Authorized Information for Journalists Overlaying the Election – Model Slux

This information was initially authored in 2020 by Reporters Committee attorneys Sarah Matthews and Gunita Singh, authorized fellows Audrey Greene and Kamesha Laurry, and authorized interns Emma Lux and Shontee Pant. It was up to date in 2024 by authorized fellows Zach Babo, Julia Dacy, Mayeesha Galiba, and Daniela Wertheimer.

The Election Authorized Information offers an summary of authorized points that journalists could face whereas reporting on the 2024 election cycle. View the Election Authorized Information in Spanish / Vea la Guía Authorized Para Las Elecciones en Español.

The primary 5 sections of this information supply a common abstract of details about marketing campaign occasions, exit polling, newsgathering in or close to polling locations, poll selfies, and entry to ballots and election data. The following sections present extra particular data on every of the next battleground states: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Journalists who’re reporting on protests and demonstrations throughout the election season may also be taught extra concerning the particular dangers they might face and keep secure within the Reporters Committee’s Police, Protesters, and the Press information. These guides are supposed for informational functions solely and don’t exchange the authorized recommendation of an lawyer. Journalists with further questions, together with questions on states not featured on this information, ought to contact the Reporters Committee’s free Authorized Hotline.

Marketing campaign occasions

Marketing campaign rallies and occasions are, as a common matter, privately funded by political campaigns and are thus thought of non-public occasions. Because of this, campaigns keep management over which members of the general public could (or could not) entry these occasions, together with journalists. Journalists have traditionally been granted entry to marketing campaign occasions; nonetheless, since 2016, there have been elevated stories of journalists barred — or eliminated — from such occasions. The issue has continued into 2024, with current stories of journalists being denied entry to marketing campaign occasions held by Donald Trump and Nikki Haley.

Journalists denied credentialed entry to marketing campaign occasions have skilled success attending as a member of most of the people. Nonetheless, journalists ought to be conscious that they might be topic to elimination in the event that they violate occasion guidelines established by the marketing campaign. For instance, in 2020 a New York Instances reporter was ejected from a Trump marketing campaign rally after reporting by way of social media from the occasion’s common viewers space, which purportedly violated the marketing campaign’s occasion guidelines.

Exit polling

Exit polls performed in individual

Journalists’ rights and restrictions at polling locations aren’t set in stone. Whether or not a restriction is permissible typically activates its “reasonableness” underneath the circumstances. Though courts don’t typically tackle the final problem of newsgathering at polling locations, a number of courts have thought of the narrower query of whether or not journalists ought to be capable of conduct exit polls on Election Day, often discovering that just some affordable restrictions are allowed.

Usually, the First Modification protects journalists’ proper to assemble information outdoors polling locations for the aim of reporting on early election outcomes. Though many states at the moment have polling-place restrictions to stop voter intimidation and election fraud, courts have invalidated laws that’s aimed toward stopping exit polling.

The important thing query about every restriction is whether or not it seeks to restrict speech or newsgathering. If it does, the restriction could also be unconstitutional. But when the legislation applies equally to all expressive exercise, doesn’t single out newsgathering for unfavorable remedy, and promotes the protection and orderliness of the election course of, restrictions deemed affordable — equivalent to a 25-foot restrict on entry — are permissible.

Within the seminal case on exit polling, Day by day Herald Co. v. Munro, 838 F.second 380 (ninth Cir. 1988), the U.S. Court docket of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held {that a} state legislation prohibiting exit polling inside 300 ft of a voting place was unconstitutional on its face. The court docket clearly said that “exit polling constitutes speech protected by the First Modification.” Id. at 384.

Not less than 18 different federal courts have thought of the problem since Munro. These courts have largely held that exit polling is constitutionally protected however have additionally permitted some restrictions, equivalent to a 25-foot restrict on entry, Nat’l Broad. Co. v. Cleland, 697 F. Supp. 1204, 1215 (N.D. Ga. 1988), or a rule towards hindering voters from leaving polling locations, Am. Broad. Cos. v. Blackwell, 479 F. Supp. second 719, 744 (S.D. Ohio 2006). Though the U.S. Supreme Court docket has not addressed exit polling particularly, it has made clear that states could limit different exercise equivalent to electioneering inside no less than 100 ft of voting locations. See Burson v. Freeman, 504 U.S. 191, 210 (1992) (permitting restriction on solicitation of votes and distribution of marketing campaign supplies to guard the federal government’s compelling curiosity in stopping voter intimidation and election fraud).

When courts have thought of restrictions that influence exit polling, they’ve typically agreed with the Ninth Circuit in Munro on just a few key factors:

First, exit polls present invaluable data to the general public. See, e.g., Cleland, 697 F. Supp. at 1209.

Second, exit polling shouldn’t be inherently disruptive. See, e.g., CBS Broad., Inc. v. Smith, 681 F. Supp. 794, 801 (S.D. Fla. 1988); Am. Broad. Cos. v. Wells, 669 F. Supp. second 483, 490 (D.N.J. 2009).

Third, distance restrictions, even when they apply typically to exercise outdoors polling places, could also be overly burdensome on the press’s potential to assemble information. See Smith, 681 F. Supp. at 803; Cleland, 697 F. Supp. at 1209–10; CBS Broad., Inc. v. Cobb, 470 F. Supp. second 1365, 1371 (S.D. Fla. 2006).

The selections range on what distance is simply too burdensome, with a number of courts holding that restrictions of 100-feet or extra are impermissible. Evaluate, e.g., Munro, 838 F.second at 386 (invalidating 300-foot restriction); Cleland, 697 F. Supp. at 1215 (barring enforcement of 250-foot restriction however allowing 25-foot restriction); Nat’l Broad. Co. v. Colburg, 699 F. Supp. 241, 243 (D. Mont. 1988) (invalidating 200-foot restriction); Smith, 681 F. Supp. at 806 (barring enforcement of 150-foot restriction); Cobb, 470 F. Supp. second at 1371 (barring enforcement of 100-foot restriction); Am. Broad. Cos. v. Heller, No. 06-CV-01268, 2006 WL 3149365, at *13 (D. Nev. Nov. 1, 2006) (identical); Am. Broad. Cos. v. Ritchie, No. 08-CV-05285, 36 Media L. Rep. 2601, 2008 WL 4635377 (D. Minn. Oct. 15, 2008) (identical).

Exit polls performed by cellphone

Telephone surveys of voters are a rising apply that permits entry to absentee and early voters, in addition to those that vote by mail. Journalists conducting exit polls by cellphone ought to be conscious that the Phone Shopper Safety Act (TCPA) locations restrictions on prerecorded calls. 47 U.S.C. § 227. The TCPA typically prohibits robocalls to landlines until the recipient has offered categorical consent. § 227(b)(1)(B). However the legislation permits for sure exceptions, equivalent to for calls that aren’t made for “a industrial function” or are made for a industrial function however don’t embody adverts or telemarketing, and calls made by tax-exempt nonprofits. § 227(b)(2)(B). The Federal Communications Fee has clarified that market analysis and polling calls to landlines fall into this class and don’t require prior consent, although these calls should nonetheless determine the caller initially of the message and embody a contact cellphone quantity. Nonetheless, auto-dialed and prerecorded non-emergency calls to wi-fi telephones are “prohibited with out prior categorical consent, whatever the name’s content material.”

