Legislative Updates
Federal Legislation: Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY 6th District) has introduced Legislation that would Repeal the 26th Amendment and Replace it with New Language that would lower the Minimum Voting Age to 16.
California: The General Assembly has Approved Legislation that will Create an Office of Elections Cybersecurity, a New Bureau dedicated to combating Cyberattacks directed at the State’s Voting systems and Correcting Disinformation directed at Voters.
Maine: The Portland City Council voted to Delay a Vote on allowing Legal Non-Citizens the Right to Vote in School Elections. The Council expressed concerns that giving Permanent Residents the Right to Vote could put them at risk of being Targeted by Federal Immigration Agents.
Massachusetts: Gov. Charles Duane Baker Jr. (R) has Signed a Bill into Law making Massachusetts the 14th State to Approve Automatic Voter Registration (AVR). Secretary of State William F. Galvin (D) said AVR will be in place by 2020.
Ohio: Akron City Council Members Russel C. Neal, Jr. (D-Ward 4) and Bruce Kilby (D-Ward 2) have submitted Legislation to Eliminate Primary Elections in Akron. If Approved by the City Council, the Measure will Appear on the November Ballot.
Legal Updates
Alabama: Circuit Court Judge Michael Bellamy has Charged a Russell County Grand Jury to determine whether there should be an Indictment in potential Crimes from Alleged Voter Fraud in the November 2017 Phenix City Council Special Election.
Arizona: Judge Douglas Rayes heard Arguments last week over the State’s Ballot Harvesting Law which Bans Anyone but Caregivers or Family Members from Delivering a Completed Early Ballot to a Polling Place. Rayes did not indicate when he would Rule.
California: Superior Court Judge Ronald L. Styn has Ruled that San Diego County must Place the Full Voter Participation Act on the November 2018 Ballot. The Board of Supervisors had argued that including the Measure on the 2018 Ballot would add Costs to the 2018 Election. If Approved, the Measure would Require All Elections for County Offices to be decided in a November Runoff.
Florida: Judge Raag Singhal has Ordered Broward County Supervisor of Elections, Brenda Snipes, to Change the way her Office handles Mail-In Ballots. Singhal said Florida Law is Clear on the Subject: The Ballots should Not be Opened until the County’s Three-Member Canvassing Board had determined the Validity of the Ballots.
Georgia: In a Court filing this week, Secretary of State, Brian Kemp, said the State would be “plunged into chaos” if a Federal Judge Grants a Request to Immediately switch to Paper Ballots for the November General Election. “There is no ‘paper-ballot fairy’ who, with magic wand at ready, can save plaintiffs’ half-baked ‘plans’ from devolving into a fiasco,” according to the Filing.
Indiana: Judge Sarah Evans Baker has Ruled against Solicitor General Tom Fisher’s attempt to Halt the Expansion of Early Voting Sites in Marion County. Baker noted that Federal Law trumps State Law in Voting-Rights Cases.
Iowa: The Iowa Supreme Court has handed down a Split Decision on the State’s New Voter ID Law. The Court has Ruled that the Shorter, 29-day Period for Early Voting under the Law is Acceptable, but Agreed with the Lower Court that Temporarily Blocked Rules requiring an Identification Number to Apply for an Absentee Ballot and allowing Election Officials to Reject Absentee Applications and Ballots when they determine Signatures on those Forms don't Match a Voter's Signature on Record.
Massachusetts: Two Voters have filed a Federal Lawsuit over a State Law that Bans Passive shows of Support for Candidates on Clothing in Polling Places. The Plaintiffs argue that their First Amendment Rights are being Violated. “The government should not be in the business of telling people what to wear when they vote,” Attorney Jeremy Colby said. “If you just keep chipping away at our First Amendment right, which is the core building block of our democracy and our ability to communicate ideas, little by little, it does erode that First Amendment right.”
Michigan: Secretary of State, Ruth Johnson (R), is asking U.S. District Judge Gershwin Drain to Reconsider his Decision to Allow Straight-Ticket Voting on the November Ballot. I think this should be Banned in All States.
Nevada: Renaldo Johnson, 56 of Las Vegas was given a Suspended Sentence and placed on Probation for his Role in a Voter Fraud Scheme during the 2016 Election.
New Hampshire: U.S. District Judge Landya McCafferty has Struck Down New Hampshire’s Law that allows Poll Workers to Toss Out Absentee Ballots if they don’t believe the Signature adequately Matches the one used on other Voting Paperwork. McCafferty said “the current process for rejecting voters due to a signature mismatch fails to guarantee basic fairness,” because it gives Moderators “sole, unreviewable discretion” to Discard Absentee Ballots. "It cannot be emphasized enough that the consequence of a moderator’s decision — disenfranchisement — is irremediable," Judge McCafferty wrote.
North Carolina: Roberto Hernandez-Cuarenta, 57 of Zebulon has been Convicted of Two Counts of Voting by a Non-Citizen and Sentenced to Four months in Federal Prison. Hernandez-Cuarenta has Legal, Permanent Resident status, but was Not a U.S. Citizen when he Voted in the 2012 and 2016 Presidential Elections.
Five Residents who were recently featured in a New York Times Article because they had been Accused of Voting Illegally have had Felony Charges Dropped under a Plea Deal. The Five had been Accused of Voting while still On Parole or Probation. The five entered Alford Pleas to Misdemeanor Obstruction of Justice Charges.
Texas: Cynthia Gonzalez has pleaded Guilty in San Patricio County Court to Three Election Code Violations in Nueces County. Investigators say the Charges include Marking a Ballot and Sending it in for other Voters.
West Virginia: The First of a Dozen Wrongful Firing Lawsuits against the Secretary of State is slated to begin on August 27th. Plaintiffs in the Cases range from Receptionists, Elections Specialists, and Elections Director. Attorneys for the Plaintiffs allege that they were Fired because they are Registered Democrats.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
