The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Dec. 24, 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.

As voters turn to ballot initiatives to bypass extreme legislatures, legislatures are manipulating initiative rules to protect their partisan power.  Expect more such attacks on direct democracy in 2025.

In 2024 alone, 10 reproductive rights measures qualified for the ballot, with only two failing, in Nebraska, and Florida.  Another passed in Ohio in 2023.   

Not willing to let extreme agendas get overridden by those pesky voters, legislatures are trying to de-fang direct democracy by trying to raise constitutional amendment thresholds to 60% or higher, and requiring minimum numbers of qualifying signatures from each county, rather than a statewide percentage. To keep Ohio voters from passing abortion protections in 2023, the legislature proposed a 60% threshold, using a low-turnout August special election it had deemed too expensive to run.  It lost, and abortion rights prevailed four months later.   In 2024, the Ohio Secretary of State helped derail a citizen-led redistricting measure by rewriting its ballot description to mislead voters.

The Ballot Initiative Strategy Center reports there were three 2024 measures attacking direct democracy.  Arizonans voted down a measure requiring minimum signatures from every county, and another allowing a pre-election litigation on measures.  North Dakota would have raised the signatures required, and winning both a primary AND a general election.  It, too, failed.    

Expect more such attacks on direct democracy in 2025.  Find more at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

American Democracy Minute – (2023) Ohio Legislature Forcing Through Restoration of Aug. 8th Election to Pass Hurdles for Citizen Ballot Initiatives & Block Potential Abortion Rights Measure
American Democracy Minute – (2023) Ohio Voters Defeat Republican Effort to Raise Citizen Ballot Initiative Passage to 60% in Pro-Voter Victory
Route 50 – States look to rein in ballot initiatives with more ballot initiatives
The Ballot Initiative Strategy Center – 2024 Election Results

KFF – Outcome of Abortion-Related State Constitutional Amendment Measures in the 2024 Election
Reuters – Florida, two other states defy trend and vote down abortion rights
State Court Report – Direct Democracy Under Attack 

Groups Taking Action:

Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, League of Women Voters US, Common Cause US

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

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 #DirectDemocracy #FreedomtoVote #WethePeople

The post Citizen Ballot Initiatives Help Voters Bypass Extreme Legislatures.  But Expect More Attempts to Block Those Initiatives in 2025 appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Dec. 10, 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 the 2024 election, estimates show that more than 83 million Americans voted early in person, or by mail.  President Donald Trump said December 5th he wants to look at returning to “same day” voting. It’s not likely to happen.

Speaking at a Fox Nation award ceremony where Trump was honored as the network’s “Patriot of the Year,” he said, QUOTE, “We’re going to do things that have been really needed for a long time. And we are going to look at elections. We want to have paper ballots, one-day voting, voter ID, and proof of citizenship,” UNQUOTE.

Early voting options have expanded to 46 states since 2000.  Election data company TargetSmart estimates almost 83.7 million Americans voted early in-person, universal mail ballot or absentee ballot.   Among that 83.7 million were 35.16 Million Republican early voters.   The Texas Tribune reports that in the state’s most reliably red counties, 50.4% of votes were cast early.   

In Trump’s home state of Florida, where voting by mail among seniors is popular, over 3 million voters voted by mail, and over 5.6 million votes were cast early in-person, according to Secretary of State figures.    

The U.S. Supreme Court, which has deferred to the power of states to regulate elections, is unlikely to embrace any federal mandate to curb state-implemented early voting.    

We have links more on early voting at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Roll Call – Remarks: Donald Trump Receives the Fox Nation Patriot of the Year Award in New York – December 5, 2024
Newsweek – Fact Check: Donald Trump’s Fox Nation ‘Patriot of the Year’ Speech
TargetSmart – National 2024 Early & Absentee Vote Report
Texas Tribune – 9 million Texans voted early in 2024. Here’s how that compares to previous years.
Pew Research – Voters’ and nonvoters’ experiences with the 2024 election

Florida Department of Elections – Early Voting and Vote-by-Mail Ballot Request Reports

Groups Taking Action:

Vote at Home, League of Women Voters, Common Cause, NAACP Legal Defense Fund,  LULAC

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

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 #VotebyMail #EarlyVoting #VoteEarly #VoteatHome

The post More than 83 Million Americans Voted Early in 2024. Trump Says He Wants  Rollbacks of Early In-Person and Mail Voting appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Nov. 11, 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 an election with few bright spots for democracy, Amendment 6, a repeal of Florida’s public funding of elections option, failed to reach its 60% constitutional threshold, with voters evenly split.  Such small donor matching systems help candidates outside the political machine structure to compete, and can help limit special interest influence.

Voters passed a 1998 constitutional amendment creating a “method of public financing for campaigns for state-wide office” and affirmed it again in 2010.    Gubernatorial candidates must raise $150,000 dollars in $250 dollar amounts, which the state matches 2 to 1, or 1 to 1 above the threshold.   The matching threshold for cabinet candidates is $100,000.