Newsgathering in or close to polling locations

Just a few courts have addressed newsgathering at and round polling locations other than exit polling. In 2013, the U.S. Court docket of Appeals for the Third Circuit rejected a problem to a Pennsylvania statute that required folks to stay no less than 10 ft away from polling locations, holding that there was no First Modification proper of entry for newsgathering functions. PG Publ’g Co. v. Aichele, 705 F.3d 91, 113–14 (3d Cir. 2013). Nonetheless, in 2004, the U.S. Court docket of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit barred enforcement of an analogous legislation in Ohio that restricted folks from getting into the polling place or “loiter[ing]” within the adjoining space outdoors. Beacon Journal Publ’g Co. v. Blackwell, 389 F.3d 683, 685 (sixth Cir. 2004). The court docket held that the state was required to allow a information group “to have affordable entry to any polling place for the aim of news-gathering and reporting as long as [they] don’t intervene with ballot employees and voters as voters train their proper to vote.” Id.

With respect to pictures, courts have upheld some restrictions inside polling places, given issues about election safety. In 1989, the Florida Supreme Court docket heard a problem by a newspaper whose photographer was ejected from a polling place after making an attempt to safe a photograph of a candidate on the polls. Firestone v. Information-Press Publ’g Co., 538 So. second 457, 458 (Fla. 1989). The court docket held {that a} state legislation barring non-voters inside 50 ft of a polling place was unconstitutional as utilized outdoors of the voting room, however constitutional as utilized inside the room itself. Id. at 460. Likewise, the California Court docket of Appeals discovered {that a} coverage prohibiting pictures and videotaping inside polling locations was constitutional given the state’s curiosity in sustaining poll secrecy and an orderly voting course of. Poniktera v. Seiler, 104 Cal. Rptr. 3d 291, 304–05 (Cal. Ct. App. 2010).

One federal district court docket has upheld restrictions on pictures outdoors a polling place, however such restrictions are much less frequent. See N.J. Press Ass’n v. Guadagno, No. 12-CV-06353, 2012 WL 5498019, at *7–8 (D.N.J. Nov. 13, 2012) (rejecting problem introduced by information media organizations towards anti-loitering and solicitation legislation that successfully barred them from taking pictures and conducting interviews inside 100 ft of a polling station).

Poll selfies

“Poll selfies” are a social media staple and could also be utilized by journalists to reveal present political tendencies or to tell the general public of potential points with the election course of. The publication of poll selfies or marked poll photographs ought to be permitted if they’re obtained lawfully. Earlier than taking poll selfies or photographs of voters on the polls, journalists and members of the general public ought to be certain that their actions are permitted by state legislation. (Notably, there is no such thing as a federal legislation disallowing poll selfies.) The Nationwide Convention of State Legislatures has a useful on-line useful resource with data on poll and polling place pictures legal guidelines by state. Journalists ought to verify that the legal guidelines cited are nonetheless present earlier than counting on them.

Usually, poll selfies are thought of a type of political speech. Political endorsements are thought of a bedrock of the electoral course of and a significant type of political expression. Nonetheless, some concern that poll selfies and different poll pictures could encourage voter coercion or vote shopping for. To fight these fears, many states have adopted legal guidelines that prohibit photographing election ballots or sharing {a photograph} of a marked poll with others.

In accordance with a 2020 Vox report, 14 states have legal guidelines prohibiting poll selfies, whereas 24 states and the District of Columbia allow them. Some states, like Arizona, allow pictures of absentee ballots however don’t allow the usage of cameras at polling websites. See, e.g., Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 16-515(G) (banning pictures inside 75 ft of the polls); Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 16-1018(4) (allowing a voter to make obtainable a picture of his or her personal poll). A number of states permit folks to take footage of polling stations as long as they don’t seem to be disruptive or for electioneering functions.

In recent times, a number of courts have thought of the constitutionality of legal guidelines banning poll selfies with blended outcomes. Not less than three federal courts have struck down such legal guidelines as unconstitutional underneath the First Modification. In 2016, the U.S. Court docket of Appeals for the First Circuit discovered a New Hampshire legislation that prohibited taking and sharing pictures of a marked poll — no matter whether or not it was taken at a polling place — overly broad and concluded that the federal government had did not determine a necessity for the laws aside from summary issues about vote shopping for and voter coercion. Rideout v. Gardner, 838 F.3d 65, 68, 73 (1st Cir. 2016).  The New Hampshire Board of Elections advises, nonetheless, that “[i]t is acceptable to encourage that poll selfies be taken contained in the voting sales space, the place there is no such thing as a threat of photographing different voters or their poll.”  New Hampshire Election Process Handbook: 2022-2023, N.H. Dep’t of State.

The next 12 months, a federal district court docket — citing comparable causes — barred enforcement of an Indiana legislation that prohibited voters from taking or sharing photos of even unmarked ballots whereas in a polling place. Ind. Civil Liberties Union Discovered., Inc. v. Ind. Sec’y of State, 229 F. Supp. 3d 817, 824–25 (S.D. Ind. 2017). A federal court docket in Colorado preliminarily blocked enforcement of that state’s legislation, which prohibited voters from displaying their accomplished ballots, noting that state legislation already barred voter coercion and vote shopping for, and most ballots have been mailed in. Hill v. Williams, No. 16-cv-0267-CMA, 2016 WL 8667798, at *11–12 (D. Colo. Nov. 4, 2016). The Colorado legislature subsequently modified the legislation to affirmatively permit poll selfies. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 1-13-712(b).

In 2017, the Circuit Court docket of Illinois declared an Illinois legislation, 10 ILCS 5/29-9, which criminally outlawed poll selfies, unconstitutional on the grounds that the legislation was facially overbroad. Rogers v. Madison Cnty. Clerk, No. 2016-SC-3147, 2017 WL 3475008 (Unwell. Cir. Ct. July 20, 2017). Nonetheless, three years later, the Appellate Court docket of Illinois held that the statute was an inexpensive restriction on voters’ First Modification rights. Oettle v. Guthrie, 2020 IL App (fifth) 190306, ¶ 3, 189 N.E.3d 22, 25 (Dec. 16, 2020). As of March 10, 2023, an modification to the legislation to allow poll selfies stays pending within the Illinois Home. IL HB1369.

A federal district court docket upheld New York’s poll selfie ban, discovering that the state’s curiosity in stopping vote shopping for and coercion justified the legislation. Silberberg. v. Bd. of Elections, 272 F. Supp. 3d 454, 479, 481 (S.D.N.Y. 2017). Throughout its 2022 session, the New York Legislature thought of a invoice to permit poll selfies; the invoice didn’t go and was not enacted into legislation. A.B. 4182, 2021-22 Leg., Reg. Sess. (N.Y. 2022).

