The Independent View: Electionline Weekly March-1-2018

Legislative Updates

California: AB 1407 has been approved. Under the Bill, 16-year-olds would be Eligible to Pre-Register to Vote.

Georgia: By a 35-19 Party line Vote, the Senate has approved a Measure that would make 7pm the Standard Polling place Closing time Statewide. Currently most Localities close their polls at 7pm, but in Atlanta they don’t close until 8pm.

By a 50-1 Vote, the Senate has Approved a Bill replaces the State’s Electronic Touch-Screen Voting machines for a system that includes a Verifiable Paper Trail.

Hawaii: House Bill 2541, which would move Hawaii to an All-Mail Ballot State has cleared the Finance Committee. Four in 10 Hawaii Voters cast Mail Ballots in the 2016 General Election. Half of Voters Mailed in Ballots for the Primary that Year.

Idaho: Idaho will continue to send Voter Data to Crosscheck, at least for this year, after a Bill to Prevent it from doing so died in the House due to a typo. According to the Idaho Statesman, an Error was discovered in its key sentence: “(T)he secretary of state shall have no power or authority and the secretary of state shall not allow, cause or disseminate any voter information to the interstate voter registration crosscheck system.” As written, the Bill strips the Secretary of State of “power and authority.” Adding the word “to” after “authority” would do what the Bill intended: Limit the Secretary of State’s Power and Authority as it applies to Crosscheck.

Kansas: The Senate has Voted to Approve a Bill that would Fix a State Elections Law to clarify that Elderly Voters and those with Disabilities may need Assistance filling out their Mail Ballots and do not have to Sign them. The Bill Passed 39-0 and faces one more Vote in the Senate.

In the House, with the clock ticking to keep Bills alive this Legislative Session, the House Approved House Bill 2509 which would give the State’s Four Largest Counties control over their Elections Budget.

Maine: Gov. Paul LePage (R) has proposed a Bill that would require Voters without a Photo ID to Sign an Affidavit and then present a Photo ID within Three days.

Mississippi: The Senate Elections Committee has Failed to pass SB 2906 which would have allowed Residents to Register Online to Vote and would have introduce “no fault” Early Voting.

New Jersey: Lawmakers have introduced a Bill that would Restore Voting Rights to those with Criminal Convictions. The Measure would End the Practice of Barring Residents on Parole, Probation, or in Prison from Casting a Ballot.

South Dakota: The House State Affairs Committee Voted 11-0 to recommend that the State Department of Tribal Relations, in Off-Year Elections, help the Secretary of State, Counties and Tribes comply with the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), including the establishment of Satellite Voting Centers.

The Senate State Affairs Committee voted 7-0 to forward HB 1004 which would give the State Board of Elections the Authority on Page Size and Type Size for Ballots.

Washington: The House has given Final Approval to the Washington Voting Rights Act that sets additional ways for Communities to establish Districts for Elected Offices that are currently At-Large.

Legal Updates

Supreme Court of the United States: The Supreme Court heard arguments this week in a Case from Minnesota which pits the First Amendment against Polling Place Attire Rules. The Justices described the Statute as Overly Broad, but also questioned whether Political Symbols could be used to improperly Sway Voters. "It does reach quite a bit beyond what I think a reasonable observer would think is necessary," Chief Justice John Roberts said during the hour-long Oral Arguments. "The idea that [voters are] going to be protected from recognizing that other people support different candidates than they might, I think, is a bit more of a stretch."

The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals previously Upheld Minnesota's Law. The Supreme Court is expected to Rule by the End of June.

Alabama: Legal Counsel for the Alabama NAACP, Greater Birmingham Ministries, and Minority Voters filed an Appeal of the State’s Voter ID Law in the U.S. District Court in Northern Alabama. “The district court acknowledged our evidence that over 100,000 voters, disproportionately Black and Latino voters, lack the required photo ID to vote, but suggested the disparities are not significant,” Natasha Merle, NAACP’s Legal and Education Defense Fund Assistant Counsel told The Associated Press. “The disenfranchisement of several thousand voters is not trivial. We will continue to fight to ensure every eligible Alabama voter can make their voice heard at the ballot box.”

Arkansas: Circuit Judge Alice Gray has set a Hearing March 12th on a Lawsuit that asks that she Enjoin use of the State's New Voter ID Law in the May Primary Elections.

California: A Kern County Judge has sided with MALDEF, the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund, which had Sued the County alleging that Supervisor Districts Drawn in 2011 Violated the Voting Rights Act.

Louisiana: A Three-Judge Panel of the State 1st Circuit Court of Appeal at the LSU Law Center heard arguments this week about whether or not Felons on Probation and Parole should be allowed to Vote.

Maine: The Committee For Ranked-Choice Voting and Eight Candidates have filed Suit in Kennebec Superior Court asking the Court to Institute Ranked-Choice Voting in time for the June Primaries.

New York: The Manhattan Democratic County Committee is Dropping a Lawsuit against the New York City Council over a Nomination for a Commissioner to the Board of Elections. The former Council Speaker, Melissa Mark-Viverito, chose her Candidate, Environmental Lawyer Andrew Praschak, over the wishes of the County,

Utah: Lawyers for San Juan County have Filed an Emergency Motion in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals objecting to a Lower Court’s Ruling that would Redraw Voting District Boundaries and require that Special Elections be held this Year.