Voting rights bills and lawsuits megathread (Updated: April 27th 2020)

[Virginiá]

The dissenting argument, that he signed on to, said this:



and laughably this:

Ah, fair enough. Could it be possible he is talking about partisan gerrymandering under his current thinking - that it isn't addressable by the courts, but he could still be convinced in the Wisconsin case? I mean right now partisan gerrymandering is more or less OK according to them, but that could change soon enough.

[Virginiá]

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Abbott signs relaxed voter ID, end of straight-party voting into law
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http://www.statesman.com/news/abbott-signs-voter-end-straight-party-voting-into-law/5vb95W3p0406a5mRgysEyL/

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Honestly, that is a voter ID bill I could get behind, save for the absurd felony provision.

[Virginiá]

Laws are passed to address issues. When there's a problem, fix it. When there's not a problem, don't fix it. So why are voter ID laws being passed if voter fraud is a nonissue?*

*source: https://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/debunking-voter-fraud-myth

Oh, I agree. However in a situation where a voter ID bill is going to get passed one way or another, this is arguably the best outcome. West Virginia also did something similar to this. I believe checking basic documentation, such as a utility bill or bank statement goes far enough in deterring fraud, as in-person voter fraud is already insanely rare. Any other solutions to this non-existent problems can be done in the form of better data collection and management of the voter registration system.

[Virginiá]

I actually don't agree. Avr is a operations mess

How? All it does is automate something that previously required some input from people (although some versions of it still require a modicum of input). Otherwise I can't possibly see why you would say this.

It is only a mess so long as the design and basic implementation is a mess. The idea itself is solid, and there is no reason it couldn't be implemented smoothly.

[Virginiá]

It's great in theory hard in practice. People are not stationary, they move around, 40% of eligible voters never vote. We have a moving 40% clogging up rolls making larger voter books that may be registered in places they don't live with no update.

The biggest problem with us voting is illegal voting. It isn't fraud. It's people voting in places they aren't eligible in, this continues this as well as presents people that run elections with additional challenges.

At the end of the day SOME responsibility has to fall on the voter.

Honestly, I don't really get what you're saying. The point of AVR is to keep the voter registration database in sync with other state databases, so when people move, their registration follows them. This has been done in other states and it is mostly working as expected.

Second, from a developer's perspective the 'clogging' is completely irrelevant. A database with 700,000 or millions of people in it is not unmanageable. If gmail or outlook can handle millions of users, state systems can be made to handle the same. We're not really talking about a complicated system when it comes to voter registration.

I haven't seen any evidence that AVR is anything but positive for the way elections are handled. People shouldn't have to worry about their registration when the state already has all the relevant information - particularly when someone is already registered and they move, and give the DMV their new information. It's all so redundant and to me, reflects this outdated view that "the gubmint" is always wrong, inefficient and incapable, when it is not, at least in this case. And this is before you factor in lawmakers screwing with the way elections are handled for meager partisan advantage.

[Virginiá]

This is a huge DK "roundup" on voting rights stuff, and it's too large to post here or even properly summarize, so I'd just recommend at least skimming it. It has updates on TX, NC, NH, OH, MD, CT, IL and RI, AL, GA and ME.

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/6/2/1667723/-Voting-Rights-Roundup-Stubborn-Texas-Republicans-face-potential-redistricting-Armageddon

Some highlights:

Illinois: AVR
Rhode Island: AVR
Connecticut: Another push for early voting
Texas: About their redistricting woes
Maryland: Update on a lawsuit over their gerrymandered Congressional map, one that tries to get it thrown out as a partisan gerrymander, which ironically might work in Democrats favor should it succeed.
Alabama: felony disenfranchisement law that makes it slightly easier to get voting rights back, but whose impact may be limited to as little as a few thousand people (out of 300,000+)
North Carolina: Where do I even start? I'd just skim that one for sure. As is usual with the NCGOP, it's a whole lot of lawsuits and drama

[Virginiá]

Word is Cooper is trying to get this done as soon as possible in order to try and force an election this year.

As far as I know, the legislature doesn't seem willing to redraw anything yet. From the article:

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No doubt that they intend to stall for as long as possible to avoid a special election. I wouldn't be surprised if they start ramming through more changes to election law in the comings months, starting with a reworked voter ID bill.

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Edit: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article155062009.html

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[Virginiá]

krazen-style counter-narrative Fiendish Republicans attempt to nullify actual election results by calling for expensive, low-turnout and confusing recall elections whenever the rightful rulers of California do something totally within their power.

The glorious Democrats of the successful state of California are merely attempting to fix the broken recall system, and hopefully more changes are implemented to prevent such blatant partisan games from lowly CA Republicans!

[Virginiá]

Thanks Mondale!

I assume this is automatic as a result of registering to get a drivers license?

This is the basic assumption, but the reason it's called automatic here is because so many people use the DMV, that auto-registering people there is tantamount to near-universal registration. I dispute that though, particularly with growing numbers of Millennials forgoing the motor vehicle experience for longer periods of time, and the fact that minorities are disproportionately likely to lack cars and/or IDs.

Some states include other state agencies in their automatic registration bills. I know Illinois' proposed auto-registration bill would include a a whole bunch of agencies, which helps fill in the gaps. Unfortunately (imo), not enough of the AVR states do this.

[Virginiá]

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http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/legislature/2017/02/22/maricopa-county-recorder-adrian-fontes-could-lose-elections-job-arizona-legislature-bill/98048454/

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The idea being that if they go to review the agreement, they will strip him of his powers for the crime of being a Democrat who actually wants to make it slightly easier to vote in Maricopa County.

