Arizona: Arizona Republicans advanced legislation to unwind the state’s overwhelmingly popular early voting system by requiring that voters have a reason and make a request to vote by mail. The measure aims to steer most voters toward in-person balloting on Election Day, a method used by just 10% of voters in 2020. It would eliminate the Automatic Early Voting List, which allows voters to get a ballot in the mail before every election, and nix in-person early voting and emergency voting before Election Day. The measure was approved in party-line votes of the Senate Government Committee, setting up a potential debate in the full Senate in the coming weeks.
Arizonans for Free and Fair Elections is looking to restore the permanent early voting list that lawmakers modified in Arizona last year. The local coalition has taken steps to repeal laws that limit who can deliver an early ballot to the polls and ensure people can cast them the weekend before Election Day. Initiative organizer Joel Edman says the larger goal of the group is to prevent measures, like those that would permanently remove millions from the early voting list, in the Legislature. “The goal here is to be nonpartisan and advocate for policies that are going to benefit all voters in the state, regardless of their party, and protect our democracy for all of us so that we can get results that actually reflect the needs of our communities,” Edman said. The group is working to put the initiative on the November ballot, which would also prevent lawmakers from handing election equipment and ballots to unqualified firms.
Colorado: Colorado lawmakers are seeking stronger protections for election workers after an unprecedented year of terroristic threats. The “Election Official Protection Act” would expand on existing law to “make clear that it is a crime to intimidate, threaten, or coerce – or to attempt to intimidate, threaten or coerce – an election official while they are performing official duties,” said Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold. The bill, sponsored by state Representatives Monica Duran and Emily Sirota, both Democrats, also makes it a crime to retaliate against election officials “for the performance of official duties.” And it gives election workers greater protections against “doxing,” the public release of information such as home addresses or other private identifying information, often to facilitate harassment. Another bill, Vote Without Fear Act, which seeks to prohibit openly carrying a firearm within 100 feet of voting centers and drop boxes.
Florida: Two bills that would offer voters the power to recall county commissioners and other county officers passed their second committee Monday. HB 663, a bill that would place a constitutional amendment on the ballot expanding Florida’s recall law to include county officers in all Florida counties, passed the House Public Integrity and Elections Committee with only two dissenting votes. HB 1399, which lays out the recall process for county commissioners and would only come into effect if the ballot initiative is approved, also passed the committee. Under current Florida law, only municipal and charter county officers can face a voter recall. Of note, 20 of Florida’s 67 counties operate under county charters. Under Florida law, “county officers” include each county’s Clerk of Courts, Property Appraiser, Sheriff, Supervisor of Elections and Tax Collector. If the legislation is passed, voters would have to collect signatures from 15% of a county’s registered voters to trigger a recall election.
SB 1228 and HB 903 were filed by Representative Anna V. Eskamani and Senator Annette Taddeo to require all public high schools to provide their students a bi-partisan presentation regarding voter registration. The presentation would show students the steps required to register to vote online. The bill would require the Division of Elections to prepare certain materials and make such materials readily available to each public high school. The bill would allow students to opt out and prohibits teachers from pressuring, requiring, or otherwise incentivizing a student to take certain actions. The bill also prohibits teachers from handling physical voter registration applications.