The Sixth Circuit has additionally prompt, with out deciding, {that a} Michigan poll selfie ban could also be constitutional. Crookston v. Johnson, 841 F.3d 396, 399 (sixth Cir. 2016). However the problem was later settled when the Michigan secretary of state agreed to allow poll selfies within the voting sales space.

Most just lately, an Ohio voter introduced a problem to enforcement of two Ohio legal guidelines that ostensibly prohibit taking poll selfies. Kareem v. Cuyahoga Cnty. Bd. of Elec., No. 1:20-CV-02457, 2023 WL 2734636, at *6 (N.D. Ohio Mar. 31, 2023). The felony statutes prohibit voters from “exhibit[ing]” their poll earlier than it’s forged, Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 3501.35(4), and from permitting their poll “to be seen by one other … with the obvious intention of letting or not it’s identified how the elector is about to vote,” Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 3599.20. Although the voter-plaintiff pointed to proof that the Board of Elections had despatched one other voter a request to delete a poll selfie and that the Board had issued statements to the general public and press concerning the illegality of poll selfies, this was inadequate for the voter-plaintiff to determine standing, and the court docket declined to determine the constitutional deserves of the voter’s case.

Entry to ballots and election data

Due no less than partly to the COVID-19 pandemic, the variety of voters casting mail-in ballots has grown exponentially in recent times. In 2020, 43 p.c of voters forged mail-in ballots, whereas one other 26 p.c voted in individual earlier than Election Day, in response to U.S. Census information. In accordance with the identical information, 69 p.c of voters forged their ballots nontraditionally, both by mail or earlier than Election Day. The 2022 U.S. congressional elections noticed 52.2 p.c of the voting-age inhabitants take part, marking the second-highest voter turnout for such midterm elections since 2000, in response to U.S. Census information.  Practically half (47.1 p.c) of these voters forged ballots earlier than Election Day, with 31.8 p.c of voters doing so by mail. This marked one other enhance in such nontraditional strategies in comparison with the 2018 midterm elections, the place 23.1 p.c of voters forged ballots by mail, and 37.8 p.c voted earlier than Election Day.

These modifications in how People place their votes have, in flip, resulted in modifications to how states tally and report votes throughout the U.S. elections course of. As these tendencies are anticipated to proceed, this part of our information focuses on the appropriate of the general public and press to entry voter rolls, ballots, and the preliminary poll depend and recount course of within the following battleground states: Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. As well as, it comprises details about deadlines for counting and certifying state election outcomes and the place to search out up-to-date election outcomes on the night time of the election and thereafter. The sections under embody particular data for every of those battleground states.

To be taught extra about entry to election-related data in every state, go to the Reporters Committee’s Open Authorities Information.

Entry to voter rolls

Within the 2024 battleground states coated on this information, voter registration data are open to public inspection pursuant to every state’s public data legislation, albeit with sure data withheld, equivalent to social safety numbers and dates of beginning. In most of those states, copies of voter registration data may additionally be obtained.

Entry to ballots

State legal guidelines range with respect to entry to ballots. Some states, like Wisconsin, contemplate them to be public data topic to sure redactions. See, e.g. Election Audit Central, County of Dane, WI (publicly posting zip information containing redacted poll photos for the 2022 Spring Election as a “do it your self audit”). However different states, like Arizona, require them to be sealed, remaining confidential both for a hard and fast interval or in perpetuity.  See Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 16-624; Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 16-625.

Entry to preliminary poll counts and recounts

Usually, the press and the general public are entitled to look at the preliminary poll counts and recounts performed within the 2022 battleground states coated on this information. In Pennsylvania, nonetheless, solely candidates and their attorneys or representatives could also be current to look at a recount.  See, e.g., 25 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3154(e). In Ohio, the secretary of state has indicated that the general public’s proper of entry will not be “as in depth” as the appropriate of entry for “duly appointed observers,” though the secretary has not clarified what this implies. Directive 2011-12, Ohio Sec’y of State (Mar. 25, 2011).

Federal and state deadlines

The battleground states featured on this information typically don’t allow mail-in or absentee ballots to be counted previous to Election Day — though Arizona and Florida do. Nonetheless, some states, together with Minnesota, North Carolina, and Ohio, allow counties to course of mail-in ballots — which means put together them for counting — previous to Election Day. Proposals for comparable measures in Michigan and Pennsylvania have stalled in recent times regardless of help from their respective secretaries of state.

The battleground states differ on when the poll depend have to be accomplished, in addition to their mail-in poll receipt deadlines and necessities for mail-in poll eligibility. Such deadlines and necessities have been usually the topic of litigation in 2022, and we should always count on to see extra of the identical in 2024.

Secretaries of state and state election boards could present well timed entry to election outcomes and election-related data on their web sites.

Arizona

Voter rolls

• Voter registration data is “an official public document.” Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 16-161.
• Voter registration data can be found for public inspection at native election places of work; copies may additionally be furnished for a charge. Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 16-168(F).
• Obtainable data consists of title, social gathering desire, date of registration, tackle, phone quantity, beginning 12 months, occupation, information associated to early voters, and voting historical past. Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 16-168(F).
• Further sources: Ron O’Dell, Arizona settles lawsuit to make voter-registration information extra accessible, reasonably priced, AZCentral (June 29, 2017).

Ballots

• Voted ballots are statutorily preserved just for conducting a recount and, afterwards, they have to be destroyed with out examination. Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 16-624.
• Poll photos are protected against bodily and digital entry, together with unauthorized copying or switch and are protected by safety measures which can be no less than as protecting as these in place for paper ballots. Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 16-625.

Preliminary poll counts and recount course of

• “All proceedings on the counting heart shall be … underneath the statement of representatives of every political social gathering and the general public.” Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 16-621(A).
• There’s a dwell feed that streams tabulation for all elections the place ballots are counted. The county officer in control of elections should present a dwell video recording of the counting of ballots within the tabulation room, throughout each preliminary counting and recounts. Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 16-621(D).
• The county officer in control of elections should well timed present the web site hyperlink to the recordings to the secretary of state, who then publishes these hyperlinks on the secretary of state’s web site together with date and time indicators. The secretary of state posts hyperlinks to the video protection for viewing by the general public. Id.
• “The county recorder or officer in control of elections shall document the video protection of the ballots on the counting heart and shall retain these recordings as a public document for no less than so long as the problem interval for the final election.” Id.

