The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for March 3, 2023

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

WKAR Lansing – Election safety bills set for a Tuesday hearing
KRQE – Bill to expand voter access in New Mexico heads across Roundhouse
Associated Press – Residency fights could snare many Georgia voters under bill
Idaho Capital Sun – Idaho Senate OKs proposed constitutional amendment on initiative and referendums
Colorado NewsLine – GOP ‘election integrity’ bill backed by conspiracy theorists defeated by Colorado Democrats
Herald Mail Media – Big elections changes could come for Maryland, and here’s what lawmakers are considering

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.

State legislatures have been in a pro-voter/anti-voter tug-of-war this week with some embracing election safety and voter access, and others conspiracies and voter suppression.

In Michigan, lawmakers heard a bill banning firearms within 100 feet of a polling place, and making it a felony to threaten an election official.   The New Mexico Senate heard HB 4, a sweeping voter access bill which includes a permanent list of voters who choose mail-in ballots.

Georgia legislators are readying even more anti-voter restrictions, including the banning drop boxes, using the U.S. Postal Service change of address list as grounds for removing a voter from the registration list, and several other restrictions.    

The Idaho Senate passed an anti-voter resolution making it more difficult to obtain qualifying signatures for a citizen ballot initiative, by requiring signatures from 6% of eligible voters in each county, not just statewide.

A Colorado House committee killed an election-denier bill which proposed a complicated block chain technology allowing voters to verify that their vote was applied to their candidate of choice.   The Colorado Secretary of State’s office testified that it relied on unrecognized and unavailable technology.

And a Maryland legislator has proposed the Election Reform Act, which among several changes, authorizes processing of mail-in ballots before election day, and adds protections for election workers.  

We have more details on this legislation at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.