The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Sept. 29, 2023

With a Partisan State Supreme Court and Veto-Proof Majority, North Carolina Legislature Poised to Take Control of the State Election Board
In August, we reported on the North Carolina legislature’s SB 749, stripping the power of the governor to appoint members of the State Board of Elections and giving it to the legislature.  Last week, the bill passed the state senate.  It’s likely to be vetoed, but will be overridden by a legislature flexing its new veto-proof majority. 

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Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
WRAL - (2018) Voter ID, three other amendments pass; power shift proposals defeated
CNN - GOP-controlled North Carolina Supreme Court reverses rulings that struck down partisan gerrymanders by Republican lawmakers
Associated Press - Party switch gives GOP veto-proof control in North Carolina
North Carolina Legislature - Ratified Text for SB 749
Associated Press - N.C. legislature gives final OK to election board changes; governor's veto expected
Democracy Docket - Ignoring 62% of Voters, North Carolina Republicans Overhaul Elections Board With Senate Bill 749

Groups Taking Action:
North Carolina Black Alliance, Democracy North Carolina, North Carolina Voter, ACLU North Carolina

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #NorthCarolinaPolitics #ElectionSubversion #SB747 #SB749

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for September 28, 2023

U.S. Supreme Court Refuses Stay for Alabama’s Defiant Redistricting Map, Despite Alleged Plan to Convince Justice Kavanaugh to Change His Mind
The day before the bombshell classified documents indictment of former President Trump, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a bombshell of its own.  Its surprise decision in Allen v. Milligan, an Alabama racial gerrymandering case, may have an impact on 2024 elections nationwide.

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Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Alabama Reflector - Federal court blocks Alabama’s congressional map, orders new lines drawn
Alabama Reflector - U.S. Supreme Court rejects Alabama’s request to stay redistricting decision
U.S. Supreme Court - ORDER IN PENDING CASE 23A231 ALLEN, AL SEC. OF STATE V. MILLIGAN, EVAN, ET AL.
CNN - Special master in Alabama redistricting case proposes three House maps in a closely watched voting rights fight
Alabama Political Reporter - Inside Alabama Republicans’ plan to overturn Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act
Alabama Political Reporter -  Dark money: The backstory of Alabama’s redistricting defiance
Alabama Political Reporter -  Opinion - Alabama’s defense of its voting maps had a specific target

Groups Taking Action:

National Redistricting Foundation, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, ACLU Alabama
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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #AllenvMilligan #EndGerrymandering #SCOTUS #AlabamaPolitics

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Sept. 26, 2023

Federal Appeals Court Sides With Florida Legislature, Upholding Restrictions on Voter Assistance, Mail-In Voting

September 21st, a federal appeals court refused to rehear a challenge to Florida’s restrictive voting law SB 90, letting an April 2023 appeals decision stand. Florida voters who use mail-in voting should be paying attention.

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Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Democracy Docket -  (2022) Three Trial Takeaways: Florida’s Voter Suppression Law
Florida Phoenix - (2022) 11th Circuit frees Florida to enforce limits on voter registration, ballot drop boxes
Politico - Appeals court upholds Florida voting restrictions approved by GOP lawmakers
11th Circuit Court of Appeals via Democracy Docket - April 2023 League of Women Voters vs. Florida Secretary of State
Democracy Docket - 11th Circuit Upholds Most of Florida’s Major 2021 Voter Suppression Law
WUSF - In a victory for Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican legislators, a full federal appeals court Thursday declined to take up a challenge to a 2021 Florida elections law that opponents contend discriminated against Black voters.
Florida Phoenix - Eleventh Circuit won’t budge, reaffirms Florida’s 2021 voting restrictions law
11th Circuit Court of Appeals -Sept. 2023 - League of Women Voters vs. Florida Secretary of State

Groups Taking Action:
League of Women Voters of Florida, Southern Poverty Law Center, Fair Elections Center, Harriet Tubman Freedom Fighters 

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #VoterSuppression #FloridaPolitics #SB90

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Sept. 25, 2023

Pennsylvania Citizens Obtaining A Driver’s License or ID at the DMV Are Now Automatically Registered to Vote
Eligible citizens in Pennsylvania will now be automatically registered to vote when obtaining a new driver’s license or state ID, unless they opt out of the system.   Such “Automatic Voter Registration” or AVR, systems have registered millions of voters in the 23 states where it’s been implemented.