Dates and deadlines for counting ballots

• Most Arizonans vote by mail.
• Early voting begins Oct. 11, 2024. For absentee ballots and ballots forged in accordance with early voting procedures, “tallying of ballots could start instantly after the envelope and accomplished affidavit are processed … and delivered to the early election board.”  Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 16-550(B).
• Outcomes of early voting can’t be “launched or divulged earlier than all precincts have reported or one hour after the closing of the polls on election day, whichever happens first.” Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 16-551(C).
• Polls shut at 7 p.m. on Election Day. The deadline for tallying all ballots is the fourth Monday following the final election — this 12 months, Dec. 2.  Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 16-648.
• Counties have as much as 20 days and the state has as much as 30 days to canvass and certify the outcomes. Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 16-642(A); Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 16-648.
• Maricopa County will start posting unofficial outcomes at 8 p.m. on Election Day. There are 2,406,677 registered voters in Maricopa County as of Jan. 2, 2024. Of these voters, 1,879,979 are on the energetic early voting listing.
• Further sources: Maricopa County Elections Division; Secretary of State 2024 Election Info

Election end result assets

• The Arizona secretary of state web site and the Maricopa County recorder web site will publish election outcomes after they change into obtainable.

Exit polling, newsgathering in or close to polling locations, and poll selfies

Florida

Voter rolls

Ballots

Preliminary poll counts and recount course of

• The preliminary poll counts, or canvasses, are open to the general public. County boards of election will typically publish data on their web sites about attending canvasses. Fla. Stat. § 102.141(2).
• Public discover of a recount have to be offered as quickly as attainable as soon as a recount is deemed obligatory.  Fla. Stat. § 102.166.
• All procedures referring to recounts are open to the general public. Id.
• Further sources: Recount Process Abstract, Fla. Div. of Elections (final up to date June 2022).

Dates and deadlines for counting ballots

• The deadline for county canvassing boards to submit official outcomes to the Florida Division of State is 12 p.m. EST, 13 days after Election Day — this 12 months, Nov. 18. Fla. Stat. § 102.112(2). If the outcomes aren’t despatched to the Division of State attributable to an emergency, the Elections Canvassing Fee should decide a brand new deadline. Fla. Stat. § 102.112(4).

Election end result assets

• Elections supervisors present dwell turnout information to the general public on Election Day and replace it no less than as soon as an hour. For present election outcomes, go to the Florida Division of State’s Election Watch web site.

Exit polling, newsgathering in or close to polling locations, and poll selfies

• Florida legislation has prohibited “solicitation” each inside polling locations and inside 150 ft of them, together with searching for “truth, opinion, or contribution.” Stat. § 102.031(4)(b). The legislation, nonetheless, comprises an categorical carve-out that allows exit polling.
  • In 2023, the U.S. Court docket of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit evaluated, amongst different provisions, the constitutionality of the ultimate clause of Part 102.031(4)(b), which prohibited “partaking in any exercise with the intent to affect or impact of influencing a voter.” See League of Ladies Voters of Fla. v. Fla. Sec. of State, 66 F.4th 905 (eleventh Cir. 2023). The Court docket upheld the district court docket’s willpower that the clause “partaking in any exercise with the … impact of influencing a voter,” as written, was unconstitutionally obscure and overbroad as a result of it did not put a person on discover of what acts it forbids. at 946–47. Nonetheless, the Court docket’s ruling doesn’t seem to have an effect on the permissibility of exit polling within the state.
• Florida legislation additionally typically prohibits pictures in polling locations, however a 2019 modification to the legislation makes an exception for poll selfies. (“[A]n elector could {photograph} his or her personal poll”). Fla. Stat. § 102.031(5).
• The general public can enter polling rooms to look at procedures earlier than the polls open and after all voters have forged their ballots. However the press can’t be within the polling room when polls are open. Fla. Stat. §102.031(3)(a).

Georgia

Voter rolls

• Voter registration lists can be found to the general public underneath the Georgia Open Information Act.  Ga. Code Ann. § 21-2-225(b).
• The requester should full and mail a type and cost to the Georgia secretary of state’s workplace. Obtainable voter data consists of voter title, residential tackle, mailing tackle (if completely different), race, gender, registration date, and final voting date. Georgia’s secretary of state’s workplace determines pricing. Georgia legislation prohibits the usage of voter registration data for industrial functions. Ga. Code Ann. § 21-2-225(c).

Ballots

• The contents of voting machines aren’t open to the general public. Ga. Code Ann. § 21-2-72.
• Nonetheless, “the first and election data of every superintendent, registrar, municipal governing authority, and committee of a political social gathering or physique, together with registration statements, nomination petitions, affidavits, certificates, tally papers, returns, accounts, contracts, stories, and different paperwork in official custody” are publicly obtainable. Id.

Preliminary poll counts and recount course of

• Poll counts utilizing optical scanning gear are open to the general public, however solely individuals “employed and designated for [the] function [of counting and tabulating ballots] by the superintendent’s approved deputy shall contact any poll or poll container.” Ga. Code Ann. § 21-2-483(b).
• Georgia legislation doesn’t require an automated recount. Candidates have a proper to request a recount if the margin is lower than or equal to 0.5 p.c. Recount requests have to be made in writing inside two enterprise days of the discharge of licensed voting outcomes. Ga. Code Ann. § 21-2-495(c)(1).
• Candidates may additionally request a recount when there’s a suspected error or discrepancy within the returns. The secretary of state has discretion to allow the recount. Ga. Code Ann. § 21-2-495(d).
• Throughout recounts, all ballots have to be counted utilizing poll scanners. Members of the general public are allowed to view the recount, and officers should keep a “clear audit path” throughout the recount, together with logs of poll container seal numbers. See Ga. Guidelines of State Election Bd., 183-1-15-.03(1)(b), (d), (f).
• Whereas voting outcomes are topic to the Georgia Open Information Act’s disclosure necessities, specific forms of election information that will compromise election safety “towards sabotage, felony, or terroristic acts” could also be exempt. See Smith v. DeKalb Cnty., 654 S.E.second 469, 472 (Ga. App. Ct. 2007) (affirming injunction prohibiting disclosure of election CDs that included passwords, encryption codes, and different safety data).
• Until famous in any other case, it’s illegal to reveal or obtain any details about absentee poll tabulations till the polls shut. Ga. Code Ann. § 21-2-386(f).

Dates and deadlines for counting ballots

• Georgia county election boards could start processing absentee ballots (also called mail-in ballots) as much as 15 days earlier than Election Day, and should start doing so one week earlier than Election Day, in response to an emergency rule handed by Georgia’s State Elections Board on Nov. 23, 2020. Nonetheless, absentee ballots will not be counted till Election Day. Ga. Guidelines of State Election Board 183-1-14-0.9-.15(1); Ga. Code Ann. § 21-2-386.
• Election officers should keep a grasp listing, topic to public inspection, itemizing the title and residence of each individual to whom an absentee poll has been despatched. Ga. Code Ann. § 21-2-384(d).

