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

[Virginiá]

So, this from ELB regarding NC's appeal on voter suppression bill ruling:

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Filing


This would be fantastic. Dismissal means the 4th circuit's decision stands and the omnibus election reform voter suppression bill remains gutted. Given the split bench on whether to take an emergency request from McCrory prior to the election, it's not hard to see a 5-4 majority reversing at least parts of the original order.

Also, I'd also like to note that even if the voter ID provision got reinstated down the line, there is still a case playing out in state court that could see the State Supreme Court ruling voter ID as unconstitutional in NC. Since the State Supreme Court majority flipped to Democrats this year, that kind of ruling is very much possible.

[Virginiá]

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Montana Republicans submit bill for all-mail special elections, MT GOP Chair submits letter urging them to table it since it might help Democrats
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http://thedailybanter.com/2017/02/republican-admits-voter-suppression-tactics/

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Essman submitted a letter to the party, which included this:

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And Republicans wonder why Democrats think you are constantly trying to suppress their ability to vote when you pass bills that conveniently make it harder to vote, or consistently table just about any bill that could make it even a little bit easier.

Also, I suppose so much for "fiscally responsible." They would rather spend hundreds of thousands of dollars they don't seem to have than do anything that would give Democrats a tiny boost in a race they probably won't even win.

[Badger]

The newly formed Department of Justice supports commonsense voter ID!

Link


What an Amazing President!

Weak trolling 1/10

[Virginiá]

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SCOTUS says lower court must reevaluate Virginia HoD districts that it previously ruled were constitutional
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http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/virginia-gerrymandering-supreme-court-235565

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[Gass3268]

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.

[KingSweden]

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.

I'm 100% sure that Kennedy will rule in favor...I also think Roberts might too

Today's Virginia case was 8-0...that definitely bodes well

I also do think, though, that the jurisprudential endgame is to curtail VRA districts as unconstitutional, just a theory

[KingSweden]

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.

I'm 100% sure that Kennedy will rule in favor...I also think Roberts might too

Today's Virginia case was 8-0...that definitely bodes well

I also do think, though, that the jurisprudential endgame is to curtail VRA districts as unconstitutional, just a theory

I'm ok with that if it kills gerrymandering. The end of gerrymandering could diffuse the extreme political polarization we have in the long run. People like Chafass or Pelosi would not be so quick to engage in the hackery they've been engaging in because they know they have a forever safe seat

I agree that gerrymandering, more than donations or lobbyist money, is what ails our politics more than anything else.

[muon2]

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.

As long as they don't mandate that goofy efficiency gap theory. See my analysis on the Wisconsin Leg thread. It fails to separate a fair map from a partisan gerrymander, and worse IMO is that it would push map makers away from competitive districts in the plan. They would want to gerrymander as many safe seats with 60-75% for the winner to insure the plan was safe from challenges.

[Virginiá]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/02/28/1638698/-Court-allows-challenge-against-Virginia-s-state-legislative-gerrymanders-to-proceed

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Virginia State Court allows separate gerrymandering lawsuit to go forward against various HoD and Senate districts. There are now 2 lawsuits (1 fed/1 state) in play against Virginia's legislative map(s).

[Gass3268]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/02/28/1638698/-Court-allows-challenge-against-Virginia-s-state-legislative-gerrymanders-to-proceed

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Virginia State Court allows separate gerrymandering lawsuit to go forward against various HoD and Senate districts. There are now 2 lawsuits (1 fed/1 state) in play against Virginia's legislative map(s).

Doubtful these get resolved before the elections this year, but it could result in new elections in 2018.

[Badger]

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.

I'm 100% sure that Kennedy will rule in favor...I also think Roberts might too

Today's Virginia case was 8-0...that definitely bodes well

I also do think, though, that the jurisprudential endgame is to curtail VRA districts as unconstitutional, just a theory

I'm ok with that if it kills gerrymandering. The end of gerrymandering could diffuse the extreme political polarization we have in the long run. People like Chafass or Pelosi would not be so quick to engage in the hackery they've been engaging in because they know they have a forever safe seat

I agree that gerrymandering, more than donations or lobbyist money, is what ails our politics more than anything else.

[Virginiá]

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Homeless coalitions petition U.S. Supreme Court to protect voters from disenfranchisement over trivial errors
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http://www.chandralaw.com/blog/2017/03/homeless-coalitions-petition-us-supreme-court-to-ensure-voters-can-protect-themselves-from-assaults.shtml

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This has got to be one of the more ridiculous voting restrictions I have seen. The level of nitpicking here is almost a symbol of the GOP's position on voting in general.

[krazen1211]

Iowa House passes excellent election security law.

Link

[Virginiá]

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Breaking: District Court, Splitting 2-1, Finds Some Texas Congressional Districts Violate Voting Rights Act or Constitution
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http://electionlawblog.org/?p=91545

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Opinion:

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Been waiting a long time for this!

[muon2]

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Breaking: District Court, Splitting 2-1, Finds Some Texas Congressional Districts Violate Voting Rights Act or Constitution
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http://electionlawblog.org/?p=91545

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Opinion:

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Been waiting a lowng time for this!

The decision makes sense under the VRA, but at the same time the remedy would increase the efficiency gap if the WI standard were applied. The WI court seemed to completely ignore the fact that better VRA compliance also creates more Dem wasted votes. If this two pronged approach attacking Pub gerrymanders is successful, I don't see how one reconciles the two prongs. Based on the WI decision, they seem to hope the court never notices the contradiction.

