Legislative Updates
Alaska: The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly has Overturned a Veto from Mayor Charlie Pierce on Ordinance 20-24 that would Allow the Borough to create a Hybrid Vote by Mail/Vote Center System. In defense of his Veto, Pierce had previously Claimed on Social Media that the Vote-by-Mail System would be Mandatory, which is Not the case. Assembly President, Kelly Cooper, called a Post on Pierce’s Campaign Facebook to that Effect on June 13th Irresponsible for its Inaccuracy. The Ordinance has Resolutions of Support from every City in the Borough, and included Stakeholders from across the Borough. Ordinance 20-24 not only Provides for Vote-by-Mail Elections, but provides for more Time between Regular Elections and Run-Offs, and it Removes Position Statements from Ballot Initiatives in the Voter Pamphlet. The Ordinance will go into Effect in 2021 and Only apply to Borough Elections.
Arkansas: Supporters of a Proposed Constitutional Amendment authorizing Ranked-Choice Voting for Most State Offices said they turned in more than 94,000 Signatures of Registered Voters. The Open Primaries Arkansas Committee said its Proposed Amendment would Create an Open Primary Election System under which Candidates for U.S. Congress, the General Assembly, and State Constitutional Officers, would Appear on a Unified Primary Election Ballot to All Eligible Voters. In the General Election, Voters would have the Option to Rank up-to Four Candidates in Order of Preference and Ensure the Candidate with Majority Support is the Winner. Ballot Committees are Required to Submit Signatures of 89,151 Signatures of Registered Voters and Signatures of Registered Voters equaling 5% of the Voters who cast Votes for Governor in the 2018 Election in 15 Counties to Qualify their Proposal for the Ballot. They also are Required to get the Approval of the State Board of Election Commissioners for their Proposed Ballot Titles and Popular Names for their Proposals.
District of Columbia: As part of Emergency Police Reform Legislation, Felons in the District of Columbia, will be Allowed to Vote while still Incarcerated and the Board of Elections will be Required to Proactively Mail Absentee Ballots to DC Residents held at the DC Jail, as well as in Federal Prisons Nationwide. Federal Inmates could Request Absentee Ballots for the November Election, but Elections Officials would Not be Required to Send those Ballots to All Prisoners this year. The District has allowed Felons to Vote after Leaving Prison, and also Allows those Convicted of Misdemeanors to Vote from Jail. The Legislation Requires the D.C. Board of Elections, which already works with the Jail to Facilitate Voting for those Awaiting Trial who have Not been Convicted, or are Serving Time on Misdemeanor Charges, to Distribute Absentee Ballots for Felons being held at the Jail. The Emergency Legislation directs the Elections Board in 2021 to Reach-Out to the Federal Bureau of Prisons to Obtain the Contact Information of D.C. Resident Inmates and to send them Ballots. The Prisoners would be Registered at their Last Address before Incarceration.
Massachusetts: Gov. Charlie Baker has Signed a Vote-by-Mail Bill into Law. This is the First time in Massachusetts History that All Eligible Residents will have the Opportunity to Vote Early and by Mail in Both the State Primary and General Election. Early Voting for the State Primary will happen between August 22nd – August 28th. In-Person Early Voting for the November General Election will be held from October 17th to October 30th.
Nevada: The Lyon County Commission have Passed a Resolution Opposing the use of Mail-In Ballots for the November General Election. The Commissioner’s Resolution states that Mail-In Ballots “causes concern for dishonesty and voter fraud in mail-in elections” and “that the Lyon County Board of Commissioners opposes the exclusive use of mail-in ballots in the general election in November, 2020 and future elections and urges the secretary of state and county clerks to use in-person voting except in the case of absentee ballots.”
New York: Sen. Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Beach) and Assemblywoman. Nily Rozic (D-Queens) have introduced a Bill that would Allow College Students to work at Polling Sites where they are Not Registered to Vote. State Law currently Requires Poll-Site Workers to Work in the Election District where they Live.
North Dakota: Legislators may discuss Implementing a Statewide Voter Registration System in the 2021 Session. North Dakota is the Only State that does Not have a Voter registration System and with Voters relying more and more on Mail Balloting, some have expressed Concerns about the Lack of a Registration System. “I think the Legislature next session has to look at the very question …,” Sen. Ray Holmberg (R-Grand Forks), said. “Are we going to actually have a voter registration system run through the secretary of state’s office and not through the department of motor vehicles?” Jaeger said North Dakota’s Current System is Simple and he Expressed Confidence that Only Qualified Voters cast Ballots for the June Election. “Right now I’m not convinced that any changes should be made,” the longtime Secretary of State said. “We should be allowed to work with the system that we have now and continue to refine it and use it.”