Election end result assets

Exit polling, newsgathering in or close to polling locations, and poll selfies

• In Georgia, reporters could enter a polling place to look at, however they’re prohibited from getting into the “enclosed area.” See Ga. Code Ann. § 21-2-568.1 (stating that, besides for kids so approved, “no individual shall deliberately observe an elector whereas casting a poll in a way that might permit such individual to see for whom or what the elector is voting” and that violators of this provision “shall be responsible of a felony”). Georgia legislation refers to an “enclosed area” as a single room furnished with a guardrail or barrier the place voting machines are situated and the place electors forged their votes. Ga. Code Ann. § 21-2-267(a).
• Georgia legislation prohibits members of the general public, together with journalists, from taking footage, movies, or different recordings contained in the polling place. Subsequently, poll selfies aren’t permitted on the polls. Ga. Code Ann. § 21-2-413(e).
• Journalists could not conduct exit or public opinion polling of voters inside 25 ft of the exit of any constructing the place a polling place is situated. Ga. Code Ann. § 21-2-414(c)(1).

Michigan

Voter rolls

Ballots

• Ballots, not traceable to particular person voters, can be found for inspection and copying, in response to Michigan’s public data legislation. Mich. Comp. Legal guidelines § 15.231 et seq.
• Further sources: Workplace of the Mich. Att’y Gen., Op. No. 7247 (Might 13, 2010).

Preliminary poll counts and recount course of

• Preliminary counting of ballots is public. Mich. Comp. Legal guidelines § 168.801.
• Candidates and voters, besides candidates searching for precinct delegate positions, can request recounts. Mich. Comp. Legal guidelines §§ 168.862­–863.
• Recounts are performed in a public area the place members of the press and public could observe the method as long as observers don’t disturb these counting the ballots. Mich. Comp. Legal guidelines §§ 168.879–80; Mich. Comp. Legal guidelines § 168.889.
• People who intimidate an election official with the intent to intervene within the official’s duties are topic to felony sanction.  Mich. Comp. Legal guidelines § 168.931b. This provision doesn’t apply to “constitutionally protected exercise, together with, however not restricted to, partaking in reporting” and information gathering on “issues of public curiosity or public concern.”
• For federal seats and State Home seats contained inside a single district, recount petitions have to be filed inside 48 hours after the Board of State Canvassers adjourns the assembly at which the willpower for the seat was recorded. Mich. Comp. Legal guidelines § 168.879.
• For federal and state seats contained in a number of counties, recount petitions have to be filed inside 48 hours after the Board of State Canvassers completes the canvass. Id.
• For county seats, recount petitions have to be filed inside 48 hours after the Board of County Canvassers completes the canvass. Mich. Comp. Legal guidelines § 168.866.
• Presidential and vice-presidential candidates “could search judicial assessment of the certification or willpower by a grievance for mandamus filed within the supreme court docket,” offered sure situations are met.  Mich. Comp. Legal guidelines § 168.845a. Overview “have to be filed inside 48 hours after the certification or willpower of the outcomes of a presidential election.”
• Voters, inside 30 days after the election, could deliver swimsuit in county circuit court docket for obvious materials fraud in an election to “determine a constitutional modification, query, or proposition.” Mich. Comp. Legal guidelines § 600.4545.
• Further sources: Mich. Comp. Legal guidelines § 168.874; Mich. Election Dates, Workplace of the Mich. Sec’y of State.

Dates and deadlines for counting ballots

• Absentee ballots will not be counted till Election Day.
• The boards of county canvassers should full the poll depend inside 14 days after Election Day — this 12 months, by Nov. 19. Mich. Comp. Legal guidelines § 168.822.
• The Board of State Canvassers should certify the outcomes for President and Vice President inside 20 days of the election — this 12 months, by Nov. 25. Mich. Comp. Legal guidelines § 168.842.
• If the unofficial election return vote margin between the primary and second place winners of the presidential and vice presidential election is fewer than 25,000, the secretary of state will expedite county canvassers’ returns such that the finished depend is concluded by the seventh day after the election — this 12 months, Nov. 12 — and no later than the fourteenth day after the election — this 12 months, Nov. 19.  Mich. Comp. Legal guidelines § 168.842.

Election end result assets

Exit polling, newsgathering in or close to polling locations, and poll selfies

• Voters can take pictures of their very own ballots whereas inside voting cubicles, however aren’t allowed to take a photograph of themselves with the poll, even within the privateness of the sales space. Additional, voters aren’t permitted to share photos of their voted ballots inside 100 ft of polling locations. Election Inspectors’ Process Handbook (2022), Mich. Bureau of Elections.
• These guidelines, first adopted in 2019, have been a part of a settlement in a voter lawsuit difficult Michigan’s restriction on poll pictures. Michigan secretary of state settles ‘poll selfie’ case, Mich. Dept. of State.
• In the meantime, journalists and broadcast stations are allowed to briefly movie from the general public space of a polling room, however a precinct chairperson should supervise to make sure poll secrecy is maintained and no voters are inconvenienced. Reporters could not interview voters contained in the polling place. Election Officers’ Handbook (final up to date November 2022), Mich. Bureau of Elections.

Minnesota

Voter rolls

• The county auditor shall make obtainable a public data listing containing the title, tackle, 12 months of beginning, and voting historical past of each registered voter within the county. Minn. Stat. § 201.091(4).
• Voter registration data can be found for inspection and copying. Obtainable data consists of voter title, tackle, and voting historical past. Nonetheless, one have to be a registered voter within the state to obtain copies of the data. Information have to be offered inside 10 days of a request. Id.
• One could not acquire these data “for functions unrelated to elections, political actions, or legislation enforcement.” This isn’t a bar to entry; the Minnesota secretary of state has offered copies of the statewide voter listing to information shops, together with the Star Tribune. Id.
• The names of voters whose absentee ballots weren’t accepted have to be made publicly obtainable after the shut of voting on Election Day. Minn. Stat. § 203B.12.

Ballots

• Ballots aren’t obtainable to the general public or to the press as public data. Ballots are sealed after Election Day and are solely obtainable to a court docket throughout a authorized dispute, to these concerned in a recount, and/or to the Minnesota secretary of state. Minn. Stat. § 204C.25; Minn. Stat. § 204C.28.

Preliminary poll counts and recount course of

• The preliminary poll counts are public. Minn. Stat. § 204C.33.
• The general public and the press are additionally allowed to look at recounts. Viewing areas are established for the general public to look at the recounting of ballots. Minn. Stat. §204C.361.
• A candidate whose nomination is in query could request a recount if the vote margin is lower than 0.25 p.c for federal places of work and state constitutional or judicial places of work, lower than 0.5 p.c for state legislative places of work, or if the distinction in votes is 10 or much less the place the entire variety of votes is 400 or fewer. Minn. Stat. § 204C.35–36. The request have to be made with the suitable submitting officer inside 48 hours after the canvassing board assembly.
• Further sources: Recounts, Workplace of the Minn. Sec’y of State.