Idaho: The House State Affairs Committee introduced a pair of new bills that would change voting procedures ahead of this year’s primary elections. One bill, House Bill 549, is a voter identification bill that sponsors are calling the Secure Election Act. If passed into law, House Bill 549 would make it so that Idahoans would no longer have the option to sign a voter affidavit verifying their identity at the polls on Election Day. That bill would also make it so that student IDs would no longer be an acceptable form of ID to vote, though the bill would add the ability to use a concealed weapons permit that displays the permit holder’s date of birth and Idaho address. The bill would also eliminate same-day voter registration. Under the bill, if a voter cannot produce an ID, they would be given an provisional ballot, which would be kept separate, the voter would have until 10 days following the election to present proper ID to the county clerk and have their ballot counted. Provisional ballots that are not validated would be marked spoiled and not counted. Under the bill, the only acceptable form of IDs would be: A current Idaho driver’s license or state ID; A current U.S. passport; A current active military ID card; A current tribal ID card issued by a federally recognized Native American tribe; and A current Idaho license to carry concealed weapons that displays the permit holder’s date of birth and address in Idaho. The bill contains an emergency clause, which would make it effective the date it is signed into law. Normally, bills that do not contain an emergency clause take effect on July 1, the first day of the state’s fiscal year. The emergency clause ensures the bill would be in effect for the spring primaries if it becomes law. House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, is pushing a rewritten version of the so-called anti ballot-harvesting bill from 2021. The new bill is House Bill 547, and the legislation makes it illegal to knowingly collect and return someone else’s absentee ballot. The previous version of Moyle’s bill passed the Idaho House last year but was never considered by the Idaho Senate. This bill would still make it a felony to turn in more than 10 other people’s ballots or if the person turning in the ballots was paid by anyone other than the voter. The House State Affairs Committee voted to introduce House Bill 547, which clears the way for it to return to the committee for a full public hearing. The bill also contains an emergency clause, which would make it effective the date it is signed into law.
The Senate State Affairs Committee advanced a bill this week that would require post-election audits of a random selection of counties after a general or primary election. Senate Bill 1274 was introduced to the committee by Deputy Secretary of State Jason Hancock, who said the audits would increase public confidence in election results, and it’s a practice that many states have already implemented. Under the new bill, the audits would be open to attendance by media personnel, candidates and representatives from political parties. The exact procedures for the audits would be developed with county clerks, according to the bill text. Counties would be randomly selected each year according to population, with a certain number from counties with populations between 10,000 and 100,000 people and counties with more than 100,000 people.
Sen. Grant Burgoyne (D-Boise) has introduced Senate Bill 1230 which would allow for ranked choice voting. Burgoyne’s measure would set up a nonpartisan primary for federal through county offices (except president). There, “The top four vote getters in the nonpartisan primary will be nominated and placed on the general election ballot. At the general election, voters will have the opportunity to rank their choices for each of these offices from first to fourth.”
Maine: Threats made against Maine election clerks could come with stiffer penalties and involvement from the state attorney general following a vote by a legislative committee Monday. The Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee voted unanimously to approve a bill that would make the intentional interference, intimidation or violence against a municipal election official a Class D crime, punishable by up to a year in prison and a $2,000 fine. The proposal was backed by the Maine Town Clerks’ Association and individual election officials who told the committee last month that they have witnessed increasing harassment and hostility directed at election procedures. The bill approved by the committee was amended to reduce the proposed crime from a Class C felony to a misdemeanor after defense attorneys and the Maine ACLU warned that it went too far. But the committee did add the crime to the list of offenses that can be prosecuted under state election law, which would involve the Office of Attorney General. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows says that moving threats against clerks into that part of the law “gives it a statewide importance and focus that by necessity, one hopes, will influence the prosecution, particularly depending on the circumstance if it’s a disruption in the polling place.” The change also puts election clerk threats in the same category as voter or election fraud.
Maryland: A bill to ensure Marylanders get a second chance to sign a mail-in ballot oath, required for their vote to be counted, moved forward in the Senate on Wednesday after an unsuccessful attempt by Republican lawmakers to amend it. Senate Bill 163, sponsored by Sen. Cheryl C. Kagan (D-Montgomery) includes several reforms aimed at mail-in ballots, which surged in popularity during the unconventional 2020 election. Kagan’s bill also would allow local boards of elections to begin processing mail-in ballots eight days before early voting, although local election officials wouldn’t be able to release any preliminary mail-in ballot results until after polls close on Election Day. Under current Maryland law, voters who don’t sign the oath on a mailed-in ballot have their ballot automatically rejected. Under Kagan’s bill, voters would be allowed to provide a signature via “a digital picture message” by phone or email, an online portal, by text message, by mail or by an in-person visit to their local board of elections’ office.
