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Wednesday, April 23, 2025

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Marco Rubio unveils massive State Dept. overhaul with reductions of staff and bureaus; Visas revoked, status changed for international students in TX; Alaska lawmakers work to improve in-school mental health care; Montana DEQ denies Big Hole River decision, cites law opposed by EPA; Indiana moves to regulate legal THC sales and branding.

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White House defends Secretary Hegseth amid media scrutiny, federal judges block efforts to dismantle U.S. international broadcasters, and major restructuring hits the State Department and rural programs.

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Schools in timber country face an uncertain future without Congress' reauthorization of a rural program, DOGE cuts threaten plant species needed for U.S. food security, and farmers will soon see federal dollars for energy projects unlocked.

WV lawmakers move to speed voter purges, tighten absentee ballot rules

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Friday, March 21, 2025   

Absentee ballot restrictions and shortening the amount of time it takes to purge inactive voters from the voting rolls are priorities for West Virginia lawmakers this session.

Senate Bill 487, which now heads to the governor's desk, removes ineligible voters from the active roles after two years of inactivity, rather than four.

Rusty Williams, advocacy director for the ACLU of West Virginia, said the volume of legislation this year aimed at changing the way elections are conducted in the state is alarming.

"Especially when we have folks in southern West Virginia still trying to clean up from some historic and devastating flooding, you would think that would be the priority," Williams contended.

The West Virginia House also passed House Bill 2117, which would shorten the ballot return period by requiring ballots be received by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, rather than being postmarked on or before Election Day.

Supporters of the bills argue they would reduce voter fraud and election discrepancies. This week, Gov. Patrick Morrisey also signed a bill banning ranked choice voting.

Williams explained House Bill 2117 places tighter restrictions on absentee ballots, noting people would no longer be able to hand out ballot applications in places such as nursing homes or libraries.

"Giving it to folks unsolicited could put you in a position where you could be found guilty of a misdemeanor, and fined $500 and put in jail for six months," Williams outlined. "Again, we're talking about a public document here."

Williams believes state lawmakers should focus on reinstating voting rights to people coming out of prison, on probation or supervised release.

"Unfortunately, that has been an incredibly uphill battle," he acknowledged. "We're continuing to fight on a daily basis."

According to the Sentencing Project, more than 15,000 Mountain State residents are barred from voting because of a felony conviction.

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


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