Legislative Updates
Alabama: A House committee Wednesday approved legislation that would explicitly ban curbside voting in Alabama. HB 285, sponsored by Rep. Wes Allen, R-Troy, would forbid election workers from setting up curbside drop off areas or setting up voting machines outside a polling place. “This goes to managing, protecting the integrity of the election and the chain of custody from the balance sheet,” Allen said in committee. The measure, if passed, would codify an interpretation of state law by Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill, who says curbside voting is prohibited in Alabama and has blocked counties from engaging in it. Civil rights groups, representing plaintiffs with disabilities or who were vulnerable to COVID-19 infection, sued last year to lift the prohibition. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the lawsuits.
House Bill 396, which would have allowed people to vote absentee without an excuse has been carried over, all but killing the legislation for this year. Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill originally supported this bill but has since dropped that support. “We are not proponents of no excuse absentee voting, but wanted to use this vehicle to feature that as an option to pass some other things that were important to us in streamlining the absentee process,” Merrill said. According to WAFF, Merrill is working with other lawmakers on a new proposal to change the deadline for absentee ballot applications to be returned from five days before the election, to ten days.
Arizona: The Senate has approved a bill that will purge people from the permanent early voting list if they skip two consecutive election cycles. The popular “permanent early voting list” allows voters to sign up once and automatically receive a ballot for every election. The bill by Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, R-Scottsdale, would purge people from the list of they skip the primary and general election for two cycles in a row. They would get a letter asking them whether they want to remain on the permanent early voting list and would be removed if they don’t respond. State election officials have said about 200,000 voters currently meet the criteria. The proposal has had an up-and-down route through the Legislature. An identical bill died in the Senate last month when Republican Sen. Paul Boyer joined all 14 Democrats in opposition. Boyer later said he would support it after getting questions answered by lawyers, and it cleared the Senate in a 16-14 vote.
The House has advanced a number of election-related bills including making same-day voter registration a felony offense, requiring people to specifically ask to register to vote, mandating notices on mailed early ballots telling recipients to “return to sender” if the person no longer lives there and boosting limits on the required disclosure of campaign contributions. Another measure makes it a felony for an election official to send mail ballots to people who hadn’t requested them — a move prompted by a failed proposal last year by Maricopa County’s former recorder to mail all voters ballots during the pandemic.
Arkansas: Online voter registration could come to Arkansas, in part, through the efforts of a Girl Scout, the sponsor of a bill to authorize the change said Friday. “This started when Anna Claire Tilley made a presentation, and it was a good one,” said Rep. Justin Boyd, R-Fort Smith, sponsor of House Bill 1517. The House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee recommended the bill Wednesday. Tilley spoke to a meeting of the state agencies committee in March of last year, part of her efforts to encourage online voting. Tilley is a student time at Southside High School in Fort Smith. Getting her state to approve online voting began as a Girl Scout project, according to news accounts. Her proposal was studied in the interim between legislative sessions, Boyd said, and the bill introduced after the Legislature’s regular session began in January. Gaining committee approval in the sponsor’s chamber of the Legislature is only the first step in passing a bill after filing it. The next step will be harder, Boyd said. The change in the bill would affect laws implementing Amendment 51 to the state’s constitution, which concerns voter registration. Voters passed Amendment 51 in 1964, setting up the voter registration system used since. Bills affecting voter-approved constitutional amendments require a two-thirds super-majority to pass, Boyd said. Amendment 51 passed in the civil rights era, repealing requirements such as such as poll taxes, used to suppress votes from Black Arkansans.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson said this week that he will sign HB1112 into law. The legislation requires a photo ID or a provisional ballot and also eliminates signature verification of provisional ballots. The new law will need to be monitored, he said, to ensure that voters are receiving proper assistance in obtaining an ID. If they are not, Hutchinson said Arkansas’ General Assembly will need to change the law. Lawmakers opposed to the legislation argued that 2020 election about 2,700 provisional ballots with sworn signatures were tabulated, and there was not a single instance of voter fraud with those ballots. But Lowery said it took weeks in some cases to count provisional ballots and election workers don’t have the training to verify signatures.
