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Here's how officials are keeping votes secure on Election Day

Guillermo Molero

November 02, 2020 |

The Daily Tar Heel |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, North Carolina

North Carolina takes a multipronged approach to election security. Unique serial numbers on mail-in ballots allow the voter to be removed from the system once they are processed. Hundreds of thousands of test ballots are run through voting machines and audited for accuracy. Polling sites are observed by bipartisan poll watchers and trained officials and voting machines are never connected to the internet. Paper receipts are securely stored in case of a recount or audit. Results are stored on encrypted data sticks and locked in high-security facilities operated by state and county boards of elections.

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How can Georgia make it easier to vote?

Allison Salerno

November 01, 2020 |

Atlanta Journal-Constitution |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Houston, Texas

Some locations, such as North Carolina and the extremely populous Harris County, Texas, have enacted solutions that make voting easier and take less time. In addition to early voting running up until election day, the North Carolina Board of Election issued an emergency order requiring one polling site per 20,000 registered voters. Harris County, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, expanded the early voting period and offers “drive-thru voting” at 10 locations using portable voting machines. The county also had over 100 locations that were open for 24 consecutive hours.

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'I'm not invisible': Kentucky millennials with felony records head to the polls for first time

Chloe Atkins

October 31, 2020 |

NBC News |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Kentucky

More than 170,000 people with felony records in Kentucky won the right to vote in the 2020 election under an order by the governor. Although not as concrete as legislation, the governor's order at least temporarily rescinds the state's permanent voting ban for most people with felony convictions. The order pertains to people with non-violent offenses. Unlike some states' re-enfranchisement policies, Kentucky's does not require payment of outstanding fines or restitution. The policy is seen as a particular benefit to people of color and millennials.

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How Cook County Jail Became the Country's First Jail-Based Polling Place

Kiran Misra

October 30, 2020 |

Belt Magazine |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

As the first jail to serve as a polling place for the people incarcerated there, the Cook County Jail saw the highest number of votes cast in a primary election in decades during the spring primary. On two weekends of early voting for the fall general election, more than 2,000 people cast their ballots, nearly 40% of the jail's population. In jail, in-person voting has several advantages over mail-in voting, which in the past was the only option, as at all other jails. Because most people held there have not been found guilty, they are eligible to vote. Illinois also allows same-day registration.

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King County hospitals are making sure patients can vote

Hannah Weinberger

October 30, 2020 |

Crosscut |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Hospitals in King County launched programs to help inpatients register to vote and cast their ballot. Some adopted VotER, a program that sets up voter registration kiosks and QR codes that can be scanned for voting information. If inpatients don't have someone who can bring them their ballots, hospital staff can print them online. Since the state has universal mail-in voting with ballot boxes that anyone can drop ballots in, hospital staff also helped deliver ballots. With health care policy often on the ballot, helping patients vote is another way healthcare professionals care for their patients.

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Forget civics class: Students want to make a difference in real life

Charlotte West

October 30, 2020 |

The Hechinger Report |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

The Oakland Youth Vote started as a youth-led ballot initiative to give 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote for school board representatives. Student activism helped get the initiative on the November 2020 ballot and the Oakland City Council promised to fund and implement the measure if it is approved. The ballot measure passed with 67% of voters supporting it. Voting for school board representatives will allow students to have a say in the policies and decisions that shape their education and ensure that the diverse student body is appropriately represented.

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Power of the people: Get-out-the-vote efforts blanket the U.S.

Claire Galofaro Jocelyn Novek

October 29, 2020 |

Associated Press |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

National get-out-the-vote efforts are turning out people to vote, despite Covid19-related challenges. Vote Forward organized 182,000 people to participate in a 50-state letter writing campaign urging people in over 17.5 million homes to vote. “Protest to the Polls” led a voter information parade through Louisville’s predominantly Black West End. The Neighborhood Assistance Corporations of America has driven 25,000 people to the polls in three states. Other GOTV efforts include texting and phone banking, peer-to-peer outreach, drive-in rallies and caravans, and entertainment for those in line at the polls.

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Election Season Is Wildfire Season. These Voters Lost Everything.

Julia Thomas

October 29, 2020 |

The New Republic |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oregon

Rule changes in counties impacted by wildfires have made it easier for displaced residents to vote in the 2020 presidential election by using their temporary residence, shelter, a P.O. box, or their county election office to receive a ballot. Social media campaigns inform residents about their voting options, in addition to wildfire responses, and thousands of people have changed the address where they want to receive their ballot. The number of registered voters also increased by tens of thousands in many counties.

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Twitch-inspired live streams could be the future of political fundraising

Steven Melendez

October 28, 2020 |

FastCompany |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Hovercast is a technology startup helping democratic organizations add interactivity to virtual events. The model, which has been used by prominent political candidates such as Bernie Sanders, uses interactive live-streaming features like on-screen highlighted comments, real-time donation meters, trivia questions, polls, videos, and animated GIFs to collect donations, sign up campaign volunteers, and encourage other types of voter engagement. The model is inspired by video gaming platforms that are geared towards younger audiences, which is one of the demographic groups engaging in the virtual events.

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We can't vote in San Quentin prison. So we held a mock election

Juan Moreno Haines Kevin Deroi Sawyer

October 28, 2020 |

The Guardian |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, San Quentin, California

Two men incarcerated at San Quentin prison tell how the men incarcerated there held a mock presidential election, despite a pandemic-related lockdown and prison officials' failure to distribute ballots that had been sent to the prison. Using handwritten ballots, the "voters," denied their actual voting rights by the state, managed to cast 176 mock votes (heavily favoring Joe Biden) by distributing the ballots during limited time outside their cells. Voting gave the men the opportunity to express their views, not just by checking a box but by adding comments on their ballots.

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