The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for March 31, 2023
Today’s Links
Articles & Resources:
Alabama Today – State Senate Committee advances election integrity bills
Associated Press – N.C. board removes election officials who refused to certify
Bolts Magazine – “Back to 1902”: Virginia Governor Revives Lifetime Ban on Voting
Daily Telegram – Michigan Proposal 2 voting changes start with May 2 special elections
MyVote Wisconsin – 2023 Spring Election Tuesday, April 4, 2023
MI Sec. of State – 2023 Election Deadlines
MI Sec. of State – May 2 Elections by County
Today’s Script: (Variations occur with audio due to editing for time)
You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.
We have democracy headlines today from Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia, and Wisconsin, and good news from Michigan, which implements its Promote the Vote citizen ballot initiative on May 2nd.
First to Alabama, where proposed Senate Bill 9 would require paper ballots, and SB 10 would prohibit the use of vote tabulation systems which could connect to the internet or cell networks, to prevent hacking, according to Alabama Today.
The Associated Press reports that a state election board in North Carolina has removed two Surry county election officials after they refused to certify the November 2023 election and allegedly wrote a letter falsely claiming that the vote was “illegal.”
Virginia’s Governor Glenn Youngkin’s office said in a letter this week that he was rescinding Gov. Ralph Northam’s 2021 directive to automatically restore the voting rights of people with felony convictions. Returning felons would again need to appeal to the Governor’s office.
Wisconsin citizens wishing to register to vote in the critical April 4th Supreme Court election must do so in person by 5 pm March 31st.
And in-person registration for Michigan’s May 2nd school & county elections begins April 18th. This is the first election implementing the new Promote the Vote initiative, guaranteeing 9 days of early voting, prepaid postage for absentee ballots, and an optional permanent absentee voter list.
We have links and details for all these stories at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.