The Independent View: Electionline Weekly Mar-29-2018

Legislative Updates

Maryland: Marylanders will decide this November whether or not the State should allow Election Day Registration. The Senate voted 33-14 to put the Constitutional Amendment on the Ballot. The House already has Passed it.

Lawmakers have Approved a Bill that will move the State to an Automatic Voter Registration system.

Minnesota: A Bill that would have Restored the Voting Rights to Returning Citizens upon Release from Incarceration was put on Hold by the House Public Safety Committee. That move most likely Kills the Bill for the Current Legislative session.

The Senate State Government Finance and Policy and Elections Committee has Approved a Bill that would Prohibit Minneapolis, St. Paul and other Minnesota Communities from using the Ranked-Choice Voting system. The Vote was 5-4 along Party Lines. Secretary of State Steve Simon testified against the Legislation. “I would hate to see the Legislature set a precedent of undoing or nullifying, in the case of those two cities, a popular vote where the citizens have spoken and they have said they want this system,” Simon said.

Missouri: Sen. Bill Eigel (R-Weldon Springs) has proposed Legislation that would Eliminate Electronic Voting Machines in the State and Replace them with a Paper Ballot system.

Pennsylvania: Gov. Tom Wolf (D) has introduced the 21st Century Voting Reform Plan which is a series of Bills that include No-Excuse Absentee Voting, Same-Day Voter Registration, and Automatic Voter Registration through the State’s Licensing Bureau. The Bill would also create an Independent, Bipartisan Commission to create Electoral Maps.

Legal Updates

Arkansas: Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Phillip Green has ruled that Stu Soffer cannot Serve on both the Jefferson County and State Election Commission. Soffer will have to Resign from One of the Boards, although which one remains unclear.

Colorado: U.S. District Court of Colorado Judge William J. Martinez has Struck Down a part of the Voter Approved Amendment 71 which made it more difficult for People seeking to get a Measure on the Statewide Ballot. Martinez ruled that requiring People hoping to get a Constitutional Amendment on the Ballot to get Signatures from at least 2% of the Total Number of Registered Voters in each of the State’s 35 Senate Districts is Unconstitutional.

Connecticut: Almost two months ago, the State Supreme Court Upheld a Lower Court’s Ruling that Bridgeport must Conduct its Mayoral Primary for the Third time. This week, the Court released their detailed 26-page Decision.

Florida: U.S. District Judge Mark Walker has given Gov. Rick Scott (R) and Three of his Cabinet Members until April 26th to create a New System to Restore Voting Rights to Ex-Felons in Florida. Scott and his Cabinet Members need to Create a System with “specific and neutral criteria to direct vote-restoration decisions,” and “meaningful, specific and expeditious time constraints.”

Indiana: Lawyers representing the Indiana State Conference of the NAACP and a group of Lake County Voters are asking a Federal Judge to put On Hold Legal Proceedings seeking to Block the Consolidation of Lake County’s Small Voting Precincts.

Michigan: U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith has ruled that the Special Election to fill the Congressional Seat vacated by Rep. John Conyers will coincide with the November Election as originally decided by Gov. Rick Snyder.

Mississippi: The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has filed Suit against the State of Mississippi’s Disenfranchisement Clause which currently Denies Voting Rights to about 180,000 Residents, or 8% of the Adult Population.

Tennessee: The State Supreme Court has agreed to immediately take up an Appeal that seeks to Overturn a Lower Court’s Ruling to Dismiss a Lawsuit challenging Nashville’s August Mayoral Election. Oral Arguments will be heard on April 9th.

Wisconsin: Dane County Circuit Judge Josann Reynolds has ruled that Gov. Scott Walker (R) must Call Special Elections to fill Two Vacant Seats in the Legislature. Reynolds determined that Walker had a Duty under State Law to hold Special Elections so Voters could have Representation in the Legislature. After Losing an Appeal in the State Court of Appeals, Walker announced that he would Not Appeal the Case to the State’s Supreme Court.