Georgia: A bill to restrict ballot drop boxes, require more ID for absentee voting and limit weekend early voting days passed the Georgia House this week amid protests that the proposals would make it harder for voters to participate in democracy. The House voted along party lines, 97-72. Democrats opposing the legislation said it creates obstacles for voting that will do more to reduce turnout than increase election security. The measure that passed the Georgia House, House Bill 531, would limit ballot drop boxes to locations inside early voting locations, reduce “Souls to the Polls” voting events to one Sunday during early voting, and require voters to provide a driver’s license number, state ID number or copy of photo ID to request absentee ballots. In addition, the measure would set a deadline for requesting absentee ballots 11 days before election day, ban organizations from distributing grants to help fund elections and prohibit distributing food and drink to voters waiting in line. The bill now heads to the state Senate. In response to concerns about House Bill 531, House Speaker David Ralston announced a plan to offer free Georgia ID cards that could be used for voting, opening bank accounts and traveling on airlines.
Idaho: The Senate approved legislation to make it more difficult to get initiatives or referendums on ballots in a measure with urban vs. rural overtones. Senators voted 26-9 to send to the House the measure that backers say is needed to give rural voters more say in the process, noting the state is growing rapidly especially in urban areas. Opponents argued the measure violates the Idaho Constitution because it makes getting initiatives on ballots nearly impossible, giving a single district veto power. Current rules require signatures from 6% of registered voters in each of 18 districts in 18 months, plus a number of signatures that equals 6% or all registered voters in the state. The proposed law would change that to requiring 6% of registered voters in all 35 Idaho legislative districts in 18 months. Backers of the bill said that under current rules, signature gatherers could get all the signatures they need in the 18 districts in just a handful of counties that contain urban areas.
A revamped version of a proposed law making it a felony in Idaho for third parties to collect and return multiple ballots to election officials passed the full House , 56-12. The bill that has several significant changes from the bill that was pulled from the House floor earlier this month after debate tilted toward almost certain defeat. The new bill changes from two to six the number of ballots a single family member can deliver. It also redefines family to include adopted children. The proposed law limits who can handle multiple ballots to election officials, U.S. postal service workers and parcel delivery services.
Illinois: State Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Louisville) has filed Senate Bill 2038, which would mandate the use of hand-marked paper ballots by election authorities. Ballots under this bill could be counted by hand or with optical scanners. Illinois election leaders would have to set up strict chain-of-command procedures for ballots, voter registration polls and tabulation results. In addition, the Illinois State Board of Elections would have to use software that monitors and detects potential vulnerabilities in voter registration roll security.
Kentucky: A House committee has approved House Bill 574 to allow no-excuse, in-person early voting in Kentucky, though the measure was amended to reduce the number of early voting days from four to three. House Bill 574 keeps several of the emergency measures enacted in last year’s elections due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which factored into a record number of Kentuckians turning out to vote. The original version of HB 574 included four days of early voting, but the committee substitute passed Thursday lowered this to three days, with its lead sponsor saying this was one of several compromises to give the bill a chance of passing both chambers. Secretary of State Michael Adams testified to the committee and called the bill a major step forward for improving voting access while maintaining the integrity of elections, noting many other states are taking the opposite approach. House Bill 574 would also: Allow counties to continue operating voting centers where anyone in the county could vote in-person early and on Election Day, as well as maintain drop boxes where voters can submit absentee ballots; Keep the process adopted last year in which voters can cure absentee ballots of deficiencies, such as one missing a signature; Include new vote integrity measures to prohibit ballot harvesting, in which people collect others’ completed absentee ballots and turn them in; Require counties to purchase voting machines allowing for paper ballots or a verified paper trail when replacing old equipment; and Improve the ability of state elections officials to purge individuals from the voting rolls when informed they are voting in another state.
