Legislative Updates
Alaska: The Palmer City Council failed Action Memorandum 21-055 by a 4-3 vote at their Sept. 28 meeting. Proposed by Mayor Edna DeVries, AM 21-055 would have requested Palmer Clerk Designee Kristie Smithers to conduct a hand count of the ballots cast in the upcoming Oct. 5 election with an expense of $1,685 following the ballot tabulation process outlined within Palmer Municipal Code. The issue was discussed by five members of the public prior to the council discussion on AM 21-055, which was moved from the consent agenda to new business by a unanimous vote at the beginning of the meeting. Machines manufactured by the Dominion company have been in use by the state of Alaska since 1998. Last June, then Clerk Norma Alley purchased Dominion voting machines to prevent the city of Palmer from having to borrow Mat-Su Borough voting equipment, which is also manufactured by Dominion. Upon council discussion of AM 21-055, Councilman Brian Daniels asked if support of the measure would be a way of stating that the council did not have faith that the current Dominion machines. Members of the council suggested that for a hand recount to be conducted, an Ordinance would have to be brought forward and passed by the council amending the current city code.
California: Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has signed Assembly Bill 37 into law making California the eighth state in the nation to require every voter be mailed a ballot. “Data shows that sending everyone a ballot in the mail provides voters access. And when voters get ballots in the mail, they vote,” Assemblyman Marc Berman (D-Palo Alto), the bill’s author, said during a Senate committee hearing in July. The law takes effect in January, providing a symbolic counterweight to a handful of other states where access to voting could be significantly curtailed before the 2022 election — a contrast Newsom highlighted in announcing his signature on the bill, and one likely to be echoed by Democrats across the country. California’s new law will require ballots to be mailed to all voters for statewide elections in June and November. AB 37 also applies to local elections, potentially improving turnout in community contests but also increasing costs, given that vote-by-mail ballots are provided with prepaid postage.
Michigan: State Representative Julie Alexander (R-Jackson) has introduced a bill that would require election inspectors to attest under penalty of perjury that their application, including identification of the party to which the applicant belongs, is “true, complete and accurate.” Current law already requires election inspectors to complete an application that lists party affiliation. “When they fill out an application to become a poll worker, they have to state what party they belong to. We need clarity on that so they understand they are only allowed to select one of the state parties that are allowed here in Michigan and they are clear and concise that they will stand behind that party affiliation,” Alexander said. H.B. 4876 says it would strengthen election transparency on election day by “ensuring each precinct or absent voter counting board has a publicly reviewable list of the election inspectors assigned to the location, with a certification that each inspector has a complete application on file with the clerk.”
The Board of State Canvassers approved a summary of a petition that would tighten Michigan’s voter ID laws. The petition would also require voters to give the last four digits of their social security number to register. It would also eliminate the ability for voters without an ID to cast a ballot by signing an affidavit. Board of State Canvassers vice-chair Julie Matuzak said it’s important to let potential signers to know that at the top of the petition in the 100-word summary. “This proposal says if you don’t have your ID, you have to cast a provisional ballot. And if you don’t show up at your clerk’s office within six days, your vote’s not going to count. And that’s disenfranchising people,” Matuzak said. The petition, brought by the group Secure MI Vote, echoes GOP-backed legislation brought up earlier this year. For its petition to reach the Legislature, Secure MI Vote would need to gather a minimum of 340,047 signatures.
Pennsylvania: The House State Government Committee this week passed a proposed constitutional amendment that would require people voting in person or by mail to present “valid identification.” Exactly what constitutes valid ID would be laid out in separate legislation. The proposal would also transfer the power to pick Pennsylvania’s top election official from the governor to the state’s voters and would ban counties from accepting outside money to help cover election costs. Paper ballots would need to have a watermark and be open to public inspection for at least two years. The state auditor general would also be required to “audit” each election before the results are certified “to ensure we have accuracy,” Rep. Seth Grove (R., York), chair of the committee, said.
A Republican-dominated Senate committee advanced a measure to increase to three the number of poll watchers political candidates can use in election precincts and also allow them to come from anywhere in the state. Current law allows two poll watchers per candidate, and they must operate within the county where they live. Lead sponsor Sen. Doug Mastriano, a Franklin County Republican, said the proposed changes would ”go a long way to restore trust in the integrity of our elections.” The measure was approved in a 7-4 vote by the Senate State Government committee and now will receive consideration by the full Senate. All Democrats voted against it.
The Philadelphia Council has approved a resolution to start considering moving the city to a ranked choice voting system. Sponsor of the resolution Derek Greene told KYW that he doesn’t have a position on the system yet, but said any effort to increase voter turnout should be considered.
