The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for April 2, 2024

Voter list maintenance is a part of our election system.  People die, change their names, or move out of state.   Local, state and county officials use sophisticated voter registration data services such as ERIC, the Electronic Registration Information Center, to aid them, or less effectively, agreements with nearby states and other internal software.

Georgia is preparing to purge an estimated 500,000 of its voters in 2025 – 6% of those registered, employing recommendations from ERIC and other sources. Of those, and estimated 100,000 will be purged not because they’ve moved, but because they haven’t voted recently, under Georgia’s ”use it or lose it” law.  Voters who have not voted for five years are put on an “inactive list.” Then, if there’s no contact with election officials in 9 years and two presidential cycles, those voters are purged from the rolls.

Election officials typically notify voters by mail of such actions.   But several studies have found that since the 2013 Shelby County v. Holder Voting Rights Act decision, purges sometimes target urban communities of color, as found in Ohio’s 2024 purge and a study of 2014 to 2018 purges in Michigan. 

Anti-voter legislatures are doubling down, shortening the “use it or lose it” window, and allowing purges closer to the election.   More on those tactics in an upcoming report.    

We have links to more on the purge in Georgia and other states at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.   I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Brennan Center for Justice – (2018) Purges: A Growing Threat to the Right to Vote
States News – (2019) The Messy Politics of Voter Purges
Savannah Tribune – Georgia Set to Purge 100K Voters Under “Use It or Lose It” Law
Brennan Center for Justice – (2024)  Attacks on Voter Rolls and How to Protect Them
NBC News 21 – Do Voter Purges Discriminate Against the Poor and Minorities?
Ohio Capital Journal – (2024) Ohio’s voter purge “disproportionately targets voters of color”, civil rights organizations say

Michigan State University – New MSU Research Sheds Light on Impact and Bias of Voter Purging in Michigan

Groups Taking Action:

Legal Defense Fund,  The Voter Purge Project,  Campaign Legal Center

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #VoterPurge #Georgia #VoterSuppression

The post Georgia Prepares to Purge a Half Million Voters – 6% of Its Voter Rolls.  Even if You Haven’t Moved, You Can Be Purged Just For Not Voting. appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Jan. 29, 2025

Today’s Script

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

There are 141 majority-minority congressional voting districts in the U.S., out of 435.  A new conservative legal tactic has emerged, arguing such districts harm  White Americans, and citingthe Equal Protection Clause, originally passed to end state discrimination against Black Americans.

The 1965 Voting Rights Act Section 2 and subsequent court rulings allow narrow exceptions to connect communities and create majority-minority voting districts.  Such districts allow Black, Hispanic, Native American and Asian communities to elect the representatives of their choice, without having their vote diluted by a White majority.  And that White majority historically has too often attempted to suppress minority voting power through restrictive voting rules and racial gerrymandering.

Since the 2023 Allen v. Milligan racial gerrymandering decision, a conservative legal strategy has emerged, challenging majority-minority voting districts by flipping the original intent of the Equal Protection Clause.  In a U.S. Supreme Court case to be heard in February, a group of Louisiana QUOTE “non-African-American individuals” claim THEIR rights have been harmed by the provision.  Their argument was supported by 12 other red states, including five former preclearance states, citing the Equal Protection Clause.  

In past opinions, Justices Alito, Thomas and Gorsuch appear ready to pounce on the case, and try to eliminate such opportunity districts for Louisiana’s 33% Black voters, but also for minority voters around the country.    

Find more at  AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Ballotpedia – Majority-Minority Congressional Districts
U.S. Supreme Court  – Allen v. Milligan Decision
U.S. Justice Department – States and Counties Formerly Required for Section 5 Preclearance Because of Consistent Racial Voting Discrimination
Brennan Center for Justice – Black Louisianians Fight in Court to Preserve Fair Voting Map
U.S. Supreme Court – BRIEF OF ALABAMA AND 12 OTHER STATES 

American University Law Review  – (2024) The Twists and Turns of A Map that Captured National Attention – Robinson v. Callais
SCOTUS Blog – Louisiana v. Callais (formerly Robinson v. Callais)

Groups Taking Action:

Power Coalition for Equity and Justice,  ACLU of Louisiana

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #EqualProtectionsClause #14thAmendment #VoterSuppression #RacialGerrymandering  #MajorityMinority

The post Majority-Minority Voting Districts Give Minority Voters a Fair Chance to Elect Proper Representation. The Equal Protection Clause is Now Being Used to Try to End Them appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Nov. 19, 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.

