Legislative Updates
Alaska: Supporters of an Election Reform Initiative that would include allowing Ranked-Choice Voting, have turned in 41,000 Petition Signatures. To earn a spot on the Ballot this fall, a Measure needs the Support of 28,501 Registered Alaska Voters from at least 30 of the State’s 40 House Districts. The Names submitted will be Verified by the Division of Elections.
Indiana: The House is considering a Bill that would keep Polling Locations Open until 8pm. Polls currently Close at 6pm.
Iowa: The Des Moines City Council will consider Doing Away with the City’s Runoff Elections after Three such Races cost the City $86,603 in 2019. Instead, the Council could Change the Rules so the Candidate with the Most Votes on the Day of the General Election would be the Winner, regardless of whether the Contender Secured more than 50% of the Vote. There would be No Runoff Contest. The City Council will consider Changing its Election Process at a later Workshop Meeting.
Kentucky: A Senate Committee has Approved a Bill that Move the State’s Elections to Even-numbered years. The Proposal would go into Effect in 2028, putting Kentucky Gubernatorial Election years in Line with Presidential Ones.
Maryland: A Bill that would allow Montgomery County to Add an Additional Early Voting Site in a Diverse Area of the County is Moving Forward after the Education, Elections, and Housing Committee, Voting Unanimously in Support.
Nebraska: Legislators will once again consider a Constitutional Amendment (LR292CA) that would Require a Voter to show a Photo ID in order to Vote. The Proposal Requires Poll Workers to “review a photograph or a digital image of each voter to verify the identity of the voter.” The Specifics on how those Reviews would take place, as well as any Exemptions for Specific Situations, would be up to Future Legislatures to Decide. This is the Ninth time in 10 years that the Legislature has Considered a Voter Photo ID Proposal.
New Hampshire: Democrats on the Fiscal Committee Voted to Cut $477,000 from the Department of Justice’s Litigation Budget, arguing that the State should Stop Funding its Ongoing Defense of Senate Bill 3 and House Bill 1264. These Bills will Alter the Definition of "Domicile" in the Voter Registration Law
New Jersey: The Legislature sent a couple piece of Elections-related Legislation to Gov. Phil Murphy (D) this week. One Bill, if Signed, would Allow New Jersey to offer Online Voter Registration. The Second Bill fixes Issues with 2019’s Vote-by-Mail Legislation which was Rendered Moot by an Obscure State Committee on Unfunded Mandates. The New Bill would Require an Annual Appropriation each year to Cover the Costs Associated with Vote-by-Mail.
New York: By a 40 to 20 Vote, the Senate has Approved a Bill that will introduce Automatic Voter Registration in the Empire State. The Bill had previously been Approved by Both Chambers in 2019, but was Scrapped before being sent to the Governor because it was Discovered that a Typo in the Legislation would have Allowed Noncitizens to Register to Vote.
Ohio: A Pair of Bills in the Ohio Legislature would Change the Way People Register to Vote, making it an Automated Process instead of Requiring them to Fill Out Forms or go Online. People could still Opt-Out in both. But the New Bill in the House would do it Differently than the Senate Proposal. Unlike the Senate Bill, The House would Not Allow People to Declare a Party at the Point of Registration. They’d have to do that when they Vote in the Primary as they currently do. And the House Bill would use High School Enrollment Records to Register New Voters.
South Dakota: House Bill 1050 would Allow for Online Voter Registration. It is Sponsored by the Committee on Local Government at the Request of the State Board of Elections. If Passed, the County Auditors will still be in Charge of Maintaining Voter Registration Records in their Respective Counties and any Eligible Voter with a Valid Driver’s License or State-Issued ID Card can Register to Vote through the Online system.
Washington: Legislation has been introduced that would Make the State’s recently Implemented Automatic Voter Registration to an Opt-Out system similar to Oregon’s. Currently Voters at DMVs and Government Agencies are given the Opportunity to Opt-In. Titled the “VOTE Act,” the Bill would also Create “Voter Empowerment Centers” at All of the State’s Public four-year Colleges, with the Stated Goal to “make it easier for college students to cast their ballots if they have last-minute challenges that would otherwise be a barrier to voting.”
Virginia: The Senate Privileges and Elections Committee have Advanced a Bill that would Allow for No-Excuse Absentee Voting in Any Election. The Committee Voted 11-4, with Two Republicans joining the Majority Democrats. The Bill heads to the Senate.
Wisconsin: The General Assembly is considering a Bill that would have the State Reimburse Local Clerks for the Cost of Conducting Special Elections. The Bill was Approved by the Senate several months ago and has the Support of the Governor.
Legal Updates
Minnesota: The Minnesota Supreme Court has Denied a Request by another Republican Candidate for President to be Featured on the Ballot meaning that Elections Officials could go Ahead with the Printing of the Ballots for Absentee Voting which is set to Begin this week.
Missouri: In a 5-2 Ruling the Missouri Supreme Court Eliminated Portions of the State’s Voter Photo ID Law. Voters can Once Again bring Non-Photo Identification, like a Voter ID Card, a College ID, or a Utility Bill, to the Polls without having to Sign an Affidavit stating they Don’t have “a form of personal identification approved for voting.” This Ruling Returns State Statute to where it was in 2016. “Although the State has an interest in combating voter fraud, requiring individuals voting under option two to sign a contradictory, misleading affidavit is not a reasonable means to accomplish that goal,” Judge Mary Russell wrote.
New York: District Judge Alison J. Nathan has Ruled that the New York State Board of Elections is Violating the Constitution and Federal Election Law when it Designates certain Registered Voters as “Inactive” and keeps those Names Off of Poll Books used on Election Day and during Early Voting. In her Ruling, Nathan said the State must make those Lists Available to Poll Workers. In her 60-Page Ruling Nathan Blamed the U.S. Postal Service and the National Change of Address Registry for Providing Unreliable Information.
Texas: Judge George D. Gilles has Ordered that a Ballot Box found, after a Recount seeking to solve an 832-Vote Discrepancy in a Midland County Bond Election, be Opened and the Ballots inside Counted. The Judge Ordered that a Ballot Found at the Bottom of a Voting Machine also be Counted.
Voter Jarrod Stringer has Filed a Federal Lawsuit arguing that the State is Disenfranchising an Unknown Number of Voters by Violating the Motor Voter Law. The State allows Driver’s Licenses Applicants to Complete their Voter Registration when they Physically Appear at a Texas Department of Public Safety Office, but does Not Allow the same Result when Residents Update or Renew Licenses Online. Stringer filed a similar Suit in 2014 which was eventually Tossed but Not without a Sharp Rebuke from the Judge to the State.
Wisconsin: On Monday, Ozaukee County Circuit Court Judge Paul Malloy found the Wisconsin Elections Commission in Contempt of Court for Failing to Purge more than 200,000 Voters from the Rolls after he Ordered the Commission do so following his Ruling earlier this year. However, on Tuesday, the Wisconsin Appeals Court Stayed the Purge Ruling. The State's Purge Law is in Violation of the Voting Rights Act.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court Split 3-3 on whether to Hear an Expedited Appeal of the Lower Court’s Ruling. “The court’s decision to take a pass on this case irreparably denies the citizens of Wisconsin a timely resolution of issues that impact voter rights and the integrity of our elections,” wrote Conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley. “The court disregards its duty to decide significant issues of statewide importance.”
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
