Legislative Updates
Pennsylvania: The Senate State Government Committee Voted 7-4 at the end of the brief meeting September 3rd to Approve the only piece of Legislation on its Agenda: a Bill sponsored by Rep. Dan Moul (R-91st District, Adams), that Advances the Deadline for voters to Request a Mail-in-Ballot and Bans Ballot Drop Boxes ahead of the Nov. 3rd Presidential Election. Democrats on the Committee said the Short Notice did Not allow them to prepare Amendments to the Bill, which could Advance out of the Senate and Land on Gov. Tom Wolf’s Desk by the end of next week. Sen. Katie Muth (D-44th District, Montgomery), said Democrats hoped to Amend the Bill to Extend the Pre-Canvassing Timeline for Counties, giving them Three weeks to prepare Mail-in-Ballots for Tallying ahead of Election Day, and to Preserve the Oct. 27th Deadline for Voters to Request Mail-in-Ballots. They also wanted to Strike-Out Language in the Bill that Prohibits Counties from using Drop-Off Receptacles to Collect Ballots on Election Day.
Virginia: Gov. Ralph Northam has Signed a Bill into law that Allocates $2 Million toward Prepaid Postage for the Return of Absentee Ballots, adds Drop-Off Boxes throughout the State, and Allows Voters to Fix Errors on their Ballot before Nov. 3rd. Localities will front the Money for Postage and the Commonwealth will Reimburse them. “Today, I signed important new voter protection laws that will expand access to early voting, provide prepaid return postage on all absentee ballots, and allow for secure drop boxes and drop off locations,” Northam wrote on Twitter.
Legal Updates
Alaska: U.S. District Court Judge, Joshua Kindred, has Denied a Request seeking to have Alaska Election officials send Absentee Ballot Applications to All Registered Voters in the State ahead of the November General Election. Kindred said he was Not convinced that any Alaskans’ Rights had been Diminished and called it “disingenuous” to Suggest that State Election Officials “selected people age 65 and older arbitrarily, or that all other age groups are equally vulnerable.” He acknowledged Concerns for those with underlying Medical Conditions but said Election Officials “are not in a position where they can readily, easily, or confidently identify Alaskans who might qualify under that criteria.” The Disability Law Center of Alaska, Native Peoples Action Community Fund, Alaska Public Interest Research Group, and Two Individuals alleged the State’s Action was Discriminatory. They filed a Notice of Appeal.
The Tribal Council for the Interior Alaska Community of Arctic Village, the Alaska Branch of the League of Women Voters and Two Elders are Challenging the Alaska State Law that Absentee Ballots be Signed by a Witness, saying it’s an Unconstitutional Burden on Voting Rights during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Plaintiffs say that Vulnerable Alaskans should Not have to Risk Contracting COVID-19 in the Process of Obtaining a Witness Signature. “What Lt. Gov. Meyer is doing is forcing Alaskans to choose between their health and their vote,” Josh Decker, the ACLU of Alaska’s Executive Director, said in an Interview Tuesday. “For anyone in Alaska who does not have an adult who can witness their signature and wants to avoid risking COVID, they should be allowed to cast their ballot in November just like those Alaskans who live with someone.”
Arizona: Six Navajo Voters residing in Apache County have Filed Suit against Arizona’s Secretary of State, asking that the Deadline for Mail-in Ballots be Extended due to the Difficulty of Voting-by-Mail on the Reservation. Plaintiffs Darlene Yazzie, Caroline Begay, Irene Roy, Donna Williams, Leslie Begay, and Alfred McRoye state in their Suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for Arizona, that the Current Requirement that Votes be Received, Not Postmarked, before 7pm on Election Day places “unconstitutional burdens on plaintiffs’ right to vote at Navajo Nation during the COVID-19 pandemic and United State Postal Service reorganizational issues.” The Voters ask that the Deadline be Changed to Count Ballots as long as they are Postmarked by Nov. 3rd.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge, James Smith, has Ruled that County Recorder, Adrian Fontes, may continue to Instruct Voters how to Correct Ballot Mistakes. Smith said although it appears that Fontes acted Illegally in telling Voters they can Cross-Out the Wrong Vote they Cast and then Vote as they wanted, All without Requesting a New Ballot. But Smith said that Fontes already has Printed up 2.5 Million Instructions with the Legally Suspect Directions. And he said it makes No Sense, either Logistically or Financially, to Order New ones be Printed now. So he Refused to Issue such an Order. Alexander Kolodin said Smith got it Wrong and he will be filing an Appeal. The Arizona Public Integrity Alliance is asking the Arizona Court of Appeals to Print New Instructions.
