Legislative Updates
Federal Legislation: Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) has introduced the VoteSafe Act of 2020, a $5 billion piece of Legislation that would satisfy what Voting Experts and Advocates estimate States need to enact necessary Reforms. Working closely with various Secretaries of State, Harris crafted a Bill that would: Standardize Early In-Person Voting periods; Mandating that each State have at least a 20-day Period Ahead of the November 3rd General Election; Require States to Permit No-Excuse Mail-In Absentee Voting for this Election; allowing Any Citizen to Submit such a Mail-In Ballot Regardless of Explanation. The bill would also Maintain Minimum Due-Process Protections for each Voter.
California: The Kern County Board of Supervisors Rejected a Proposal that would have provided All Voters with Mail-In Ballots for November’s Election. Kern County Clerk, Mary Bedard, brought the Recommendation forward. “This is simply giving people options, that’s all this is,” Bedard told Supervisors, adding that Satellite Elections Offices would be set up to Allow Limited In-Person Voting. “It’s recommending that the people be given options and the counties be given options.” About 72% of Kern County Voters already Vote-by-Mail.
Louisiana: Secretary of State, Kyle Ardoin (R), has submitted a New Plan to Legislators to Expand Absentee Voting during the Pandemic. Originally, the plan would have allowed Absentee Ballots for: those 60 or older, those subject to a Stay-at-Home Order, those Unable to Appear in Public due to concern of Exposure or Transmission of COVID-19, those Caring for a Child or Grandchild whose School or Child Care Provider is Closed because of the Virus. All those reasons are now Gone, according to a Revised Plan submitted by Ardoin’s Office. The Remaining Reasons People would be able to Access a Mail-in-Ballot, according to the Plan, include: those at Higher Risk because of serious Medical Conditions, those Subject to a “medically necessary quarantine or isolation order.” those Advised by a Health Provider to Self-Quarantine, those experiencing Symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a Medical Diagnosis, or those Caring for Someone who is Subject to a Quarantine Order and has been Advised to Self-Quarantine. The New Plan won Approval from Two Key State House and Senate Committees this week.
Massachusetts: Secretary of State, William F. Galvin (D), said he is crafting a Legislative Package that would Allow Early Vote-by-Mail before September’s Primary Election and Expand the window People could Send in Ballots before November’s General Election. Galvin said he’s finalizing Details of the Proposal, with the Goal of Releasing it in May to allow Time for it to Gain Legislative Approval. Galvin said he believes Any Changes should still keep Open In-Person Voting on Sept. 1st, the State Primary, and Nov. 3rd, the General Presidential Election, to Allow Voters “maximum options” for Casting a Ballot.
New York: State Sen. Tim Kennedy (D-63rd District, Buffalo) introduced New Legislation which would Require the State Board of Elections to Send Absentee Ballots to All New Yorkers. According to the Legislation, the Boards of Elections would be Required to Mail Absentee Ballots no later than 30 days before any scheduled Election.
Utah: The Utah Legislature Voted during a Special Session last week to Run an Upcoming Primary Election entirely by Mail and Temporarily do away with Traditional Polling Places. The Bill would Automatically Repeal on Aug. 1st, so In-Person Voting can Return for the General Election in November. The Bill would also Suspend In-Person Early Voting and Same-Day Voter Registration, and give Staffers more time to Count Ballots to ensure they are Safe.
Virginia: During a Special Session, the Senate Rejected a Recommendation from Gov. Ralph Northam (D) to Move May Municipal Elections to November. Under Northam’s Plan, Absentee Ballots that already have been Cast would have been Destroyed, and People would have to Vote Again in November. Elected Officials’ with Terms Expiring June 30th would have seen those Terms Extended. The House of Delegates narrowly Approved Northam’s Recommendation 47-45, but the Senate Declined to Take-Up the Proposal.
Legal Updates
Florida: A Group of Voting Rights Organizations is Suing Florida again over its Elections Protocols during the COVID-19 Pandemic, citing that Not Enough was done during the March 17th Primary to Allow Registered Voters to Safely Cast a Ballot. In the Amended Complaint, the Groups are Asking, in part, for the State to Supplement Voter Registration Outreach Efforts, Expand Mail Voting Deadlines, and make other In-Person Voting Options available.