The 2020 redistricting cycle featured several examples of egregious, racist gerrymandering to dilute Black voting power in the South, but also Native American voters in the West.  A 2022 Louisiana case is apparently the vehicle chosen by anti-voter states to strike down what’s left of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Louisiana’s population is 33% Black and should have two majority minority Congressional voting districts under the VRA.  Instead, the state legislature manipulated the maps to dilute Black voting power. Voters challenged the map in March 2022, and after appeals, Gov. Jeff Landry signed off on maps with a second majority-Black district in January 2024.

In May 2024, Justice Samuel Alito granted a stay, keeping the maps from being used in November, pending an appeal in the U.S. Supreme Court. The White plaintiffs argue that the majority Black voting districts violate the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.  In September, 13 attorneys general from southern and western states joined an amicus brief, arguing the VRA had outlived its usefulness, and “clarity” was needed from the high court.

Expect to hear more about the case, now called Robinson v. Callais, in the months to come. It could spell the end of the Voting Rights Act as we know it.

We have links to documents for this important case at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
U.S. Supreme Court – Application for Stay in  Robinson v. Callais
SCOTUS Blog – Timeline and Documents for Robinson v. Callais
U.S. Supreme Court – Amicus brief by 13 State Attorneys General in Robinson v. Callais

U.S. District Court – GALMON PLAINTIFFS’ REPLY IN SUPPORT OF THEIR MOTION TO
RECONSIDER DISMISSAL RULING AND TO SCHEDULE REMEDIAL
PROCEEDINGS
Democracy Docket – Louisiana Congressional Redistricting Challenge (Robinson)

U.S. Justice Department –  Jurisdictions Previously Covered By Section 5 Preclearance Requirements

Groups Taking Action:

NAACP Legal Defense Fund, ACLU Louisiana,  Power Coalition for Equity and Justice

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and SHARE!  

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #Louisiana #Gerrymandering #BlackVotingPower #SCOTUS

The post Anti-Voter States Line Up for Showdown on 1965 Voting Rights Act at the U.S. Supreme Court appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Nov. 4, 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.

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia allow citizens to register to vote on election day.   But that doesn’t mean that election-day registration is convenient, simple, or that your vote will count in all cases.  

The National Conference of State Legislatures notes that states with election-day registration have an average 5% higher voter participation, including younger voters and voters of color.  Which is why since 2020 some partisan state legislatures have put in more restrictions on same day registration, disingenuously claiming QUOTE, “election integrity.”  There is no evidence of widespread abuse of election day registration.  

While it’s more challenging than it used to be, election day registration is still better than not voting at all.  These states allow election day registration:  California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia.  Alaska and Rhode Island allow it to vote for President and Vice President.

Restrictions may include use of a provisional ballot if the voter’s eligibility can’t be established on election day  – which may not count if the voter doesn’t return with proof in a specified time.  For voters registering on election day, best practice is to bring your birth certificate or passport, driver’s license, and proof of where you live, such as apartment rental documents, bank statements, tax documents or utility bills.

Links to information on election-day registration and voting requirements can be found at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

National Conference of State Legislatures – Same-Day Voter Registration
Rock the Vote –  Same Day Voter Registration & Requirements

Ballotpedia – Voter Registration Deadlines
Univ. of Massachusetts Amherst – New Study Finds That States with Same Day Voter Registration Have Higher Black and Latinx Turnout
Montana Free Press – Montana Supreme Court says no to Election Day voter registration
Center for Public Integrity – It’s already too late for thousands of would-be voters: Why that matters

Groups Taking Action:
Common Cause US, League of Women Voters US,  Native American Rights Fund

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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Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #VoterRegistration #SameDayRegistration #ElectionDayRegistration

The post Not Registered to Vote?  Your State May Be One of Nineteen Which Allows Election Day Registration, But You’ll Need to Be Prepared. appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

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
  
  

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 #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.