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Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Office of Gov. Josh Shapiro - Governor Shapiro Implements Automatic Voter Registration in Pennsylvania
MSNBC - Interview with Gov. Josh Shapiro
Spotlight PA/Votebeat - Pa. will now prompt people to register to vote when they get a driver’s license
PA Dept. of State - Voter and Election Information Page
National Conference of State Legislatures - States With Automatic Voter Registration
Justin Grimmer and Jonathan Rodden,  Stanford University - Changing the Default: The Impact of Motor-Voter Reform in Colorado

Groups Taking Action:

League of Women Voters PA,   Common Cause PA, Conservation Voters of PA and PennFuture

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #ProtectElections #ProtectPollWorkers

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Sept. 21, 2023

Kentucky’s Constitution Mandates “Free & Equal” Elections.  Are the Commonwealth’s Manipulated Voting District Maps Legal?
The Kentucky Supreme Court heard arguments September 19th on whether the “free and equal elections” provision in the Commonwealth’s constitution prohibits partisan gerrymandering of its voting districts.

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Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Louisville Public Media - Court upholds Kentucky’s Republican-drawn redistricting maps
Brennan Center for Justice/State Court Report - Kentucky Supreme Court Weighs Partisan Gerrymandering

WKU Public Radio - Kentucky Supreme Court hears arguments over redistricting maps
Kentucky Lantern - Kentucky Supreme Court must weigh constitutionality of partisan gerrymanders
Associated Press - Kentucky Supreme Court reviews state's Republican-drawn legislative, congressional maps
National Conference of State Legislatures - Free and Equal Election Clauses in State Constitutions
Governing/Lexington Herald-Leader - Does Kentucky’s Constitution Prohibit Gerrymandering?

Groups Taking Action:

League of Women Voters Kentucky, Common Cause KY, ACLU Kentucky, Black Lives Matter Louisville, Kentucky Equal Justice Center
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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #KentuckyPolitics #FairMaps #EndGerrymandering

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Sept. 21, 2023

Federal Judge Throws Out Arizona’s Additional Proof-of-Citizenship Requirements for Federal Election-Only Voter Registration Form
Arizona has a type of voter registration form which allows citizens to register only for Presidential elections, often used by Native Americans. Gov. Doug Ducey signed House Bill 2492 last year, adding more proof of citizenship requirements when using this federal form.  Last week, a federal judge threw out many of those new requirements.

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Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
US Justice Department - (2022) Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against the State of Arizona Over Restrictive Voter Registration Requirements
US District Court via Democracy Docket - Ruling in Mi Familia Vota, et al., v. Adrian Fontes, et al.,
Democracy Docket - Federal Judge Strikes Down Key Provisions of Arizona Voter Suppression Law
KTAR - Federal judge strikes down 2 Arizona voting proof-of-citizenship laws
Associated Press - EXPLAINER: Trial begins in tribes’ lawsuit over North Dakota redistricting map
Brennan Center for Justice - How Voter Suppression Laws Target Native Americans

Groups Taking Action:

Mi Familia Vota, Native American Rights Fund, ACLU Arizona, League of United Latin American Citizens

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #NativeVote #VoterSuppression #NativeAmericanVote

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Sept. 21, 2023

John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act Back in the U.S. House, Reintroduced by a Black Congresswoman from Alabama

September 19th, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, restoring protections stripped from the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court, was notably reintroduced by a Black Congresswoman from Alabama. 