Massachusetts: House lawmakers approved a bill extending the COVID-19 mail-in voting law through June, giving Beacon Hill more time to review more permanent election reforms. The House voted on Monday to approve the bill, H. 73, extending the mail-in voting law through June 30. The proposal heads to the Senate for review. The temporary mail-in voting law, which took effect in July, was supposed to expire at the end of 2020 but was extended until March 31, 2021 to account for upcoming special elections.
Missouri: Some lawmakers are talking about changing the way Missourians vote and even getting rid of the presidential primary election to save money. Members of the House Elections and Elected Officials Committee discussed only allowing Missouri voters to use paper ballots. Rep. Peggy McGaugh (R-Carrollton) is the sponsor of House Bill 1065, a large election bill, which includes doing away with Missourians voting in the presidential preference primary election. “It totally eliminates that particular primary that is held every four years,” McGaugh said. She said that election costs the state $9 million. Election clerks from around the state testified in favor of the bill. HB 1065 would also allow an absentee ballot to count if the voter dies after the ballot is cast. McGaugh testified saying some counties count the vote while others don’t. Under McGaugh’s bill, local election authorities wouldn’t have to wait until election day to count absentee ballots. It would allow for absentee ballots to be considered “cast” the day they are received, meaning it can be counted. Another piece of the legislation would allow those using an absentee ballot without an excuse would have three weeks to fill out their ballot, instead of six, but then voters would be able to return it to a drop box.
Montana: A law to sharply restrict the practice of collecting ballots won approval in the Montana House on a party-line vote last week, while several other voting bills failed to advance as the transmittal deadline looms. House Bill 406, sponsored by Rep. Mark Noland, R-Bigfork, proposes several tweaks to the Ballot Interference Protection Act. The law was passed overwhelmingly by voters in a 2018 ballot referendum, but was ruled unconstitutional by a pair of state district judges last year. Noland’s bill would remove a six-ballot limit on the practice, while tightening other restrictions and creating a statewide registry of anyone allowed to turn in another person’s ballot, including members of the same family or household.
The House meanwhile sank a pair of Democrat-sponsored election bills, including House Bill 441, which would have allowed students under the age of 18 to serve as election judges. The sponsor, Rep. Kelly Kortum, D-Bozeman, framed the legislation as a means to relieve election offices that have struggled to attract enough volunteers to adequately staff polling places. It failed to pass 39-61.
Introduced in committee last week, a Native American Voting Rights Act bill will generally revise election procedures on reservations to reduce barriers to voting in Indigenous communities. Sponsored by Rep. Sharon Stewart-Peregoy, D-Crow Agency, House Bill 613 would require at least two permanent satellite election offices for each federally recognized tribe and require precinct polling place notices to include locations on reservations. It would also authorize the use of nontraditional addresses for voters. “This (bill) is very important in the respect that it’s really looking at ensuring our rights as citizens are not undercut,” said Stewart-Peregoy. Keaton Sunchild, political director for Western Native Voice who worked closely with Stewart-Peregoy on the bill, said the HB 613 symbolizes progress. “This bill will do nothing but push us forward and make Montana one of the leaders in the United States in terms of Native voting rights. … For far too long, people in power have tried to silence the Native vote, and we think this is our best chance to make our voices heard,” he said.
Nebraska: Legislators heard testimony this week on a bill that proponents say would guarantee all eligible voters in the state would get a chance to cast their ballot. LB577 calls for vote-by-mail ballots to include a postage-paid return envelope, update voter registration through the DMV. and establish Election Day as a state holiday. “For many people, it is difficult to find the time to vote on a workday while the polls are open. According to a Census Bureau survey the primary reason that 14% of people did not vote in the 2016 general election was due to their busy schedule,” State Sen. Eliot Bostar said.
Nevada: Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson, D-Las Vegas, is expected to introduce a bill similar to a one-time measure passed last year amid the pandemic to send mail-in ballots to all active registered voters. The major difference is the bill would apply to all future elections. “It wouldn’t be consistent with Nevada’s independent spirit to take that option away from voters,” Frierson said. The legislation may address the speed at which votes are counted and reported, but specifics are still being ironed out, Frierson said. Educating the public about the safety of mail-in ballots is a priority, he said. “I think that we absolutely have to take into account that there are some people who are, I believe, misled with false information about fraudulent activity,” Frierson said.
New Jersey: Registered voters would be able to cast their ballots early, in person at designated polling places before future general and primary elections under legislation approved Monday by the full Assembly, 58-11-1. Under the bill (A-4830) sponsored by Assembly Democrats Andrew Zwicker (D- Middlesex, Somerset, Mercer, Hunterdon) Joseph Danielsen (D-Middlesex, Somerset) and Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D-), designated polling sites would be available for in-person voting ten days before a general election up until the Sunday before the election. Polls would be open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The early voting period for a non-presidential primary election would be available on the Friday before the primary election until the Sunday before the election. For a presidential primary election, early voting would be available from the Wednesday before the election to the Sunday before. Early voting for May municipal elections would be held on the Friday before the election until the Sunday before. Each county board of elections would designate five to ten early polling locations, depending on the number of registered voters in the county. The voting process during the early voting period would be conducted using optical-scan voting machines that read hand-marked paper ballots or other voting machines that produce a voter-verifiable paper ballot. Additionally, county boards would create and execute written plans for security of voting machines, ballots and records during the early voting period. Once enacted, the bill would be effective immediately
New Mexico: Sen. Harold Pope Jr., D-Albuquerque, introduced a measure, Senate Bill 235, last month to create a “permanent absentee voter list” in each county statewide. It would be available to almost all eligible New Mexico voters, disallowing only absentee voters who reside overseas, who are military stationed outside the United States or who have a mailing address outside the state. Pope told the Sun-News his bill was inspired by the vote-by-mail system he encountered while he served in the military, but he said he also heard from his constituents. The New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office helped Pope draft it since the office was already interested in pushing for legislation to create a permanent list, according to spokesperson Alex Curtas
Sponsored by Rep. Georgene Louis (D-Albuquerque), Rep. Wonda Johnson (D-Rehoboth), Rep. Derrick Lente (D-Sandia Pueblo), Rep. Anthony Allison (D-Fruitland), and Sen. Benny Shendo (D-Jemez Pueblo), House Bill 231 specifies that polling places can be located on native lands during a time of emergency, such as a pandemic. It also allows tribes and pueblos to request additional polling locations up to 100 days before an election, requires at least one polling location within every Indian nation, tribe, and pueblo, and prohibits the state from closing or consolidating polling places on native lands without the express permission of the tribal government.
New York: Nearly three years after Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order that would grant people on parole the right to vote, the state Legislature has taken the first step to codifying those rights into law after the state Senate passed a bill this week to do just that. Now, the bill awaits passage in the Assembly, but the timeline in that chamber remains unclear. “It’s a bit alarming that a simple bill seeking to chop away at Jim Crow-era voter bans has not yet passed in the New York State Assembly,” Nick Encalada-Malinowski, civil rights campaign director at VOCAL-NY, said in a statement. The legislation, sponsored for the past decade by Assembly Member Danny O’Donnell, is still in committee. It has come close to getting approved in the chamber in past years, but it’s never actually come up for a vote. O’Donnell spokesperson Gabriel Lewenstein said they have “productive conversations” and that they’re “optimistic” it will soon get passed in the chamber.
Oklahoma: The Oklahoma House of Representatives approved a bill to help blind and visually impaired Oklahomans with absentee ballots. HB1711 would allow electronic absentee ballots to be sent to those with vision problems. The ballot would be filled out electronically, before being printed off and mailed in with the required documentation. The bill would also allow for those needing the special ballot to request assistance from another person if needed. The bill will now head to the Senate.
South Dakota: A bill seeking to ban the secretary of state from automatically mailing absentee ballot applications failed Monday in the Senate State Affairs Committee. HB1126, sponsored by Rep. Drew Dennert, R-Aberdeen, and Sen. Brock Greenfield, R-Clark, would have outlawed the secretary of state’s office from mailing applications for an absentee ballot unless the voter requested it. Dennert said the bill was meant to add another layer of security for absentee voting and ensure more confidence in the process.The secretary of state and several county auditors opposed Dennert’s bill. Barnett said he mailed out the absentee ballot applications because of the pandemic. The situation called for extraordinary steps to make sure registered voters were not suppressed from casting ballots, he said.
Petition signers will see larger print if SB77 becomes law. The bill was approved last week morning by the House Local Government Committee. SB77 requires 14-point font to be used on petitions that seek to get constitutional amendments or initiated measures on the ballot. Rep. Carl Perry, R-Aberdeen, showed the committee a copy of an Initiated Measure 26 petition, a lengthy measure with smaller type on the petition. “It’s not in the voters’ best interest,” Perry said of the type on the IM26 petition. “The font makes it more readable.” Kea Warne, an election official with the Secretary of State, said that office supports the larger font size on petitions. “We just wanted to have a font size that all petitions must meet,” Warne said. Koni Sims, representing the South Dakota Association for the Blind, endorsed the larger font size. “It’s not huge, but it’s readable.”
Texas: State Sen. Jose Menendez filed Senate Bill 408 to bridge what he calls a voting equality gap and the need to make voting more accessible to a younger population of Texans. The bill would mandate that a number of polling sites be located on public college campuses each election cycle. “I would like to designate two locations on a campus if a school has at least 10,000 students, and we’re requiring an additional poll for every additional 10,000,” Menendez said.
Texas Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Frisco) filed a bill Thursday that would restrict polling hours during early voting to between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. The bill is a direct response to Harris County’s voting expansion for the 2020 election. Harris County opened seven voting locations for over 24 hours as part of the effort to expand voting access during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Utah: Attempts to prohibit some nicknames from going on election ballots had some in the Utah Senate questioning whether the motive was personal or if it violated free speech. “I think the ballot should not be a tool for campaigning. I think that there is integrity to the ballot,” said the floor sponsor of HB152, Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork. HB152 would limit candidates to their given name or a nickname that they’ve “generally been known” by for at least five years and they have “documentary evidence” as proof. It had initially failed to pass in the House on Feb. 4, but it was reconsidered a day later and passed 46-24. “(This bill) puts the lieutenant governor’s office in a position where there’s a First Amendment problem,” argued Sen. Daniel McCay, R-Riverton. He also questioned whether the bill was more centered on a “personal pet peeve” than any real policy concern. The Senate voted down the bill 2-22.
Washington: The House has approved HB 1078, sponsored by Rep. Tarra Simmons, that would make it so that a former felon would be eligible to vote the moment they are no longer incarcerated, and would retain that right regardless of whether or not they can pay off post-incarceration expenses. Rep. Simmons — who made history in 2020 after becoming the first former inmate elected to the Washington Legislature — believes that this proposal is integral in helping people reintegrate into society after prison. “My being here today as a state legislator is directly tied to the ability several years ago to successfully reenter the community after incarceration and become a voter again,” she said. “When someone is trying to rebuild their life and feel like they are a real part of their community, it’s just common sense that we should give them the kinds of support that we can.” Co-sponsor Rep. Roger Goodman also pointed to data that indicates restored voting rights for felons can actually reduce the rate of recidivism, and by extension, crime rates as well.