Georgia: An Election Integrity Group and Five Voters have filed Suit Seeking Emergency Changes to the State’s June 9th Primary including another Postponement and a Switch to Hand-Marked Paper Ballots. The Suit alleges that the State’s New Touchscreens could Spread the Coronavirus. A Judge should Delay Georgia’s Primary by Three Weeks, Abandon Touchscreens, allow Curbside Voting, create Mobile “pop up” Early-Voting Locations, Permit Vote Centers on Election Day, and Provide Protective Equipment to Poll Workers, the Lawsuit said.
Iowa: Former State Sen. Rick Bertrand filed a Lawsuit against Woodbury County Auditor Pat Gill’s Plans to offer Limited In-Person Voting Options for June’s Primary and a July Special Supervisor’s Election. Bertrand claims it will Suppress Voter Turnout by White Male Republicans as they’re least likely to use Absentee Ballots or other Vote-by-Mail Options.
Maine: The Committee for Ranked Choice Voting has filed Suit, in Kennebec County Superior Court, against Secretary of State Matt Dunlap, alleging that the People’s Veto Process does Not Apply to the New Ranked-Choice Voting Law because the Law is Already in effect. The Lawsuit alleges that Dunlap’s Office Misinterpreted Maine's Law when Allowing the People’s Veto Process to Move Forward. Although the Ranked-Choice Voting Law was Not Codified until January 2020, Laws Not Signed by the Governor “have the same force and effect” as if the Governor had Signed them in the same Timeframe that the Legislature Passed them, the Suit states.
Missouri: In a Lawsuit filed last week, Plaintiffs led by the ACLU of Missouri asked a Judge to Declare that State Law allowing Someone to Vote Absentee due to “incapacity or confinement due to illness” applies to People Sheltering-in-Place. Currently, it’s Not clear that’s the case, creating Confusion with Municipal Contests All over the State set for June 2nd. Secretary of State, Jay Ashcroft (R), and the State’s Top Elections Official, has Declined to Clarify the Issue, saying it’s Not his place.
Nevada: The Democratic National Committee, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Nevada State Democratic Party, and Priorities USA, filed Suit in the Eighth Judicial District Court of Clark County seeking to Expand Voting Access for Nevada’s Primary on June 9th. The Suit seeks: Mail Ballots for All Registered Voters, Not just those with Active Status; an Increase in the Number of In-Person Voting Centers to Reflect the Population and Geography Size of each County; Bar Enforcement of the State’s Voter Assistance Ban and Ballot Rejection Rules.
Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania Alliance for Retired Americans has filed Suit against the State in an effort to make Vote-by-Mail easier during the Pandemic. The Suit seeks to: Require Prepaid Postage for All Absentee and Mail-In Ballots; Allow Mail-In Ballots to be Counted if they are Postmarked by Election Day and received up to Seven days Later, rather than received by Election Day, as under Existing Law; Allow Third Parties to Collect and Return Absentee or Mail-In Ballots; and uniform Standard for Verifying Signatures on Mail-In Ballots, and to Allow Voters an Opportunity to Correct Signature Questions that might Lead to their Ballots being Rejected.
South Carolina: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is leading a Lawsuit against the South Carolina Election Commission to Allow Residents to Vote-by-Mail in Elections through the End of the Year amid Fears that Coronavirus-related Social Distancing Mandates will still be in place in the coming Months.
In another Lawsuit, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of South Carolina, and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, filed a Federal Lawsuit in Columbia over “South Carolina’s failure to take action to ensure all eligible voters can vote by mail during the COVID-19 pandemic” for the June 9th Statewide Primary. The Groups are Challenging a State Requirement that Forces People who Vote Absentee to have a Third-Party Witness Signature on their Ballot Envelope, as well as an “’excuse’ requirement that fails to provide an accommodation to allow all eligible voters to vote absentee during the pandemic,” ACLU Officials said.
Virginia: The American Civil Liberties Union and League of Women Voters Filed Suit in the U.S. District Court in Lynchburg asking the Court to Stop Virginia from Enforcing the Requirement during the Pandemic and to have Localities count “otherwise validly cast absentee ballots that are missing a witness signature for Virginia’s primary and general elections in 2020.”
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
