Free Republic

Political campaigns are symbolic ventures, designed to drive attention to certain issues and to marshal facts, language, and emotion to deliver a material advantage. From Cicero’s campaign for the consulship to Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s campaigns for the presidency, it has always been thus. This is a useful lens through which to view the current immigration debate. For several weeks, two migrant-related stories have dominated national attention: Venezuelan gang members apparently seizing apartments in Aurora, Colorado, and tensions resulting from large-scale Haitian migration in Springfield, Ohio. Beneath the surface of their rhetorical heat, the controversies point to three key...

The Oregon Department of Transportation and the secretary of state’s office today released new information about the number of non-citizen voters who were mistakenly placed on voter rolls, upping the total number of voters erroneously placed on the rolls from 306 to 1,259.In a Monday afternoon press conference, ODOT director Kris Strickler said the mistakes resulted from a “data processing” errors in ODOT’s Oregon Driver & Motor Vehicle Services division, which he said the agency deeply regrets. Strickler explained that DMV discovered the errors after an inquiry from a think-tank called the Institute for Responsive Government.

A ruling about whether Mississippi can count postmarked mail ballots that arrive after Election Day could have a "national impact," according to a former federal prosecutor On Tuesday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is to hear oral argument in RNC v. Wetzel, a lawsuit filed by the Republican National Convention to disallow the counting of ballots that are received after Election Day in Mississippi. Mississippi counts mail-in ballots that are received up to five business days after an election as long as they are postmarked on or before Election Day. Writing on her Substack blog on Monday, former federal...

The state of Montana took its electronic absentee voting system offline shortly after it went live when prospective voters discovered Kamala Harris wasn't on the ballot. While Harris is considered a severe underdog in Montana, Democrats are still hoping they can voters to turn out to save incumbent Senator Jon Tester against Donald Trump-endorsed Tim Sheehy. Max Himsl, a voter living in the United Kingdom, wanted to make his choice once the ballots were online on Friday at 8am. The ballot listed both Trump and the now out of the race independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. but not the vice...

Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, will reportedly not use drop boxes this election cycle citing concerns of “illegal activities.” Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo sent a notice to county election officials on Wednesday saying the county lacked the “capability” to ensure the drop boxes were safe locations for voters to leave their ballots, according to WNEP. “While I recognize that drop boxes can provide alternative means for voters to cast their ballots, I must prioritize the safety and security of our community in the current political climate,” Crocamo said. “We don’t have the capability, we don’t have the number of staff members...

The battleground state’s 2023 policy resurfaced right before the end of the election year because people were concerned that it could be used to interfere in the upcoming election. The Federalist reported that Gov. Josh Shapiro, D–Pa., was criticized in September 2023 when he announced that the state had implemented automatic voter registration for “eligible Commonwealth residents obtaining driver’s licenses and ID cards at Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) driver and photo license centers.”Pennsylvania now has automatic voter registration.There are about 1.6 million Pennsylvanians who are eligible to vote but aren’t registered.This is a safe, secure, and streamlined way to...

Asked ‘Why should I vote for Donald Trump?’ Meta AI offers ‘some perspectives to consider.’ When asked the same question about Harris, the chatbot offers ‘some compelling reasons’ to vote for the Democrat.Meta’s AI tool is the latest chatbot to run interference for Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris, returning reasons not to vote for former President Donald Trump when asked to provide reasons to vote for him.Asked “Why should I vote for Donald Trump?” Meta AI offers “some perspectives to consider.” Notably, when asked the same question about Harris, the chatbot offers “some compelling reasons” to vote for the Democrat.In...

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 @RepMTGThis is classic bait and switch that will enrage the base, only one month before the election, when they find out they have been tricked and let down again. The only way to make the SAVE Act a law would be to refuse to pass a CR until the Senate agrees to pass the SAVE Act and Biden agrees to sign it into law. This would force a Gov shutdown on Oct 1 because Biden and Schumer both said they will shutdown the government as they are that adamant against the SAVE Act. Johnson will NOT...

Since 2016, young American women have become significantly more liberal due to emotional responses to gender-related events that are largely superficial and detrimental. Last week, The New York Times featured an article titled: “How the Last Eight Years Made Young Women More Liberal.” According to every poll, since 2016, there has been an unprecedented political/social gender gap between young American women and men. Here is how the Times reported it: “In 2001, young men and women had similar political ideologies. … Then, around 2016, something shifted, a new analysis shows. Women ages 18 to 29 became significantly more liberal than...

Florida caught a lot of heat (rightly so) after the mess of an election in 2000 — pregnant chads, anyone? In the years since, the Sunshine State has cleaned up its act significantly. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) joined Maria Bartiromo on "Sunday Morning Futures" to discuss the measures Florida takes to shore up election integrity — and why confidence in election results is essential. This morning I joined Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures to discuss Florida's election integrity efforts. pic.twitter.com/Fc8bK289Pc — Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) September 15, 2024 Here are the key points of their exchange: BARTIROMO: Your reaction to...

