The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Oct. 3, 2024

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

Our report on court challenges to undated or misdated mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania mentioned the “Materiality Provision” of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.  Just what is the Materiality Provision, and how can it help protect voters?

In question are ballot envelopes from otherwise eligible voters, received on time and correct except for a missing or incorrect date on the outer envelope.  Pennsylvania’s election law invalidates those ballots, and as many as 10,000 voters were affected in 2022.

The materiality provision, part of the 1964 Civil Rights Act’s Title 1, was designed to keep racist election officials from rejecting voter registrations for minor mistakes – used as a voter suppression tactic throughout the South.  For instance, White voters were given assistance and alerted to mistakes, while Black voters were disenfranchised for a simple spelling error.    

For years, federal courts found that Title 1 applies to the whole voting process, and ruled that missing dates, envelopes, and postmarks are “immaterial” to the validity of the ballot. Only recently have Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and other Conservative judges argued that it should apply ONLY to registration, and overturned such appeals.  

If a voter does everything else right, but makes a trivial mistake, shouldn’t we make every effort to honor the intent of the voter?  The ACLU’s high court appeal may answer that question.

We’ve linked more at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Congressional Research Service – The Civil Rights Act of 1964: Eleven Titles at a Glance
Fordham Law Voting Rights and Democracy Forum – Helen L. Brewer – Title I of the Civil Rights Act in Contemporary Voting Rights
Litigation
Protect Democracy – The Constitutionality of the Materiality Provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965
Democracy Docket – Pennsylvania Orgs Ask SCOTUS To Decide if Rejecting Mail-in Ballots for Date Errors Violates Civil Rights Act
Campaign Legal Center – (2018) CLC Argument Used in Georgia Absentee Ballot Cases
Democracy Docket – This Civil Rights Provision Protects Your Vote from Simple Mistakes

Groups Taking Action:

ACLU, NAACP PA , League of Women Voters PA, Black Political Empowerment Project 

Check Your Voter Registration:

• U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State
• USA Vote Foundation – Registration, Eligibility, State Election Office Links
• Vote.Gov – Register to Vote in Your State
• Vote.Org – Check Your Registration to Vote
  
  

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #VoterSuppression #CivilRightsAct #Pennsylvania #SCOTUS

The post What is the ‘Materiality Provision’ of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and How Can it Help Protect Voters? appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Aug. 27, 2024

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

In a 5-4 vote August 22nd, the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated part of an Arizona voter suppression bill requiring citizens to provide proof of citizenship in addition to other identity documents.  

The law targets Native American voters, who sometimes don’t have birth certificates, and college students, who may not have the documents available.  Both groups skew liberal.

Arizona has two ballots for elections; a state ballot which includes local, state and federal candidates, and a federal-only ballot. The federal-only ballot uses an affidavit to swear to citizenship on penalty of perjury, but does not require the documents.  Democracy news outlet Votebeat found college students often use the federal-only ballot.

A 2022 Arizona law, House Bill 2492, requires that citizens registering to vote provide a birth certificate, passport or naturalization papers to register for either the state and federal, or federal-only, ballots.  Democracy groups argued it violated both the National Voter Registration Act and 1964 Civil Rights Act.  A recent study found 9% of Americans don’t have ready access to a birth certificate.  

In its short, unsigned decision, the high court allowed Arizona to enforce the law for the state and federal ballot, but not on the separate federal-only ballot, preserving the ability to vote for President, Vice President, House, and Senate races, but shutting those voters out of local and state elections.  

We’ve linked to more at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl. 

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Arizona Legislature – House Bill 2492
U.S. Justice Department – (March 2024) U.S. District Court Finds That Arizona Voter Registration Provisions Violate Federal Law
ACLU – Voting Rights Groups File Amicus Brief to Protect Arizona’s Eligible Voters from Documentary Proof of Citizenship Law
SCOTUS Blog – Justices allow Arizona to enforce proof-of-citizenship law for 2024 voter registration

NPR – Supreme Court grants GOP bid to require citizenship proof for some Arizona voters
Votebeat – Arizona’s federal-only voters are concentrated on college campuses, data show

Groups Taking Action:

Mi Familia Vota, League of Women Voters

Check Your Voter Registration:

• U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State
• USA Vote Foundation – Registration, Eligibility, State Election Office Links
• Vote.Gov – Register to Vote in Your State
• Vote.Org – Check Your Registration to Vote
  
  

Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter and SHARE!  

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Want ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!

Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #Arizona #VoterSuppression #SCOTUS #USSupremeCourt

The post U.S. Supreme Court Restores Arizona Law Aimed at Disenfranchising Native Americans and College Students appeared first on American Democracy Minute.