The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for July 31, 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.

New York Republicans challenged a new voting law in state supreme court July 30th, allowing citizens to vote by mail during the state’s early voting period. The law has been upheld in two lower courts.

Governor Kathy Hochul signed the New York Early Mail Voting Act in 2023, effective last January;  a law, not a constitutional amendment.  It allows any eligible voter to apply for an early mail ballot with no excuse, subject to approval by the local board of elections.  Like any absentee ballot, it must be returned or postmarked by election day.  

But, the New York Constitution Article II, Section 2 stipulates a voter must suffer from “illness or physical disability” to vote by absentee. NY Congresswoman Elise Stefanik and state and national Republicans sued, arguing that the Early Mail Voting Act was unconstitutional.   

The lower courts found that another section, Section 7, gives the legislature the authority to make election law, and upheld the Act.  QUOTE  “[a]ll elections by the Citizens . . . shall be by ballot, or by such other method as may be prescribed by law, provided that secrecy in voting be preserved.” 

Oral arguments in the case are heard July 30th, and a decision in the case will likely come quickly, given the State of New York is already receiving Early Mail applications. 

We’ve linked to articles, the appellate court opinion, and constitutional analysis at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Democracy Docket – New York’s Highest Court to Hear Latest GOP Challenge to State’s Mail-In Voting

FindLaw – New York State Constitution Article II, Section 2
FindLaw – New York State Constitution Article II, Section 7
State of NY Supreme Court, Appellate Division (Via Democracy Docket)  – STEFANIK et al. v. KATHY HOCHUL Opinion & Order

Elections NY – Apply for an Early Mail Ballot

Groups Taking Action:
Vote Early NY,  League of Women Voters NY,

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 #VoteEarly #VoteatHome  #VotebyMail #NYPolitics 

The post New York’s Early Mail-In Voting Law Heads to State Supreme Court, Challenged by State & National GOP Leadership appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for June 12, 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.

While new messaging from the Republican National Committee and former President Donald Trump encourages turnout by early, absentee or mail-in voting,  GOP lawyers in Nevada, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Mississippi, and Oregon are simultaneously challenging the rules and legitimacy of mail-in voting. 

Following years claiming widespread mail-in voter fraud, Donald Trump implored his followers June 4th to “Swamp the Vote.”  QUOTE, “Whether you vote early, absentee, by mail, or in person, we must swamp the radical Democrats with massive turnout.

May 20th, a U.S. Supreme Court challenge by GOP candidates to Oregon’s statewide mail-in voting failed when the high court refused the case.  June 5th, appeals were heard after Delaware laws permitting a permanent absentee voter list and early voting were struck down in a case brought by the state GOP chair.  In Nevada, Pennsylvania and Mississippi, the GOP is challenging whether ballots with no postmark or date, or arriving after election day, can be counted. 

Drop boxes also continue to be an issue.  The Wisconsin Supreme Court appears poised to restore drop boxes, after a previous conservative court banned them.  But Wyoming’s secretary of state recently urged county election officials to stop using them, while citing no evidence of misuse. 

An attorney in Oregon’s case told the Oregon Capital Chronicle, “Vote by mail is an abomination, and we will fight it every possible way we can.”  Find more reporting linked at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
CNN – (2020)  Fact check: Trump lies about voter fraud while states, CDC encourage voting-by-mail as pandemic-friendly option
American Democracy Minute – The RNC Weaves a Tangled Web, Pushing Early & Mail-In Voting to Its Base, While Litigating and Legislating to Limit It In Swing States

American Democracy Minute – Never Mind . . . After Trump Shake-Up at RNC, “Bank Your Vote” Mail-In Voting Campaign Dropped, “Election Integrity” Unit Created Instead

RNC – RNC Introduces the “Swamp the Vote USA” Campaign
Donald Trump – Swamp the Vote Video
Washington Examiner – Trump does 180 on mail-in voting with plans to ‘swamp’ the vote
CNN – GOP leaders pursue new lawsuits over 2024 election rules – including attacking methods of voting they want supporters to use
Associated Press – A crush of lawsuits over voting in multiple states is creating a shadow war for the 2024 election
Oregon Capital Chronicle – U.S. Supreme Court won’t hear Oregon lawsuit that sought to end mail voting
Delaware Public Media – Delaware Supreme Court hears arguments on permanent absentee, early voting laws
Wyofile – Gray urges Wyoming to ditch ballot drop boxes; clerks say they’re safe, legal
NPR – Republicans say mail ballots arriving after Election Day in Nevada should be illegal
Democracy Docket – New Republican Lawsuit Challenges Mississippi’s Mail-in Ballot Receipt Deadline

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #VotebyMail #SwamptheVote #VoteatHome #OregonNews #WyomingNews #NevadaNews #DelawareNews #PennsylvaniaNews #MississippiNews

The post More Mixed Messages from Trump and the RNC on Mail-In Voting:  ‘Swamp the Vote” vs. Swamp the Courts appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

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

An Arizona Senate committee March 18th endorsed a 2024 constitutional amendment ballot question which would end no-excuse mail-in voting, end in-person early voting, and remove county authority over voting locations. 