A bill that would exempt certain election security information from public records disclosures passed the state House of Representatives last week. The bill passed 61-37, with many Republicans saying they oppose exempting more from the Public Records Act, which requires all state and local governmental entities to make public records available to the public. The bill exempts the following: continuity of operations plans for elections; security audits; security risk assessments; security test results that relate to physical security or cybersecurity of election operations or infrastructure. The legislation would still allow the public to access information on security breaches or audits about those breaches.
Wisconsin: Republican lawmakers on Friday continued their rollout of legislation that would overhaul Wisconsin’s election process, announcing bills that, among other things, would move the date of Wisconsin’s presidential primary to Super Tuesday in March instead of during April’s spring election. Another bill GOP lawmakers introduced would allow municipalities to begin counting absentee ballots the day before an election if they meet certain requirements, a fix that elections officials have previously called for as they dealt with a surge in absentee voting due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet another piece of legislation Republicans proposed Friday would give district attorneys broader jurisdiction over alleged election violations in order to resolve election law disputes more quickly. The proposed legislation, which is very early in the legislative process, follows an extremely fraught presidential election in which former President Donald Trump made repeated unfounded claims questioning the integrity of the election, which has led to public distrust about the election result. Republican lawmakers cited such distrust as a reason for some of the legislation proposed Friday.
Wyoming: A bill that would require Wyoming voters to present identification before casting a ballot easily passed the state House of Representatives on Wednesday and will now advance to the state Senate. The vote in favor of House Bill 75 was 51-9 in favor. Opponents of the bill have generally characterized the bill as a solution in search of a problem since even most supporters of the measure don’t claim that voter fraud is a big problem in the state. Under the bill, accepted identification would include a driver’s license from any U.S. state or territory, a Medicare insurance card, a tribal I.D., a U.S. passport or military card, or a school ID from the University of Wyoming, any Wyoming community college or public school. A voter ID bill was defeated in 2019 in the Wyoming House by a 30-29 margin. But since this year’s measure is co-sponsored by roughly 2/3 of the legislature, it would seem pretty likely to win legislative approval this time around.
Legal Updates
Arizona: Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Timothy Thomason said that the subpoenas issued by the Arizona Senate are valid and Maricopa County must turn over ballots from the November general election to the Arizona Senate and provide the Senate access to its voting machines so it can conduct an audit. Thomason said he disagreed with the county’s arguments that they were unlawful and that the county legally could not hand over the ballots. In response, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jack Sellers said in a statement Friday afternoon that the county “will immediately start working to provide the Arizona Senate with the ballots and other materials.” “We hope senators will show the same respect and care we have for the 2.1 million private ballots and use them in service of their legislative duties,” Sellers said. The Senate wants another audit of ballots and a careful check of voter information, while the county believes its multiple audits have been sufficient and says the ballots must remain sealed under state law. Thomason emphasized in his ruling that he did not want to wade into the politics of the issue. He said the Senate has broad authority to issue subpoenas, and the Senate’s reasoning to issue them — to see if there are changes that could be made to state law to further protect the integrity of elections — was valid.
Georgia: According the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Fulton County prosecutors are expected to appear before a grand jury this week seeking subpoenas for documents and witnesses related to their investigation of former President Donald Trump and some of his top associates for possible election fraud. District Attorney Fani Willis hasn’t said exactly what her prosecutors seek, but she sent recent letters to Gov. Brian Kemp, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and other state officials last month directing them to preserve documents. She indicated she’s investigating several state crimes, including solicitation of election fraud, making false statements to state and local governmental bodies, conspiracy, racketeering, violation of oath of office and involvement in violence or threats related to the election’s administration. Georgia State University law professor Clark Cunningham believes Willis has the makings of a “pretty compelling narrative of a conspiracy” that sought to prevent state electors from casting their votes for Biden.