Mississippi: House Concurrent Resolution 39 seeks to return a voice to the voters but not exactly like it was before the Supreme Court struck down the initiative process. This proposal would only allow citizens to propose or amend state statutes (laws) not amend the state Constitution. If this passes through the legislature, it would appear on the November ballot to see if voters will agree on the new initiative process. Several amendments were offered including requiring the secretary of state and attorney general’s offices to review signatures, remove the requirement for a fiscal note and legislature could amend the law put in place by initiative within 2 years of an emergency is declared. He suggests adding an appeal option to state Supreme Court. All amendments failed and the bill was approved 91-26.
Nebraska: A bill to increase the security of ballot drop boxes was heard Feb. 2 by the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. LB1263, introduced by Sen. Robert Clements of Elmwood, would establish statewide standards for counties that employ ballot drop boxes. The bill would require drop boxes to be: securely fastened to the ground or on a concrete slab connected to the ground; secured with a lock that can be opened only by the county election commissioner, county clerk or an election official designated by the commissioner or clerk; compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act; emptied each business day; and opened for accepting ballots no later than the sixth Friday before a statewide election or the fourth Friday before a special election. The measure also would require a county election commissioner or county clerk to inform the Nebraska Secretary of State of each drop box location in the county no later than 42 days prior to a statewide election. Wayne Bena, deputy secretary of state for elections, testified in support of LB1263. All county election commissioners were provided with drop boxes for the 2020 primary election, he said, but the department currently lacks authority to regulate their use. The bill would ensure that all drop boxes comply with state standards, Bena said.
Lawmakers are considering a bill that would restore Nebraskans’ right to vote immediately after they complete their felony sentences, instead of having to wait two years. ACLU Nebraska Board Member Jason Whitmer said LB158 would encourage more people re-entering society to educate themselves about programs that impact their families, and to get more involved in improving communities. Backers of the two-year waiting period have argued that it provides a carrot to encourage good behavior when people re-enter communities, and helps reduce recidivism.
Nevada: Nevada legislators have approved spending another $2.2 million to facilitate Nevada’s switch to a largely vote-by-mail state ahead of the 2022 election, pushing the total cost north of $14 million. The funding request, passed unanimously by members of the Interim Finance Committee on Wednesday, comes from the secretary of state’s office and was described by Deputy Secretary of State for Elections Mark Wlaschin as the list of necessities to successfully implement new mail voting requirements for the 2022 election. The additional funding comes on top of $12.2 million already allocated by lawmakers last year as part of AB321, the bill implementing the move to permanent, expanded mail voting. Under the law, which was opposed by all legislative Republicans, every active registered voter will be sent a mail ballot before a primary or general election. Inactive voters, who are legally registered to vote but don’t have a current address on file with election officials, will not be sent a mail ballot. According to a memorandum submitted to lawmakers, the requested $2.2 million would be split between the secretary of state’s office and county election clerks for the cost of ballot drop boxes, ballot tracking software, signature curing software, ballot sorting equipment and increased pay and signature verification training for poll workers.
New Jersey: Election workers may see a permanent pay raise from the present $200 a day to $300 a day if Assembly Bill A208 should become state law. Further, the bill seeks to appropriate $7M to the Department of State for the purpose of reimbursing the respective counties for the cost of the bill’s implementation. Counties receive $125 from the state towards election workers’ $200 payment, making up the balance of $75. This would not change under the new law: counties would continue to pay $75, but the state would reimburse them $225. For election workers covering a school election “held at a time other than the general election,” their hourly rate would rise from $14.29 to $19.64.
