The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for April 19, 2023
Today’s Links
Articles & Resources:
Democracy Docket – (Some provisions noted in this article did not make the final version) Minnesota Lawmakers Introduce Omnibus Democracy for the People Act
KSTP – Minnesota House of Representatives passes the Democracy for the People Act
Common Dreams – Minnesota Dems Advance Bill to Ban Election Interference by Multinational Corporations
Minnesota Legislature – HF3/SF3 Democracy for the People Act
Colorado Public Radio – (2021) Colorado Added 250,000 Voters In The Past Year Through Automatic Voter Registration
Arizona PBS – After overwhelming voter OK, political ‘dark money’ law hailed as model
Groups Taking Action:
Free Speech for People, We Choose Us Minnesota, League of Women Voters MN, Common Cause MN,
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.
Good news today. April 13th, the Minnesota House approved the HF3 Democracy For All bill, which proposes reforms to voter registration, protects voters from intimidation, and requires disclosure of dark money donors influencing elections.
The reform package now becomes SF3 in the Minnesota Senate, where it’s likely to be passed and sent to Governor Tim Walz, after the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party swept elections last fall.
SF3 would automatically register voters doing business at the Minnesota Departments of Safety and Human Services unless voters opt out. A similar provision passed in Colorado in 2020 registered 250,000 new voters in one year. The bill also allows pre-registration of 16 and 17-year-olds while they are still in school and first registering for a driver’s license.
Other reforms allow voters to be added to a permanent vote-by-mail list,and prohibits voter intimidation and deceptive actions intended to interfere with voting. It also aids non-English speakers with alternate language ballots or provides interpreters.
Like Arizona’s recent constitutional amendment, it will require disclosure of donors to Dark Money nonprofits and LLCs spending money on state elections, bans contributions from foreign donors.
Should the bill pass, the Democracy for All act will be one of the top reform bills of 2023.
We have links to the details, articles and groups taking action at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl.
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