Electionline Weekly December-19-2019

Legislative Updates

Arizona: Rep. Kelly Townsend (R-16th District) has Pre-Filed a Bill that would Restrict what Worms of ID are Acceptable in order to Cast a Ballot. It would Disallow the use of Student IDs and Utility Bills.

California: Sen. Patricia Bates (R-36th District, Laguna Niguel) has introduced Senate Bill 57 that would make Voter Registration an opt-In Process at the DMV instead of the Current system of Opting Out. The Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee will consider the Bill on January 7th, 2020.

Colorado: Voters in Colorado will consider a Ballot Measure in 2020 would Prohibit Communities from allowing Noncitizens to Vote in Local Elections. The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office Validated 137,362 Signatures, more than the required 124,632, 2% of Voters in every State Senate District, to put Initiative 76 on the Ballot. Because it’s a Constitutional Amendment, it must Pass with 55% of the Vote or more to take Effect.

Georgia: By a 3-2 Party Line Vote, a Senate Committee has Voted against Restoring the Voting Rights to the State’s Approximately 250,000 Nonviolent Felons who are Still on Parole/Probation or are still Paying Off Fines. The Senate Unanimously Approved Studying Felon Voting Rights earlier this year, but the Committee Opposed Proposing Legislation that would Permit some of them to Vote while they Reintegrate into Society.

Massachusetts: Last week, Gov. Charlie Baker (R) Vetoed Language in the State’s Spending Bill that would have Rolled Back the Effective Date for Automatic Voter Registration and Specified Changes to the Opt-Out Procedures. According the State House News Service, the Legislature Tucked into its Budget Bill Language that would have Delayed Implementation from Jan. 1st, 2020 to April 1st, 2020, after the March 3rd Presidential Primary. “The proposed sections would delay implementation until April 1, 2020, rendering AVR unavailable for the 2020 presidential primary, and, more importantly, would significantly change voter registration procedures a mere 18 days before our go-live date to implement this important law,” Baker wrote in his Veto Message. “I cannot approve sections that would jeopardize the success of a program and require a substantial change to the voter registration process in the middle of an election cycle.”

New York: State Sen. Chris Jacobs (R-60th District) has introduced Legislation that would Require First-Time Voters to Provide Proof-of-Citizenship when Registering to Vote. Jacobs said the Legislation is in response to a New Law providing Drivers Licenses to Undocumented Immigrants. But on Oct. 1st, 2020, All New York Citizens will Need to be a Citizen if they want the Real ID Version of the License, which will display a U.S. Flag symbol to indicate Citizenship.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) is proposing Legislation that would Require an Automatic Recount in Close Races. The Bill would Require an Automatic Recount in All Statewide Races where the Margin of Victory is 0.2%; Require an Automatic Recount in All other Elections where the Margin of Victory for the Candidate or Measure it 0.5%; and Ensure that Recounts are completed Manually.

Vermont: Voters in Burlington, in 2020, will Not be Voting on a Measure to Move the City to a Ranked-Choice Voting system, but they will Vote on a Measure that would Allow Documented Immigrants to Cast a Ballot in Local City Elections.

West Virginia: Members of the Joint Judiciary Committee Voted this week to Recommend a Bill to each Chamber that would Allow Voters with certain Physical Disabilities to Cast Absentee Ballots Electronically. The Legislation has the Support of the Secretary of State’s Office.

Legal Updates

Arizona: The Navajo Nation is Threatening to Sue the State of Arizona over Changes to the State’s Election Procedures Manual. Doreen McPaul, the Attorney General for the Tribe, says Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D) Agreed to Allow People who Forgot to Sign their Early Ballot Envelopes an Opportunity to “cure” the Defect. Arizona AG Mark Brnovich (R) Argues that Hobbs had No Legal Authority to do that and wants it Changed in the Manual, but in a Letter to Brnovich, McPaul noted that the Change to the Election Procedure Manual ended a 2018 Lawsuit.

Maryland: Indiana-based Public Interest Legal Foundation has Sued the State Board of Elections to obtain Access to the State’s Voter Data. Maryland Voter Data is Only Available to Residents of the State and so the Group is Suing to get Access. “This is stuff the state would have sold me if I lived across the street. We only asked for what was for sale to anyone else in the state.” Logan Churchwell, the Foundation’s Director of Communications and Research said. State Elections Officials have Defended Maryland’s Law for Obtaining Voter Lists in other Court Cases.

New Hampshire: John S. Fleming Jr., 71, and Grace Fleming, 70, each Pleaded Guilty to One Charge of Voting in more than One State for Casting Ballots in New Hampshire and Massachusetts in 2016. The Flemings were Sentenced to 60 days in Prison, each Sentence Suspended for One year for Good Behavior. The Court also Ordered the Flemings to each Pay a $1,000 Fine, with a Penalty Assessment of $240. The Couple has also Lost their Rights to Vote in New Hampshire.

Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania is facing another Lawsuit over its Certification of a Voting Machine bought by Philadelphia, Northampton County, and others. The Lawsuit was filed by a Pair of Election Security Advocacy Organizations and 13 Registered Voters who Live in Philadelphia or Northampton County. The Lawsuit asks the State Commonwealth Court to Block Pennsylvania’s Certification of the ExpressVote XL Touchscreen system made by Election Systems & Software (ES&S).

West Virginia: It could be Mid-January or Later before the West Virginia Supreme Court Rules whether or Not Four Disputed Provisional Ballots in a Summer 2019 Election in Harper’s Ferry.

Wisconsin: Ozaukee County Judge Paul Malloy has Ordered that the Registrations of 234,000 Voters be Removed from the Rolls because they may have Moved. Plaintiffs Argued that the State should Remove the Voters within 30 days of Not Receiving a Response to a Post Card Mailed from the Election Commission. Malloy Denied a Request by Elections Commission Attorneys to Put his Decision On Hold. He Ordered the Commission to Follow the Law Requiring Voters who Didn’t Respond to be Deactivated. “I can’t tell them how to do that. They’re going to have to figure that out,” Malloy said. On Monday, the Election Commission Deadlocked on how to Address the Judge’s Ruling. In a Two-Page Order, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals Rejected a Request to Immediately Block the Decision. Instead, the Court said it Wanted to hear from those who Brought the Lawsuit and gave them a Monday Deadline to Submit a Filing. The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin filed a Suit in Federal Court in an Order to Circumvent the State Court Ruling and Halt the Purge. The State Law Violates the Voting Rights Act. The Voting Rights Act's Not Voting Reason: Two Federal Election Cycles, not Answering a Mailing, then Two more Federal Election Cycles.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker