Legislative Updates
New Mexico: Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver recently presented her Office’s Legislative Priorities for 2019 to the Legislature’s Courts, Corrections and Justice Interim Committee. “In the coming session, I’ll be advocating for legislation that increases voter participation, creates more transparency in our state’s campaign finance system, and fully funds my Office in the next fiscal year,” Toulouse Oliver said. “New Mexico is already a leader in how we make voting convenient, accessible, and secure, but there is always room to grow and I look forward to working with the Legislature in the coming months to build upon our success.”
Pennsylvania: Rep. Mary Jo Daley (D-Montgomery County, 148th District) and Rep. Christopher Rabb (D-Philadelphia, 200th District) have introduced Legislation that would Ban the Possession of Firearms at Polling Places. House Bill 2711 would make it a Third-Degree Misdemeanor to Possess a Firearm at Any Polling Place and a First Degree Misdemeanor to Possess a Firearm at a Polling Place with the Intent to Commit a Crime or use a Firearm at a Polling Place in the Commission of a Crime.
Tennessee: The Memphis City Council has Voted to Fund a Public Information Campaign to explain several Ballot Measures, including one on Instant Runoff Voting, that many Voters and Others have Complained are Worded Poorly.
Legal Updates
Georgia: Civil Rights Groups have filed an Emergency Motion asking the Court to Intervene so that Citizens Inaccurately Labeled as Non-Citizens be Allowed to Vote if they Show Proof-of-Citizenship at the Polls. About 3,600 Voter Registrations are On Hold because their Citizenship has Not been Verified.
U.S. District Court Judge Leigh Martin May heard Arguments this week on Two Different Lawsuits Filed against the Secretary of State’s Office and the Gwinnett County Board of Registrations and Elections over the County’s Review of Absentee Ballots. On Wednesday she Announced that she will be Filing an Injunction Barring Officials from Tossing Certain Absentees.
Illinois: A Collinsville Resident has Filed Suit seeking an Injunction requiring the Madison County Clerk to make Election Night Vote Counting Open to All Election Judges and Poll Watchers. The Suit specifically asks that Election Judges and Poll Watchers Not be Excluded from the Counting Process and Votes Not be Counted “behind Closed Doors.” It also Asks that the Clerk Refrain from Moving Ballots to “unknown locations without full disclosure” and from Counting Ballots before Polls Close, or other times, without Full Disclosure.
Mississippi: Pike County Supervisors are Suing Entergy for more than a Half-Million Dollars as the Result of a Short Circuit that led to a Power Outage at Election Headquarters and the Destruction of Voting Machines on the Night of the 2016 Primaries.
Missouri: The Missouri Supreme Court issued a One-Sentence Order late Friday afternoon in Jefferson City, Overruling the State’s Emergency Motion for a Stay. The Denial means a Cole County Judge’s Decision to Strike Down several Key Provisions of the State’s Voter ID Law will Remain in Place through the November Election. Cole County Judge Richard Callahan Clarified his Ruling earlier this week that it Applies to All Election Administrators.
New Hampshire: Hillsborough County Superior Court Judge Kenneth Brown has Blocked the State from Implementing SB3, a Law that Requires Voters to Prove they Live where they’re trying to Vote. Brown’s Ruling drew heavily on Testimony from Experts about the Burdens SB3 could place on Individual Voters and on New Hampshire’s Voting System as a Whole. The State’s Attorney General has asked for a Clarification on the Judge’s Ruling.
Texas: Modesta Vela, 60 of Roma has been Arrested on Voter Fraud Charges just Two Weeks after being Arrested on Other Voter Fraud Charges. The Four New Charges are for Tampering with a Government Record, in this Case, Voter Registration Applications. Earlier in October, Vela had been Charged with Illegal Voting.
Five Students at Prairie View A&M have Filed Suit against Waller County Claiming that their Voting Rights are being Suppressed. Students at the Historically Black College Accused the County of Violating the Federal Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution by Not Providing any Early Voting Location on Campus or in the city of Prairie View during the First Week of Early Voting. The Suit says the County’s Decision “imposes a substantial and unwarranted burden” on Student Voters and Denies them “an equal opportunity to vote” compared to the County’s Non-Black Voters.
Virginia: Hopewell Circuit Judge William Edward Tomko, III has ordered Hopewell Electoral Board Members David Silvestro and Herbert Townes, both Democrats, be Temporarily Suspended from Office until a Jury Trial can be Held to determine if they should be Permanently Removed for Failing to Properly Perform their Duties.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
