Bulgarians protest reinstatement of paper election ballots
December 1, 2022 GMTSOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Hundreds of people attended a street protest in Bulgaria's capital Thursday to oppose a revision of the Election Code that reinstates paper ballots, which the previous reformist government had replaced with voting machines.
Brazil election agency rejects Bolsonaro push to void votes
November 24, 2022 GMTRIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The head of Brazil's electoral authority has rejected the request from President Jair Bolsonaro's political party to annul ballots cast on most electronic voting machines, which would have overturned the Oct.
Brazil election agency rejects Bolsonaro push to void votes
November 24, 2022 GMTRIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The head of Brazil's electoral authority on Wednesday rejected the request from President Jair Bolsonaro and his political party to annul ballots cast on most electronic voting machines, which would have overturned the Oct.
Bolsonaro contests Brazil election loss, wants votes voided
November 23, 2022 GMTBRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — More than three weeks after losing a reelection bid, President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday blamed a software bug and demanded the electoral authority annul votes cast on most of Brazil’s nation’s electronic voting machines, though independent experts say the bug doesn't affect the reliability of results.
Judge backs penalties against county in voting machine case
November 19, 2022 GMTHARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania judge has recommended the state's high court impose civil contempt penalties against a Republican-majority county government that this summer secretly allowed a third party to copy data from voting machines used in the 2020 election lost by former President Donald Trump.
Election certification avoiding chaos, except in Arizona
November 19, 2022 GMTSANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Certification of this year's midterm election results appears to be proceeding smoothly with little controversy across the country, with a small Arizona county being a rare exception, calming fears that local commissions consumed by talk of election conspiracies would create chaos by refusing to validate the will of the voters.
Democrat wins top Nevada elections job over election denier
November 13, 2022 GMTRENO, Nev. (AP) — Democrat Cisco Aguilar was elected as Nevada’s secretary of state, winning the elections post over Republican Jim Marchant, who pushed to scrap voting machines and claimed all Nevada winners since 2006 have been “installed by the deep-state cabal."
Minor poll problems twisted into false US election claims
November 9, 2022 GMTVoters did not encounter widespread problems on Election Day. That has not stopped former President Donald Trump and other Republicans from falsely portraying minor snags at polling places to undermine confidence in the results.
Mental health evaluation ordered in election tampering case
November 9, 2022 GMTDENVER (AP) — A judge on Wednesday ordered a mental health evaluation for a Colorado man accused of inserting a USB thumb drive into a voting machine during the primary election in June.
Legal challenges play out as voters cast ballots in midterms
November 8, 2022 GMTElection legal challenges were playing out Tuesday as voters cast ballots across the country in the midterm elections. And more bruising court fights are expected in the coming days that could draw out how long it takes for votes to be counted in some races.
2 Michigan races pit incumbent Democrats vs election deniers
November 8, 2022 GMTLANSING, Mich. (AP) — Democrats hope to keep control of two key Michigan statewide offices Tuesday, as the incumbent attorney general and secretary of state both face challenges from Republicans endorsed by former President Donald Trump and who have embraced his lies about the 2020 election.
Prosecutor: No ruling on Michigan AG candidate before Nov. 8
November 4, 2022 GMTLANSING, Mich. (AP) — A special prosecutor investigating whether the Republican candidate for Michigan attorney general and others should be charged for attempting to gain access to voting machines said Friday that no decision will be made before Tuesday's election.
Man arrested on suspicion of tampering with voting machine
November 4, 2022 GMTDENVER (AP) — A Colorado man who is a registered Democratic voter has been arrested on suspicion of tampering with voting equipment by allegedly inserting a USB thumb drive into a voting machine at a polling station during the primary election in June, authorities said.
Media preps for 2022 election with focus on democracy issues
November 4, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Time was, a television reporter assigned to “democracy issues” would have a quiet time on election night sets, occasionally popping up to talk about broken voting machines at a polling place or two.
Most candidates for top election posts say no to hand counts
November 1, 2022 GMTThe vast majority of candidates running to become their states' chief election officers oppose hand counting ballots, a laborious and error-prone process that has gained favor among some Republicans embracing conspiracy theories about voting machines.
Nevada officials begin unprecedented hand count of ballots
October 28, 2022 GMTMore election coverage
Hand vote count stops, but Nevada county vows to try again
October 28, 2022 GMTLAS VEGAS (AP) — A rural Nevada county roiled by voting machine conspiracy theories stopped its unprecedented effort Friday to hand count ballots cast in advance of Election Day.
