Legislative Updates
Federal Legislation: Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL, 13th District), has introduced the Counting All Military Votes Act, which is aimed toward Expanding the Express Mail Labels system. Express Mail Labels are used to Expedite and Track Absentee Ballots for On-Time Delivery from Traditional Military Bases. The Bill would Require the Department of State to work with the Department of Defense to Administer Express Mail Labels to Active Military at Embassies and Consulates.
Colorado: HB20-1081 would Establish Sample Ballots in a Different Language, which People could use to help them Vote by 2021-2022, and provide Multilingual Ballots at Voting Locations. It would also Establish a Hotline Run by the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office to Help People Translate their Ballots.
Iowa: Senate Republicans have unveiled their Proposed Limitations if Iowa Voters approve a Constitutional Amendment to Automatically Restore Felon Voting Rights. The Plan would still Force those Convicted of Murder, Manslaughter, or Certain Sex Crimes, to Apply to the Governor to get their Voting Rights Restored and it would Force Paroled Felons to Pay ALL their Restitution before they’d get the Right to Vote.
Kansas: The Senate Ethics, Elections, and Local Government Committee heard Testimony this week on a Bill that would Require All Kansas Counties to use Paper Ballots to Count Votes. Ballots would have Several Requirements, including the Voter’s Signature. Votes would be Counted by Hand or using Vote-Tabulating Equipment that would Tally the Paper Ballot.
Maryland: Legislators are considering a Bill that would Prohibit the State Board of Elections from Approving a Contract with an Election Service Provider unless there is a Clause in the Contract requiring the Provider to Disclose to the Election Board if any Part of the Manufacturing Process took place Outside the United States.
Under the Student Voter Empowerment Act, Public and Private Universities with more than 4,500 Students would be Required to have a Polling Location on Campus. It would also require Community Colleges and Public Universities to Designate a Staff Member as a “Student Voting Coordinator”.
Mississippi: Sen. Angela Turner Ford (D-16th District, West Point) has filed Senate Bill 2170, the Restore the Right to Vote Act that would Codify the Existing Process where Convicted Felons can ask their Local Representative or Senator to Introduce a Bill Granting them the Right to Vote again.
Missouri: Sen. Jamilah Nasheed (D-5th District, St. Louis) has introduced Senate Bill 542, “The Missouri Restoration of Voting Rights Act.” The Legislation Repeals the Prohibition on Individuals Convicted of a Felony and who are now on Probation or Parole from Voting. Under SB 542, Individuals Convicted of a Voting-Related Felony would still be Prohibited from Voting. According to the Bill’s Fiscal Note, SB 542 could affect over 60,000 Missourians on Probation and Parole.
New Jersey: The Legislature is considering a Bill that would give Poll Workers a $75 Pay Hike for the First time in nearly Two Decades. If Approved, Poll Workers would make $275 for their Approximately 15-hour day. S-598 Unanimously Cleared the Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation Committee, this week.
Ohio: Supporters of the “Secure and Fair Elections” Amendment turned in a Second Draft of their Petition, after the Ohio Attorney General Rejected their First Copy. The AG’s Office said the First Petition’s Summary was Longer than the Language for the Actual Constitutional Amendment. Petitioners are seeking Automatic Voter Registration, Same Day Voter Registration, and 28 days of Early Voting.
South Dakota: The GOP-lead House has Stymied an Effort to allow Native American Residents to use their Tribal IDs to Register to Vote. the House considered an Amendment to a Voter Registration Bill that would have Allowed Tribal IDs to be used for Voter Registration, alongside State Drivers’ and Non-Drivers’ Licenses and Social Security Numbers. Republicans Defeated the Measure, arguing that the Secretary of State could Not Verify the Information on the IDs, which are issued by the Tribes. They were also Concerned that Not every Tribal ID provides an Address, which could Allow People who Live Outside the State to Vote in South Dakota Elections. On Wednesday, Rep. Tamara St. John (R-1st District, Sisseton) and a Member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate offered an Amendment that would add Tribal IDs to the List of Acceptable IDs to Register. The Amendment would Require an Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) between the Secretary of State’s Office and the Tribe. The Amendment was Approved and the Bill now awaits a Vote from the Full Senate.
By a 41-26 Vote, the House Approved HB1050 that will Allow the Secretary of State’s Office to Create an Online Voter Registration system. The Bill now Moves to the Senate. If approved and signed by the Governor it would be in Place beginning July 1st, 2021.
Utah: The House Government Operations Committee has Voted 7-2 to Advance HB70 that would Eliminate Straight-Ticked Voting.
Virginia: The Senate has Approved a B ill that would Do Away with Lee-Jackson Day as a State Holiday and instead would make Election Day a Statewide Holiday. The Bill was Approved 22-18 and Heads next to the House.
By a 57-42 Vote, the House Backed House Bill 1103 that will Allow Local Jurisdictions to decide whether or Not to Conduct Local Elections using Ranked-Choice Voting. The Measure moves to the Senate where a Senate-initiated Version of the Bill was Killed in Committee.
Legislators are considering a Bill that would Extend Polling Hours to 8 p.m. Polls in Virginia are some of the Earliest to Open at 6 a.m., but they Close at 7 p.m.
By a 53-44 Vote the House has Approved HB201 that would allow Same Day Voter Registration. If signed into Law, it would take effect in July 2022.
House Bill 19, which would Remove the Requirement to Show a Photo ID in Order to Vote was Approved 57-43 on the Final Day for House Bills to be considered. Voters would be able to Show Voter Registration Documents, Bank Statements, Paychecks, or Any Government Document that Shows the Name and Address of the Voter. Voters who do Not show Valid Identification when Signing in to Vote would be Required to Sign a Sworn Affidavit stating that they are who they Claim to be. The Signed Statement Subjects the Person to Class 5 Felony Penalties if the Statement is False. I am surprised that many of those Documents do Not prove Citizenship.