Advocates pushing for Election Reform have Submitted what they say are the necessary Number of Signatures to get the Reforms on the November Ballot. The, Three-page Proposal lays out New Election Processes to be Inserted into North Dakota’s Constitution, including: Transmission of Ballots to Eligible Military and Overseas Voters 60 days before an Election; Paper Records of each Vote Cast; Election Audits of One or More Random Precincts of each Legislative District; Open Primaries and Instant Runoffs for Statewide, Legislative, and Congressional Offices; Drawing of Legislative Districts by North Dakota’s Ethics Commission rather than the Legislature; and Subdivision of House Districts. Secretary of State Al Jaeger has until Aug. 10th to Review 36,708 Signatures on 1,079 Petitions. Supporters need at least 26,904 Signatures of Qualified North Dakota Voters to place the Measure on the November Ballot.
Utah: Rep. Mike Winder (R-West Valley City), and Sen. Curt Bramble (R-Provo), are Planning to Introduce a Bill during January’s Legislative Session to Require that All “government-funded” Primaries in Utah to use Ranked-Choice Voting beginning May of 2021.
Vermont: Gov. Phil Scott said he’s Allowing a Bill to Allow Mail-In Voting during the November Presidential to become Law without his Signature. In a Letter to Members of the Vermont Legislature, Scott said there appeared to be a Technical Problem with the Law that Creates an Ambiguity in how the Secretary of State deals with Ballot Returns. Under the New Law All Voters will Receive Ballots in the Mail and they can Return them by Mail, take them to their Local Town or City Clerk or Bring the Ballot to their Polling Place on Election Day.
The Burlington Charter Change Committee Voted 2 to 1 this week to ask Mayor Miro Weinberger to Call forth a Special Election this November that would have Voters choosing whether or Not to adopt a Ranked-Choice Voting System. If Weinberger Agrees to the Special Election, a separate Ballot would be Created to Ask Voters if they think Burlington should Reinstate Ranked-Choice Voting in Mayoral, City Councilor, and School Commissioner Elections.
Legal Updates
Alabama: By a 5-to-4 Vote, the U.S. Supreme Court Blocked a Trial Judge’s Order that would have made it Easier for Voters in Three Alabama Counties to use Absentee Ballots in this Month’s Primary Runoff Election. The Court’s Brief, Unsigned Order gave No Reasons, which is typical when it Rules on Emergency Applications, and it said the Order would Remain in effect while Appeals moved Forward. The Court’s Four more Liberal Members: Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan, said they would have Rejected Alabama’s Request.
Arizona: In Legal Papers filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs said the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals got it Right when it Concluded that the State’s Ban on Ballot Harvesting, Approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature in 2016, was Adopted at least in part to Discourage Minority Voting. She also noted the Appellate Judges found that it does, in fact, have a Disproportionate Effect on the Ability of Minorities to Cast a Ballot.
Connecticut: A New Lawsuit was filed to Force the State to Expand Access to Absentee Ballots in the November Election as a Precaution against the Coronavirus. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Sued in Federal Court Thursday to Force the State to make Absentee Ballots available to Every Eligible Connecticut Voter in November. Failing to do so during a Pandemic, when waiting in Long Poll Lines could Increase Viral Transmission, is a Violation of the Right-to-Vote, the Suit Claims. The ACLU Sued on Behalf of a Voting Rights Group, an Elderly Voter vulnerable to Viral Infection and the NAACP. The Suit claims Blacks in Connecticut Suffer Disproportionately from Health and Voter Access Problems as Victims of years of Systemic Racism.
Florida: A group of Florida Voters and Civil Rights Groups have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to Reinstate a Ruling by a Federal Trial Court that Struck Down a State Law that Requires Ex-Felons to Repay All Court Fees and Costs before their Voting Rights may be Reinstated. The U.S. Court of Appeals of the 11th Circuit put the Lower Court Ruling On-Hold while it Considers the State’s Appeal. With the Deadline to Register to Vote for Florida’s Primaries less than Two weeks away, the Plaintiffs argue that the Appellate Court’s Hold “creates chaos and confusion about who can and cannot vote, where a wrong guess creates the risk of criminal prosecution.” In their Filing, the Voters urged the Supreme Court to Lift the 11th Circuit’s Stay and Reinstate the District Court’s Ruling. Citing the Court’s 2006 Decision in Purcell v. Gonzalez, which stands for the Principle that Courts should be Wary about Making Changes in the Run-Up to an Election, the Voters complained that the 11th Circuit’s Order “has created triple the ‘confusion and consequent incentive to remain away from the polls’” as the Supreme Court Found in Purcell. And it did so, the Voters continued, “just three weeks before the registration deadline for the August primary” and “after vote-by-mail applications were already received and just as ballots were mailed to overseas voters.”
Rep. Joseph S. Geller (D-Aventura), Rep. Geraldine Thompson (D-Windermere), Sen. Victor M. Torres (D-Kissimmee), Dan Helm, a Candidate for Supervisor of Elections in Pinellas County, Eight Voters, and the Florida Democratic Party, have filed Suit in Leon County Circuit Court seeking to Stop the State from Destroying Digital Images of Ballots after an Election. The Suit asks a Judge to Require the State to Order Local Election Officials to Retain the Ballot Images from Optical scanning Machines for 22 months.
