required that people who need assistance with physically dropping their ballots in the provided boxes, or returning their absentee ballots — including elderly voters or those with disabilities — could only receive help from certain direct relatives: a parent, child, sibling, aunt, uncles, niece or nephew. They could not receive help from a caregiver, trusted friend, neighbor, grandchild or anyone else.
After litigation, a federal judge ruled in July that this provision violated the rights of disabled people; people with disabilities can have anyone (except an employer or union representative) drop off their ballot.
But now, following a directive from Secretary of State Frank LaRose, anyone returning a ballot on behalf of anyone else must fill out an attestation form inside the Board of Elections office.A lawsuit filed by the Ohio Democratic Party and two anonymous voters sought to reverse that directive, but it was shot down earlier this month.
Anyone who returns another’s ballot not within the approved list or without filling out a form could be charged with a fourth-degree felony per HB 458.
For Trinity Meyers, founder of Kent State’s Diverse Disabilities club and a person with autism, these rules make voting feel “classist.”
“With all of these barriers, many disabled individuals are discouraged from voting altogether,” Meyers said. “If disabled individuals have to go through all these barriers just to vote, it feels as if America doesn’t want us voting.”
How to ensure your vote counts
Despite the laws and regulations that may limit a voter’s capability to vote—there are ways to ensure your ballot is counted this upcoming election.
“We are encouraging voters, especially those with disabilities, to plan their vote in advance of the general election, so that they can best be prepared to participate in the voting process and make sure that their vote is counted,” Muslat said.
While the early voting deadline has passed, you can request absentee ballot by the end of the business day today, Oct. 29.
Absentee ballots can be turned in via mail with a postmark by Nov. 4, or returned in person either by the voter or one of the approved persons listed above by Nov. 5.
According to Muslat and Aeschbury, when putting a voting plan together, consider the following:
- Check to see if your ID is an approved form, unexpired and contains your current address.
- If voting by mail, request your ballot immediately and turn it in as soon as possible, to avoid slow mail delivery.
- If voting in-person or via dropbox, confirm your polling location, if they have a dropbox and the accommodations they offer, if you require any.
- Call your local County Board of Elections with any voting questions or concerns.
If all else fails, provisional voting should be available on Election Day.
Although HB 458 changed the time to get your provisional ballot approved from seven to four days post-election day, provisional voting can be a good option if a voter forgets proper identification, changes their address of residency within 30 days before election day, or if a voter believes they are fully eligible to vote but are denied at the polls.
According to Aeshbury, even if your provisional ballot is denied, it will count as your voter registration for the next election.
“A provisional ballot is really just a chance to double-check that you really are supposed to be voting, and that you’re qualified,” Aeschbury said. “You vote a ballot just like a regular, and then you fill out this provisional envelope that is put into a special box. Then after Election Day, the board of elections will go through and check each provisional ballot and determine whether that person was eligible to vote or not, and then count their vote accordingly.”
For more information regarding Ohio voting laws, visit the Ohio Secretary of State’s
website.
Mariah Alanskas wrote this article for Kent State NewsLab. This collaboration is produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.
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