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

[krazen1211]

I'm getting the feeling the Supreme Court, especially Kennedy, is getting sick of these redistricting cases and might be willing to call partisan gerrymandering unconstitutional as a means to try to end them. Fingers crossed in the Wisconsin case.

Lol. That would mean twice as many cases!

Be careful what you wish for. The great champion Clarence Thomas has called for the full repeal of Thornburg v Gingles, which would actually accomplish your stated goal.

MMD's seem like they could get out of control quickly

Well, yes, precisely. There would be no such thing as MMDs anymore.

As it stands, certain racial groups and special interest groups insist on moaning and groaning over the specific contours of certain districts created by the legislature. Sometimes the lower courts fall for such moaning and groaning, and it falls to folks like Anthony Kennedy and his protege Neil Gorsuch to constantly put these lower courts in their place.

Ditching Thornburg v Gingles and simply letting states redistrict would solve that problem.

Of course, we have seen things like this already happen. The former attorney general monstrously abused his authority with VRA5 preclearance, the Supreme Court effectively ditched VRA5 preclearance, and now we no longer have silly VRA5 cases polluting the DC circuit. Very nice!

[KingSweden]

Ideally we'd have something like Elections Canada where partisanship, incumbency and racial demos don't come into play, but I think sadly we're too far down the rabbit hole at this point

[Virginiá]

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Felony disenfranchisement reform initiative clears FL Supreme Court review
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http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/voter-restoration-amendment-clears-legal-hurdle-at-high-court/2321032

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This initiative still needs over 750,000 signatures by Feb 2018 to appear on the ballot next year. I'm very much hoping this passes. Nearly 1 in 4 African American adults are prohibited from voting, and 10% of Florida's adult population. It's absurd, and I must say, from a partisan standpoint, Democrats are idiots to have not pushed for this a long time ago. A few million in getting an initiative like this passed would have expanded the electorate in such a way that is more beneficial long-term than spending a few million in ads.

[Gass3268]

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Felony disenfranchisement reform initiative clears FL Supreme Court review
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http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/voter-restoration-amendment-clears-legal-hurdle-at-high-court/2321032

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This initiative still needs over 750,000 signatures by Feb 2018 to appear on the ballot next year. I'm very much hoping this passes. Nearly 1 in 4 African American adults are prohibited from voting, and 10% of Florida's adult population. It's absurd, and I must say, from a partisan standpoint, Democrats are idiots to have not pushed for this a long time ago. A few million in getting an initiative like this passed would have expanded the electorate in such a way that is more beneficial long-term than spending a few million in ads.

If they get this signatures it will also take a 60% threshold, correct?

[Virginiá]

If they get this signatures it will also take a 60% threshold, correct?

Yes. I haven't seen polls on this, but I think it could probably get that. Then again, it depends how big the GOP response to it is. This could threaten Republican electoral prospects in FL, so I expect there to be not-insignificant pushback, no doubt throwing lies and fear-mongering ("RAPISTS WILL VOTE FOR MORE RAPE" etc)

But, on the sunny side, getting 60% also means it becomes part of the state constitution and not subject to quick & easy legislative tampering.

[Virginiá]

Va. Gov. McAuliffe says he has broken U.S. record for restoring voting rights

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/va-gov-mcauliffe-says-he-has-broken-us-record-for-restoring-voting-rights/2017/04/27/55b5591a-2b8b-11e7-be51-b3fc6ff7faee_story.html?utm_term=.f1bffb0f1e93

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Given the current pace, McAuliffe seems on track to restoring voting rights to all of his target of 200,000 felons before the November election's voter registration deadline.

Also, regarding whether these voters would actually vote, I believe existing studies have pegged turnout at around 15% - 25%, which may be helped due to McAuliffe sending voter registration forms with the notifications of rights restoration sent to each felon.

[krazen1211]

Winning.

Link

The voter identification bill signed by Branstad will require voters to show ID at the polls, a measure that Secretary of State Paul Pate said will be in effect for the 2018 Iowa gubernatorial election thanks to a “soft rollout” of the law.

[Virginiá]

Rauner got BTFO

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I am still a little skeptical that it will eventually be signed into law, mainly because the original version had veto-proof support (iirc), only for Republicans to run away from the bill once Rauner vetoed it. However, that one was a purely partisan bill I think, and this new version has been rejiggered with contributions from Republicans, so if it can sync up with the House version, I don't see why it shouldn't pass.

Calling muon2!

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Also, for the record, the Senate version at least has an activation date of July 2018:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=&SessionId=91&GA=100&DocTypeId=SB&DocNum=1933&GAID=14&LegID=105253&SpecSess=&Session=

Which means people will begin getting auto-registered months before the general election. This is noteworthy because (1) it will affect the midterm election, and (2) Rauner wanted the law to go into effect in 2019, so as to not hurt his chances at reelection. We'll have see where this goes.

[vote for pedro]

Rauner got BTFO

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I am still a little skeptical that it will eventually be signed into law, mainly because the original version had veto-proof support (iirc), only for Republicans to run away from the bill once Rauner vetoed it. However, that one was a purely partisan bill I think, and this new version has been rejiggered with contributions from Republicans, so if it can sync up with the House version, I don't see why it shouldn't pass.

Calling muon2!

