The Independent View: Electionline Weekly Aug-24-2017

Legislative Updates

Massachusetts: Following a Legal Decision that Outlaws Massachusetts’ Voter Registration Deadline, City Councilmembers in Boston want to Explore Instituting Same-Day voter Registration. The Court Decision is being Appealed, but Members of the City Council want to consider moving ahead with Same-Day Registration while the Legal Battle continues.

South Dakota: Backers of a Ballot Measure to allow South Dakota Counties to go to all Vote-by-Mail need to Collect nearly 14,000 Valid Signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office by November in Order to get the Measure on the 2018 Ballot.

Legal Updates

Indiana: The Indiana NAACP and the League of Women Voters has Filed a Lawsuit in Federal Court which alleges that the State’s new way to Cross-Check Names on Voter Rolls Violates Federal Law and is Discriminatory. Under a Bill Signed into Law in July, the new “Interstate Registration Crosscheck” allows Election Officials to immediately Remove Voters Identified as being Registered in another State. The Process finds Matches based on First and Last Name and Date of Birth.

Iowa: Terry Lynn Rote, 56, who Pleaded Guilty to attempted Voter Fraud has been Sentenced to Two Years of Probation and a $750 Fine. The Judge Ruled that her Record will be Expunged if she completes all Terms of her Sentence.

Kansas: A Trail started this week involving the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office and a former Employee who claims she was Unfairly Fired for not Attending Church enough.

Rhode Island: The Attorney General’s Office and the Cranston Police have both agreed that there was no Voter Fraud in the November 2016 Election. Police Chief Michael J. Winquist told the Providence Journal that the Results of the Department’s Investigation were submitted to the Attorney General’s Office for advice, and that Office opined that because of Evidence concerns and the Level of Proof required in such Cases, Charges shouldn’t be Filed.

New Hampshire: The New Hampshire Democratic Party Filed a Lawsuit in Hillsborough County Superior Court this week contesting that Senate Bill 3, Signed into Law in July, is a Form of Voter Suppression that will Disproportionately affect Young, Low-Income, and Minority Groups.

Texas: U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos has thrown out Texas’ Voter ID Law. Gonzales Ramos Ruled that Senate Bill 5, Signed into Law in June, does not Absolve Lawmakers from the Responsibility for Discriminating against Black and Latino Voters. The Judge Ruled that the State Failed to Prove that the New Law would Accommodate those Voters moving forward.

A Three-Judge Panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has Ruled that a Provision in the Texas Election Code which requires Interpreters helping someone Cast a Ballot to also be Registered to Vote in the Same County in which they are provide Help Violates the Federal Voting Rights Act.

The State’s Attorney General has launched an Investigation into the December 20th, 2016 Runoff Election in Robstown. The Investigation comes after Nueces County Clerk Kara Sands Filed a Complaint about possible Electioneering and Illegal Voter Assistance.

Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has asked the Supreme Court of the United States to Halt the Partial Redrawing of Congressional Maps Ordered by a Lower Court before 2018.