New Mexico: A proposal to update New Mexico’s voting laws and establish new rules for poll challengers won approval 39-0 in the state Senate. The measure, Senate Bill 6, would require counties to use voter convenience centers that allow voters to cast ballots at any polling location and impose an 11 p.m. halt to absentee-vote counting on election night, among other changes. It also requires training for poll watchers and challengers and imposes some limits on their activities. State elections officials would establish a new program intended to maintain accurate voting rolls.
After more than seven hours of testimony and debate, the Senate Rules Committee an amendment striking a provision from Senate Bill 8 that would have allowed 16-year-olds to vote. As amended, the bill would allow 17-year-olds to vote in local elections — but only if they turn 18 by the next general election. The bill, which is backed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, also would allow felons to vote after they’ve completed their sentences. In addition, qualified electors would be automatically registered to vote after completing a transaction at the Motor Vehicle Division, though they could opt out afterward. The bill would also create a permanent absentee ballot list that would allow voters to receive mail ballots for every election without requesting one each time; allow New Mexicans without a state-issued ID to register to vote online with a Social Security number; and make every statewide election a holiday. The amended bill cleared the Senate Rules Committee on a party-line vote.
Oklahoma: Senate Joint Resolution 47 would submit a constitutional amendment to a vote of the people to require post-election audits in 10 randomly selected Oklahoma counties. This would take place at the end of each general election. Upon conclusion of the audits, results would then be made available to the public. “Many officials have said there’s no evidence of election irregularities in Oklahoma,” said Sen. Warren Hamilton who introduced the resolution. “I disagree, but even if that’s the case, periodic audits of the way we do business will go a long way to ensure our election processes stay as good as we are led to believe they are. If issues are discovered, then the audits have accomplished their purpose and we can resolve issues before they become major.” The resolution has been assigned to the Senate Rules Committee at this time.
South Carolina: A bill introduced by House Republicans would allow South Carolinians to vote early without needing an excuse but require people voting by mail to include their ID number. The measure, sponsored by House Speaker Jay Lucas on Feb. 3, is a response to the 2020 elections that, for the first time, saw more South Carolinians vote early than on Election Day — sometimes standing in long lines to cast an early ballot. The bill would require every county to provide early-voting locations for two weeks before Election Day, with set hours of 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. They must open more than one location. The minimum number would vary by county, using a formula that involves total square miles and the number of registered voters, spaced at least 10 miles apart. A house subcommittee heard public testimony on the bill that would also require people voting by mail to supply a government-issued ID number with their ballot application. “There are some things here that are amazing and that we’ve been asking for, and there are some things that need a little tweaking,” said Director of Elections for Charleston County Isaac Cramer. Several amendments to the bill are expected to come, especially on the early voting distance requirements. The subcommittee will discuss those amendments at their next meeting in the coming days.
The House amended an elections-related bill it passed last year to add a series of controversial election security measures opposed by Democrats, who said the changes on short notice took them by surprise. The amendment, introduced by House Majority Whip Brandon Newton, R-Lancaster, and adopted 75-39 largely along party lines, changed portions of a bill that firmed up the oversight and authority of South Carolina’s State Election Commission to add a prohibition on ballot drop boxes and expand the array of election audits the state can perform, among other things. The bill adopted Tuesday, which had been sitting in the House since it was amended late last session by the Senate, now returns to the upper chamber, which must decide whether to accept the House change or to convene a small panel of House members and senators and hash out the differences.
South Dakota: A fiscal note is being sought before the House State Affairs committee makes its final decision on a proposed bill that could set South Dakota’s presidential primary during super Tuesday in March. The proposal, pitched by District 3 Rep. Drew Dennert, R-Aberdeen, seeks to move just the presidential primary to the Tuesday following the first Monday in March. The decision to seek a fiscal note was the third vote with votes to pass and defer to the 41st Legislative Day both ending in a tie vote. Dennert, who is prime sponsor on the bill, proposed the change to give South Dakota more of a voice in selecting the presidential candidate. House Bill 1116 seeks to establish the March election date only for the presidential race every four years, essentially creating two primary election dates for South Dakota with other primary election races, like those for the legislature, still happening in June. Included in the bill would be a requirement the state reimburse counties for the cost of the elections. Dennert said that would be an estimated $1 million to $2 million.