Taking public money also requires adherence to spending limits, which in 2022 were over $30.28 Million for governor or lieutenant governor, about $2.00 per registered voter.  For attorney general and other cabinet offices, the cost was about $1.00 per voter.   The Miami Herald reports that since 2010, $33 Million in matching campaign funding has been spent.   

Florida raised its ballot initiative threshold to 60% in 2006, and recently red states have raised thresholds to prevent enshrinement of reproductive rights.  A Nov. 5th abortion rights amendment just missed passing with 57% support. 

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

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

BallotPedia – Florida Amendment 6, Repeal of Public Financing for Statewide Campaigns Amendment (2024)
Florida Phoenix – Do FL voters want to repeal public financing of statewide elections for governor, Cabinet members?
Florida Div. of Elections – 2022 Public Campaign Financing Matching Funds Handbook
Florida Div. of Elections – Public Campaign Finance – Matching Funds Program
Florida Phoenix –  Abortion funds carry on despite Amendment 4 loss
Brennan Center for Justice – Small Donor Public Financing Explained

Groups Taking Action:
Common Cause Florida, League of Women Voters FL, Equal Ground

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

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 #Amendment6 #Florida #CampaignFinance

The post Florida Voters Retain Public Funding of Elections, as Amendment 6 Repeal Fails to Reach 60% Constitutional Threshold  appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Oct. 9, 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.

With Hurricane Milton adding insult to Hurricane Helene’s injury, state officials in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina are making accommodations to help as many affected citizens to vote as possible.  

Thousands of voters are temporarily or indefinitely displaced, polling places have been destroyed, many roads are still impassable, and election workers evacuated.   Not a good set-up for one of the pivotal elections of our lifetime. 

For 13 Florida counties, Governor Ron Desantis has allowed mail-in ballots to be sent to addresses other than the on-file address, directed that state workers be allowed to serve as poll workers, granted flexibility to local election offices to consolidate or move polling locations, and suspended noticing and other rules.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said only three precincts sustained damage, and most other issues were power-related.  Georgia election officials were working to deliver 700 mail-in ballots where postal delivery was suspended.

In North Carolina, 13 counties were granted emergency rules by the North Carolina Election Board, including creating temporarily locations or central, so-called “super-precincts” where any county voter can vote. For absentee ballots, voters or immediate relatives can drop off ballots at any county election office, and bipartisan election teams will visit shelters and relief centers to offer and collect absentee ballots. 

Six precincts and two county election offices in Tennessee were also affected.

We have links to each state’s election guidance AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl. 

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

FL Governor Ron Desantis – EXECUTIVE ORDER NUMBER 24 …212 (Emergency Management/Elections· – Hurrican~ Helene)
GA Secretary of State – Tips for Voting in the 2024 General Election After Helene
NC Board of Election – Bipartisan State Board Unanimously Approves Measures to Help WNC Voters
NC Board of Elections – Tips for Voting in the 2024 General Election After Helene
Politico – Helene’s devastation has disrupted voting in battlegrounds
Votebeat – After Hurricane Helene, North Carolina and other states scramble to keep election on track
Associated Press – North Carolina residents impacted by Helene likely to see some voting changes
Nashville Tennessean – Tennessee polling places inaccessible from Helene floods weeks before presidential election

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 #Florida #NorthCarolina #Georgia #HurricaneHelene

The post State Officials Grant Flexibility to Hurricane Affected Areas of FL, GA, and NC To Support In-Person and Mail-In Voting for Thousands of Displaced Citizens appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Sept. 13, 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.

Reacting to recent partisan voter registration purges and rule changes from state officials, legislatures and election boards, September 10th, the U.S. Department of Justice reminded states of their responsibilities under the federal National Voter Registration Act.  

Following Georgia’s questionable roll-out of its Voter Registration Cancelation Request Portal, and late voter purges by officials in North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and other states, DOJ Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke issued this video statement: 

Simultaneously, DOJ issued a pointed guidance on when, how and under what circumstances a voter’s registration can be purged under the National Voter Registration Act.

We have resources where you can check your registration status, and the DOJ’s contact information, at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
U.S. Department of Justice – Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, Statement on Voter Purges
U.S. Department of Justice – Voting Rights Fact Sheet
U.S. Department of Justice – Voter Registration List Maintenance:  Guidance under Section 8 of the National Voter  Registration Act, 52 U.S.C. § 20507
Campaign Legal Center – How To Prevent Unfair Voter Purges
American Democracy Minute – When Voter Registration Purges Cross the Line from Standard Practice into Suppression
American Democracy Minute – Ninety Days Before the Election Georgia Launches ‘Voter Registration Cancellation Portal’ and Changes Rules on Certifying Elections

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 #FreedomtoVote #VoterPurges #VoterSuppression

The post Following Questionable Late Voter Registration Purges, the U.S. DOJ Issues State Guidance and Asks for Help from Impacted Voters appeared first on American Democracy Minute.