Legislative Updates
California: The San Diego County Board of Supervisors have Reversed course and will Allow the County’s Registrar of Voter to Open Four Satellite Offices in 2020 to Help Alleviate the Anticipated Demand for Services.
Connecticut: Progressive Members of the General Assembly are Seeking a Special Legislative Session to consider a Bill that would Include Automatic Voter Registration and Allow those on Parole to Cast a Ballot. The Bill has been Approved by the House but Stalled in the Senate.
Florida: Rep. Geraldine Thompson (D-44th District, Windermere) plans to introduce Election Reform Legislation in the Upcoming Session. Among her Proposals would be an Elected Secretary of State, Vote Centers, and an Extended Voter Registration Deadline.
Illinois: Senate Bill 1970 is Headed to Gov. JB Pritzker’s Desk. Under the Bill, High School Students will be able to Leave School for up to Two hours on Election Day or during the 15-day Early Voting Window in Order to Cast their Ballot. The Bill provides the School may Specify the Hours in which the Student may be Absent, and ensures that Voting Absences will Not Count against Enrollment Calculations pertaining to the Allotment of School Funding.
Kentucky: Under a Bill proposed by Democrats, the Voting Rights of Ex-Felons, approximately 300,000 in the Commonwealth, would be Automatically Restored at the Completion of their Sentence.
Massachusetts: Both Chambers have Agreed to Language in the State’s $700M Spending Bill that Calls for a Five-Day Early Voting Period before the March Presidential Primary. Both Version of the Budgets also Set the State’s Primary for September 1st and the Senate’s Version includes Five Days of Early Voting for that as well.
Maryland: Following a Decision by the State Board of Elections Not to Allow Montgomery County to Open a 12th Early Voting Site, State Lawmakers Representing the County in the General Assembly are working on Drafting a Bill that would Mandate a 12th Site.
Michigan: Under Legislation Currently being considered in the House, Regular Elections in May, August, and November would be considered State Holidays.
Nevada: A Political Group has filed Paperwork with the Secretary of State’s Office seeking to Collect Signatures for a Ballot Initiative that if Approved would Overhaul how State Senators are Elected including using Ranked-Choice Voting.
North Carolina: Gov. Roy Cooper has Signed a Bill into Law that’s aimed on Cracking Down on Absentee Ballot Fraud. The Measure Increases the Penalty for Anyone who Attempts to Sell or Destroy Absentee Ballots. The Bill also Permanently Restores Early, In-Person Voting on the Last Saturday before State elections.
Pennsylvania: Gov. Tom Wolf (D) has Signed Legislation into Law that will, among other things, Allow for No-Excuse Absentee Voting, Change the Voter Registration Deadline from 30 to 15 days Before an Election, allows Voters to be Put on a Permanent Absentee Voting List, Eliminates Straight-Party Voting, and provides $90 Million to Counties for the Purchase of New voting Equipment.
Washington: A Bill up for considering in the Next Legislative session would Allow Anyone on Parole to cast a Ballot. About 21,000 Washingtonians are in Community Custody, according to the State Department of Corrections.
Legal Updates
California: The First Appellate District issued a Ruling this week that will Expand Language Assistance at the Polls to more than 60,000 Californians. Three Justices of the First Appellate District sided with a Coalition of Civil Rights Groups in finding that California Secretary of State Alex Padilla’s 2017 Language Decree Improperly Adopted a Restrictive Federal Voting Rights Act Standard for Providing Translation Assistance to Non-English Speakers.
Connecticut: The State’s Highest Court Refused to Rule on a Lower Court Ruling that Left in Place the Results of Bridgeport’s Mayoral Primary. The Original Suit alleged Election Misconduct after Incumbent Mayor Joe Ganim Received 48% of the In-Person Voting but 75% of the Absentee Voting. The Lower Court, while Agreeing that the Results were Strange, Ruled against the Suit citing Lack of Evidence.
Florida: The Florida Supreme Court hear Arguments this week on whether Felons can be Kept from Voting if they haven’t Paid Fines, Fees, and Restitution. The Justices Appeared Convinced that Amendment 4 Requires Payment of Restitution, Fees, and other Legal Costs for Felons to have their Voting Rights Restored.
Georgia: The Georgia Supreme Court has Ruled that there was Not enough Evidence to further Dispute the 2018 Election for Lieutenant Governor which has a Significant Number of Undervotes Compared to other Down Ballot Races. An Election can’t be Overturned based Solely on Unusual Vote Counts in the Lieutenant Governor’s Race, Tens of Thousands Fewer than in every Other Statewide Election, the Court wrote in its 94-Page Decision Upholding a Lower Court’s Dismissal of the Case. Specific Evidence of Illegal or Improper Votes is Required, it said.
The Democratic Party filed a Lawsuit Wednesday over Georgia’s Handling of Absentee Ballots a year after some Ballots were Rejected for Minor Reasons such as Signatures Not exactly Matching those on File with the State. According to the Federal Lawsuit, Absentee Voters are Not Notified of Problems with their Ballots in a Standard Way or given Enough Time to Correct them. It asks that a Judge to Require State Elections Officials to Notify Voters of Missing Signatures within One Day of receiving a Ballot.
Minnesota: Abdihakim Amin Essa, 22 of Minneapolis, has been Charged with 13 Counts of Felony Voting Fraud. Essa is Accused of Falsifying 13 Applications for Absentee Ballots and tried to Cast One himself, he is Not a U.S. Citizen.
New Hampshire: In a 26-page Ruling, Hillsborough County Superior Court Judge David A. Anderson has Thrown Out Part of a Lawsuit Challenging the State’s New, Tighter Voter Registration Procedures. In the Ruling, Anderson Dismissed the Charge that the New Law, yet to be Enforced, would Contradict the State Constitution’s use of “Domicile” as a Qualification for Voting. It also Dismissed Part of a Second Claim that the Law’s Language should be Voided for Vagueness. “Therefore the Legislature has the authority to define the meaning of domicile,” Anderson wrote.
New York: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York City ordered a Civil Rights Lawsuit filed as a Result of the Decade-old Ballot Fraud Case back to U.S. District Court in Albany to be Heard, Setting up a potential Trial. The Appeals Court issued the Order following up on the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 20th Ruling that Rensselaer County Democratic Elections Commissioner Edward G. McDonough had filed the Lawsuit against Special Prosecutor Trey Smith and other Defendants in 2015 in a Timely Matter.
Ohio: A Federal Judge has sided with the Campaign Legal Center that will Expand Election Access to All Voters in Jail. In November of 2018, Two Ohio Voters were Jailed before the Election, but after the Deadline to Request an Absentee Ballot, they were Denied a Ballot and the Campaign Legal Center Sued on their behalf. The Secretary of State’s Office is Reviewing the Ruling.
Virginia: Federal Judge Rossie Alston ordered Fairfax County to Accept the Voter Registration of about 170 George Mason University Students whose Registrations had Previously been Rejected. Alston said the Registrations must be Accepted provided the Students Supplement their Application by Providing the Registrar their Dorm Address by a Saturday Deadline. If they Miss the Deadline they will be able to Cast a Provisional Ballot.
West Virginia: 23rd Judicial Circuit Judge Debra McLaughlin concluded in a 15-page Order filed with Jefferson County Circuit Clerk that Four Provisional Ballots Not Counted in the Town’s June 11th Municipal Election must Now be Counted. There is No word on whether or Not Harpers Ferry will Appeal the Ruling.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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