While most political junkies focus on the latest twists and turns in the presidential race, a political earthquake in the Empire State has the potential to fundamentally alter how New Yorkers run their elections — and may even impact which party holds power in Washington in 2025. Starting Sept. 22, a provision of the state Voting Rights Act will require certain local governments to seek “preclearance” from the state Attorney General or a designated court to make many election-related decisions — including some that are relatively minor.

Election Policy Logo.png Election Information 2024 election dates and deadlines Voting in 2024 Voter registration Early voting Absentee/mail-in voting All-mail voting Voter ID laws State poll opening and closing times Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker Select a state from the menu below to learn more about its election administration. Submit Most states have laws permitting someone besides a voter to return the voter's mail ballot. These laws vary by state. Mail ballots take the form of absentee ballots and ballots cast in vote-by-mail states. As of June 2024:[1][2] 24 states and D.C. permitted someone chosen by the voter to return...

The Biden Department of Justice (DOJ) arrested an illegal immigrant from Guatemala for impersonating Americans and voting in federal elections. 42-year-old Angelica Maria Francisco was taken into custody after it was revealed she had been illegally voting in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. She was charged with “false claims of citizenship in connection with voting, false statements in application for a United States passport, use of a United States passport obtained by false statements, and aggravated identity theft.” Francisco agreed to plead guilty to all charges. According to court documents, the illegal immigrant, who has been residing in...

The County of San Luis Obispo Clerk-Recorder’s Office announced Friday that it has partnered with Cal Poly faculty and students to bring the Latino Voter Engagement Project to SLO county.

Since LBJ’s Great Society legislation was passed in 1964, the black community has been a consistent Democrat voting bloc, voting between 90 and 95% Democrat every four or so years. By percentage, this is one of the largest voting blocs of the Democrat party, which has always struck me as counterintuitive, as the plight of the black community generally has deteriorated in the 60-year period since. Black share of home ownership has declined. The education “system” in predominantly black communities is abysmal and getting worse. One-parent households have risen 15% to 73%, resulting in increased drug addiction, alcoholism, and crime....

True the Vote made an exciting announcement on their X social media page on Tuesday, stating that they will be working with sheriff offices across the county to provide live-streamed surveillance footage of ballot boxes. True the Vote describes itself as a leader in the effort to ensure free and fair elections in America. Our work focuses on empowering citizens to safeguard the electoral process and to protect their vote from fraud so their voice is not diminished Catherine Engelbrecht, the founder of True the Vote, outlined the details in a video shared on the organization’s account, emphasizing that this...

Tennessee saw just 13.9% of registered voters cast ballots in the Aug. 1 primary, down from 24.5% in the 2020 primary and 14.1% in 2016. The turnout is the lowest since before at least 1996, with the state averaging 17.9% turnout for the August primaries in a presidential election year, according to ThinkTennessee. The primary included one U.S. Senate seat, all nine Tennessee U.S. House seats along with 99 state House seats and 16 state Senate seats, those in the even-numbered districts. The Nov. 5 ballot, however, will include candidates from both the Republican and Democratic parties facing off for...

The Biden-Harris Department of Justice has threatened to sue two small towns in Wisconsin over their refusal to use electronic voting machines to cast and tabulate votes, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported. In July, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke threatened to file a lawsuit against the State of Wisconsin, the state Elections Commission and Administrator Meagan Wolfe, and the towns of Thornapple and Lawrence, as well as the towns’ clerks and boards of supervisors, because the towns allegedly did not offer voting equipment at their polling places in the April presidential primary election. Clarke warned the potential plaintiffs in a letter...

One of the more disappointing things about American politics is how much time is often spent debating policies that have no actual chance of ever being enacted in this country. Such is the case with the recently “proposed” federal abortion ban that has apparently sent a large number of pro-life Republicans into a tizzy after Donald Trump and J.D. Vance have said they would not sign such a bill were it to be put on the desk of the president, and has them claiming they will not vote for the GOP ticket as a result. Let's, however, look at this...

While the Trump campaign, Republican National Committee, Republican governors and Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill work to keep illegal immigrants and non-citizens from voting in U.S. elections, Democrats are fighting against their efforts and threatening to shut down the government over voter integrity legislation. ... America needs the SAVE Act to prevent noncitizens from voting. The arguments against including the SAVE Act in the September spending bill are weak and crumble under examination. I invite Senate GOP leadership to offer solutions, not excuses. Senate GOP leadership is apparently opposing the effort to include the SAVE Act in the September spending...