story archive
Stories by Matt Vasilogambros
Posted May 10, 2022, 8:19 am
Matt Vasilogambros
/Stateline
With primary elections well underway across the country, voting rights and immigrant advocates are raising the alarm about a lack of language assistance for voters who aren’t fluent in English.... Read more»
Posted Apr 12, 2022, 6:09 am
Matt Vasilogambros
/Stateline
Around the country, new voting restrictions have complicated an already difficult process for 38 million disabled voters—a challenge as advocates navigate sudden shifts and measures undergo last-minute legislative changes during the primary season.... Read more»
Posted Mar 22, 2022, 3:24 am
Matt Vasilogambros & Ethan Edward Coston/Stateline
The U.S. Supreme Court left open the possibility it could endorse a fringe conservative legal theory which asserts state courts do not have jurisdiction over election policy, which would give state legislatures unchecked powers over election rules before the 2024 presidential election.... Read more»
Posted Feb 28, 2022, 2:41 am
Matt Vasilogambros
/Stateline
Gripped by drought, communities are exploring innovations to ensure residents have access to drinking water - but desalinating seawater, one proposed solution, has provoked heated debate, as some environmentalists say the process is inefficient, expensive and unneeded. ... Read more»
Posted Feb 10, 2022, 7:24 am
Matt Vasilogambros
/Stateline
With a rise in homicides in more than a dozen major U.S. cities, local leaders and gun safety experts are renewing their efforts to strike a balance between relying on law enforcement and engaging others, such as social workers, to reduce violence in at-risk communities.... Read more»
Posted Jan 28, 2022, 7:52 am
Matt Vasilogambros
/Stateline
The pervasive myths of a stolen 2020 presidential election and widespread voter fraud are still dominant in many state legislatures, as Republican policymakers call for more investigations and reshape election administration in a way that could give them a partisan advantage.... Read more»
Posted Jan 11, 2022, 9:20 am
Matt Vasilogambros
/Stateline
A California conservation law being implemented over the next two decades, along with a range of actions by communities, provide a preview of difficult policy choices communities across the West will have to grapple with as climate change pushes water shortages to crisis levels.... Read more»
Posted Dec 6, 2021, 8:39 am
Matt Vasilogambros
/Stateline
21 states now no longer require residents to hold a permit to carry a concealed firearm, eliminating the previous requirements for gun owners to take gun safety and training classes and undergo a background check.... Read more»
Posted Nov 24, 2021, 10:36 am
Matt Vasilogambros
/Stateline
Ranked choice voting, lauded by advocates for avoiding costly runoffs and ensuring that winners in crowded races earn majority support, is steadily gaining steam nationally - this year, 32 cities in seven states used the voting method. ... Read more»
Posted Nov 13, 2021, 10:39 pm
Matt Vasilogambros
/Stateline
Voting rights advocates caution there is still considerable work to do ahead of next year’s midterms to boost lagging confidence in the democratic process. ... Read more»
Posted Oct 18, 2021, 12:22 am
Matt Vasilogambros
/Stateline
Most of the 19 states that have red flag laws adopted them after the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida—a tragedy that could have been prevented if the state had a red flag law, but that momentum has petered out as national pressure for gun restrictions has waned. ... Read more»
Posted Oct 6, 2021, 8:14 am
Matt Vasilogambros
/Stateline
Red flag laws have become a popular tool to prevent mass shootings, suicides and deadly domestic violence, but many law enforcement officials and legislators say the public and even some police officers have so little knowledge of the tool that it isn’t used as often as it should be.... Read more»
Posted Sep 21, 2021, 11:17 am
Matt Vasilogambros
/Stateline
The lies about election fraud, which range from false claims about the winner of the 2020 presidential race to accusations about this month’s California recall process, have state and local election officials worried about the future. ... Read more»
Posted Sep 8, 2021, 9:55 am
Matt Vasilogambros
/Stateline
Ten months after the 2020 presidential election, Republican state lawmakers in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are following Arizona in pushing investigations rooted in the false claim that the election was stolen.... Read more»
Posted Jul 28, 2021, 10:08 pm
Matt Vasilogambros
/Stateline
Republican lawmakers this year passed an unprecedented bevy of bills targeting the authority of state and local election officials, a power grab that might allow partisan legislators to overturn future election results by claiming there was fraud. ... Read more»
Posted Oct 16, 2020, 2:30 pm
Matt Vasilogambros & Carrie Levine/Stateline
Election officials across the country have begun reviewing security plans at early and Election Day voting sites, strengthening ties with local law enforcement and training poll workers to prepare for voter intimidation tactics.... Read more»