Author

Kira Lerner
Kira was the democracy reporter for States Newsroom where she covered voting, elections, redistricting, and efforts to subvert democracy.
Woman jailed for collecting 4 ballots in Arizona sparks fear of voting in majority Latino city
By: Kira Lerner - February 8, 2023
This story was produced in partnership with Type Investigations, with support from the Fund for Constitutional Government. SAN LUIS, ARIZONA — The small city of San Luis is tucked away in the far corner of Arizona, closer to Mexico than to any major U.S. city. The community is nearly 95% Latino and tight-knit — the […]
Future of U.S. election law at stake as Supreme Court hears North Carolina case
By: Lynn Bonner and Kira Lerner - December 7, 2022
WASHINGTON — North Carolina Republicans appeared to have at least three of the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative justices on their side Wednesday in a case that could determine the future of elections nationwide, and leave decisions about federal elections in the hands of state legislatures and beyond the reach of state courts. The Supreme Court […]
Election deniers lose attempts to control elections in critical battleground states
By: Kira Lerner - November 9, 2022
Several prominent Republican candidates who denied the results of the 2020 election lost their races Tuesday, but other critical races featuring election deniers have not been called. Going into Election Day, election deniers were on the ballot in around half of the races for governor and secretary of state and one-third of the races for […]
Midterm voting mostly problem-free in battleground states, voting advocates report
By: Kira Lerner - November 8, 2022
As of midday Tuesday, voting across the country has largely gone smoothly without any major issues or incidents of voter intimidation, voting rights advocates said. In counties that did experience problems, which were typical of any Election Day, the incidents were largely attributed to faulty technology and human error. In Maricopa County, Arizona, one of […]
Conspiracy theorists urge voting as late as possible on Election Day to ‘stop the steal’
By: Kira Lerner - November 4, 2022
A close ally of Republican Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano has a plan that she claims will help win him the election and prevent voter fraud: She wants voters to cast their ballots “as late in the day as possible” on Election Day. Conspiracy theorist Toni Shuppe, who has ties to QAnon and who is […]
Concerns grow that voter intimidation could disrupt midterm elections
By: Kira Lerner - November 3, 2022
PHOENIX — The two outdoor ballot drop boxes in Maricopa County are both unassuming — secure metal boxes, about the size of blue mailboxes, located just outside county buildings. But in recent weeks, they’ve at times been monitored by volunteers with far-right organizations, prompted by former President Donald Trump’s claims of widespread fraud and misinformation […]
‘Burning the candle at both ends’: Inside one of the nation’s busiest elections offices
By: Kira Lerner - October 31, 2022
PHOENIX — During the first few days that Arizona’s Maricopa County began tabulating early votes, County Recorder Stephen Richer ran between interviews and meetings, responded on Twitter to dozens of voters with questions about the election and held a press conference for reporters. He managed this all while overseeing a staff and volunteers who were […]
Prolonged challenges by losing candidates could overshadow November election results
By: Kira Lerner - October 20, 2022
Joey Gilbert, a Reno-based attorney, lost the GOP primary for Nevada governor by roughly 26,000 votes in June, a margin of around 11 points. But he wasn’t ready to admit defeat. Empowered by former President Donald Trump’s false claims of voter fraud after the 2020 election, Gilbert refused to concede. He offered a $25,000 reward […]
A conspiracy-fueled push to count ballots by hand gains traction
By: Kira Lerner - September 26, 2022
Nye County, a rural enclave in Nevada, has positioned itself as the epicenter of a Donald Trump-fueled conspiracy about the security of electronic vote tabulators. The Nye County Commission voted in March to make the county one of the first to act on the false narratives that machines that count votes are rigged. County Clerk […]
Election officials can’t access federal funding for security as violent threats mount
By: Kira Lerner - August 24, 2022
Colorado’s election officials, like so many across the country, faced a surge of violent threats after the 2020 election. Federal authorities are prosecuting a man who pleaded guilty to threatening a Colorado election official on Instagram, where he wrote: “Do you feel safe? You shouldn’t.” And Colorado police arrested a man accused of calling Secretary […]
Election officials at U.S. Senate hearing describe threats, spread of misinformation
By: Kira Lerner - August 3, 2022
WASHINGTON — Democrats on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday explored how to combat violent threats lodged against election officials, while Republicans questioned why the Department of Justice isn’t doing more to investigate threats against crisis pregnancy centers and Supreme Court justices. During a hearing on protecting election officials, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite […]
State elections officials struggle with paper shortages, harassment, insider threats
By: Kira Lerner - July 22, 2022
MADISON, Wis. — Elections officials from 33 states, gathered for a conference under tight security, warned that the next few election cycles will be affected by paper shortages and the potential for threats from inside elections offices. The meeting of the National Association of State Elections Directors this week was held with stringent security precautions, […]