But Nye County officials vowed to reshape their plan and seek another go-ahead from the Nevada Supreme Court, after justices ruled late Thursday that counting methods used this week violated rules they set to prevent the county from allowing early disclosure of election results.
Minneapolis demonstrates voting machines to build trust
October 28, 2022 GMTMINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Election officials in Minnesota’s largest city held a public demonstration of voting machines Friday as part of an effort to maintain public trust and transparency in election systems that have drawn coordinated attacks from former President Donald Trump and others.
Election Day is Nov. 8, but legal challenges already begin
October 27, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Election Day is 12 days away. But in courtrooms across the country, efforts to sow doubt over the outcome have already begun.
More than 100 lawsuits have been filed this year around the Nov.
Ohio elections chief: Precincts can’t take absentee ballots
October 26, 2022 GMTCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio law does not permit voters to return absentee ballots at their precincts on Election Day, the state's elections chief is cautioning amid a misinformation campaign around the security of voting machines that's urging them to do so.
Nevada elections office seeks clarity on ballot hand count
October 24, 2022 GMTRENO, Nev. (AP) — A rural Nevada county’s plan to hand-count all paper ballots for the midterm elections is coming under renewed scrutiny just days before the tally is set to begin.
False election claims overwhelm local efforts to push back
October 23, 2022 GMTESTANCIA, N.M. (AP) — Republican county commissioners in this swath of ranching country in New Mexico’s high desert have tried everything they can think of to persuade voters their elections are secure.
State seeks sanctions over access to county voting machines
October 21, 2022 GMTHARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania's state elections chief wants legal penalties against two Republican county officials and their lawyer for what she calls in a new court filing their “unprecedented, reckless decision” to give an outside group access to voting machines during pending litigation on that subject.
Nevada county defends vote hand-count after ACLU lawsuit
October 20, 2022 GMTRENO, Nev. (AP) — Officials in a rural Nevada county will allow members of the public to view the hand-counting of mail-in ballots before Election Day if they sign a waiver promising not to release voting information early, the county said Wednesday in its response to a lawsuit asking the state Supreme Court to halt the county’s plan.
Falsehoods, harassment stress local election offices in US
October 6, 2022 GMTCARROLLTON, Ohio (AP) — With early voting less than three weeks away, Nicole Mickley was staring down a daunting to-do list: voting machines to test, poll workers to recruit, an onslaught of public records requests to examine.
EXPLAINER: Voting systems reliable, despite conspiracies
October 4, 2022 GMTATLANTA (AP) — Former President Donald Trump and his allies have whipped up a relentless campaign of attacks against voting equipment since his loss in the 2020 election. After nearly two years, no evidence has emerged that voting machines were manipulated to steal the election or that there was any widespread fraud.
Nevada county’s plans to hand-count early ballots challenged
October 4, 2022 GMTRENO, Nev. (AP) — A rural county in Nevada where conspiracy theories about voting machines run deep is planning to start hand-counting its mail-in ballots two weeks before Election Day, a process that risks public release of early voting results.
Georgia election officials discuss breach, security measures
September 28, 2022 GMTATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia State Election Board held a meeting Wednesday meant to reassure board members and the general public that the state's elections remain secure following the revelation of a breach of voting equipment in one county.
Voting equipment to be replaced after ‘unauthorized access’
September 23, 2022 GMTATLANTA (AP) — Georgia's secretary of state on Friday announced plans to replace election equipment in one county following “unauthorized access” to the equipment that happened two months after the 2020 election.
Video shows ‘unauthorized access’ to Ga. election equipment
September 20, 2022 GMTATLANTA (AP) — A Republican Party official in Georgia told a computer forensics team to copy components of the voting system at a rural elections office two months after the 2020 election and spent nearly all day there, contradicting her sworn deposition testimony about her role in the alleged breach of the equipment, a new court filing says.
Breaches of voting machine data raise worries for midterms
September 16, 2022 GMTATLANTA (AP) — Sensitive voting system passwords posted online. Copies of confidential voting software available for download. Ballot-counting machines inspected by people not supposed to have access.
Computer experts urge Georgia to replace voting machines
September 9, 2022 GMTATLANTA (AP) — A group of computer and election security experts is urging Georgia election officials to replace the state's touchscreen voting machines with hand-marked paper ballots ahead of the November midterm elections, citing what they say are “serious threats” posed by an apparent breach of voting equipment in one county.
Special prosecutor to investigate Michigan GOP candidate
September 8, 2022 GMTLANSING, Mich. (AP) — A special prosecutor in Michigan has been appointed to investigate whether the Republican candidate for attorney general and others should be criminally charged for their attempts to gain access to voting machines after the 2020 election.
