Author

Zachary Roth

Zachary Roth

Zachary Roth is the National Democracy Reporter for States Newsroom.

A sign saying "Vote Here," with a red arrow pointing to the left placed between both words.

A top GOP lawyer wants to crack down on the college vote. States already are.

By: - May 1, 2023

 A top Republican election lawyer recently caused a stir when she told GOP donors that the party should work to make it harder for college students to vote in key states. But the comments from Cleta Mitchell, who worked closely with then-President Donald Trump to try to overturn the 2020 election, are perhaps less surprising […]

A sign saying "Vote Here," with a red arrow pointing to the left placed between both words.

U.S. elections official takes part in secretive GOP conference, sparking backlash

By: - April 17, 2023

A commissioner of a federal elections agency recently spoke at a secretive conference of conservative voting activists and Republican secretaries of state and congressional staff — a step that election experts call highly improper for an official charged with helping states administer fair and unbiased elections.  U.S. Election Assistance Commissioner Donald Palmer, the former chief […]

President Joe Biden holding a microphone in his right hand with a lectern in front of him and a steel bridge behind him.

Federal agencies lag in registering voters despite Biden executive order, advocates say

By: - April 12, 2023

Within weeks of taking office in 2021, President Joe Biden issued an executive order — hailed by voter advocates as potentially transformative — that for the first time committed the U.S. government to registering new voters at federal agencies.  But just over two years later, most of the 10 agencies examined in a recent report […]

Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen walks toward a podium during inauguration ceremonies at the Alabama State Capitol on Monday, Jan. 16, 2023 in Montgomery, Ala.

Red-state elections officials balk at voter registration outreach

By: - March 31, 2023

A day after taking office in January, Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen withdrew his state from the Electronic Registration Information Center, an interstate data-sharing compact aimed at helping states keep clean voter rolls.  Asked about the move a few days later by a conservative radio host, Allen, a Republican, at first talked about privacy […]

A sign saying "Vote Here," with a red arrow pointing to the left placed between both words.

Noncitizens allowed to vote in some local elections, spurring backlash from GOP

By: - March 16, 2023

A few cities and towns around the U.S. are letting noncitizens vote in local elections, and more could follow. In response, Republicans see a chance to turn opposition to noncitizen voting into a national rallying cry. On March 14, Washington, D.C., became the latest city to approve noncitizen voting, when a bill allowing the District’s […]

An American flag with the letter Q on it, a symbol of the conspiracy theory Q-Anon.

Election deniers who lost secretary of state races now run several state GOP operations

By: - February 24, 2023

Many of the election deniers who ran last year for positions that would have given them control over state elections systems lost their races. But several have found a new path to exert influence: as chair of their state Republican Party.  On Saturday, Kristina Karamo, an activist who rose to prominence for her efforts to […]

A broken window with a Stop the Steal sign visible in it.

Five election deniers who are controlling state voting systems

By: - February 17, 2023

Americans concerned about the health of democracy breathed a sigh of relief when a pack of election deniers in 2022 lost their attempts to control voting in key battleground states — making it unlikely that a rogue state election official could subvert the 2024 presidential election. Candidates for secretary of state who denied the result […]