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Democrats are counting on Generation Z, many of whom recently gained the right to vote, to help turn Congress blue in the midterm elections. But 49 cents may be all it takes to keep these post-Millennials from exercising their civic duty. On Tuesday, a Fairfax County, Virginia official said they are noticing a disturbing trend: young people failing to mail in their absentee ballots because they don't know how to get a stamp. Lisa Connors, of the Fairfax County Office of Public Affairs, ran a focus group this summer comprised of colleges students interning in various county departments. "One thing...

West Virginia is test launching a mobile voting system powered by blockchain technology in its upcoming primary election on May 8th. The system will initially be available only for active-duty military registered voters and their “eligible dependents” in Harrison and Monongalia county. The state is the first in the country to be testing a blockchain-backed voting system for a federal election, according to a recently released statement.

Democrat Conor Lamb, who has a razor-thin lead over Republican Rick Saccone in Pennsylvania’s special congressional election, says he’s confident he’ll be the ultimate winner. With some absentee ballots still being counted, Lamb told CNN Wednesday his campaign had made a push to help voters get absentee ballots. Lamb told CNN he has not yet heard from Saccone, but added, “I congratulate him on fighting hard the whole way.” Asked about his strong showing in a Republican district that Donald Trump carried by 20 points in 2016, Lamb said, “This is my home. You call it a red district, I...

Hundreds of thousands of service workers are planning an anti-Trump labor strike for May 1, BuzzFeed reported Saturday. Nearly 350,000 workers plan to strike President Trump’s agenda on International Workers’ Day on May 1. More than 300,000 food chain workers and 40,000 unionized service workers will walk off the job that day, according to a coalition of groups leading the strike.

Formal protests are now being filed in 11 additional counties to challenge potentially fraudulent absentee ballots cast for Roy Cooper and other Democrats, according to Governor Pat McCrory's campaign.A formal protest was filed with the Bladen County Board of Elections to challenge several hundred absentee ballots, alleged to be fraudulent on Tuesday. The initial evidence laid out in the protest suggests a "massive scheme to run an absentee ballot mill involving hundreds of ballots, perpetrated by and through the Bladen County Improvement Association PAC," a political-action committee funded by the N.C. Democrat Party and other prominent statewide Democrats.  In addition to...

Cortney wrote earlier today that there could be some funny business with the vote counts in Durham and Bladen counties. Now, McCrory’s campaign site said they’ve filed election protests in 11 more counties:

HAMILTON, Ohio -- If you're trying to read the tea leaves, this could be very good news for Donald Trump: Absentee voting in Republican stronghold Butler County is up 9 percent this year compared to 2012, and 21 percent over 2008.

For 2016 Day 4 of Cumulative In-Person NC Absentee Voting Same Day #s to 2012 by Party: overall -1%, Dems -10%, GOP -5%, Unaffiliated +28%

...On day 2 of this year's in-person early voting, 49 percent came from registered Democrats, 27 percent from registered Republicans, and 24 percent from registered unaffiliated voters. Cumulatively so far, registered Democrats are 51 percent of the early in-person ballots, registered Republicans are 26 percent, and registered unaffiliated voters are 23 percent. In comparison to the same day in 2012 totals, registered Democrats are down 10 percent, registered Republicans are down 6 percent, and registered unaffiliated voters are up 28 percent.

Party Requested % ttl Rep 64,317 40.5% Dem 49,886 31.4% Una 44,605 28.1% Party Returned % ttl Rep 16,331 39.0% Dem 15,108 36.0% Una 10,488 25.0%

Trending well in Iowa. Will Explain.

According to today's absentee ballot data available on the NC Board of Elections web site, ballot requests are as follows. Republicans have the lead in absentee requests by more than 8%. 2012 data is available but I haven't compared results. (Requested Pct Party) 45659 31.63% DEM; 57876 40.09% REP; 40318 27.93% UNA; 496 0.34% LIB; 144350 TOT

Still trending well in Iowa.

Florida is on pace to set a new record for voting by mail in 2016, as nearly one of every four voters will make their choices at home, weeks before election day. As Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton duel in a handful of states and plan for two more TV debates, Floridians are voting in numbers never before seen in a statewide election. At least 2.6 million ballots are flooding mailboxes this week, a figure that could nearly double by Nov. 8, when total turnout could approach 9 million.

State officials say more than 524,000 absentee ballots have been requested in Ohio this year - an increase of 40,000 compared to the same period during the 2012 presidential election. Secretary of State Jon Husted (HYOO’-sted) says nearly 12,000 of the absentee ballot applications are from military and overseas voters. The rest are from in-state residents. Absentee ballot applications must be submitted by Nov. 5, the weekend before the Nov. 8 general election. Husted says voters should submit them as soon as possible

DALLAS (AP) -- George P. Bush was talking about his future political plans - and how Donald Trump wouldn't reshape them - when two women approached, giddy with excitement. Eighteen months after he was elected Texas land commissioner and a few weeks past his 40th birthday, Bush is quietly continuing his family's legacy. The grandson of one former president and nephew of another, he remains a rising star in America's largest conservative state and is keeping alive the possibility that a political dynasty declared dead by many when his dad flamed out of the presidential race could yet again return...

Dozens of countries around the world have allowed their citizens who happen to be abroad on Election Day to vote by absentee for decades. Practically speaking, absentee balloting is more necessary in a country like Israel, where elections are set three months in advance, than in the United States, where Americans know their presidential races will be held every four years in November. So why is absentee balloting for Israelis such a controversial issue, and why have governments promised it for years and never delivered? To answer the first question, it is important to understand the ethos of Israeli society....

FOND DU LAC – 1,259 absentee ballots remain outstanding according to election officials in the 6th Congressional District. Wisconsin Election Watch obtained outstanding absentee ballot data from clerks via their website or on the telephone on Thursday. The Sheboygan Press initially reported on Wednesday that there 1,500 absentee ballots outstanding. The following is an actual count of the outstanding absentee ballots: County Number of Outstanding Absentee Ballots Columbia 68 Dodge 76 Fond du Lac 113 Green Lake 17 Manitowoc 82 Marquette 8 Milwaukee 15 Ozaukee 397 Sheboygan 205 Waushara 10 Winnebago 268 Sources: County Clerks in Columbia, Dodge, Fond du...

WASHINGTON, DC – Sources confirmed today that hundreds of thousands of military absentee ballots were delivered hours after the deadline for them to be counted, with preliminary counts showing that they would have overturned the vote in several states and brought a victory for Governor Mitt Romney.

Can anyone answer this: Are absentee ballots counted as they come in or are the only recorded and then counted altogether on election day? Just wondering if they showed democrat-requested absentee ballots voting for Romney.