According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections, more than 135,000 voters cast their ballots on the first day of early voting last Thursday. Marian Lewin, vice president of the North Carolina League of Women Voters, said people who are not registered to vote should bring a driver s license, utility bill, bank statement or other proof of address, in order to do same-day registration and voting during the early voting period. "If you re not registered to vote, you cannot vote on Election Day," Lewin cautioned. " .
It s the political season and Washingtonians are being flooded with messages ahead of the midterm elections. Curiously, our anxiety over death could play a big role in how we react to those messages, and even in whom we vote for. Brian Burke, psychology professor at Fort Lewis College, said the Seattle-based Ernest Becker Foundation has analyzed how its founder s theory explains our political motivations. .
Advocates for Mainers with disabilities say the state s online voting system is helping to increase turnout among this group of voters, some of whom might not have reliable transportation to the polls. The state launched the Accessible Absentee Ballot during the pandemic in 2020. It allows people with disabilities to vote at home, the same as Mainers serving in the military or living overseas. .
A new proposal to reduce gun violence in Portland would create a list of people likely to cause violence, but the plan has skeptics. Known as the Violent Impact Player or VIP list, the risk-assessment program has been implemented in other cities, including Tampa, Florida. The list would "score" people based on six risk factors to predict the likelihood they ll offend again. .
Bipartisan federal legislation introduced this week would provide more personalized mental health services to survivors of military sexual assault and trauma. Under the proposal for the Department of Veterans Affairs, survivors would have access to peer-support specialists, often someone who has been in a similar situation, to serve as a partner in helping them seek justice. One in four women in the military reports being a victim or survivor of sexual trauma during their military service. .