Legislative Updates
Connecticut: The Government Administration and Elections Committee heard Testimony on several Bills including Bills that would Restore Voting Rights to Convicted Felons on Parole, No longer Require those formerly Incarcerated to Pay All Fines to Regain their Voting Rights and Grant Voting Rights to some Currently serving Prison Time. The Committee is also considering a Bill that would make the Tuesday after the First Monday in November a Holiday.
Georgia: Under House Bill 316, the State’s Aging Voting system would be Replaced with Touchscreen Machines that Print Ballots before they are Counted. The Bill follows the Recommendations of the Voting Commission Appointed by then-Secretary of State Brian Kemp. The Bill would also Change the way the State maintains its Voter Lists and Notifies Voters about potential Purges from the Rolls. It would also Enroll Georgia in ERIC, the Cross-Check program to see if a Voter is Registered to vote in multiple States.
Indiana: By a 29-63 vote, House Bill 1311 has Failed in the Legislature. The Bill would have Changed the Amount of Time Voters had to Apply for Absentee Ballots from Eight to 12 days before an Election.
Kansas: The Senate Ethics, Elections and Local Government Committee is considering Legislation that would give Vote-by-Mail Voters the Opportunity to cure their Signature if it does not Match what’s on File at the Elections Office.
Kentucky: By a 27-8 vote the Senate has voted to Approve a Bill that would Eliminate the Secretary of State’s Access to the State’s Voter Registration Rolls as well as Remove the Secretary of State as Chairperson of the State Board of Elections.
Maryland: Del. Brooke Lierman (D46th District) has Withdrawn a Bill that would have Allowed the Baltimore City Council to consider using a Ranked-Choice Voting system.
Massachusetts: Sen. Becca Rausch (D-Norfolk, Bristol, and Middlesex) has filed a Bill that would Move the State’s Primary to June.
Missouri: Under House Bill 26, Sponsored by Rep. Dan Stacy (R-Blue Springs) would Replace Missouri’s Open Primary system with Closed Primaries requiring Voters to Register with a Party in order to Cast a Ballot in the Primary.
New Hampshire: By 236-139 vote, the House has Killed House Bill 374 that would have Prohibited Candidates for Secretary of State from Forming Political Committees or Political Advocacy Organizations.
Sen. Melanie Levesque (D-12th District) has introduced Senate Bill 7 that would establish a “secure data transfer program” between the DMV and the Secretary of State’s Office, creating Automatic Voter Registration.
New Mexico: This week the House Approved Two Voter Registration Bills. Under One Bill, Residents would be Automatically Registered to Vote when Conducting Business at the DMV. Under the other Piece of Legislation, Voters would be able to Register and Vote on the Same Day.
North Dakota: By a vote of 86-7 the House Passed HB 1270. The Bill would Prevent Changes to Legislative Districts or Polling Places without Consulting Legislators and getting a Majority of Chairmen of District Parties to Agree. The Bill now moves to the Senate.
Ohio: Two Cincinnati Council Members have filed a Motion that would Declare the General Election Day as a Paid Holiday. The Motion specifically Proposes that City Administration provide an Ordinance to Include General Election Day as an Official City Holiday, “for the purpose of allowing city employees the opportunity to fully participate in the democratic process — including, but not limited to, casting a ballot.”
Oregon: Sen. Shemia Fagan (D-24th District) has introduced a Bill that would Lower the State’s Voting Age to 16. The Bill would be a Change to the State’s Constitution which would ultimately Require the Measure to be put before the Voters. “It’s time to lower the voting age in Oregon and to give our young people a chance to participate in the ballot, about their decisions that affect their homes, their clean air, their future, their schools and as we’ve seen, their very lives,” Fagan said.
Tennessee: Under HB1273 and SB 1500 Voters would be Required to Register for a Specific Political Party then only be Permitted to Vote in said Party’s Primary, creating a Closed-Party State.
Texas: Rep. Erin Zwiener (D-45th District, Driftwood) has filed a Bill that would Add Student IDs to the List of Acceptable IDs in Order to Cast a Ballot.
