Sunday, October 14, 2018

Electionline Weekly Oct-11-2018


Legislative Updates

Minnesota: The Tower City Council has Approved giving a Letter of Reprimand to Tower City Clerk-Treasurer Linda Keith as well as requiring her to Pay any Fines stemming from the Mishandling of the August Primary.

Mississippi: The Senate Judiciary Committee recently held a Hearing on the State’s Lifetime Felon Voting Rights Ban. According to WDAM, Judiciary B Chairman Hob Bryan would like the Issue to get more Study. He doesn’t know that a change will come in 2019 Legislative Session but he wants to continue the Discussions.

Ohio: The Franklin County Board of Commissioners will Vote this week on whether or not Pay for Public-Service Announcements promoting Early Voting. The Council Vote comes after the County Board of Elections decided not to spend Money on an Early Voting Campaign.

Virginia: Del. Margaret Ransone (R-99th District) has Pre-filed HB620 that would Reform the State Board of Elections. Under the Legislation, the Board would increase from Three to Six Members that would be Appointed by the Governor. The Appointees would also have the Power to Choose the State Elections Commissioner as well as Remove them from the Position.

Legal Updates

National News: The FBI has Arrested a New York Man who Built a 200-lb Bomb in his Home and said that he planned to Blow it, and Himself, up on the National Mall in Washington, DC on Election Day to support his Political Views.

Florida: Two Lawsuits have been filed in an effort to Extend the Voter Registration Deadline for those Affected by Hurricane Michael.

A former Employee of the Martin County Supervisor of Elections Office has filed Suit alleging that Supervisor of Elections Vicki Davis Violated the Florida Whistle-Blower’s Act for Firing Him after Speaking Up about Failing Equipment, Security Breaches, and Improper Use of Taxpayer Money, including Davis’ use of County Employees to Babysit her Elderly Mother.

Illinois: A County Clerk Candidate has filed a Lawsuit against the DuPage Election Commission to obtain the Serial Numbers of Optical Scan Voting Machines the Agency received as part of a Settlement with a Former Vendor.

Indiana: Judge Tanya Walton Pratt issued an Order last week in Common Cause Indiana v. Connie Lawson, et al., 1:17-cv-03936, Denying the State’s Request to Stay Proceedings and Discovery while the Case is on Interlocutory Appeal to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Missouri: Senior Circuit Judge Richard Callahan has Upheld most of the State’s Voter ID Law but did Bar the State from Requiring Voters without an ID from Signing a Statement he deemed “Misleading.” Callahan Ruled that the State could Not require “voters otherwise qualified to cast a regular ballot” to Sign the Sworn Statement the way it’s currently Written if they didn’t have a Photo ID. He said it “impermissibly infringes on a citizen’s right to vote as guaranteed under the Missouri Constitution.” The State has said it will Appeal.

New Jersey: A Candidate for Senate has Sued the Middlesex County Clerk for Rejecting Hundreds of Vote-by-Mail Applications. According to a Press Release from the Hugin Campaign, 20 of the State’s 21 Counties accept Pre-Printed Applications for Vote-by-Mail Ballots that contain a Pre-Printed Assistor Signature, with Middlesex being the one Hold Out.

North Dakota: The United States Supreme Court has Declined to Intervene in the Battle of North Dakota’s Voter ID Law, which Requires Voter Present ID with a Current Street Address. Justices Ginsburg and Kagan both Dissented from the Court’s Decision Not to Intervene.

Ohio: Senior U.S. District Judge George Smith has ruled that Notification Forms, since 2016, Ohio sends to Voters in its Process to Remove Inactive Voters from the Rolls are in fact Compliant with Federal Law.

Tennessee: A Lawsuit has been filed against the Shelby County Election Commission arguing that the Three City Referendums on the Ballot next month, including One on the City’s use of Ranked-Choice Voting, are Written in such a manner that they may be Confusing to Voters. “They’re down right misleading,” Plaintiff and former City Council Candidate Erika Sugarmon said. “And we wonder why we have apathetic voters.”

U.S. Territories: The U.S. Supreme Court Declined to Review Segovia v. United States. The Suit centered on Voting Rights for Americans in the U.S. Territories. The Case questioned why the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, which Allows former State Residents to continue to Vote while Living in some U.S. Territories and Foreign Countries, but Excludes Residents living on Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.

Tech Updates

Tech Companies: EasyVote Solutions, a startup that develops Election Management Software and is based in North Carolina just got a $1.5 Million shot in the arm from the Investment Firm CoFounders Capital. EasyVote says it will use the Capital to Expand its Operations across the U.S. in Support of Local and State Elections. The Firm, which launched in 2015, already Works with Elections Officials in 13 States.

California: Secretary of State Alex Padilla has called for an Independent Audit of the State’s Department of Motor Vehicles after another 1,500 Residents, including Non-Citizens, were Improperly Added to the Voting Rolls. Following the latest Disclosure about more People being Wrongly Added to the Voter Rolls, Secretary of State Alex Padilla said a Press Conference that a Freeze of the State’s Motor Voter program is “certainly on the table.” “We’re doing the homework as we speak of what does that mean and what it would take,” Padilla said. “These mistakes from the DMV are absolutely unacceptable.”

Iowa: Scott County Residents have a New Way to find out where they Vote. Recently, County Auditor and Commissioner of Elections Roxanna Mortiz announced the New WhereUVote Scott County App. The App helps Users find Early Voting Times and Locations, Election Day Times and Locations, and a way to Contact the Auditor’s Office. “With so many people of all ages now using mobile devices it just makes sense to provide a mobile friendly alternative to people,” Moritz said. “Four other counties in Iowa provide this app to their citizens. As soon as I saw it I knew we needed this app for Scott County. It’s perfect for people on the go.”

Texas: Potter County will be the First County in the State to use LanguageLine, a Visual Translator for more than 200 Language. “Between the American Sign Language and Somalian, we realized we had a gap,” Elections Administrator Melynn Huntley said. “We are not required by law to do this. We just felt like this was something we should do because it’s the right thing to do.” When a Voter who doesn’t speak English or Spanish shows up on Election Day, they will be prompted to Select a Language from a Tablet Device. A Virtual Translator will appear on the Screen and the Election Worker will ask for Voting Information and Instructions to be Translated to the Voter.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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