The Independent View: Electionline Weekly August-31-2017

Legislative Updates

Federal Legislation: Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) has introduced an Amendment to the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriation Act, that would Prohibit Funds from those Agency being used by the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity.

Alabama: Rep. Steve Clouse (R-Ozark) has pre-filed a Bill for the 2018 Legislative Session that change how Vacant Senate Seats are Filled. Under the Proposal, the Governor would Appoint an Interim Replacement and the Special Election would Coincide with the Next General Election.

Idaho: The Bannock County Commission unanimously voted to Postpone a Proposal to Consolidate the County’s Voting Precincts until after the November Election. The Proposal would eliminate 24 of the County’s 58 Voting Precincts.

Illinois: Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) has Signed Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) Legislation into Law making Illinois the Ninth State and the District of Columbia to offer AVR. The Law takes effect immediately, but will be Implemented in Phases with most of the Changes happening before the November 2018 Election.

Indiana: A Legislative Committee held a Hearing this Week to Debate the Merits of Automatic Voter Registration.

North Dakota: This Week, the Government Administration Committee began examining the possibility of Moving City and Local Elections from June to November.

Legal Updates

California: The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California has filed suit against the state of California alleging that the state did not provide proper notice or an opportunity to fix mismatched signatures, which lead to 45,000 tossed vote-by-mail mail ballots in November 2016.

Kansas: An Eight-Member Jury recently found in favor of the Secretary of State’s Office in a Lawsuit in which a former Employee alleged she was Discriminated against based on Religion.

Missouri: Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (R) filed a Motion this Week seeking to Dismiss a Lawsuit against the State’s New Voter ID Law. In a statement, Ashcroft said the Results of the August 8th Special Election prove that the Law Works. “When you look at the lawsuit that was brought against us, they never even claimed that it stopped anyone from being able to vote," Ashcroft said. "We’ve had all these elections and we’ve proven that the claims they made were without merit."

New Hampshire: The League of Women Voters have filed additional Paperwork in their Suit against Senate Bill 3. This Bill modifies the Definition of Domicile for Voting purposes and also modifies Requirements for Documenting the Domicile of a Person Registering to Vote. The Legal Filing asks the Court for a Preliminary Injunction to Stop the New Law from taking effect on September 8th.

New Mexico: FairVote New Mexico is asking the State Supreme Court to Compel the City of Santa Fe to finally Implement Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV), Nine Years after City Residents Approved of the Move. In July the City Council Voted 6-3 to put off using RCV. “This is an insult to Santa Fe voters,” Maria Perez, Director of FairVote New Mexico, told the Santa Fe New Mexican. She Filed the Lawsuit on behalf of the Group, along with Local Voters Craig O’Hare, Ellen Ackerman, and Anne Noss.

New York: A Lawsuit has been filed against the New York City Board of Elections claiming that Moving the LeFrak City Polling Place will Disenfranchise mostly Elderly, Disabled, and Minority Voters, who live inside the Housing Complex where the Polling Site is Located. The Housing Complex has had a Polling Site on its Grounds for 50 Years. LeFrak City, is a very Large Apartment Development in the Southernmost Region of Corona and the Easternmost part of Elmhurst, a neighborhood in the New York City Borough of Queens. The complex of twenty 16-story Apartment Towers covers 40 Acres and currently houses over 14,000 People.

Judge P. Kevin Castel hear Arguments in a Case Challenging the State’s Ballot Selfie Ban.

Texas: The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily put a Hold on a Lower Court Ruling that Invalidated Two of Texas’ 36 Congressional Districts. In an Order Signed by Justice Samuel Alito, the High Court indicated it wanted to hear from the Minority Groups Suing the State before the State's Appeal of that Ruling moves forward. The High Court Ordered the State's Legal foes to File a Response by Sept. 5th to the State's efforts to keep Congressional District Boundaries Intact for the 2018 Elections.