polling places

15 Stories

County Buys Panic Buttons for Election Workers

Devices can call law enforcement, alert officials to a threat

(Newser) - With threats against polling place workers increasing and Donald Trump telling supporters the November presidential election might be stolen from him, a large Georgia county is investing in voting security. Commissioners in Cobb County, near Atlanta, this week approved buying about 200 devices called panic buttons, NBC News reports, which...

Trump: I'm Sending Law Enforcement to Polling Places

But can the president really do that?

(Newser) - President Trump is threatening to send law enforcement to polling places for the upcoming presidential election, part of a growing pattern of rhetoric in which he has suggested that he wants to make it harder for Americans to vote, the AP reports. During an interview Thursday night with Fox News...

Supreme Court Scraps Law on What Voters Can Wear

Minnesota barred political messages, but the justices said the rule wasn't specific enough

(Newser) - The Supreme Court has struck down a century-old Minnesota law banning political apparel at polling places. In a 7-2 ruling, the court said the law was written too broadly to be reasonably enforced without violating First Amendment rights, reports Bloomberg . All states regulate political apparel at polling sites, but only...

DoJ Investigating Long Lines 'Fiasco' in Ariz. Primary

Complaints allege unacceptable waiting times in minority-heavy areas

(Newser) - Long lines at polling sites in Arizona's March 22 primary led Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton to call the night a "fiasco"—and the Justice Department to now investigate whether there were civil rights violations regarding what Stanton called "unacceptably disparate distribution of polling locations," Reuters...

Whoops: Bill Clinton May Have Broken Election Rules

He entered polling sites despite rule against soliciting votes

(Newser) - Hours before his wife was named the Massachusetts primary winner on Super Tuesday, apparent political novice Bill Clinton strolled into a polling station in Boston. Standing with Mayor Marty Walsh at the Holy Name Parish School, Clinton greeted poll staff and voters and even kissed an elderly woman on the...

Voters Form Long Lines Around the Country

Candidates cast their ballots, too

(Newser) - Americans flocked to the polls this morning, forming long lines in many places around the country. USA Today counted 75 people in line at one DC polling place. Here are some of the stories filtering in nationally:
  • Some problems have already cropped up in Virginia, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. One
...

Ohio Election Worker Bites Voter's Nose

Cops seeking Cleveland poll monitor

(Newser) - Cops in Cleveland are looking for a rogue poll monitor who attacked a voter who attempted to intervene in a dispute with a campaign worker. The poll supervisor "was trying to intimidate a woman who was less than 5 feet tall and he's probably 6 feet," said...

Angry Haitians Protest Vote
 Angry Haitians Protest Vote 

Angry Haitians Protest Vote

Candidates call for cancellation, cite 'massive fraud'

(Newser) - As protesters hit the streets, presidential candidates in Haiti banded together yesterday to demand the election be canceled, citing foul play, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Twelve of the 19 candidates are accusing the outgoing president’s party of “massive fraud.” Protesters—some peaceful, some throwing stones—marched...

Google May Have Misdirected Thousands of Voters

Election Center polling place finder packed with errors

(Newser) - Hundreds of thousands of voters who used Google to find their assigned polling places may have been sent to the wrong spot. Aristotle, a political technology firm that makes a polling place finder of its own, calculates that one of Google's Election Center apps may have given the wrong information...

18 Dead in Indian Election Violence

Maoist guerrillas kill, kidnap electoral officials

(Newser) - Eighteen people have died as a result of attacks by Maoist guerrillas during the first day of voting in India's national elections, the Guardian reports. The guerrillas, called Naxalites, staged violent attacks today on polling stations, killing security guards and kidnapping at least four electoral officials.

Taliban Exact Revenge on Pakistani Town That Stood Up

Car bombing punishes crackdown on militants

(Newser) - A few months ago, villagers in a Pakistani town killed six Taliban fighters who had bound and killed local police; yesterday, the Taliban retaliated, targeting the town of Shalbandi with a suicide car bomb that killed more than 30. The explosion rocked a school that was holding a vote to...

Witness Disputes Report of Black Panther Intimidation

Fox News story said threatening men stood outside Pa. polling station

(Newser) - An Obama campaign volunteer says there’s nothing to Fox News’ story that two Black Panthers were intimidating voters at a polling place in Pennsylvania, Greg Sargent reports on Talking Points Memo. One was an official poll watcher, and though he is a Panther, he was not “blocking the...

Florida Extends Early Voting Hours

Governor makes move to cut down on hours-long lines

(Newser) - Florida Gov. Charlie Crist decreed yesterday that early-voting locations stay open 12 hours a day instead of the usual eight, in an attempt to address hours-long lines at many polling places, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Crist's failure to consult with his party's leadership has ruffled some Republican feathers, but the...

'Perfect Storm' of Problems Forecast for Missouri Polls

Close races plus potential voting chaos could make for a challenge

(Newser) - Missouri is one of several states anticipated to have voting problems next week, but nobody is sure just how big they might be, the Boston Globe reports. The potential is huge, though, in a sharply divided state where John McCain and Barack Obama are polling dead even and a legion...

Early Voters Mob Fla. Polls
 Early Voters Mob Fla. Polls 

Early Voters Mob Fla. Polls

(Newser) - The start of early voting in Florida today brought hordes to polling places, forcing voters to contend with long lines and voting machine failures, the Miami Herald reports. Miami-Dade and Broward counties added a million registered voters each to their rolls this year. The crowds signaled the usefulness of the...

15 Stories