West Virginia: Gov Jim Justice (R) has Signed a Bill into Law that will Allow Counties to offer Voters with Disabilities to Vote via Online Technologies, the same as those the Secretary of State’s Office has been using to allow Military and Overseas Voters to Cast their Ballots.
Wisconsin: The Milwaukee County Supervisors have Voted to Increase Funding for Voter Registration Resources from $50,000 to $100K. “This gives us more resources to do more and reach more people,” Executive Director of the Milwaukee Co. Election Commission and Milwaukee County Clerk George Christenson said. “We are planning a very robust voter education outreach program and we hope this will help voters feel comfortable going to the polls, understand what they need when they go to vote and making sure they’re registered.”
Wyoming: The House is considering a Bill that would clearly State that Tribal IDs are a Valid Form of ID when Registering to Vote. The House Approved the Bill on First Reading and must do so on Two more Readings before the Bill is then sent to the Senate. The Legislation says: “a tribal identification card issued by the governing body of the Eastern Shoshone tribe of Wyoming, the Northern Arapaho tribe of Wyoming or other federally recognized Indian tribe that contains the applicant’s driver’s license number, if the applicant has a driver’s license, and the last four (4) digits of the applicant’s social security number” would be considered Valid Forms of ID for Voting Registration.
Legal Updates
Federal Judges: Several Media Outlets have Stories this week about the Recent Appointment of Federal Judges who have Openly expressed their Dislike of the Voting Rights Act. The Nominations were “an opening salvo to 2020,” and not a Welcome one at that, Lena Zwarensteyn, an Expert on the Judiciary at the Progressive Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights said. She worried that these Jurists were advancing “really extreme arguments when it comes to voting rights.”
Arizona: The 9th U.S. Court of Appeals has Ruled that Arizona’s 2016 Ban on Ballot Harvesting, which the Court Overruled in January, can Remain in Place for the March 17th Presidential Preference Primary.
Florida: Officials have Arrested 27-year-old Gregory William Loel Timm and Charged him with Two Counts of Aggravated Assault on a Person over 65-years old, Criminal Mischief, and Driving without a License. On February 8th Timm struck a Tent where Volunteers with the Republican Party were Registering Voters. Lt. Larry Gayle said after Driving through the Tent, the Driver, now Identified as Timm, stopped, took a Video and “flipped off” the People who were inside the Tent before Driving away. Investigators have been Monitoring Social Media to see if the Video shows up. No Injuries were Reported.
Georgia: Federal District Judge Eleanor L. Ross Disagreed with Gov. Brian Kemp who is a Defendant in a 2018 Lawsuit filed while he was still Secretary of State. The Suit alleges that Kemp used a Racially-Biased Methodology for Removing as many as 700,000 Legitimate Voters from the State’s Voter Rolls during a period between 2016 and 2018. Kemp had Demanded a Summary Judgement because the plain meaning of the Language in the NVRA does Not Encompass the Crosscheck Lists because the Georgia SOS never Fully Utilized Them. Crosscheck has been Questioned about its Validity and many States Dropped them. “The Court disagrees,” Ross said in her Summary, “finding sufficient evidence in the record that would cast a genuine dispute as to the material facts on this issue.” In her Conclusion, the Judge said she is considering a summary Judgment finding against Kemp.
U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg ruled this week that Plaintiffs in a Lawsuit alleging that Metro Atlanta’s Four Largest Counties Failed to Provide enough Polling Places, Voting Machines, and Staff during the 2018 Election, didn’t Show how the Court should Intervene beyond Ordering Election Officials to Comply with the Law. “This court does not sit as a guarantor of a flawless election,” Totenberg wrote. “The court is sensitive to and concerned with the potential for voter disenfranchisement that was felt in 2018. However, plaintiffs’ allegations fail to concretely establish how the court can effectively redress the asserted injuries.” Totenberg wrote that if County Election Officials can’t carry out their Duties in this year’s Elections, the Plaintiffs could File another Lawsuit on Behalf of Affected Voters.
Minnesota: The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota has filed Suit against Secretary of State Steve Simon alleging that State Voting Laws Discriminate against Voters who may need Assistance. State Law Forbids Political Candidates from Assisting any Voters with their Ballots, including in Circumstances when the Voter has a Disability or Language Barrier. It is also a Crime in Minnesota for One Person to Help more than Three People Vote, even if they have Challenges doing so on their own. The Suit argues that these State Laws Violate the Federal Voting Rights Act, which “explicitly allows people who need assistance to choose who will help them to ensure voters are not disenfranchised because of disability or language barriers.”
North Carolina: A Transgender Woman, identified as Jane Doe in the Lawsuit, has Filed Suit against the North Carolina State Board of Elections and the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections claiming that she was Denied Equal Protection under State Law and Endured Emotional Stress when an Elections Official in Cornelius questioned her Identity in November.
North Dakota: Judge Daniel Hovland, of Bismarck, ruled this week, that the Spirit Lake Nation, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and Six Enrolled Tribal Members, have the Legal Standing to Sue Secretary of State Al Jaeger over the Laws, which Require Voters to Present a Form of Identification that Lists a Valid Residential Address.
West Virginia: Tess Alayna Bishop, 29 of Salt Lake City has been Charged with Illegal Voting in the June 2019 Municipal Election in Harpers Ferry, an Election that is still in Dispute and in the Court system. Bishop faces a Maximum One-year Jail Sentence and $1,000 Fine if convicted, but could Avoid Incarceration and a Fine if a Proposed Plea Agreement is accepted.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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