EXPLAINER: Bolsonaro knocks Brazil’s voting system
September 6, 2022 GMTRIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — With Brazil’s presidential election just a month off, President Jair Bolsonaro is feeding concern about the nation’s electronic voting system. He has long insisted that the machines, used for a quarter-century, are prone to fraud, though he acknowledged last year that hasn't been proved.
US election conspiracies find fertile ground in conferences
September 4, 2022 GMTOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — On a quiet Saturday in an Omaha hotel, about 50 people gathered in a ballroom to learn about elections.
The subject wasn't voter registration drives or poll worker volunteer training.
Amid fears of voting machines, Nevada approves hand counting
August 26, 2022 GMTLAS VEGAS (AP) — As parts of rural Nevada plan to count ballots by hand amid misinformation about voting machines, the Nevada secretary of state’s office on Friday approved regulations for counties to hand count votes starting as soon as this fall’s midterm elections.
Voting machine tampering points to concern for fall election
August 25, 2022 GMTDENVER (AP) — On the last day of voting in Colorado’s June primary, a poll worker sent to wipe down a voting machine found a concerning error message on its screen: “USB device change detected.”
The machine, used to mark ballots electronically, was taken out of use and an investigation launched.
Conspiracies complicate voting machine debate in Louisiana
August 13, 2022 GMTBATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The need for Louisiana to replace its voting machines is not in dispute.
They are badly outdated — deployed in 2006, the year after Hurricane Katrina struck -- and do not produce paper ballots that are critical to ensuring election results are accurate.
Voter groups object to proposed Nevada hand-counting rules
August 12, 2022 GMTRENO, Nev. (AP) — As officials in some parts of rural Nevada vow to bypass voting machines in favor of hand counting ballots this November, the Nevada secretary of state’s office is proposing statewide rules that would specify how to do it, including requiring bipartisan vote counters, room for observation and how many ballots to count at a time.
In Michigan, election denial probe looms over critical races
August 8, 2022 GMTLANSING, Mich. (AP) — Matthew DePerno made his political reputation on loudly and repeatedly questioning the 2020 presidential election results. It gained him the fervor of Republican delegates and the endorsement of Donald Trump in his bid for attorney general.
Report: Michigan AG seeks special prosecutor in 2020 probe
August 8, 2022 GMTLANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Attorney General's office is asking that a special prosecutor investigate whether the Republican candidate for state attorney general and others should be charged in connection with an effort to gain access to voting machines after the 2020 election, according to published reports.
Election conspiracies grip Nevada community, sowing distrust
July 29, 2022 GMTTONOPAH, Nev. (AP) — The Nye County Commission is used to dealing with all sorts of hot-button controversies.
Water rights, livestock rules and marijuana licenses are among the many local dramas that consume the time of the five commissioners in this vast swath of rural and deeply Republican Nevada.
Conspiracy-promoting sheriffs claim vast election authority
July 22, 2022 GMTTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The sheriff in Kansas' most populous county says he took it for granted that local elections ran smoothly — until former President Donald Trump lost there in 2020.
Now he's assigned detectives to investigate what he claims is election fraud, even though there has been no evidence of any widespread fraud or manipulation of voting machines in 2020.
Two GOP primary losers in Colorado fail to pay for recounts
July 20, 2022 GMTDENVER (AP) — Colorado's secretary of state's office on Wednesday said it has told two candidates who lost their Republican primary races last month that it will not conduct a recount of those races because they failed to pay the required amount by the deadline.
Election denier makes Ohio ballot for secretary of state
July 19, 2022 GMTCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A conservative podcaster who has embraced former President Donald Trump’s discredited claims that the 2020 election was stolen will be on the November ballot for Ohio secretary of state.
Brazil’s Bolsonaro meets diplomats to sow doubts on election
July 19, 2022 GMTSAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro on Monday invited dozens of diplomats to the presidential palace to present claims regarding supposed vulnerabilities of the country’s electronic voting system, which electoral authorities have already debunked repeatedly.
Jan. 6 probe: Trump sets rally after ‘unhinged’ WH meeting
July 13, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — In a heated, “unhinged” dispute, Donald Trump fought objections from his White House lawyers to a plan, eventually discarded, to seize states' voting machines and then, in a last ditch effort to salvage his presidency, summoned supporters to march on the U.S.
