Legislative Updates
California: The push to Lower the Voting Age from 18 to 17 Passed a Key Legislative Committee last week and may go before the Voters to decide. Assembly Constitutional Amendment 4 and Assembly Constitutional Amendment 8 both Propose allowing a 17-year-old to Vote. ACA 4 would allow them to Vote in a Primary or Special Election if they will turn 18 by the General Election. ACA 8 would allow a 17-year-old to Vote in All Elections. If ACA 4 passes it would Require Voter Approval in order to take effect.
Illinois: Gov. J.B. Pritzker has Signed Legislation into Law designed to Expand Voting Rights and Civic Engagement for those in the State’s Criminal Justice system.
SB2090 directs County Jails and Local Election Officials to establish a Process that Allows Detainees Awaiting Trial to Cast their Ballots during Elections. It also directs the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) and County Jails to provide a Voter Registration Application and Detailed Information about their Voting Rights.
House Bill 2541 provides Re-entering Citizens with a Non-Partisan Civics Peer Education Program within 12 months of Discharge from IDOC or Department of Juvenile Justice.
Maine: A Referendum to extend Ranked-Choice Voting to All City Council and Board of Education Races in Portland Failed to get enough Valid Signatures to appear on the Ballot in November. The Petitions for Ranked-Choice Voting fell about 400 Signatures Short of the required number after more than 1,000 were Disqualified by the Clerk’s Office as Duplicates or for Not Matching the Names of Registered Voters.
New Hampshire: Gov. Chris Sununu has Vetoed SB 67 which was Approved by the Legislature to Undo a 2018 Law that requires Students and others Registering to Vote just before the Election or at the Polls be Informed that Voting here would Trigger the Requirement they Obtain Driving Licenses and have their Cars Registered in the Granite State.
North Carolina: Senate Bill 250 has received Tentative Approval in the House. The Bill would Require Local Elections Boards to Compare Jury Duty Excuses to the State’s Voting Rolls and look for Non-Citizens. The Bill would Not Require Election Officials to Remove People in Bulk, only to take Lists of People Disqualified from Jury Duty because they’re Not a U.S. Citizen and use that “to conduct efforts to remove names.”
Ohio: A Bipartisan Bill backed by Secretary of State Frank LaRose would require License-Bureau Clerks to attempt to Collect Information that could then be used to Update a Resident’s Voting Address. The Information then would appear on an Electronic Screen the Voter could Approve, compared to the current system, which uses a Paper Form.
Wyoming: The State’s Select Committee on Tribal Relations Unanimously Passed Draft Bill Language that would Allow Tribal Citizens to use their Tribe-Issued ID to Register to Vote as long as it is Presented with either a Valid Driver’s License Number or the Last four Digits of their Social Security Number. The Committee Voted to Ask the Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions Committee to take up and Sponsor the Legislation this Fall.
Legal Updates
California: Richard Davis, 68 of Pacific Grove has been Sentenced to Three years of Probation after he Admitted to Registering his Dead Father and Two Dogs to Vote. He was Convicted of Voter Registration Fraud.
Florida: In the Fight over whether or Not formerly Incarcerated Residents should be required to Repay all their Court Fees, Fines, and Restitution before they can Register to Vote. U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle said he wants Both Sides to Address an Issue that hasn’t been Dealt with, whether Amendment 4, Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative, itself is Unconstitutional, and what it would mean if it is.
Georgia: U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg ruled last week that Georgia Voters may Cast Ballots on the State’s “unsecure, unreliable and grossly outdated” Paperless Electronic Voting Machines in 2019, but that New Machines must be in place by 2019. “Georgia’s current voting equipment, software, election and voter databases are antiquated, seriously flawed and vulnerable to failure, breach, contamination and attack,” Totenberg wrote in her Ruling.
On Friday, a day after Totenberg’s Ruling a Group of Voters and Advocates filed Suit seeking to Stop the State from using the New $107 Million Voting System that it just Purchased, due to Voters still Not able to Verify the Tallied Vote is what they Selected.
Maryland: U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander has Ruled that Montgomery County Must provide its Voter List to Judicial Watch.
Missouri: In October of 2018, an Appeals Court said a Lawsuit Challenging the State’s Voter ID Law could Proceed and that Trial kicked off in Cole County in front of Circuit Judge Jon Beetem. The Suit, brought by Host of Voting Advocates argues that the State’s ID Law was Not sufficiently Implemented causing Confusion for Voters and Poll Workers.
New Jersey: Frank Raia, who was Recently Convicted of Orchestrating a Citywide Voter Bribery Scheme in Hoboken is pushing for a New Trial contending that the Jury’s Guilty Verdict went against the Weight of Evidence.
Tennessee: Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and several other Voter Registration Organizations are Suing to Stop the State’s New Registration Restrictions that are Set to take Effect in October. In a recent Filing, the Lawyers’ Committee wrote that Tennessee’s New Law has left the Groups that Filed the Lawsuit with the Choice of either Halting or Significantly Scaling back Voter Registration Efforts ahead of the 2020 Elections because of the Financial Risks and Exposure to possible Criminal Prosecution for Incorrect or Invalid Voter Drive's Submissions.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
