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

[Virginiá]

Same-day/auto voter registration is now the law of the land in New Mexico

[Sestak]

Same-day/auto voter registration is now the law of the land in New Mexico

Woot woot!

[Politician]

Same-day/auto voter registration is now the law of the land in New Mexico

Woot woot!

[Comrade Funk]

Same-day/auto voter registration is now the law of the land in New Mexico

Woot woot!

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1120088600505397250

[Progressive Pessimist]

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1120088600505397250

It's excellent to see her undoing Kobach's damage.

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/rickhasen/status/1121492696864976896

[Virginiá]

Curious to see where this will lead!

https://twitter.com/srl/status/1121416021938778112

Any Ohio peeps have some perspective on this?

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

It's always a pleasant surprise to see a Republican back automatic voter registration or make registration easier rather than harder.  I remember when Brian Kemp wanted to introduce online voter registration for Georgia, but I'm not sure where that went.  Then he became one of the bad guys.

[GeorgiaModerate]

It's always a pleasant surprise to see a Republican back automatic voter registration or make registration easier rather than harder.  I remember when Brian Kemp wanted to introduce online voter registration for Georgia, but I'm not sure where that went.  Then he became one of the bad guys.

You can register online, or update your registration, in Georgia.  I believe this was indeed implemented during Kemp's tenure, as was AVR when getting a driver's license.

[Virginiá]

Between the Nevada Senate and Assembly, there is an impressive crop of election reform bills working its way through the legislative maze. If they all pass, Nevada will probably be in the top 3 - 5 states with most voter-friendly election rules.

Hard to say how much of it will pass, though. Democrats usually aren't as aggressive with election reform as Republicans are.

https://twitter.com/PoliticsWolf/status/1121842823567794176


Also, Colorado about to become another state which restores the right to vote to felons immediately after they are released from incarceration.

[Virginiá]

Study: Does State Online Voter Registration Increase Voter Turnout?

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ssqu.12598#.XMihPlFCjcA.email

Results

The results of this study demonstrate that state online voter registration increases voter turnout. The difference‐in‐difference analysis shows that the states’ implementation of online voter registration increases the turnout of young voters by about 3 percentage points in presidential election years. The instrumental variable analysis shows that the usage of online registration by voters increases their turnout by about 18 to 20 percentage points.

Conclusion

The conclusion of this study is that state online voter registration reforms are generally effective in increasing voter turnout. There are nontrivial positive effects of online registration on turnout, especially for young people during presidential election years.

[Continential]

https://www.npr.org/2019/05/03/720047669/federal-court-throws-out-ohios-congressional-map

YES!

[Yang2020]

https://www.npr.org/2019/05/03/720047669/federal-court-throws-out-ohios-congressional-map

YES!

Don't get too excited. I imagine this will be challenged and the scum SCOTUS will uphold the current map (as they did with Wisconsin).

[GP270watch]

Supreme Court Blocks Two Rulings Striking Down Voting Maps

[politicallefty]

Not surprising or unexpected in light of the cases SCOTUS has yet to decide. We're going to have to wait until late June probably. If the Maryland and Wisconsin cases fail, the Ohio and Michigan cases would automatically fail.

[💥💥 brandon bro (he/him/his)]

Between the Nevada Senate and Assembly, there is an impressive crop of election reform bills working its way through the legislative maze. If they all pass, Nevada will probably be in the top 3 - 5 states with most voter-friendly election rules.

Hard to say how much of it will pass, though. Democrats usually aren't as aggressive with election reform as Republicans are.

https://twitter.com/PoliticsWolf/status/1121842823567794176


Also, Colorado about to become another state which restores the right to vote to felons immediately after they are released from incarceration.

Worth noting that the Colorado bill and a similar bill in Nevada (full voting rights for released felons) were signed into law this week.

relevant twitter thread

https://twitter.com/Taniel/status/1133866437947351040

[Virginiá]

https://news.ballotpedia.org/2019/05/30/in-2020-nevada-voters-will-decide-a-ballot-measure-to-create-a-declaration-of-voters-rights-in-the-state-constitution/

On November 3, 2020, voters in Nevada will decide on a ballot measure to create a declaration of voters’ rights in the Nevada Constitution. The ballot measure is similar to a declaration passed as statute in 2003.
 
The ballot measure would provide voters with a constitutional right to receive and cast a ballot that is written in a “format that allows the clear identification of candidates” and “accurately records the voter’s preference in the selection of candidates.”
 
The measure would provide registered voters with other constitutional rights, including:

    to have questions about voting procedures answered and have voting procedures posted in a visible location at the polling place;
    to vote without intimidation, threats, or coercion;
    to vote during any early-voting period or on election day if the voter is in line at the time polls close;
    to return a spoiled ballot and receive a replacement ballot;
    to request assistance in voting if necessary;
    to a sample ballot “which is accurate, informative and delivered in a timely manner;”
    to receive instruction on how to use voting equipment;
    to equal access to the elections system without discrimination, including on the basis of “race, age, disability, military service, employment or overseas residence.”
    to a “uniform, statewide standard for counting and recounting all votes accurately;” and
    to have “complaints about elections and election contests resolved fairly, accurately and efficiently.”

I wish more states would do this.

Nevada is turning out to be a very FF state on voting rights.

[GP270watch]

    to equal access to the elections system without discrimination, including on the basis of “race, age, disability, military service, employment or overseas residence.”

 We've seen Republicans use language like this to close voting locations. This is the real problem. The Democratic Party for the most part wants to give everyone who is eligible the right to vote. The Republicans want to disenfranchise anybody who they don't think will vote Republican.

 We already have so many laws protecting voters, and sure more laws and better legislation is great but it doesn't deal with the root problem. Until Republican officials face civil and legal penalties for all the dirty moves they do with voter registration and elections, it won't matter.

[Virginiá]

Gov. DeSantis continues to look into ways to cripple the ability of reformers to use Florida's ballot initiative process to change state policy:

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Suggests Separate Election Day For Ballot Questions

https://miami.cbslocal.com/2019/06/12/florida-governor-ron-desantis-suggests-separate-election-day-for-ballot-questions/

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he wants to look into the idea of holding a separate election for proposed constitutional amendments.

DeSantis said this would be a way to declutter the ballot and allow voters to focus on ballot proposals.

“If we’re going to do these amendments, maybe have those be stand-alone elections,” DeSantis said during a Jacksonville event. “Maybe it would cost a little more money for the state, but at least people would know when they’re going, that’s the reason I’m going.”

What better way to pass constitutional amendments than with the approval of a tiny sliver of the state voting-age population?

[Virginiá]

https://twitter.com/PoliticsWolf/status/1139198289784451072

[Virginiá]

https://twitter.com/PoliticsWolf/status/1140638228887719943

[The Dowager Mod]

I'm a bit surprised by Slappy and Gorsuch voting the way they did.

[American2020]

https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/17/politics/supreme-court-racial-virginia-gerrymandering-case/index.html

[Some of My Best Friends Are Gay]

I'm morbidly curious to see SirWoodbury's response to this.