Fight over 2020 election records lands in Pennsylvania court
June 28, 2022 GMTHARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A county judge in Williamsport has to decide whether to force officials to provide voter-by-voter electronic election records after the state Office of Open Records ruled Pennsylvania law makes them confidential.
Building anger in rural New Mexico erupts in election crisis
June 18, 2022 GMTSANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Behind the raw public frustration and anger over election security that has played out this week in New Mexico was a hint of something deeper -- a growing divide between the state’s Democratic power structure and conservative rural residents who feel their way of life is under attack.
Screams, threats as New Mexico counties certify vote
June 18, 2022 GMTALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A standoff over the security of voting machines between a Republican-leaning county in New Mexico and Democratic state officials that threatened to erupt into a wider political crisis was defused Friday after local commissioners voted to certify their election results.
Official in election standoff avoids prison in Capitol riot
June 17, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — An elected official who was a central figure in a New Mexico county’s refusal to certify recent election results based on debunked conspiracy theories about voting machines avoided more jail time on Friday for joining the mob that attacked the U.S.
County’s refusal to certify the vote hints at election chaos
June 15, 2022 GMTATLANTA (AP) — The conspiracy theories about Dominion voting machines that erupted during the 2020 presidential contest flared this week in a remote New Mexico county in what could be just a preview of the kind of chaos election experts fear is coming in the fall midterms and in 2024.
Conspiracies dominate GOP primary for Nevada elections post
June 12, 2022 GMTRENO, Nevada (AP) — Jim Marchant has been traveling the country repeating the false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump and trying to make the case that electronic voting equipment should be tossed out in favor of ballots cast and counted by hand.
Activists say cyber agency weakens voting tech advisory
June 4, 2022 GMTATLANTA (AP) — The nation’s leading cybersecurity agency released a final version Friday of an advisory it previously sent state officials on voting machine vulnerabilities in Georgia and other states that voting integrity activists say weakens a security recommendation on using barcodes to tally votes.
Cyber agency: Voting software vulnerable in some states
June 1, 2022 GMTATLANTA (AP) — Electronic voting machines from a leading vendor used in at least 16 states have software vulnerabilities that leave them susceptible to hacking if unaddressed, the nation’s leading cybersecurity agency says in an advisory sent to state election officials.
GOP’s 2020 election inquiry contract extended by 6 months
May 23, 2022 GMTHARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republicans in the Pennsylvania Legislature are extending their inquiry into the state's 2020 presidential election inspired by former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud.
Amid false 2020 claims, GOP states eye voting system upgrade
April 15, 2022 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — For years, Tennessee Democratic Senate Minority Leader Jeff Yarbro’s call to require the state’s voting infrastructure to include a paper record of each ballot cast has been batted down in the Republican-dominated Legislature.
Voting in France: Paper ballots, in person, hand-counted
April 10, 2022 GMTPARIS (AP) — French voters in Sunday’s presidential election will use the same system that’s been used for generations: paper ballots that are cast in person and counted by hand.
Voting in France: Paper ballots, cast in person; no machines
April 8, 2022 GMTPARIS (AP) — French voters in Sunday's presidential election will use the same system that's been used for generations: paper ballots that are cast in person and counted by hand. Despite periodic calls for more flexibility or modernization, France doesn’t do mail-in voting, early voting or use voting machines en masse like the United States.
Budget: New Titans stadium, grocery tax pause, vote machines
March 29, 2022 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Republican state lawmakers peppered Gov. Bill Lee's finance team with questions Tuesday about its proposal to authorize $500 million in bonds to help the Tennessee Titans build a new enclosed stadium.
Voting machine maker wins appeal in GOP election inquiry
March 21, 2022 GMTHARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Dominion Voting Systems won an appeal in Pennsylvania's highest court on Monday in a bid to ensure that any inspection of its voting machines as part of Republican lawmakers' inquiry into Pennsylvania’s 2020 election be done by a laboratory that has specific credentials.
Maine close on safeguards to protect ballot, voting machines
March 10, 2022 GMTAUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine is closer to enacting new safeguards to protect its ballots and voting machines from tampering.
Democratic Rep. Teresa Pierce of Falmouth proposed a bill that would clarify the chain of custody of ballots and voting machines in the state.
Texas county official to resign after problems with primary
March 9, 2022 GMTHOUSTON (AP) — The election administrator in Texas’ most populous county submitted her resignation Tuesday following problems with last week’s primary, including about 10,000 mail ballots that weren’t counted the day of the election, issues with voting machines and a lack of poll workers.