Dates and deadlines for counting ballots

• No ballots are tallied earlier than Election Day in Minnesota, though the ballots may be processed previous to Election Day.
• The County Canvassing Board meets between the third and tenth days following the state common election to publicly canvass the final election returns. Which means, this 12 months, canvassing have to be accomplished by Nov. 15. The State Canvassing Board then meets to depend the tallies obtained from every of the county auditors on the third Tuesday following the state common election — this 12 months, Nov. 26. The board should report the outcomes inside three days of finishing the depend — this 12 months, Dec. 2. Minn. Stat. § 204C.33(1).
• Supply: Canvassing Boards, Workplace of the Minn. Sec’y of State; 2022 Minnesota Absentee Voting Administration Information at 49.

Election end result assets

Exit polling, newsgathering in or close to polling locations, and poll selfies

• There isn’t any legislation prohibiting somebody from taking an image of his or her personal poll. Nonetheless, the Minnesota secretary of state’s workplace discourages the apply as a result of state legislation technically prohibits voters from displaying their marked poll to others. Polling Place Guidelines, Workplace of the Minn. Sec’y of State; Stat. § 204C.17–18.
• Journalists can observe the voting course of, however they can not conduct exit polling interviews, converse with a voter, or method inside six ft of a voter contained in the polling place. Journalists should current picture identification to the top election decide upon arrival together with both a acknowledged media credential or a written assertion from a neighborhood official testifying to the media consultant’s credentials. Stat. § 204C.06.

Nevada

Voter rolls

Ballots

• Nevada legislation doesn’t acknowledge a proper of public entry to ballots. Ballots are secured for 22 months by the county clerk and are solely topic to inspection by a court docket order. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 293.391.

Preliminary poll counts and recount course of

• The general public and the press could observe the preliminary ballot-counting course of in addition to a recount, however state legislation doesn’t allow observers to intervene with the willpower of the Recount Board. Nev. Rev. Stat. §293B.353; Nev. Rev. Stat. § 293.404.
• Registered voters may additionally request recordings of the ballot-counting course of — offered recordings have been made — for gratis. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 293B.353.
• Further sources: Nev. Att’y Gen., Op. No. 175 (Nov. 25, 1974) (explaining that the general public entry necessities of ordinary ballot-counting apply to recounts as a result of “a recount is however a replay of the procedures for inspecting … the ballots as was executed instantly after the final election”).

Dates and deadlines for counting ballots

• In Nevada, counties could begin counting absentee ballots fifteen days earlier than Election Day — this 12 months, Oct. 21. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 293.269929. The depend have to be accomplished earlier than seven days after Election Day — this 12 months, Nov. 12.
• County canvasses have to be accomplished inside 10 days of the election — this 12 months, Nov. 15. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 293.387(1).
• On Nov. 26, the justices of the Nevada Supreme Court docket should meet with the Nevada secretary of state to assessment the election outcomes, and the governor will problem a proclamation declaring which candidates have been elected to public workplace. Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 293.395(2)–(3).
• Further sources: Sec’y of State for Nevada, 2024 Nevada Election Calendar.

Election end result assets

• The Nevada secretary of state offers election information on the Silver State Elections web site.

Exit polling, newsgathering in or close to polling locations, and poll selfies

• Nevada legislation prohibits “any individual” from talking to a voter concerning the voter’s poll inside 100 ft of a polling place. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 293.740. Nonetheless, a coalition of media organizations challenged the appliance of this legislation to exit polling in 2006, and a federal trial court docket agreed that it possible violates the First Modification and preliminarily blocked its enforcement. Am. Broad. Cos. v. Heller, No. 06-CV-01268, 2006 WL 3149365, at *1 (D. Nev. Nov. 1, 2006). Nevada’s secretary of state subsequently agreed to a remaining judgment, entered by the court docket, that declared the legislation unconstitutional as utilized to the media coalition and completely enjoined the legislation’s enforcement towards the media plaintiffs in future elections. Though the judgment solely utilized to the media organizations who introduced the lawsuit (ABC, The Related Press, CNN, CBS, Fox Information and NBC Common), the Elections Division of Nevada’s workplace of the secretary of state has clarified, by way of e-mail to a Reporters Committee lawyer, that the Nevada legislation, § 293.740, “doesn’t prohibit exit polling,” so journalists are free to conduct exit polls within the 100-foot space outdoors polling places.
• Nevada legislation prohibits members of the “common public” from taking photographs or in any other case recording “the conduct of voting at a polling place,” so poll selfies aren’t permitted on the polls. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 293.274(2).
• Journalists who’re employed or contracted by a “newspaper, periodical, press affiliation, or radio or tv station” could observe conduct of voting at a polling place and should {photograph} or document the identical. Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 293.274(1)–(3).
• Sure counties, together with Clark County, Nevada, residence of Las Vegas, require that “no direct or clear photographs of the poll” be captured and request that “prepared individuals could also be interviewed outdoors of the voting website.”

New Hampshire

Voter rolls

• The secretary of state maintains a statewide centralized voter registration database. Any individual could view the information obtainable on the general public statewide voter registration guidelines on the state data and archives heart throughout regular enterprise hours, however they might not print, duplicate, transmit, or alter the information. N.H. Rev. Stat. § 654:31.III.
• A viewer could not entry the whole database however can conduct searches for particular entries. See N.H. Rev. Stat. § 654:45 (stating database, as a complete, shouldn’t be topic to disclosure underneath § 654.31 or New Hampshire’s Proper-to-Know Legislation, § 91-A, et seq.).
• Obtainable data consists of title, tackle, voter participation historical past, and social gathering affiliation. N.H. Rev. Stat. § 654:31.
• “Checklists,” which present who voted, are public data that could be considered and copied for a charge from every city or metropolis clerk or from the state archives. See N.H. Rev. Stat. § 654:31 (offering public entry to guidelines); § 654:25 (offering data maintained and up to date by supervisors sustaining checklists).
• Sources: NH Rev. Stat. § 654:25; NH Rev. Stat. § 654.45.

Ballots

• Ballots are exempt from New Hampshire’s Proper-to-Know legislation. Ballots utilized in an election stay sealed within the containers offered by the secretary of state till destroyed after the state and federal retention durations. N.H. Rev. Stat. § 659:95; see additionally § 659:97 (requiring secretary of state to furnish containers and sealers to protect ballots); § 659:100 (requiring the destruction of ballots nonetheless within the city or metropolis clerk’s possession, after the retention interval expires, in accordance with § 33-A:3-a).

Preliminary poll counts and recount course of

• Preliminary counting of ballots is public, and “shall not be adjourned nor postponed till it shall have been accomplished.” N.H. Rev. Stat. § 659:63.
• Recounts are performed in public, and anybody can attend. See N.H. Rev. Stat. § 660:5 (requiring ballots from the recount to be delivered to a “public facility designated by the Secretary of State.”); see additionally § 659:63 (offering counting of ballots shall be public).