Delaware: The ACLU of Delaware is filing a Lawsuit against the State Department of Elections over its Vote-by-Mail Deadline. Right now, People Voting by Mail must have their Ballot Mailed to the Department of Elections by 8pm on Election Day, November 3rd. But the ACLU is Asking the Department of Elections to Extend the Deadline to Election Day, and have All Votes received up until Ten Days after the Election to be Counted. The ACLU says that because of the Unique Challenge of Voting amid COVID-19 and Recent Issues with the United States Postal Service, Voters should have more time.
Georgia: Judge Eleanor Ross has Declined to Dismiss a Lawsuit accusing DeKalb County officials of Illegally Removing Dozens of Voters from its Rolls. Ross Denied this week the County’s Motion to Dismiss the Suit, which was filed in February by Lawyers representing the Georgia NAACP and the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda. The Lawsuit Accuses the DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections of “purging” more than 50 Registered Voters between December 2018 and November 2019, thanks in part to a Policy that Allows Residents to Challenge the Registration of a Voter if they believe they are No Longer living at their Registered Address.
Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, has Appealed a Federal Judge’s Ruling that Absentee Ballots Postmarked by Election Day should be Counted. The Case will be considered by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after U.S. District Judge, Eleanor Ross, last week Nullified a Georgia Law requiring Absentee Ballots to be Received at County Election Offices by 7pm on Election Day. Attorneys for the State wrote that the Coronavirus Pandemic doesn’t Justify altering Election Rules so near the time when Voters will begin Receiving Absentee Ballots late this month. “Changing the deadline to return absentee ballots will introduce delay and confusion in the election process. This, in turn, risks delaying the Electoral College process and disenfranchising voters in Georgia, including preventing voters from casting ballots in runoff elections,” the Attorneys wrote in a Motion Friday to Stay Ross’ Preliminary Injunction while the Appeal is Pending.
Louisiana: District Judge, Trudy White, Ordered the Secretary of State, Kyle Ardoin, to Clear the way for the Top Vote-Getter in Last month’s Special City Court Election to take Office even though the Candidate who Lost by a 2-1 Margin is still Challenging the Result. Ardoin told White he would Comply.
Minnesota: The State Supreme Court heard Arguments last week in a Case over Laws Limiting Minnesotans’ Ability to Help others Vote. The Statutes at issue allow Minnesota Residents with Disabilities or an Inability to Read English to seek Help with Filling-Out their Ballot and, if they Vote Absentee, Delivering it. The Caveat, which the Democratic Senate and Congressional Campaign Committees have Challenged, is that any One Person can Only Assist Three People. That Restriction, Democrats argued, is Preempted by a 1982 Amendment to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which Grants Disabled and Illiterate Voters the Right to Receive Assistance in Voting. Republicans, who Intervened in the Democratic Committees’ Case against Minnesota Secretary of State, Steve Simon, Argued that Removing the Provisions, Prohibiting what they called “ballot harvesting,” and Democrats referred to as “ballot collection”, would Lead to Election Fraud. In an Expedited Four-page Ruling, Chief Justice, Lorie Skjerven Gildea, Affirmed a July Order by Ramsey County District Judge, Thomas Gilligan, that sided with the Legal Challenge to the Law and therefore the Law will remain Unenforceable this Election.
Mississippi: Hinds County Chancery Judge, Denise Owens, has Ruled that Voters with Health Conditions that might make them Vulnerable to COVID-19 Must be Allowed to Vote by Absentee Ballot. However, Owens Rejected an Argument that People Without Pre-Existing Conditions should be Allowed to Vote Absentee if they are following Public Health Guidelines to Avoid Large Social Gatherings. Secretary of State, Michael Watson, said Thursday that he is Appealing Owens’ Order to the State Supreme Court. He said in a Statement that he wants Clarification so Circuit Clerks can know what Does or Does Not Qualify as a “temporary disability” under the State Law that Governs Absentee Voting. “The goal is to make sure the application of the term is consistent for every Mississippi voter,” Watson said.