Indiana: Common Cause Indiana has filed a Lawsuit to Overturn a 2019 Election Law which Prohibits Voters, Political Parties, and Candidates from asking a Court to keep Polling Locations Open past 6 p.m. Closing time if they Encounter Voting Problems. Under the Law only County Election Boards may ask to keep the Polls Open beyond 6 p.m. The Suit, filed in Federal Court in Indianapolis argues that the Law Violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments causing an undue Burden on Voting, as well as the Supremacy Clause, which Allows Citizens to Petition State Courts for certain Constitutional Reliefs available under Federal Law.
Kentucky: A Group has filed a Lawsuit to Force State Leaders to offer Extended Mail-In Ballots for Kentucky’s November General Elections. Gov. Andy Beshear, Secretary of State Michael Adams, and other State Leaders are Defendants in the Lawsuit. The Four Plaintiffs claim Health Conditions put them at Increased Risk of Severe Illness or Death from COVID-19.
Montana: Yellowstone County District Court Judge Jessica Fehr has issued a Preliminary Injunction against a State Law that Restricts who can Collect Ballots, finding it likely Violates Native Americans’ Right to Vote. The Ballot Interference Prevention Act, enacted by Montana’s 2017 Legislature, Restricts who can Collect Ballots and Dictates that Caregivers, Family Members, and Others can Collect no more than Six Ballots per Election. Several Native American Tribes and Advocacy Groups claim in their Suit Challenging the Law that Native Americans in Montana’s Seven Reservations are particularly Isolated, and Tribal Members often must rely on Someone else to Collect or Transport their Ballots to the Post Office. “The Court finds that BIPA serves no legitimate purpose; it fails to enhance the security of absentee voting; it does not make absentee voting easier or more effective; it does not reduce the cost of conducting elections and it does not increase voter turnout,” Fehr wrote in her 11-page Ruling. Fehr added that the State “failed to demonstrate through any evidence the existence of any compelling state interest that would warrant the interference of the right to vote created by BIPA.”
New Hampshire: Disabilities Rights Center-New Hampshire Sued Secretary of State, William Gardner, On-Behalf of the National Federation of the Blind and its New Hampshire Chapter, Granite State Independent Living, and Three Voters with Disabilities. The Lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court, seeks to Force the State to Implement an Accessible, Electronic Absentee Voting System. “Every Step of New Hampshire’s Absentee Voting Program is Inaccessible,” the Lawsuit states. “Plaintiffs are entitled to equal access to New Hampshire’s absentee voting program to vote privately, secretly, independently, and safely, as individuals without disabilities can.”
North Dakota: The Governor and Secretary of State are asking a Judge to Toss-Out a Lawsuit seeking to Annul the June Election. Attorneys responded Monday to the Claims of U.S. House Candidate Roland Riemers and State Superintendent Candidate Charles Tuttle, who were Unsuccessful in the Statewide Election held entirely by Mail due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. They Sued Gov. Doug Burgum, Secretary of State Al Jaeger. and the State. The Pair alleged “irregularities and violations of election laws and illegal abuse of executive power.” The Attorneys for the State have asked the Judge to Dismiss the Case without a Hearing, citing No Standing for the Lawsuit and Myriad Irregularities in its Claims.
Texas: The U.S. Supreme Court won’t Fast-Track a Bid by Texas Democrats to Decide whether All Texas Voters can Vote-by-Mail during the Coronavirus Pandemic, leaving in place the State’s Current Regulations for the July 14th Primary Runoff Election. But the Case, which now Returns to a Lower Court, could be back before the Supreme Court before the General Election in November. Texas Law allows Voters to Mail in their Ballots Only if they are 65 or Older, Confined in Jail, will be Out of the County during the Election Period, or cite a Disability or Illness. But Texas Democrats have Argued that Voters who are Susceptible to Contracting the New Coronavirus should be able to Vote-by-Mail as the Pandemic continues to Ravage the State.
Wisconsin: A Three-Judge Panel found that the State can Restrict Early Voting hours and Restored a Requirement that People must Live in a District for 28 days, not 10, before they can Vote. The Panel also said Emailing and Faxing Absentee Ballots is Unconstitutional. The State’s Photo ID Requirement for Voters wasn’t in Question, although the Panel did find that Expired Student IDs are Acceptable at the Polls. The Court Blocked an Option to Allow People to Vote without an ID if they Show an Affidavit saying they Tried to Obtain one. Judge Frank Easterbrook, who wrote the Opinion, noted that the Restrictions don’t Burden People in the State, where Voters still enjoy More ways to Register, Long Poll Hours on Election Day, and Absentee Voting Options than in other States. “Wisconsin has lots of rules that make voting easier,” Easterbrook wrote. “These facts matter when assessing challenges to a handful of rules that make voting harder.”
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
