Legislative Updates
Federal Legislation: According to Government Executive, the Legislation Authorizing $250 Million for Election Security Spending does Not include much New Funding for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Under the Senate Legislation, EAC would receive $11,995,000 in 2020, about $2 Million more than it received in 2019, however $1.5 Million of that would be Transferred to the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) to Develop Voluntary State Voting System Guidelines, and another $2.4 Million is designated for the EAC’s Relocation to New Offices.
Maryland: Several New Elections Laws took Effect this week in the Old Line State including Same Day Registration available in 2020, a Law Mandating that an Election Service Contractor must Provide Specified Notice of Ownership, Investment, or Avenues for Influence that a Foreign Entity may Hold in the Business and a New Law allowing Students in Grades Six through 12 to serve as Election Day Pages and help Judges at Polling Places.
Minnesota: The Red Wing City Council Unanimously Voted to begin the Process of putting Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV) on the 2020 General Election Ballot. Council President Dean Hove told the Audience at the City Council Meeting that the City has been talking about RCV for about Six years, specifically at Charter Commission Meetings.
New Hampshire: Gov. Chris Sununu (R) has Vetoes House Bill 315 that would have Removed New Hampshire from the Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck (IVRC) Program. “House Bill 315 would impose unreasonable restrictions on the Secretary of State’s ability to determine the best voter registration information-sharing arrangement for our state,” Sununu wrote. “New Hampshire should maintain the Secretary of State’s flexibility on this issue and trust him to make the best decision for the people of New Hampshire, as he has done for over 40 years.” Many States left Crosscheck for to many errors in their database.
New Jersey: Assembly Members Nick Chiaravalloti (D-31st District), Angelica Jimenez (D-32nd District), and Annette Chaparro (D-33rd District) are Sponsoring a Bill that would bring Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV) to the Garden State. Bill A-5205 would establish RCV for All Elections including Presidential Elections.
Assemblyman Ronald Dancer (R-12th District, Plumstead) has introduced a Bill that would Allow Residents to Register to Vote through the State Division of Fish and Wildlife and its Official “license agents” which are Businesses where people get Licenses for Boating, Fishing, and Hunting. The Registration would be Automatic unless the Resident specifically Declines.
New York: Gov. Andrew Cuomo has Signed Legislation into Law Extending the Deadline for Registered Voters to Switch their Party in Advance of Partisan Primaries. The New Law scraps the Previous Oct. 11th Deadline, giving Voters until Feb. 14th to Switch Parties and still Vote in the State’s Primary Elections in April for President and June for State. The Bill was Approved by the State Legislature in June.
North Carolina: The House has Approved Senate Bill 250 which would Require Jury Excuses to be Sent to the State Board of Elections so Officials can Remove Non-Citizens from the Voter Rolls. Under the Bill, Clerks of Court would Forward the Elections Board the Names of People who Get-Out of Jury Duty by saying they’re Not U.S. Citizens. Those Names would be Published Online, and Election Officials, the Bill states, “shall use this information to conduct efforts to remove names from its list of registered voters.”
Ohio: The House has Voted 90-0 to Approve Senate Bill 52 which would Create the Ohio Cyber Reserve. Under the Command of the Adjutant General, the Team of Experts would Protect against Attacks on Critical Infrastructure and Government systems. The Legislation also calls for the Secretary of State to be Added to the Homeland Security Advisory Council. The Secretary of State would be Mandated to Appoint a Chief Information Security Officer, who would be a Resource for County Boards of Elections. The Bill also calls for Regular Audits of Elections.
Wisconsin: The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors has Unanimously Backed a Resolution Proposed by Sup. Sequanna Taylor (2nd District) to Restore Voting Rights to People on Probation and Parole. Nearly 65,000 Wisconsinites are Denied their Right to Vote because of Parole Status, despite having already Served their Debt to Society while in Jail.
Legal Updates
California: Attorney Harmeet Dhillon, a Republican Lawyer who has waged Lawsuits on behalf of the Trump Administration Sued the State of California and its Department of Motor Vehicles Tuesday, saying the Agency is Failing to Verify Citizenship for Voter Registration. The Lawsuit alleges that California Secretary of State Alex Padilla and the Director of California’s DMV, Steve Gordon, have Violated the National Voter Registration Act and that Padilla has “forsaken his duty to ensure that non-citizens” are Kept Off Voter Rolls. She said the Lawsuit does Not Allege Voter Fraud but that the State is Neglecting One of its Duties as Outlined by the Voter Act.
Iowa: Judge Joseph Seidlin has Upheld Part of a New Iowa Voting Law that Requires Photo ID to Vote. While Seidlin Left in Place Photo ID, he did Strike Down as Unconstitutional the Law’s Provision that would have Prohibited Election Officials from Issuing a Voter ID Card based on Iowa Driver’s License or Nonoperator’s Identification Card records, as well as a Provision that would have Allowed Election Officials to Dispute the Signature on a Registered Voter’s Application. The Split Decision had both Plaintiffs and Defendants claiming Victory.
This will change after Oct. 2020, when All Drivers License and State IDs will have Verified Citizenship. So Driver and State IDs become Voter IDs and should remove Non-Citizens from the Voter Rolls.
North Carolina: A Group of Local and National News Organizations is Suing North Carolina Election Officials for Records connected to 2018 Federal Subpoenas that Targeted Hundreds of Voters across the State. The Suit seeks Public Voter Data gathered by State and County Election Boards Months after they received Subpoenas from U.S. Attorney Robert Higdon’s Office in a Secretive Voter Fraud Probe. Both the Wake County Board of Elections and the State Board of Elections are named in the Suit.
Pennsylvania: 2016 Green Party Candidate Jill Stein has threatened to take Legal Action if the Pennsylvania Department of State Allows Localities, including Philadelphia, to use the ExpessVote XL Voting Machines from ES&S. “We will seek relief in the court if this unverified, un-auditable, hackable, expensive machine is not promptly decertified,” Stein said.
West Virginia: Two Candidates in Harpers Ferry’s Municipal Election have taken their Challenge of the June 11th Election Results to Jefferson County Circuit Court. Nancy Singleton Case and Debbie McGee filed a Lawsuit asking a Circuit Judge to Reverse a Municipal Election Tribunal Order Declaring the Election Results Final and to Require the Town to add Four Disputed Provisional Ballots to the Tally in a Recount.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