Mississippi: In a 64-page order, Judge Jeff Weill has ordered a new runoff election for the Ward 1 alderman seat in Aberdeen. In the ruling, Weill not only calls for a new election but also finds evidence of fraud and criminal activity, in how absentee ballots were handled, how votes were counted, and the actions by some at the polling place. In his ruling, the judge said that sixty-six of eighty-four absentee ballots cast in the June runoff were not valid and should never have been counted. Nicholas Holliday was declared the winner by a 37 vote margin. Robert Devaull challenged the results in court. Weill found many irregularities with absentee ballots. He issued a bench warrant for notary Dallas Jones, who notarized absentee ballots. During a hearing, Jones admitted violating notary duties. The judge also found that 83 regular ballots were counted without being initialed by election workers. Weill also said there was clear evidence of voter intimidation and harassment at the polling place on election day. State law says candidates and supporters must stay at least 150 feet away from the polling place. In his ruling, the judge said Holliday, along with Police Chief Henry Randle, and former Mayor Maurice Howard acted as if they were above the law, repeatedly violating criminal statutes.
Ohio: Ohio’s Attorney General is suing the federal government, claiming its delay of U.S. Census data wasn’t legal. The bureau announced earlier this month that “COVID-19-related shifts in data collection” and processing would push the delivery of population data states need for redistricting from March 31 to Sept. 30. That’s a problem for Ohio where voters recently installed a new process for drawing districts. State House and Senate maps are constitutionally required by Sept. 1 with the federal Congressional maps due Sept. 30. State lawmakers have already said they won’t be able to meet those deadlines. And voting rights groups worry some of the gerrymandering protections they gained through these reforms will get pushed to the side for the sake of time. The suit argues that Congress could vote to delay the data, but the bureau couldn’t because the deadline was written in law. “Laws cannot be arbitrarily changed by administrative fiat,” Yost said in a statement. “Even if it’s inconvenient, the Census Bureau must do its job.” Federal law imposes a March 31 deadline, “not an aspirational target date,” attorneys for the state wrote in the complaint.
Tennessee: Rep. Tim Rudd, R-Murfreesboro, has filed a resolution calling for the legislature to form a committee and remove Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle from the bench. Rudd, who chairs the House subcommittee on elections and campaign finance, said he filed the bill in response to Lyle’s ruling last year that expanded absentee voting — an action he deemed as judicial overreach. “What Chancellor Lyle did was illegally interfering our election process by trying to suspend state law and implement her own policies, which is blatantly against the law,” he told The Tennessean. The judge handled a lawsuit filed last year in Davidson County Chancery Court asking the court to confirm COVID-19 concerns were a valid excuse for not voting in person under existing Tennessee law. Rudd argues Lyle overstepped her authority in ordering the state to interpret the law that way. Rudd said Lyle could either declare the existing state elections law unconstitutional or rule to uphold the law. But he said she did neither. “She can only throw out a law and declare it unconstitutional. She cannot replace it,” he said. “She just superseded state law.” Rudd said he has gathered 64 co-sponsors and expects to bring it to a House vote within the next two weeks. If both legislative chambers vote in favor, an ad hoc joint committee will be formed to discuss Lyle’s removal, he said. The state constitution allows the removal of judges or state’s attorneys “for cause” with a two-thirds majority vote in both houses.
Wisconsin: The U.S. Supreme Court denied requests to review far-right attorney Sidney Powell’s post-election case in Wisconsin this week, the last of her cases to be rejected by the high court as the lawyer has continued to push conspiracy theories about election fraud. The case had already been rejected by lower courts. A judge in Wisconsin said Powell’s requests for relief were beyond the court’s powers to address “absent the mythical time machine.” “The Supreme Court’s failure to date to address the massive election fraud and multiple constitutional violations that wrought a coup of the presidency of the greatest country in world history completes the implosion of each of our three branches of government into the rubble of a sinkhole of corruption,” Powell said in an email to Forbes this week. “It is an absolute tragedy for the Rule of Law, the future of what was a Republic, and all freedom-loving people around the world.”
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