Utah: A sweeping new election security bill would mandate 24-hour video surveillance at Utah’s ballot drop boxes and require first-time voters to show photo identification to participate in an election. The legislation unveiled by Rep. Jon Hawkins would also require voters to write their driver license number, voter identification number or the last four digits of their Social Security number on their mail-in ballot envelope before returning it. In a new verification step, poll workers would compare the number to the information on file about the voter to make sure they match, according to the bill. First-time voters would have to show their driver license or state identification card at the polling place or include a copy of these identifications with their mail-in ballots, HB313 states. The lieutenant governor’s office would also have to develop security requirements for Utah elections officials, relating to the handling and “documentation of custody” of ballots. Election officials would have to sign an affidavit after every election, certifying that they complied with these rules and have properly maintained the voter rolls under their supervision. The state would also have to create minimum standards for vendors that print ballots in Utah and establish “software validation procedures” meant to ensure no one can tamper with voter files. Video cameras would be stationed near each ballot drop box with a sign posted nearby to notify people that the premises are monitored around the clock. The bill would require the lieutenant governor’s office to audit the state’s voter registration records on at least a yearly basis; mandate that local election officials keep detailed records for maintenance work on voting machines; and prohibit tabulation machines or ballot scanners from ever being connected to the internet.
A House committee abruptly yanked a bill dealing with ranked-choice voting off their agenda Wednesday afternoon. HB178 from Rep. Mike Winder, R-West Valley City, expands the use of ranked-choice voting in primary and general elections with more than two candidates. Last year 23 Utah cities used the system during their municipal elections as part of a pilot program. Lawmakers have faced withering pressure from opponents who organized an email and text messaging pressure campaign on right-wing social media and messaging apps, many of which are focused on baseless conspiracy theories about rampant election fraud. That appears to have paid off with the cancellation of Wednesday’s House Government Operations Committee hearing. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, opponents packed the committee room before the hearing anticipating a chance to speak against the proposal. The last-minute change dashed those plans.
Virginia: A proposal to expand and split Virginia’s State Board of Elections evenly among Democratic and Republican appointees received unanimous support in the state Senate. The bill, which Gov. Glenn Youngkin is backing, would expand the board from five to eight members and also strip the governor’s authority to pick the commissioner of the Department of Elections and give it to the board. The legislation wouldn’t go into effect until 2023 if passed by the House of Delegates and signed by Youngkin, giving the governor time to replace the outgoing elections commissioner. The board would be split between members representing the political party of the governor and the party that received the second most votes in a governor’s race. If the expanded board reaches a tie in a decision, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia will appoint a retired judge to break the 4-4 split. While the board would have the power to hire and replace the elections commissioner, any such decision would require at least five of the eight board members to agree.
Republicans in the House of Delegates advanced several bills to roll back new voting laws. One proposal would discard absentee ballots that arrive in the mail after polls close. Currently, a vote is counted if it’s postmarked on or before election day and received by noon on the third day after the election. A separate bill would shorten the in-person early voting period from 45 days to two weeks but expands poll hours to 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. each day.
West Virginia: Republican lawmakers in West Virginia want to increase the penalties for illegal voting in elections. House Bill 4311 would make it a felony to “knowingly and willfully” vote twice in an election or to reject or alter ballots in an effort to deceive voters. The crime is currently a misdemeanor. The bill passed the House of Delegates with no opposition on Thursday. Six delegates were absent.