Utah: On February 14th, 2019, 149 years after Seraph Young because the First Woman to Vote in Utah, the House Unanimously Approved HCR16 that would Designate February 14th as Women’s Voter Registration Day. The Senate Unanimously Approved the Measure as well.
Virginia: The General Assembly has Approved a Bill that would Allow No-Excuse Absentee Voting but only Starting on the Second Saturday before an Election and Ending at 5 p.m. on the Saturday immediately Preceding the Election. No-Excuse Absentee Voting would have to be Done In-Person, and the Bill would Allow Localities to Open Additional Voting Centers to Accommodate the Extra Traffic.
West Virginia: The House Government Organization Committee heard Testimony from DMV Commissioner Pat Reed over Why the Department is Lagging on Submitting Required Reports on its Implementation of Automatic Voter Registration (AVR). Reed was appearing under Subpoena. Reed testified that the DMV will be Unable to Implement AVR by the July 1st 2019 Deadline.
Wyoming: House Bill 106, intended to Prevent Crossover Voting, has been Amended to Require Voters to Present a Photo ID in order to Switch their Party.
Legal Updates
Alabama: The Libertarian Party of Alabama has Sued Secretary of State, John Merrill, because Merrill’s Office is Charging the Party about $34,000 for a Voter List provided to the Democratic and Republican Parties for Free. According to Alabama.com, Merrill said he is following State Law in Applying the Charge, which he said is Based on One Cent per Voter Name.
Former Gordon Mayor Elbert Melton has been Convicted of Voter Fraud and Sentenced to One Year in Jail with Two years of Probation.
Connecticut: The U.S. Department of Justice and Connecticut have reached a Memorandum of Understanding that Calls for State Election Officials to Coordinate with the State Public Health Department to Remove Dead People from the Statewide Voter Database.
Florida: The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has sided with a Lower Court and Ruled that a Florida Law Requiring Voters’ Signatures on Mail-In Ballots to Match the Signatures on File with Elections Officials Imposes “a serious burden on the right to vote.” In the 2-1 Ruling Justice Robin Rosenbaum wrote, “Florida allows each county to apply its own standards and procedures for executing the signature-match requirement, virtually guaranteeing a crazy quilt of enforcement of the requirement from county to county.”
Kentucky: Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate has ruled that Secretary of State Candidate, Carl Nett, may Not use a Nickname on the Ballot. Nett wanted to use Trump as a Nickname. The State Allows Candidates to have a Nickname Printed on the Ballot but only if they Submit an Affidavit under Oath attesting it is their Nickname, and they are Not using it to Gain an Advantage. The Court ruled Nett doesn’t have a Legal Right to use the Nickname, and his Constitutional Rights aren’t being Violated.
Minnesota: The Minnesota Voters Alliance Sued the Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis in Federal Court Claiming that City Codes Requiring the Cities to provide Voter Registration Information to Tenants Violates the Landlord’s First Amendment Right to Free Speech and Forces them to Carry the Government’s “ideological message” to Tenants.
Mississippi: Chief U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III has Granted Class Certification in a Lawsuit filed on Behalf of Five Men who say the State Stripped them of their Voting Rights by using Laws they say Violate the Constitution. The Judge’s rulings on the Suit could now Affect not just the Five Named Plaintiffs, but Any Person who is Convicted of a Disqualifying Crime and who has Completed the Term of Incarceration, Supervised Release, Parole, and/or Probation for the Conviction.
Texas: This week, District Judge Fred Biery, heard part of a Legal Challenge to the State’s Noncitizen List. During Arguments on Behalf of the Government, Assistant Attorney General Chris Hilton seemed to Blame Local Elections Officials for Sending Out Notices to Voters insisting that the List from the Secretary of State’s Office was just an Advisory.
Wisconsin: David Kitowski, 70 of Wausau had been Charged with Voter Fraud for Mailing In Ballots on Behalf of his Dead Mother in the April and August 2018 Elections. At a Competency Hearing it was established that Kitowski would Not be Found Competent to Stand Trial and the Charges were Dismissed.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