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Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Office of Congresswoman Terri Sewell - Text HR 14, John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act
Democracy Docket - U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell Reintroduces the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act
Brennan Center for Justice - Fact Sheet for the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act
NAACP Legal Defense Fund - Why We Need the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act
Brennan Center for Justice - Voting Laws Roundup: February 2023
NPR - Restoring the Voting Rights Act is still on this Alabama Democrat's agenda

Groups Taking Action:
Declaration for American Democracy, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, League of Women Voters US, Common Cause US,  Public Citizen, and hundreds more groups.

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #JohnLewisVotingRightsAct #VotingRights #FreedomtoVote

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Sept. 20, 2023

Wisconsin Senate Election Deniers Vote to Oust the State’s Election Director for Recommending 2020 Pandemic Voting Accommodations 
Old habits die hard, especially among election deniers.  Last week, the Republican-dominated Wisconsin Senate voted to remove the state’s nonpartisan elections administrator for recommending pandemic voting accommodations in the 2020 election.

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Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
American Democracy Minute  - June 20, 2023 - Highly-Qualified Election Official’s Job In Jeopardy from Wisconsin Legislators Clinging to Debunked Election Conspiracy Theories
Meagan Wolfe - Letter to Local Wisconsin Election Officials
Milwaukee Courier - Evidence lacking in GOP case against top Wisconsin election official Meagan Wolfe
Associated Press - GOP-led Wisconsin Senate votes to fire nonpartisan official targeted by 2020 election skeptics
Wisconsin Examiner - Embracing election denial, Wisconsin Senate Republicans vote to fire chief election official
Wisconsin Politics - Wolfe on ‘UpFront’ vows to continue serving as elections administrator amid court battle

Groups Taking Action:
Common Cause WI, Center for Election Innovation & Research (CEIR), Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, 

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The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Sept. 19, 2023

Penalties Recommended for Church Organization and Pastor for Alleged Illegal and Unreported Contributions Supporting Anti-Ranked Choice Voting Effort
We’re updating a story we’ve been following in Alaska, where fines have been recommended for a church, an associated church organization, and a pastor accused of making alleged illegal and unreported political contributions supporting an effort to repeal Ranked Choice Voting.

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Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Alaska Public Offices Commission - Staff Report for Alaskans for Better Elections v. Alaskans for Honest
Elections, Alaskans for Honest Government, Wellspring Ministries, Wellspring Fellowship,
Ranked Choice Education Association, Art Mathias and Phillip Izon.

Alaska Public Media - APOC staff recommends fines for opponents of Alaska’s ranked choice voting
Anchorage Daily News - State watchdog finds ballot group violated Alaska laws in effort to repeal ranked choice voting
Alaska Beacon - Two more Alaska ballot measures pass legal muster, but another is disqualified

Groups Taking Action:

Alaskans for Better Elections
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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #AlaskaPolitics #DarkMoney #RCV #AlaskansforBetterElections

American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Sept. 18, 2023

Proposed Rule Change Could Make the Feckless Federal Elections Commission Even Less Effective
The feckless Federal Elections Commission may become even less effective.  A proposed rules change would task the usually deadlocked FEC commissioners with authorizing all campaign finance investigations, likely bringing meaningful accountability to a standstill.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Federal Elections Commissioner Alan Dickerson - Investigations Conducted by the Office of General Counsel
The Intercept - A TRUMP APPOINTEE IS TRYING TO GUT THE FEC’S ABILITY TO INVESTIGATE CAMPAIGN FINANCE CRIMES
The Daily Beast - How the Hell Is Trump 43-0 vs. Campaign Finance Watchdogs?

Federal Elections Commission - Commission Meetings
Federal Elections Commission - Contact phone numbers and emails
Campaign Legal Center - CLC Files FEC Complaint Against Rep. George Santos for Violating Campaign Finance Laws
Campaign Legal Center - Why the FEC Is Ineffective

Groups Taking Action:

Common Cause, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Campaign Legal Center

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #ProtectElections #ProtectPollWorkers