The House Political Subdivisions Committee approved the third bill in three weeks dealing with local elections. This one, HB 4353, is a 78-page bill that requires nearly all local elections to be held on the same date as statewide elections. It also does away with local special elections and requires them to be held during statewide primary or general elections. The previous two bills set up procedures to enable city and county voters to overturn city and county ordinances. All three were originally on a single agenda for the committee’s first meeting but couldn’t be handled in a single hour. This one generated less heat. Committee counsel explained some of the many details spread among the bill’s 78 pages. For example, for local levies that expire in an off year, the levying body may set a special election to extend or renew the levy until the next statewide election. Terms of local officials elected in off years or off months may be adjusted to conform with new dates. Local school boards will likewise have to hold special elections to extend board terms. The bill will still allow statewide bond elections to be held in off years, in order for the state to react quickly to situations, counsel explained.
Wisconsin: Sen. Kathy Bernier (R-Chippewa Falls) says she will soon introduce a bill that adds a seventh, tie-breaking vote to the Wisconsin Elections Commission. Currently comprised of three Democrats and three Republicans, the commission has recently deadlocked on contentious issues like guidance on whether clerks can place additional drop boxes for absentee ballots. Bernier said she is drafting a bill that would require both Republican and Democratic legislative leaders to agree on a list of four retired judges with whom they’d be comfortable serving as a seventh commissioner. Bernier said her proposal would then call for the list of retired judges to go before the state supreme court.
Legal Updates
Federal Litigation: Right-wing U.S. television network Newsmax Media Inc this week countersued Smartmatic Corp. Smartmatic sued Newsmax in November for amplifying false claims that Smartmatic voting machines rigged the election against then-President Donald Trump, who persists in falsely claiming his defeat was the result of fraud. In a response filed in Delaware state court, San Diego-based Newsmax denied it defamed Smartmatic and claimed that the election software firm was trying to censor free speech and intimidate a critic. “The action brought by Smartmatic against Newsmax arises from and is because of Newsmax’s exercise of its right to free speech in connection with issues of public interest,” Newsmax’s lawyers said in the filing.
Alabama: The U.S. Supreme Court has reinstated Alabama’s new GOP-drawn congressional map over the objection of civil rights groups and decisions of two lower courts finding that it dilutes the influence of Black voters in violation of the Voting Rights Act. The vote to temporarily stay a lower court order blocking the map was 5-4, with Chief Justice John Roberts joining the court’s three liberals in dissent. The decision means Alabama will not immediately have to redraw its political lines to include a second majority-Black district, as had been ordered by a District Court judge, allowing the original maps to take effect for midterm elections. At the same time, the Supreme Court’s majority said it would take up the Alabama redistricting case on the merits later this year. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in a statement concurring with the decision, argued that the court should stay out of the political process so close to an election, insisting the decision makes “no new law regarding the Voting Rights Act” and simply allows time for a full briefing and oral argument. “That decision does a disservice to our own appellate processes, which serve both to constrain and to legitimate the Court’s authority. It does a disservice to the District Court, which meticulously applied this Court’s longstanding voting-rights precedent,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the dissent.. “And most of all, it does a disservice to Black Alabamians who under that precedent have had their electoral power diminished—in violation of a law this Court once knew to buttress all of American democracy.”
Arizona: Secretary of State Katie Hobbs is going to court to block Attorney General Mark Brnovich from taking action against her for the decision to temporarily take an online candidate signature-gathering website offline to be updated. In new legal filings, attorney Roopali Desai said Brnovich is pursuing “unfounded and unprecedented enforcement action” against Hobbs, threatening her with criminal prosecution “for performing her duties as the state’s chief elections officer.” And she wants Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Joan Sinclair to block Brnovich from initiating any civil or criminal complaints against Hobbs. The fight is over the E-Qual system, first established in 2011, which allows candidates to get signatures they need for nomination online. Due to redistricting, Hobbs said she needs to take the system offline o account for those new districts, as the voter registration system — the one that determines if signers live within the districts of those they are supporting — cannot accommodate more than one set of maps. So that means the system will not be available for those running for Congress or the legislature. That led to a letter from Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Wright warning that any move to do so would be “contrary to law,” floating the possibility that Hobbs could be charged with a Class 3 misdemeanor —and jailed for up to 30 days and fined $500 — for knowingly refusing to perform a duty required under state election laws. Wright said that the refusal to keep E-Qual online could be a felony that carries a penalty of a year in state prison. “This threat against the secretary is not only legally baseless, but also dangerous,” Desai wrote. And she sees a political motive.