Washington: Franklin County voted to ask a judge to reverse an agreement that would have ended a lawsuit over Latino voting rights. Commissioners Clint Didier and Rocky Mullen approved the resolution seeking to overturn an order that requires the county to come up with new commission voting district maps by Nov. 8. Commissioner Brad Peck opposed the measure. The resolution says county Prosecutor Shawn Sant didn’t listen to their concerns about “our innocence, inexperience of outside council (sic), or the strategy in defending Franklin County.” The county needed to switch private attorneys for the case after John Safarli took a short leave of absence from his law practice. The case was taken over by Casey Bruner, another attorney with the same firm. While the details of the commissioners allegations haven’t been filed as part of the case, they are trying to use civil court rules to argue to the judge that they weren’t properly represented by Sant’s decision — either because he willfully didn’t listen to them or because he made a mistake.
Legal Updates
Alabama: Mobile County Judge Wesley Pipes told Reggie Hill, a candidate in the Mobile City Council District 2 race last month, that he did not have enough information to conduct a legal hearing nor stop a runoff election. Hill is contesting the outcome of the election based on a what he said was a “plethora of discrepancies, inconveniences, and illegal practices throughout the courts of the election process.” His lawsuit names Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson as a defendant, but City Attorney Ricardo Woods said the mayor has not been properly served. Hill wanted an expedited jury trial before the October 5 runoff elections. But Pipes said that civil court jury trials are not scheduled to resume until late November. He said the only jury trials occurring on Monday are in criminal court, and that those cases have already been spoken for. Pipes also said he was uncertain if Hill was seeking “injunctive or equity” relief from the court case. He also said that he was unsure if his court even had proper jurisdiction to try the results of the court case. “I don’t have enough (information) to set a hearing, or stop a runoff election,” said Pipes. “I cannot conjure up a jury or a panel of 36 between now and October 5. I just cannot do it.”
Colorado: Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold has filed an opening brief in a lawsuit to remove Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters as the Designated Election Official. Griswold outlined in the brief how Peters disregarded rules and compromised the security of Mesa County’s voting system. The brief states that: Peters and Deputy Clerk Knisley breached their duties in connection with the May 25, 2021 trusted build; Peters is absent and is unable to perform her duties; Knisley is also absent and unable to perform her duties; and Peters’ claim of destruction of election records is false and without merit. The brief also states that “there is nothing further from the truth” in regards to Peters’ false claims about the destruction of election records during the routine trusted build. Election records are required to be maintained by county clerks for up to 25 months. Griswold cited the Colorado Election Code and referenced that election records “include items such as: accounting forms, certificates of registration, pollbooks, certificates of election, signature cards, all affidavits, voter applications, other voter lists and records, mail ballot return envelopes, voted ballots, unused ballots, spoiled ballots, and replacement ballots. None of these items were named in the “report” produced by Peters.” “The Secretary would have no objection to a county backing up its log files for its voting systems—in fact, Larimer County requested to back-up their log files prior to a trusted build, and the Department of State helped Larimer County perform such a backup,” the brief states. “Instead, Peters made copies of the entire hard drive, exposing the security of the entire election system when those copies were posted on the Internet.” “As a result of their own actions and choices, Respondents Peters and Knisley are absent and unable to perform their duties with respect to the 2021 coordinated election. The Court should therefore apply a substantial compliance standard to the Election Code and appoint Wayne Williams as the chief designated election official and acknowledge Sheila Reiner as the election supervisor,” the brief concludes.
Georgia: The Eleventh Circuit heard arguments in a case brought by several civil rights groups that seek to require Georgia officials to send absentee ballot applications in Spanish to residents of the state’s second-most populous county. A group of voters in Gwinnett County, Georgia, who speak Spanish as their first language, say they are wrongfully receiving key election materials in English. In addition, they argue that the Gwinnett County elections board’s website has poor access for voters who don’t speak English. In a lawsuit brought by voting rights advocates on their behalf last year, they say they have a right to receive voting materials in Spanish because the county is covered by Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act. The lawsuit was filed by his organization alongside the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, New Georgia Project and Common Cause. It partially stems from a decision by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffenspeger in 2020. To encourage residents to vote by mail amid the Covid-19 pandemic in the state’s upcoming primary election, the secretary used CARES Act funds to mail absentee ballot applications to Georgia’s 6.9 million active voters. But all of these applications were in English. Judge William M. Ray ordered that the secretary of state’s office and the Gwinnett County elections board did not violate the federal Voting Rights Act, since people who did not receive the Spanish ballot applications still were able to get them from the county. U.S. Circuit Judge William Pryor interjected to express his opinion that the district court erred when ruling that the plaintiffs had no standing. “That’s at least my perspective about standing, but I think you’ve got much bigger problems when it comes to the merits,” the George W. Bush nominee said.
Missouri: Missouri’s high court will soon rule on whether there are constitutional problems with the way the state lets voters overturn laws. The state Supreme Court’s seven-judge bench heard arguments this week in a case that could alter how much time citizens have to gather signatures and force public votes on laws passed by the legislature and governor. A circuit judge ruled last year that laws pertaining to the timeline of getting a referendum petition on the ballot were unconstitutional. Petitioners have 90 days after the final day of the annual legislative session ends to gather more than 100,000 signatures to bring the referendum to the ballot for a public vote. But certain Missouri laws allow state officials to take up a portion of that time moving the petition through procedural hurdles, delaying the signature-gathering process. In cases where a bill is passed in the final days of the session, those suing the state argue that officials can take up a majority of that 90-day period. Attorneys for the state, representing Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, argue in their brief to the court that the “requirement provides clarity and consistency, prevents voter confusion and promotes informed decision-making by voters considering whether to sign a referendum petition.” The ACLU of Missouri argue in response that “there is a clear, definite conflict” between the constitutional right of referendum and the laws in question, which they say “significantly curtail that right.”
