Alabama’s Racial Gerrymandering Showdown with SCOTUS Goes Back to Federal Court August 14th

We’re back in Alabama today, where freedom-to-vote and civil rights groups go back to federal district court August 14th to oppose the legislature’s defiant racially gerrymandered Congressional voting district map.

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Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
CNN - Supreme Court orders voting maps redrawn in Alabama to accommodate Black voters in surprise ruling
Democracy Docket - After Allen v. Milligan, Plaintiffs Submit Proposed Remedial Map to Alabama Legislature
AL.com - Zero for 11: Election results show new Alabama map won’t fix voting rights violation, Black voters say
Alabama Reflector - Milligan plaintiffs: New Alabama congressional map is unfair; approval process was closed
WHNT Huntsville - Plaintiffs ask court to block Alabama’s new Congressional map
U.S. District Court/Democracy Docket - PLAINTIFFS’ OBJECTIONS TO ALABAMA LEGISLATURE’S
REMEDIAL CONGRESSIONAL PLAN

Groups Taking Action:
National Redistricting Foundation, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, ACLU Alabama

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Alleged Voting Machine Tampering Suspects Arraigned in Michigan Include Former Candidate for State Attorney General and Former State Rep
Eclipsed by Tuesday’s news of former President Trump’s indictment for his involvement in the attempted overturning of the 2020 election was an arraignment of two of nine of his supporters who allegedly tampered with voting machines in Michigan.

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Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Reuters - (2022)  Michigan widens probe into voting system breaches by Trump allies
Bridge Michigan - Judge paves way for charges in Michigan vote machine tampering probe
Michigan Advance - Republicans Matt DePerno and Daire Rendon charged in 2020 voting machine probe
Bridge Michigan - ‘I have been indicted,’ says suspect in Michigan vote machine tampering probe
PBS - Security footage shows Georgia county Republican chair, election official present during breach of voting equipment
MI Office of Attorney General - Attorney General Nessel Releases Statement on Tabulator Access Indictments

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Aug. 8 Referendum Changing Ohio’s Threshold for a Ballot Initiative to Win Holds a 112-Year-Old Precedent and Reproductive Rights in the Balance
Early voting for Ohio’s Aug. 8th special election is robust, as voters consider raising the threshold for a ballot initiative to win to a 60% margin.   At stake in Issue 1 is a 112-year-old precedent of a 50%+ 1 simple majority rule  — and an attempt to derail a reproductive freedom ballot question slated for November’s election.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
BallotPedia - Ohio Issue 1, 60% Vote Requirement to Approve Constitutional Amendments Measure (2023)
Ohio Capital Journal - Early vote figures continue their tear in Ohio’s August special election
Ohio Capital Journal - Issue 1 debate brings the fight over how to amend Ohio’s constitution statewide
Ohio Capital Journal - (Opinion) Author of book on Ohio Constitution warns against Issue 1 changing 111 years of Ohio voter power
Ohio Capital Journal - Ohio abortion rights amendment headed for November ballot
Columbus Dispatch - Tuesday is the deadline for mail-in ballot requests for Aug. 8 election.

Ohio Secretary of State - Voting Dates & Times for Aug. 8th Special Election
WOSU - Ohio voter guide: What to know about the August special election
Ohio Secretary of State - Find My Polling Place Tool

Groups Taking Action:
One Person One Vote, Ohio Voter Rights Coalition, Ohio Citizen Action, Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights, All Voting is Local

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U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Head Announces Additional Election Security Advisors to Assist States in Securing Elections
The head of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA, spoke July 25th to state election directors, announcing an investment in new regional staff helping states protect their elections.  She also cited artificial intelligence as an emerging threat.

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Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) - Director Easterly's Remarks to the National Association of State Election Directors' Summer Conference

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) - Bio of Director Jen Easterly
Associated Press - Head of US cybersecurity agency sees progress on election security, with more work needed for 2024
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) - Election Security Rumor vs. Reality
U.S. Congress - Election Worker Protection Act

Groups Taking Action:
Common Cause Election Disinformation, Protect Democracy, Election Worker Legal Defense Network
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Georgia’s Inactive Voter Purges:  When Voter List “Election Integrity” Maintenance Becomes Voter Suppression 
As we reported last week, Georgia and 20 other states remove voters who may not have voted recently, but are otherwise qualified, arguing it’s done for “election integrity.”  When does routine maintenance become a tool for voter suppression?

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Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Capitol Beat News Service - Nearly 200,000 ‘inactive’ Georgia voters to be dropped from rolls
NewsOne - Georgia ‘Voter Suppression’ Alleged Over Plans To Drop Nearly 200K Registered Names From Rolls
National Conference of State Legislatures - State Policies for Cancelling Inactive Voter Registrations
National Conference of State Legislatures - States with Same-Day Voter Registration
American Public Media Reports - (2019)  After the Purge:  How a massive voter purge in Georgia affected the 2018 election
Atlanta Journal Constitution - (2020)  Many eligible Georgia voters were canceled in nation’s largest purge
Atlanta Journal Constitution - (2021)   Purge warnings helped 4,500 Georgia voters save their registrations
Brennan Center for Justice - (2018) Purges: A Growing Threat to the Right to Vote

National Association of Secretaries of State:   Check Your Voter Registration Status