Georgia: U.S. District Judge Steve Jones said in court this week he could delay Georgia’s primary election, possibly until June or July, if he rules that the state’s new political maps illegally weakened representation of Black voters. Jones said that he would consider the risks to voter confusion and confidence before ruling on lawsuits alleging Georgia’s redistricting discriminated against Black voters in violation of the Voting Rights Act. Delaying the primary could potentially allow Jones to address concerns raised by the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative justices in a redistricting decision earlier this week. The high court put on hold a lower court ruling that Alabama was required to draw new congressional districts to increase Black voting power, in part because there’s little time to craft new maps before the May 24 primary. “I could change the whole calendar,” Jones said. “I need to hear all the evidence before I make a decision,” likely soon after court hearings conclude early next week.
Missouri: The Missouri Supreme Court ruled that state lawmakers have illegally limited citizens’ right to weigh in on laws, a decision that could make it easier for people to force a statewide vote on laws they don’t like in the future. In a 5-2 decision, judges wrote that Missouri citizens’ right to overturn laws passed by the Legislature is a “fundamental expression of the power held by the people.” “The legislature must not be permitted to use procedural formalities to interfere with or impede this constitutional right that is so integral to Missouri’s democratic system of government,” Judge Mary Russell wrote. In Missouri, referendum petitions must be submitted to the Secretary of State’s Office 90 days after the end of the legislative session during which the law passed. A 1997 state law requires petitions to contain an official ballot title certified by the secretary of state, and another law sets forth procedural deadlines for the secretary of state to approve that ballot title. The American Civil Liberties Union and the group No Bans No Choice sought to overturn those rules after Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft used all of his allotted time to approve the ballot title, leaving petition gatherers with just two weeks to collect hundreds of thousands of signatures. Ashcroft had argued that even with such a tight turnaround time, it’s still possible to collect enough signatures to put a law to a referendum vote. But Russell wrote that especially for people who can’t afford to pay workers to gather signatures, the deadlines are a hurdle to access the referendum process.
North Carolina: Legislative defendants and the N.C. Department of Justice are defending North Carolina’s voter ID law before the N.C. Court of Appeals. Two separate briefs supporting the 2018 law arrived this week at the Appeals Court. Meanwhile, ID critics continue to push to have the case moved to the N.C. Supreme Court. “This State’s Constitution provides that ‘[v]oters offering to vote in person shall present photographic identification before voting’ and that the General Assembly ‘shall enact general laws governing the requirements of such photographic identification, which may include exceptions,’” according to a brief from attorney Nicole Moss, representing legislative leaders. “The General Assembly enacted Senate Bill 824 … to implement this mandate.” “Two judges on a divided three-judge Superior Court panel have now permanently enjoined S.B. 824 as a violation of North Carolina’s Equal Protection Clause,” the legislators’ brief added. “But they could do so only by failing to honor the presumption of legislative good faith and by implausibly concluding that a General Assembly bent on entrenching itself through a racially targeted voter-ID law would pass a law that does not prevent anyone from voting and do so with the support of several members of the party allegedly targeted.” In a separate brief, lawyers working for N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein also defended the voter ID law. “It was Plaintiffs’ contention that by passing S.B. 824, the Republican majority of our legislature attempted to disenfranchise African Americans, who historically support Democratic candidates, as a mechanism to entrench itself politically,” according to the brief from Special Deputy Attorney General Terence Steed. “The majority of the three-judge panel in this case agreed and concluded that ‘the enactment of S.B. 824 was motivated at least in part by an unconstitutional intent to target African American voters.’ This conclusion was erroneous.”