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Also, for the record, the Senate version at least has an activation date of July 2018:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=&SessionId=91&GA=100&DocTypeId=SB&DocNum=1933&GAID=14&LegID=105253&SpecSess=&Session=

Which means people will begin getting auto-registered months before the general election. This is noteworthy because (1) it will affect the midterm election, and (2) Rauner wanted the law to go into effect in 2019, so as to not hurt his chances at reelection. We'll have see where this goes.

I haven't looked into it but I heard on the radio this version addressed Rauner's concerns with the original bill.

[muon2]

Rauner got BTFO

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I am still a little skeptical that it will eventually be signed into law, mainly because the original version had veto-proof support (iirc), only for Republicans to run away from the bill once Rauner vetoed it. However, that one was a purely partisan bill I think, and this new version has been rejiggered with contributions from Republicans, so if it can sync up with the House version, I don't see why it shouldn't pass.

Calling muon2!

-

Also, for the record, the Senate version at least has an activation date of July 2018:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=&SessionId=91&GA=100&DocTypeId=SB&DocNum=1933&GAID=14&LegID=105253&SpecSess=&Session=

Which means people will begin getting auto-registered months before the general election. This is noteworthy because (1) it will affect the midterm election, and (2) Rauner wanted the law to go into effect in 2019, so as to not hurt his chances at reelection. We'll have see where this goes.

The activation date remains a point of concern. The proponents want it ready for the 2018 general election. However, the bill requires coordination with the state's implementation of REAL ID. That's expected to be done sometime in 2018, but the SOS only has to be done by Sep to meet the feds extension. Even if REAL ID is done by July 1, that doesn't leave the State Board of Election time to get their technology synched with the SoS to handle the applications by that date. The SBoE has some other technical concerns - there's a lot of mismatched tech (and lack thereof in some locations) throughout IL.

The Dems passed an omnibus election bill in the lame duck session of 2014 on a partisan vote. It had an effective date of June 1, 2015 Parts of it still aren't implemented because the SBoE doesn't have the technical resources. Some would like to avoid that with AVR, so I expect negotiations to continue in the House. Many Senators were told that more changes would be forthcoming and they voted on it with that assumption. Many bills are passed unanimously out of one chamber to meet the deadline knowing that both sides are getting close, and that work will be finished in the other chamber.

[136or142]

An analysis of 2016 Republican vote suppression.  

I don't know if Hillary Clinton actually should have won the election, but at the very least there is no question that (sometimes legal) Republican cheating cost her Wisconsin.

https://twitter.com/Greg_Palast/status/862089318130630656

and
http://www.thelondoneconomic.com/tle-pick/donald-trump-was-right-the-election-was-rigged-in-his-favour/15/11/

I suspect most of the Republicans here will either babble on about the nonsense of 'illegal voting' or simply won't care as long as their side is the beneficiary.  It is with such attitudes that democracy is lost.

Some may dismiss Greg Palast as a 'conspiracy theorist' but virtually every claim of his later proved to be correct.  For example, he was one of the first (if not the first) to report on the illegal activities of Katherine Harris on removing about 10,000 mostly black people from the voter rolls in Florida for the 2000 election that cheated the proper winner, Al Gore, from becoming President.

Personally I think it's debatable that a nation that even had the voter rolls not been purged in a partisan manner that would likely still have come close to electing an obvious con artist and lunatic like Donald Trump is responsible enough for democracy, but at the very least it would be good if the U.S had a benign dictator and not a Trump.

[136or142]

There needs to be a Constitutional Amendment that federalizes all election procedures and puts a genuinely independent commission in charge.

[KingSweden]

There needs to be a Constitutional Amendment that federalizes all election procedures and puts a genuinely independent commission in charge.

Ironically, Reagan (and Jesse Helms IIRC) wanted to extend preclearance nationwide when the VRA was renewed in the 1980s

[Gass3268]

North Carolina ID Law is dead!

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[KingSweden]

North Carolina ID Law is dead!

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Very interesting...I was always under the impression that Roberts wanted to totally gut the VRA

Heh what if it was Gorsuch

[Gass3268]

North Carolina ID Law is dead!

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Very interesting...I was always under the impression that Roberts wanted to totally gut the VRA

Heh what if it was Gorsuch

Sounds like there was issues with standing as both the NC Gov and AG wanting the case to be pulled, while the legislature wanted to contest the 4th Circuit ruling.

[Gass3268]

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[Virginiá]

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Alabama Legislature approves bill that would restore 'many' felons' voting rights
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http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2017/05/alabama_legislature_approves_b.html

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[Gass3268]

SCOTUS upholds decision striking down NC GOP's 2012-2014 congressional map as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander

[Gass3268]

SCOTUS upholds decision striking down NC GOP's 2012-2014 congressional map as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander

Lol...5-3 ruling with Clarence Thomas the deciding vote....WTF?!

Thomas thinks that law/court mandated minority-majority districts are unconstitutional, so I had no problem killing these not from a packing perspective, but a "they shouldn't exist" perspective.

[Gass3268]

Also there are probably 5 votes now to uphold the legality of partisan gerrymanders, which sucks.

[Virginiá]

Also there are probably 5 votes now to uphold the legality of partisan gerrymanders, which sucks.

Why do you say that?

[Gass3268]

Also there are probably 5 votes now to uphold the legality of partisan gerrymanders, which sucks.

Why do you say that?

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



and laughably this:

[Antonio the Sixth]

Kennedy keeps being terrible.

[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.