Colorado clerk ordered to court for allegedly lying to judge
March 3, 2022 GMTDENVER (AP) — A Colorado county elections clerk under investigation by federal and state authorities for an alleged security breach of voting machines has been ordered to appear in court to respond to allegations that she lied about recording a court hearing.
Voting groups urge Indiana move to paper election ballots
February 11, 2022 GMTINDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A proposal for improving Indiana’s election security by adding small printers to thousands of electronic touch-screen voting machines is being criticized by voting rights groups as relying on ineffective and outdated technology.
Feds oppose immediate release of voting machine report
February 11, 2022 GMTATLANTA (AP) — A federal cybersecurity agency is reviewing a report that alleges security vulnerabilities in voting machines used by Georgia and other states and says the document shouldn't be made public until the agency has had time to assess and mitigate potential risks.
New charges for Colorado clerk targeted in voting probe
February 10, 2022 GMTGRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) — A Colorado county elections clerk under investigation by federal and state authorities in a security breach of voting machines posted bond on Thursday on two misdemeanor charges in a separate case, authorities said.
Judge to decide if report on voting machines can be public
January 27, 2022 GMTATLANTA (AP) — Georgia's secretary of state on Thursday called on a voting technology expert to ask a judge to release a report detailing alleged security vulnerabilities in the voting machines used by the state — something the expert had already done.
Voting machine company won’t comply with Wisconsin subpoena
January 27, 2022 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Nebraska-based voting machine company told the Republican-hired attorney leading an investigation into the 2020 presidential election in Wisconsin that it will not comply with subpoenas issued seeking a broad array of information.
Democratic Senate candidate files election lawsuits
January 19, 2022 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate filed two lawsuits Tuesday alleged that Wisconsin election officials aren’t keeping all ballots secret and are not properly vetting voting machines.
Court puts hold on GOP inspection of county voting machines
January 14, 2022 GMTMcCONNELLSBURG, Pa. (AP) — An inspection of voting machines in a heavily Republican county in Pennsylvania as part of a GOP “investigation” into the 2020 presidential election was moments away from starting Friday until the state Supreme Court put it on hold.
Fox News, others seek access to report on voting machines
January 13, 2022 GMTATLANTA (AP) — In defending itself against a defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems, Fox News is seeking access to an expert report filed under seal in a separate Georgia lawsuit that the author says details vulnerabilities in the company's touchscreen voting machines.
Maine considers new protections for ballots, voting machines
January 12, 2022 GMTAUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The Maine Legislature will consider a proposal designed to protect its elections against interference with ballots and voting equipment.
Supporters of the bill said it would clarify the chain of custody for ballots and voting machines to make sure it's clear who is allowed to legally possess them.
Court asked to require accredited lab in GOP ‘investigation’
January 4, 2022 GMTHARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Dominion Voting Systems has asked a court to restrict any inspection of its voting machines as part of what Republican lawmakers call a “forensic investigation” of Pennsylvania’s 2020 election to a laboratory that has specific credentials.
Officials weary as Mesa election breach probe continues
December 25, 2021 GMTDENVER (AP) — Mesa County has occupied an uncomfortable place in the national spotlight since last summer, when security information from the county’s voting machines was leaked to a right wing website.
County, state must agree on voting system inspection rules
December 21, 2021 GMTHARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republican lawmakers aiming to expand what they call a “forensic investigation” of Pennsylvania’s 2020 election into a new frontier of inspecting voting machines must wait until next month, a judge decided Tuesday.
New Hampshire town rejects bid to ban use of voting machines
December 19, 2021 GMTGREENLAND, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire town has resoundingly rejected a proposal to ban the use of voting machines and return to counting ballots by hand.
Voters in the town of Greenland on Saturday defeated a citizen petition that would have stopped the use of voting machines in all local, state and federal elections.
New front in GOP election ‘investigation’ draws challenges
December 18, 2021 GMTHARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf's administration and a voting-system manufacturer are trying to prevent Republican lawmakers from expanding what they call a “forensic investigation” of Pennsylvania's 2020 election to a new front: inspecting voting machines.
Delaware judge rejects Fox News motion to dismiss lawsuit
December 17, 2021 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — A judge Thursday rejected a motion by Fox News to dismiss a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit brought against the cable news giant by Dominion Voting Systems over claims about the 2020 presidential election.
Nevada county where Trump won to replace voting machines
December 16, 2021 GMTCARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Local officials in rural Nevada decided on Thursday to replace equipment manufactured by Dominion Voting Systems — a sign that unsubstantiated concerns about election machine tampering are still prevalent more than a year after the 2020 election.