New York: Dutchess County Supreme Court Judge Maria Rosa sided with Bard College in ruling that District 5 voting locations will remain at Bard’s Bertelsmann Campus Center and St. John the Evangelist Church in 2021. The ruling upholds the court’s 2020 decision supporting the opening of a Bard campus voting site, dismissing an effort by Republican Election Commissioner Erik Haight to revert to the 2019 location as “arbitrary and capricious.” “We’re gratified by this reaffirmation of the original decision establishing an accessible voting site at Bard,” said Erin Canaan, Vice President for Civic Engagement who was one of the plaintiffs. “This is a win not just for students, but for all voters in the district, including those with disabilities. We look forward to welcoming all District 5 voters to Bard this fall and for years to come.” “Judge Rosa’s decision sends a strong message as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment and unprecedented youth voting rates nationally,” said Yael Bromberg, co-counsel for the plaintiffs, a constitutional litigator and Twenty-Sixth Amendment scholar. “While voting rights are being legislated in our nation and state capitols, often overlooked local election administration decisions can decisively impact the youth vote. These efforts are particularly successful when, as here, college administrations like Bard College lead by supporting youth-lead efforts.”
Ohio: A lawsuit by a Washington, D.C.-based group won’t prevent Stark County from using Dominion voting machines for the Nov. 2 general election. Look Ahead America opted not to appeal a key decision by Stark County Common Pleas Judge Taryn Heath. Her Aug. 20 ruling dismissed the county commissioners and Dominion Voting Systems as defendants from the case and killed any chance of immediately reversing the county’s purchase of the voting machines. Originally in May, the group filed suit against the Stark County Board of Elections, alleging the board had met in illegal executive sessions to discuss the machine purchase. However, the Board of Elections is not the governing entity that authorized the purchase of the machines. That was the Stark County commissioners. With the commissioners and Dominion no longer parties to the suit, it was not legally possible for Look Ahead America to get a preliminary injunction to pause or reverse the purchase, said Assistant Stark County Prosecutor Lisa Nemes.
The American Civil Liberties Union and other voter rights groups filed a lawsuit challenging the newly drawn state legislative districts enacted last week by a Republican-dominated commission in Ohio, an opening salvo in what is likely to be a series of confrontations across the country as the once-in-a-decade redistricting process unfolds. In a suit filed in the Ohio Supreme Court, the rights groups accuse the Ohio Redistricting Commission of engaging in “extreme partisan gerrymandering” that violates the state’s constitution in formalizing the redrawn districts, which the suit says “are intended to, and will, entrench a Republican veto-proof supermajority in both chambers of Ohio’s General Assembly for the next four years.” Pennsylvania: Attorney General Josh Shapiro (D) sued to block a Republican-approved subpoena to state election officials in what Republicans call a “forensic investigation” of last year’s presidential election, spurred on by former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims that he was cheated out of victory. The lawsuit is the second thus far targeting a subpoena approved last week by the Republican-controlled Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee. Both were filed in the state’s Commonwealth Court. Shapiro’s office broadly asked the court to block the subpoena because, it said, it serves no legitimate legislative purpose and stems from Trump’s efforts to undermine trust in the results of the 2020 presidential election. At points, the 76-page lawsuit targets certain information requests in the subpoena as illegal or unconstitutional, and unenforceable. For instance, granting the subpoena’s request for voter information — including names, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers — would violate a person’s constitutional privacy protections, particularly because the subpoena isn’t based on proof of wrongdoing. It also would expose voters to the risk of publicly disclosing their personal information, thus violating the constitutional right to vote, it said. At another point, the lawsuit seeks to block the Republicans’ request for copies of reports from audits and reviews of the state’s voter registration system going back to 2018.
Vermont: The Republican National Committee and the Vermont GOP are suing the cities of Montpelier and Winooski over their recently-passed town charters that allow noncitizens to vote in municipal elections. Last November, voters in both cities approved the changes, which only apply to ballot measures such as school budgets and city council races. The Vermont Legislature approved the charter changes, and later voted to override vetoes by Governor Phil Scott. RNC National Spokesperson Paris Dennard said the lawsuits are part of a broader effort to defend against fraud. “You have to be a United States citizen in order to vote,” Dennard said. “What this is doing, if not stopped, is a direct assault on election integrity.” In a joint statement, Lt. Gov. Molly Gray, Attorney General T.J. Donovan, Senate President Pro Tem Becca Balint and House Speaker Jill Krowinski accused the RNC of peddling misinformation about election security.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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