Dates and deadlines for counting ballots

• In New Hampshire, counties could not begin counting absentee ballots on Election Day till after the polls are closed, though counties could course of absentee ballots — which means put together them for counting — as early as two hours after polls open on Election Day. N.H. Rev. Stat. § 659:49; see additionally § 659:63 (offering counting of ballots shall be public).  Nonetheless, upon a written problem of 10 or extra voters current on the polls no later than 1 p.m. on Election Day, the moderator shall postpone “the processing of all absentee ballots till after polls shut and previous to the counting of all ballots forged within the election.” § 659:49. The moderator, or the moderator’s designee, “shall publish the time at which the processing of absentee ballots shall start on the polling place and one different public location no less than 24 hours earlier than the polls open[;]” and, that on the opening of the polls, the “moderator shall announce the time at which the processing of absentee ballots shall start.”  Id.
• There isn’t any official deadline for counting ballots in New Hampshire, though in response to the workplace of the secretary of state, ballots are sometimes counted inside a day or two. N.H. Rev. Stat. § 659:84 (requiring the certification of the outcomes to happen after the time for requesting a recount expires); see additionally § 660:1 (requiring recounts to be requested “no later than the Friday following the election.”).

Election end result assets

• The New Hampshire workplace of the secretary of state posts election outcomes on its web site. In accordance with the workplace of the secretary of state, native media collect and announce town-specific election information.

Exit polling, newsgathering in or close to polling locations, and poll selfies

• New Hampshire doesn’t have particular guidelines on exit polling, besides that such exercise mustn’t hinder voters who’re getting into or exiting the polling place. The secretary of state’s Election Process Handbook for New Hampshire, final up to date for 2022-23, states that the “greatest apply” is to maintain the press outdoors the “railed-in space” — past which solely voters and election officers are permitted, N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 659:21 — and permit exit polling to happen in an “adjoining room,” if obtainable.
• Cities can undertake their very own bylaws concerning, amongst different issues, “any exercise which impacts the protection, welfare and rights of voters.” N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 31:41-c. These bylaws have to be given to the city clerk instantly following adoption and have to be posted at every polling place no less than 72 hours upfront of the polls opening. Id.
• New Hampshire has a number of guidelines concerning the permissible distances between a member of the general public, together with the information media, and any a part of the election course of. Anybody can observe voter registration in New Hampshire, however people have to be greater than 5 ft away from the voter registration desk. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 654:7-c. As well as, an individual could not stand inside six ft of the poll clerk to look at the check-in of voters until that individual obtains categorical permission from the moderators. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 659:13-a. Lastly, solely election officers could also be current inside 4 ft of the poll counting, which happens inside the “guardrail,” although this course of is performed publicly. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 659:63.
• Poll selfies are allowed in New Hampshire. Though a state legislation beforehand prohibited them, the U.S. Court docket of Appeals for the First Circuit discovered that restriction an unconstitutional violation of the First Modification in Rideout v. Gardner, 838 F.3d 65 (1st Cir. 2016), mentioned above.

North Carolina

Voter rolls

• Upon request, the county board of elections should present an inventory of registered voters of the county or of any precinct.  N.C. Gen. Stat. § 163-82-10(c).
• Obtainable data consists of title, tackle, and social gathering affiliation. Id.
• A county board of elections could, upon request, additionally furnish “selective lists” in response to social gathering affiliation, gender, race, or different classes. Id.
• These supplied with “selective lists” should reimburse the board for the precise prices incurred in compiling the lists. Id.

Ballots

• Accomplished ballots are confidential and shall not be disclosed to members of the general public, “until a court docket orders in any other case.” N.C. Gen. Stat. § 163-165.1(e).

Preliminary poll counts and recount course of

• Any member of the general public could observe the preliminary poll depend if she or he doesn’t intervene with the orderly counting of the ballots. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 163-182.2(a)(3).
• The State Board of Elections should develop guidelines for recounts enabling “alternative for public statement.” But North Carolina legal guidelines don’t comprise particular guidelines concerning observing recounts. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 163-182.7(d)(3).
• Nonetheless, recounts in North Carolina, in apply, permit observers.

Dates and deadlines for counting ballots

Election end result assets

• Dwell election outcomes may be discovered on the web site of the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

Exit polling, newsgathering in or close to polling locations, and poll selfies

• Varied election legal guidelines have been modified or amended underneath B. 747 in 2023.
• It’s towards state legislation to take {a photograph} or seize video of a voted poll. C. Gen. Stat. § 163.166.3(c).
• State legislation establishes a 50-foot buffer zone across the polling place. Journalists can not conduct exit polling interviews inside that space. C. Gen. Stat. § 163.166.4(a).
• Members of the media want permission from the chief decide at a precinct to enter the voting enclosure. Reporters can not take footage or document video of a voter contained in the enclosure with out each the chief decide and the voter’s consent. C. Gen. Stat. § 163.166.3(b).

Ohio

Voter rolls

• Voter registration information are public data and are open to public inspection when the workplace of the board of elections is open for enterprise. Viewers will probably be accompanied by a member of the board. Ohio Rev. Code § 3503.13(A).
• Obtainable registration data consists of title, tackle, and voter participation historical past, however doesn’t embody social safety quantity, driver’s license quantity, phone quantity, or e-mail tackle. Ohio Rev. Code § 3503.15; Ohio Rev. Code § 3503.13.
• Information are additionally obtainable on the Ohio secretary of state’s web site. Voter Information Obtain Web page, Workplace of the Sec’y of State.

Ballots

• Ballots are public data in Ohio, however solely after the time interval inside which a attainable recount or election contest could happen. Ohio Off. of the Att’y Gen., Op. No. 2011-012 (June 2011). At that time, ballots are topic to public inspection “underneath such affordable rules as shall be established” by the state’s board of elections. Ohio Workplace of the Att’y Gen., Op. No. 2004-050 (Dec. 27, 2004).

Preliminary poll counts and recount course of

• Ohio legislation offers restricted public entry to tabulation of ballots. Ohio Rev. Code § 3505.21(D), (F).
• Throughout the preliminary counting of ballots, counting should happen earlier than members of the board of elections and official observers. Ohio Rev. Code § 3505.27.
• Within the occasion of a recount, candidates within the race to be recounted could observe the recount and should designate and appoint particular folks to look at on their behalf. Ohio Rev. Code § 3515.03.
• A 2011 directive from the Ohio secretary of state mentions the appropriate of most of the people to look at recounts however notes that their proper of entry is extra restricted than official observers. Directive 2011-12, Ohio Sec’y of State (March 25, 2011); Ohio Rev. Code § 3515.03; Ohio Rev. Code § 3505.21.
• For post-election audits, the Ohio secretary of state has specified that these have to be open to the general public and the media. Nonetheless, if area is proscribed, official observers will probably be given precedence. Ohio Rev. Code § 3505.331(C); Ohio Rev. Code § 3505.21.
• Further Sources: Election Official Handbook, Ohio Sec’y of State (up to date as of Dec. 20, 2023).