North Dakota: The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and the Spirit Lake Tribe have sued North Dakota, alleging the state’s new legislative map dilutes tribal members’ voting strength. The federal lawsuit alleges violations of the Voting Rights Act. North Dakota’s Republican-controlled Legislature in November approved a new legislative map. It separates the state House districts on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in northern North Dakota and the Fort Berthold reservation, in the heart of the state’s oil patch in the western part of the state and home to the Three Affiliated Tribes. Some tribal members and lawmakers said the move would increase the odds for tribes to elect their own members to the Legislature. Turtle Mountain argues the split House districts “packs” and “cracks” tribal members into a single house district on its reservation, while diluting their vote by non-native voters in the non-reservation subdistrict. Spirit Lake alleges the new redistricting map dilutes American Indian voters on and near its reservation. North Dakota Secretary of State Al Jaeger told the Associated Press he had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment on it.
Pennsylvania: The period for candidates and their supporters to circulate petitions to qualify for Pennsylvania’s May 17 primary election was put on temporary hold by the state Supreme Court. The justices issued an order that apparently applies to congressional and legislative races, as well as contests for U.S. Senate, governor and lieutenant governor. The three-week petition gathering period was set to kick off Tuesday and last for three weeks. Instead, the high court noted it was hearing oral argument on Feb. 18 in a case that will determine the lines of congressional districts. Philadelphia’s elections officials posted on Twitter that the ruling applies to all nomination petitions. In the congressional redistricting case, a lower court judge on Monday recommended a new map of the state’s 17 congressional districts and suggested alterations to the petition gathering period. The Supreme Court will have the final say, and could delay the primary election date.
Texas: The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Texas and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund are is suing the Texas secretary of state over a so-called “voter purge” program. The suit alleges the secretary of state is violating the National Voter Registration Act by refusing to turn over documents related to the program. “The Texas secretary is once again improperly trying to purge voters from voter rolls [and is] ensnaring a ton of naturalized citizens in its efforts,” said Ashley Harris, a lawyer with the ACLU of Texas. “[They are] targeting largely communities of color in Texas who have just as much of a right to vote as everyone else.” The elections law passed last year by the Legislature requires the secretary of state to do regular sweeps of the voter rolls to verify voters’ citizenship status. This new iteration of a voter purge program follows a similar attempt made in 2019. That program was halted after it came out that the office was relying on out-of-date records and would have wrongly canceled thousands of voter registrations of legal Texas voters. The groups suing say they cannot determine if the secretary of state’s office is following the rules set by the 2019 settlement without the documents. The secretary of state’s office declined to comment on the lawsuit but did point to documents on its website detailing the citizenship verification process. About 11,000 voters have been flagged as potential non-citizens this time around, and about 2,500 registrations were canceled as of Dec. 31, 2021.
Wisconsin: The Wisconsin Supreme Court has denied a lawsuit by former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch seeking to overturn guidance from the state’s elections agency on absentee ballot drop boxes, polling places and voting in nursing homes. The 4-3 ruling by the court against Kleefisch, who is running for governor, comes as justices are already considering a separate lawsuit challenging the use of drop boxes in Wisconsin. t was the latest in a series of election cases where conservative Justice Brian Hagedorn provided the swing vote, joining the court’s liberals to reject Kleefisch’s original action petition. The court’s majority did not issue a written order accompanying its decision. The court’s other three conservatives dissented, with conservative Justice Patience Roggensack writing that the court had “sidestepped” its responsibility. “The legality of absentee ballot guidance from (the Wisconsin Elections Commission) has been simmering since 2020, and will likely continue until we thoroughly address absentee ballot issues generated by WEC,” Roggensack said. “Because Wisconsin voters deserve elections conducted in a manner that we have reviewed and approved, I would grant Kleefisch’s petition to commence an original action.”
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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