[Virginiá]

Potential Michigan redistricting amendment for 2018

http://www.votersnotpoliticians.com/


Looks like we have a chance at getting this fixed, and if what the Democratic Party's redistricting group said was true, they might end up helping with getting this on the ballot. I'm not holding my breath though, as a number of potentially good MI initiatives of all stripes have fizzled out in the recent past. And that was before Republicans made it harder to collect signatures.

[Virginiá]

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Clark County to switch from precinct locations to vote centers (voters will be able to vote anywhere in the county)
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https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/clark-county-to-switch-from-precincts-to-vote-centers-for-2018-primary-election

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[Virginiá]

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Sununu signs voter registration restrictions into law
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http://www.wmur.com/article/sununu-signs-controversial-voter-registration-measure-into-law/10286339

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And for this, it would be nice if they could just admit for once that this will not "help turnout," and is designed to lower turnout among students, who many Republican lawmakers don't want to vote as they tend to lean Democratic. Adding restrictions does not "help turnout," and if Republicans want more confidence in elections, they should stop screaming about fraud they know is virtually non-existent every time they lose or come close to losing:

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It's not very surprising that HP gov Sununu would make this his priority literally right after winning the election. Many of the races in NH were very close, and when close elections are lost, it's not uncommon to see politicians rush to their posts to pass voter suppression measures to give them just a little bit more of an advantage.

[Virginiá]

Excellent! Now we are waiting on Rauner to sign the AVR bill sent to him. Hopefully he doesn't drag his feet until the last minute only to veto it.

[Virginiá]

Looks like West Virginia Republicans might repeal automatic voter registration, which they themselves passed only last year, and also turn their light ID requirements into strict photo ID:

http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news-politics/20170308/wv-house-judiciary-mulls-stricter-voter-id-law

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WV Republicans must feel slighted that they didn't win every single election in 2016, so now they are going over the books to further game election laws in their favor.

[Virginiá]

Suffolk Superior Court (MA) rules voter registration deadline violates state constitution

https://twitter.com/dale_e_ho/status/889548010530770944

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https://twitter.com/dale_e_ho/status/889548288231428097

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https://twitter.com/dale_e_ho/status/889548628712460288

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https://aclum.org/uncategorized/statement-aclu-massachusetts-voter-registration-ruling/


I knew this lawsuit was going on, but I didn't actually expect that kind of ruling. Very cool! Massachusetts could now end up seeing same-day voter registration by 2018. Given how deep Democratic control is there, it's disappointing that it hasn't already been implemented, but at least now their hand is being forced. This could also mean some potential movement on automatic voter registration as well.

[Virginiá]

ACLU investing millions of dollars in Florida to restore ex-felons’ voting rights

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/07/31/aclu-investing-millions-in-florida-to-restore-felons-voting-rights/

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5 million dollars is a lot of money. With that, I'd say this is almost guaranteed to get on the ballot next year. I just wish this was done for 2016, where the electorate would have been younger and more likely to sign off on such a change. Given the 60% vote requirement, there is a fairly good chance this falls short of approval.

[Virginiá]

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Texas voting law on language interpreters violates Voting Rights Act, court says
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https://www.texastribune.org/2017/08/17/texas-voting-law-language-interpreters-ruled-unconstitutional/

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[Virginiá]

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If Texas and/or North Carolina are not put back on under preclearance sometime before 2020, I'd say there is zero reason to have any confidence in Section 3. What we've seen from these two states over the past half decade is about as obvious as their voter suppression will ever get. Top Republican officials are not going to waltz out into the street and tell everyone they are trying to prevent minorities from voting. Any case for preclearance has to be made through the actions of the state government.

[Virginiá]

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Rauner signs automatic voter registration bill
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http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/governor-rauner-to-sign-automatic-voter-registration-bill-monday-441937383.html

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10 states and counting!

kudos to our resident IL lawmaker who helped make this happen!

[Virginiá]

Gallup, 8/27

Approve 35 (nc)
Disapprove 60 (nc)

Very stable for the last few days.

Wrong thread, GM

[Virginiá]

Seventh Circuit Agrees with Lower Court that Illinois Full-Slate Law is Unconstitutional

http://ballot-access.org/2017/09/23/seventh-circuit-agrees-with-lower-court-that-illinois-full-slate-law-is-unconstitutional/

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[Virginiá]

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Washington: New push coming for automatic voter registration
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http://www.columbian.com/news/2017/oct/11/new-push-coming-for-automatic-voter-registration/

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Slim pickins for relevant bills across the country now, but this seemed worth posting due to the special election in WA that seems primed to flip the state Senate to Democrats, giving them a unified government. Even with slim majorities, it seems like this has a good chance of passing. It's also possible reforms are not limited to just AVR.

[Virginiá]

Hmm well I guess Michigan is actually on track to get a redistricting reform initiative on the ballot in 2018:

http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/11/voters_not_politicians_update.html

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[Virginiá]

Florida will almost certainly have a chance to end Florida's permanent felony disenfranchisement scheme:

http://floridapolitics.com/archives/248533-voting-amendment-signatures

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Although because of FL's 60% threshold, there is no guarantee this will pass. America has always had a torrid love affair with punishing people just for the sake of punishing them, so we'll have to see how this goes. It might come down to whether or not a strong opposition campaign is mounted by Republicans who do not like the idea of restoring voting rights to anyone who might vote against them. This is important because roughly 10% of Florida's adult population is disenfranchised, including almost 1/4th of adult African Americans.