Dates and deadlines for counting ballots

• Absentee ballots could also be processed, however not tabulated, starting the day after the shut of voter registration, which includes scanning the poll utilizing automated tabulating gear. Nonetheless, county boards could not bodily depend the ballots till after the polls shut on Election Day. Ohio Rev. Code § 3505.26.
• Counties sometimes full unofficial counts on election night time and transmit these outcomes to the Ohio secretary of state. Ohio Rev. Code § 3505.26; Ohio Rev. Code § 3505.27.
• Official canvasses or counts have to be accomplished by the twenty first day after the election — this 12 months, Nov. 26. The outcomes are remaining and unamendable 81 days after the election — this 12 months, Jan. 25, 2025. Ohio Rev. Code § 3505.32.

Election end result assets

• There shall be “periodic reporting to the general public and the workplace of the secretary of state of the variety of votes forged for every candidate” whereas ballots are being counted. Ohio Rev. Code § 3505.27.
• Moreover, numerous counties will publish and replace election outcomes on election night time. For instance, Licking and Jackson Counties recommend refreshing their web site incessantly for probably the most present information.

Exit polling, newsgathering in or close to polling locations, and poll selfies

• Exit polling is permitted inside 100 ft of the doorway of a polling location. In Ohio, journalists are permitted to assemble outdoors small United States flags positioned on the walkways resulting in the polling place.  Ohio Rev. Stat. § 3501.35.
• It’s towards state legislation to take {a photograph} or seize video of a voted poll. Ohio Rev. Code § 3599.20.
• “Cheap entry” have to be offered to journalists protecting polling locations, which incorporates entry to the within of a polling location. Ohio Rev. Code § 3501.35(B)(2).

Pennsylvania

Voter rolls

• Commencing not later than the fifteenth day previous to an election, every fee shall put together for every election district an inventory of the names and addresses of all registered electors as of that date residing within the district.  25 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 1403.
• Voter rolls could also be inspected throughout enterprise hours, and copies could also be requested for a charge. A state worker should supervise the inspection. 25 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 1207.
• Obtainable data consists of title and tackle. 25 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 1403.

Ballots

Preliminary poll counts and recount course of

Dates and deadlines for counting ballots

• Clerks can begin processing ballots at 7 a.m. EST on Election Day, though they might not start counting them till after polls shut. 25 Pa. Stat. § 3146.8.
• The County Board of Elections shall give no less than 48 hours’ discover of a pre-canvass assembly by publicly posting a discover of the assembly on its web site. Id.
• One approved consultant of every candidate and every political social gathering is permitted to be within the room by which absentee ballots and mail-in ballots are pre-canvassed. Id.
• The deadline for counting all ballots in Pennsylvania is the third Monday following the election — this 12 months, Nov. 25, 2024. 25 Pa. Stat. § 2642(okay).

Election end result assets

• The outcomes of elections in federal and state elections in Pennsylvania can be found on the Division of State web site beginning on election night time.
• Supply: Election Outcomes, Pennsylvania Division of State.

Exit polling, newsgathering in or close to polling locations, and poll selfies

• Most of the people, together with journalists, should stay no less than 10 ft away from the polling place whereas votes are being forged; exit polling is permitted outdoors this space. 25 Pa. Stat. § 3060(a)–(d).
• Solely ballot watchers, peace officers, and as much as 10 individuals ready to vote could enter the polling place at any given time. 25 Pa. Stat. § 3060(a).
• In Pennsylvania, every county units its personal coverage concerning digital gadgets within the polling place. The counties that prohibit cell telephones have indicators informing people about this rule. “If cell telephones are allowed, you possibly can take a selfie however you must take care to not disclose the picks of one other voter.”  Prime 5 Issues to Know About Voting, Pa. Dep’t of State (final visited Jan. 22, 2024).

Wisconsin

Voter rolls

• Voter registration data are open to public inspection underneath the general public data legislation, and copies could also be obtained for a charge. Wis. Stat. § 6.36.  Requests could also be made on-line.
• A voter document features a voter’s title, tackle, any contact data they supplied with their registration, the electoral districts that voter is in, what elections they voted in, and whether or not they voted on the polls or absentee again to 2006. See Regularly Requested Questions, Badger Voters, Election’s Comm’n (final visited Feb. 1, 2024).
• Ballot books, which present who voted, are additionally obtainable. Each registration data and ballot books are within the custody of the municipal clerk the place the voter registered. Wis. Stat. § 6.46.
• Further sources:  Wisconsin Elections Fee Public Information Request, Wis. Elections Comm’n.

Ballots

• Ballots are public data obtainable for inspection and copying; obtainable poll photos redact voter figuring out data. See, e.g. Do It Your self Audit, County of Dane, Wisconsin (final visited Feb. 1, 2024).
• Clerks are required to retain ballots for 22 months following a federal election, after which they might be destroyed. Wis. Stat. § 7.23(1)(f).

Preliminary poll counts and recount course of

• Any member of the general public could observe the counting of ballots. Wis. Stat. § 7.41.
• “All steps of the recount shall be carried out publicly.” Wis. Stat. § 9.01.
• “[I]nterested individuals shall be entitled to be current in individual … to look at the proceedings.” Wis. Stat. § 9.01(3).

Dates and deadlines for counting ballots

• All ballots have to be counted on Election Day, after the polls shut. Absentee ballots in sure municipalities could also be counted previous to the closing of the polls on Election Day, however all ballots bodily forged on Election Day can solely be counted as soon as the polls shut. Wis. Stat. § 7.51; Wis. Stat. § 7.52.
• The ultimate deadline for counting ballots within the common election is Nov. 11, 2024, the primary Monday after the election. Wis. Stat. § 7.51.
• The final day for the chairperson of the Wisconsin Elections Fee to certify the outcomes of the final election is Dec. 1, 2024. Wis. Stat. 7.70(3)(a).

Election end result assets

• County clerks publish all election returns on the county web site no later than two hours after receiving the returns. Wis. Stat. § 7.60.

Exit polling, newsgathering in or close to polling locations, and poll selfies

• Members of the general public, together with journalists, could entry polling locations permitted they don’t seem to be disruptive to the election course of. Wis. Stat. § 7.41. Media is topic to most restrictions on different election observers. Wisconsin Election Observer Guidelines-at-a-Look Brochure, Wisc. Election’s Comm’n (March 28, 2022). Observers from media organizations shall determine themselves and the group to the chief inspector after they arrive on the polling place. Id.
• Journalists could conduct exit polling permitted it isn’t disruptive to the election course of. Wis. Stat. § 7.41(2).
• Images is permitted each inside and outdoors the polling location. Wisconsin Election Day Handbook for Election Officers, Wisc. Elections Comm’n (final visited Feb. 1, 2024). Nonetheless, photographing marked ballots is impermissible, as is inducing an elector to show a marked poll.  Wis. Stat. § 12.13(1)(f), (3)(q).
• Media could document sound, photos, and video for brief durations of time contained in the polling place if they don’t seem to be disruptive. They might use cell telephones or tablets to take footage and movies, which common observers are requested to not do, along with skilled picture and video gear.