[Virginiá]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/03/13/1642869/-This-New-Mexico-Democrat-keeps-blocking-efforts-to-expand-voting-rights-Who-will-primary-her

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This is one instance where I think an aggressive primary challenge is in order. The last thing we need right now is a Democrat from a safe district siding with Republicans in their quest to keep voter turnout as low as possible. From my perspective - either she gets up to speed with her party on basic values such as this or she needs to go.

Although, I wonder, can't they just boot her out of that committee, or at least bypass it? Regardless of her views on this issue, she shouldn't be holding up legislation to expand voter access. She should be smart enough to know her views are out of step with the party, and thus should at least give the chamber a chance to vote on it. She can vote no, but don't use her power to prevent it from ever getting a proper vote.

Also worth noting here that Gov. Martinez will probably veto it, but even after 2018, if Democrats get unified control, Rodella will still need to be dealt with if she continues to hold that seat/committee assignment.

[Virginiá]

Illinois legislature takes another crack at automatic voter registration (this time slightly less automatic)

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/illinois/articles/2017-03-15/illinois-lawmakers-revive-automatic-voter-registration-push

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Of course Rauner will probably still veto this. It's unlikely his primary concern(s) were related to the bill's specifics but rather his chances at reelection. Suffice to say, the best way to get him to sign this would be to delay it until Jan 2019.


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Sandoval gets say on automatic voter registration in Nevada

http://mynews4.com/news/politics/sandoval-gets-say-on-automatic-voter-registration-in-nevada

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We'll see some results on this soon. Since he will be leaving office, I'd think that increases the odds of him signing it a tiny bit, but in all likelihood he'll do what most Republicans do nationwide - reject it to keep turnout as low as possible so as to help elect more Republicans.

[muon2]

Illinois legislature takes another crack at automatic voter registration (this time slightly less automatic)

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/illinois/articles/2017-03-15/illinois-lawmakers-revive-automatic-voter-registration-push

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Of course Rauner will probably still veto this. It's unlikely his primary concern(s) were related to the bill's specifics but rather his chances at reelection. Suffice to say, the best way to get him to sign this would be to delay it until Jan 2019.

The House and Senate versions are not the same. Rauner endorsed a version identical to the House bill (HB626) last year. The Secretary of State and State Board of Election have both said that the Senate version has a time table that is probably too aggressive to meet, but the House bill does not have that problem. A key implementation detail is to coordinate AVR at the SBoE with the new Real ID data base at the SoS, scheduled to go online in 2018. Both bills are expected to see amendments before all is said and done.

[Virginiá]

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Sandoval vetoes automatic voter registration bill, sending proposal to be approved by voters in 2018
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https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/nevada/articles/2017-03-21/sandoval-sends-automatic-voter-registration-to-2018-ballot

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Sometimes I wish these guys would just come out with it and say why they are really vetoing it: "This bill could encourage more people to vote, and because many of them would probably be more Democrat-leaning, I am vetoing this to help my Republican buddies win more elections."

Regarding his concerns:

1. "Undermines peoples' right to register" - What difference does this make? State or federal govt already has the information of American citizens, so it's not like there is a risk there. And if someone gets registered - big deal! It's their choice to go vote or not. This simply makes sure they are prepared to do so with no extra effort on their part. This is really one of the weaker excuses, imo. It's not grounds for vetoing a bill in a country/state that suffers from perpetually low turnout, especially during midterm elections.

2. "He also says it could unintentionally lead to ineligible voters getting on the rolls" - Uh, so instead of proposing ways to mitigate that problem, he just vetoes the whole bill? Nevada already requires some sort of identification for first time voters if they registered via computer or mail, and the state could have easily extended that to AVR registrants. This would ensure that even if some ineligible voters get on the rolls, they are vetted more thoroughly if they try to vote:

https://b.3cdn.net/advancement/4683c27dcddddf627c_t7m6iyxnh.pdf

I just find it so ridiculous that many Republicans can't tolerate even tiny amounts of voter fraud, yet are just fine tolerating the thousands of people their never-ending voting restrictions disenfranchises, as if preventing 1 case of fraud per election is worth preventing a thousand+ legitimate voters from voting.

[Virginiá]

I didn't want to make a new thread for this but I also really wanted to post it, so:

Ex-head of Colorado Republicans charged with voter fraud

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-colorado-voterfraud-idUSKBN16T37X

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[krazen1211]

Iowa House passes excellent election security law.

Link

Iowa Senate passes excellent election security law.

Link

A Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll conducted in February showed that 69 percent of adult Iowans surveyed favor the idea of requiring to present a government-issued identification card before casting a ballot. Twenty-eight percent are opposed and 3 percent are not sure.

[krazen1211]

More winning!

Link

Arkansas governor signs bill reinstating voter ID law

[Virginiá]

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George legislature passes bill to throw out voter registrations with minor errors
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http://wdef.com/2017/03/30/latest-georgia-lawmakers-back-voter-registration-bill/

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There are a slew of other voting measures moving their way through legislatures, so I'll just post this and will update thread when/if more of these actually gets sent to the gov's desk/signed into law

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/4/1/1649147/-Voting-Rights-Roundup-Maryland-Dems-pass-redistricting-reform-but-only-if-nearby-GOP-states-do-too

Although this is worth mentioning right now as it's almost guaranteed to be enacted given the partisan composition of the legislature:

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[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.

[KingSweden]

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