Groups Taking Action:
Fair Fight Action, New Georgia Project, Black Voters Matter Fund, ACLU GA, Common Cause GA, League of Women Voters GA
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Georgia Prepares to Purge Almost 200,000 Voters from the Voter List, Applying “Use it or Lose it” Rules; 20 Other States Have Similar Laws.
Today we’re in Georgia, where almost 200,000 people who haven’t moved, aren’t felons, and whose voter eligibility hasn’t changed, may lose their voter registration prior to the 2024 Presidential election.  The reason?  They haven’t recently voted.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Capitol Beat News Service - Nearly 200,000 ‘inactive’ Georgia voters to be dropped from rolls
NewsOne - Georgia ‘Voter Suppression’ Alleged Over Plans To Drop Nearly 200K Registered Names From Rolls
National Conference of State Legislatures - State Policies for Cancelling Inactive Voter Registrations
American Public Media Reports - (2019)  After the Purge:  How a massive voter purge in Georgia affected the 2018 election
Atlanta Journal Constitution - (2020)  Many eligible Georgia voters were canceled in nation’s largest purge
Brennan Center for Justice - (2018) Purges: A Growing Threat to the Right to Vote

National Association of Secretaries of State:   Check Your Voter Registration Status

Groups Taking Action:
Fair Fight Action, New Georgia Project, Black Voters Matter Fund, ACLU GA, Common Cause GA, League of Women Voters GA
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Florida Just Purged its List of Absentee Ballot Requestors, Forcing Millions of Voters to Reapply
If you voted in the midterms by absentee ballot in Florida last year, your automatic request, along with millions of others,  may no longer be valid for 2024, due to a new law requiring that absentee ballot requests expire in two years, rather than four.

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Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
WUSF Public Media - Floridians who want to vote by mail in 2024 will need to request a ballot or renew their requests
The Guardian - Voters’ mail-in ballot requests cancelled as Florida passes new voting restrictions
Treasure Coast Newspapers - Voting by mail in the 2024 elections? Here’s why Florida voters should request ballots now
Florida Department of State - Find your Supervisor of Elections by Map
Brennan Center for Justice - (2021) Florida Enacts Sweeping Voter Suppression Law
NBC 6 South Florida - (2021) Gov. DeSantis Signs GOP-Backed Elections Bill at Event Closed to Local Media
National Conference of State Legislatures - States With Permanent Absentee Voting Lists

Groups Taking Action:
Florida Rising, Florida State Conference of Branches and Youth Units of the NAACP,  Hispanic Federation Florida, Equal Ground Education Fund, Voters of Tomorrow Florida, Disability Rights Florida, Alianza for Progress, UnidosUS,  Florida Alliance for Retired Americans

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #VotingRights #VoterSuppression #FloridaPolitics

Is Absentee Voting a Right or a Privilege?  Wisconsin Voters Take Their State to Court Over Recent Restrictions on Absentee Ballots

Wisconsin’s election code states that the legislature sees voting in person a “right,” while voting by absentee as a “privilege.” Some Wisconsin voters disagree, and are taking that concept, and other absentee restrictions, to court.
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Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Wisconsin General Assembly - SUBCHAPTER IV - VOTING ABSENTEE
Capital Times - Absentee voting rules violate Wisconsin Constitution, lawsuit alleges
Democracy Docket - Wisconsin Absentee Voting Procedures Challenge

Dane County Circuit Court - PRIORITIES USA, WISCONSIN ALLIANCE FOR RETIRED AMERICANS, WILLIAM FRANKS, JR.  v.  WISCONSIN ELECTIONS COMMISSION

Groups Taking Action:
Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans, Common Cause WI, ACLU WI, Wisconsin Voices, Wisconsin Disability Vote Coalition, Voces de la Frontera
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Texas Withdraws from ERIC, But the State Has Yet to Implement an Alternative to Keep Its Voter Lists Clean
Last week, Texas became the ninth state to officially withdraw from the multi-state voter registration cooperative called ERIC, recently the target of fringe conspiracy theories. But, Texas doesn't yet have a replacement.

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Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Texas Secretary of State - (2020) Statement After Joining Texas Joined ERIC
Texas Tribune/Votebeat Texas - Conspiracy theory whirlwind threatens to blow Texas out of national program that keeps voter rolls updated
Texas Tribune/Votebeat Texas - Texas set to exit multistate program that cleans voter rolls
Votebeat Texas - Texas resigns from ERIC, a national program that keeps voter rolls updated
Votebeat Texas - Letter Withdrawing Texas from ERIC
LegiScan - Text for SB 1070
Associated Press - Texas is largest state to leave bipartisan national effort to prevent voter fraud
National Conference of State Legislators - More Withdrawals From Voter Data Group ERIC Likely

Groups Taking Action:
Campaign Legal Center, Brennan Center for Justice, League of Women Voters

Alabama Governor Signs VotingMaps in Open Defiance of Supreme Court Order; Alleged Michigan Fake Electors Stripped of Duties, Face Resignation Calls

We have updates on stories from Alabama & Michigan we brought you last week.  Alabama’s governor has signed a new Congressional voting district map in defiance of the U.S. Supreme Court, and an alleged Michigan “Fake Elector” has been stripped of his duties as an election official.

Our podcasting host recently made changes which stops us from including our entire script as part of the podcast content.  To view the whole script, please go to our website and find today's report.
 
Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Associated Press - Black lawmakers say Alabama GOP’s proposed new congressional map insults the Supreme Court
NBC News -  Alabama Republicans refuse to draw a second Black congressional district in defiance of Supreme Court
Democracy Docket - Alabama Republicans Send Congressional Map Without Second Majority-Black District to Governor
Washington Post (Paywall) - Alabama legislature adopts new congressional map that could defy court order
Michigan Live - Shelby Twp. clerk removed from election duties after fake elector felony charges
Votebeat Michigan - Shelby Township clerk accused of being “false elector” stripped of elections duties
Michigan Advance - Here’s what we know about the charges against the 2020 Michigan fake electors
WKAR/WGVU -  City of Wyoming's mayor faces calls to step down after felony charges in 'false elector' case

Groups Taking Action:
NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Alabama Forward, ACLU Alabama

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #AllenvMilligan #FairMaps #FakeElectors