Montana: A Lawsuit Challenging a State Law that allegedly Restricts Native Americans’ Voting Rights went on Trial in Yellowstone County District Court this week. Western Native Voice v. Stapleton Challenges Montana Secretary of State, Corey Stapleton, on the Montana Ballot Interference Prevention Act (BIPA), which Limits who can Collect and Convey a Ballot belonging to another Person. The American Civil Liberties Union of Montana and Native American Rights Fund filed the Lawsuit in March on behalf of: Voting Organizations Western Native Voice and Montana Native Vote; the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes; Blackfeet Nation; Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes; the Crow Nation; and Fort Belknap Indian Community. In July, a Montana Court Granted a Preliminary Injunction, Blocking the Law. BIPA also Institutes a Fine of up to $500 for bringing Ballots to the Post Office on Behalf of Relatives or Neighbors, according to the Plaintiffs’ News Release. BIPA defines a “family member” as “an individual who is related to the voter by blood, marriage, adoption or legal guardianship,” but that Definition is Incompatible with Indigenous Family Structures, which include Extended Family and Community Members, the plaintiffs said.
Nevada: The Re-Election Campaign for the President is narrowing its Focus in a Lawsuit against Nevada’s Expanded use of Mail-in-Ballots for the 2020 General Election, Specifically Challenging a Provision Allowing Ballots Received Up-To Three days after the Election to be Counted if their Postmark is Unclear. In a Motion for Summary Judgment, Attorneys for the President’s Re-Election Campaign Narrowed their Legal Challenge against AB4, the Law Approved during the late summer Special Session of the Legislature. The Measure requires: a Mail-in-Ballot be sent to All Active Registered Voters for the 2020 Election; sets Mandatory Minimum Numbers of Polling Places in Clark and Washoe Counties; makes Changes to the Signature Verification Process; and Allows for Non-Family Members to turn in Ballots on Behalf of Voters.
New York: Bard College President, Leon Botstein, and Student Voting Advocates have Joined a Lawsuit against the Dutchess County Board of Elections, that seeks to have a Polling Place Closer to the College. The Lawsuit was filed in State Supreme Court in Poughkeepsie by: the Andrew Goodman Foundation; the Student Group Election@Bard; Student Sadia Saba; and Bard Vice President for Student Affairs Erin Cannan. “The current polling location is a 3-mile round trip from the Bard campus on an unsafe route that lacks sidewalks and adequate street lighting,” the Release states. “The route creates a significant hardship for voters with disabilities, and the majority of students who don’t have cars.” The Foundation says the Polling Site is Not Compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act, and that the Church is Undergoing Renovations and is too Small to Comply with COVID-related Social Distancing needs.
Pennsylvania: The Republican Caucus in the Senate and its Official Party Apparatus are Allowed to Intervene in the State Supreme Court’s Case about Mail-in-Voting, but the Re-Election Campaign of Trump is Not, the Court decided this week. The Court Granted the Motions to Intervene by the Senate GOP, Represented by President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati and Majority Leader Jake Corman, and the Republican Party of Pennsylvania, but Denied Motions by the Trump Campaign, the Republican National Committee, and several Voting Rights and Voting Accessibility Advocacy Groups. In the Suit, Democrats are urging the Court to Order that Mail-In and Absentee Ballots Postmarked by 8pm on Election Day and Received by County Boards by 5pm the Following Tuesday should be Officially Tallied.
Vermont: A Lawsuit filed in Federal Court last week by Four Vermont Residents is seeking to Block Secretary of State, Jim Condos from Administering a Universal Vote-by-Mail System for the 2020 Election. The Plaintiffs argue that Vermont’s Voter Checklist hasn’t been Sufficiently Purged of People who have Died, Moved, or are otherwise Ineligible to Vote in Vermont. They say Plans to Send General Election Ballots to Every Registered Voter in the State later this month Threaten the Integrity of Election Results. “(M)any castable ballots will inevitably fall into the hands of persons other than the voter to whom the mail-in ballot was directed,” Lawyers for the Plaintiffs Wrote. “Some or many of these misdirected or misreceived ballots can and will be cast by a person other than the voter to which the ballots were addressed or by an otherwise ineligible voter. Each such miscast ballot will directly impact and dilute the individual vote of each legitimate plaintiff voter, for which each plaintiff will have no remedy once such miscast ballots are received and counted.”
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