HCR 2032 would return the state to an excuse-only absentee system for the first time since 1991.  It would also eliminate the state’s 27 days of early in-person voting, end the ability of counties to run county-wide voting centers, and return to voting to only local precincts.  The Arizona House has already passed legislation with the same intent, but those bills will likely be vetoed by Governor Katie Hobbs.

The Arizona Mirror reports that in 2020, 90% of the state’s ballots were cast by mail and 75% in 2022.   It’s popular in part because of long distances to polling places in Arizona’s rural counties and Native American nations, and the state’s substantial elderly population.  

If approved by the Arizona House, the constitutional amendment would not be subject to a governor’s veto.   Voters would have to approve the amendment in the November 2024 general election by a simple 50%+1 majority.

Will the popularity of mail-in and early in-person voting  triumph over conspiracy theories and partisan politics?   Turnout in November’s election will tell.

We have links to HCR 2032 and excellent local reporting at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Arizona Legislature – HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 2032
Arizona Public Media – (2020)  Arizona’s long history with voting by mail
The Copper Courier – (2020) A Timeline of Arizona’s Long History of Early Voting

National Conference of State Legislatures – States with In-Person Early Voting
Arizona Mirror – (2022) Republicans helped Arizona champion voting by mail. Now they want it gone.
Arizona Mirror – Republicans want to roll back the clock 30 years and end no-excuse early voting
Arizona Mirror – More than 75% of voters use early ballots. Every AZ House Republican voted to take that away.

Groups Taking Action:
Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans,  National Vote at Home Institute, Common Cause,  League of Women Voters Arizona

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Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #EarlyVoting #VotebyMail #VoteatHome #Arizona #VoterSuppression

The post Arizona Senate Committee Endorses Constitutional Amendment Ending the State’s Popular No-Excuse Mail-in and Early In-Person Voting appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for March 8, 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 Republican-dominated Iowa House passed regulations March 5th which would require voters to return mail ballots the day BEFORE election day. House File 2610 also stops use of ballot drop boxes, bans ranked choice voting, and allows felons to run for federal office.

The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports that if the bill becomes law, county election commissioners must send absentee ballots no later than 22 days before election day. But it also requires that all mail-in absentee ballots be returned by 5 pm the day BEFORE election day to be counted.   

For voters who forget, or don’t allow enough time for the U.S. Postal Service to deliver, ballot drop boxes would no longer be available under HF 2610.  Almost 14,000 Iowans used a drop box in the 2022 midterm.  

Falling in line with other red state legislatures, the bill bans use of ranked choice voting in any Iowa election, despite increasing popularity with voters.  

And in a provision aimed at protecting former President Donald Trump, the bill also would allow felons to run for FEDERAL office.  The Iowa constitution currently bans felons from voting or running for office, though Gov. Kim Reynolds restored those rights by executive order in 2020 for felons having COMPLETED their sentences.  The bill now heads to the Iowa Senate.

We have the voter suppression bill’s text, and groups taking action at   AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Iowa House – Text of House File 2610
Iowa Capital Dispatch – House votes to require mailed ballots to arrive before Election Day
Des Moines Register – Iowa House passes new voting restrictions. How they would affect you:
Iowa Secretary of State – Felon Voting Rights

NPR – Governor Acts To Restore Voting Rights To Iowans With Felony Convictions

Groups Taking Action:
Disability Rights Iowa,  LULAC Iowa, Better Ballot Iowa,  League of Women Voters Iowa

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Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #VoterSuppression #Iowa #IowaPolitics #VotingRights

The post Iowa House Bill Requires Mail Ballots to Be Returned Before Election Day, Bans RCV, and Allows Convicted Felons to Qualify to Run in Federal Elections appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Jan. 12, 2024

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

Bills in Florida and Kentucky would revoke “no-excuse” absentee voting, despite its popularity with voters of all ages.  Alleged “voter fraud” is cited, but its motivation is likely more partisan than preventative.

In Kentucky, Senate Bill 61 would eliminate both in-person and mail-in no-excuse absentee voting, used by over 260,000 voters in the Nov. 2023 gubernatorial race.  The Kentucky Lantern reports that 133,000 Democrats voted early, and more than 112,000 Republicans.  

SB 61 would return the commonwealth to allowing only four qualifying excuses to vote absentee.  It also adds penalties for those who vote absentee under false pretenses, making it a Class 3 felony subject to fines and imprisonment.

In Florida, no-excuse absentee voting was implemented under former Governor Jeb Bush in 2002.  One third of Florida voters now use it, and a column in the Palm Beach Post notes that more Republicans than Democrats voted by mail in 2014, 2016, and 2018.  In 2016, Donald Trump had over 58,000 more mail-in votes than rival Hillary Clinton.  

Yet SB 1752 would reinstate just four approved excuses to vote by mail, severely curtailing the popular option.  According to a Republican county elections supervisor quoted by WKMG-TV, “It would be a complete disaster.”  

No widespread voter fraud is linked to mail ballots in either state.

We have a link to the bills at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
WHAS – (2020) Early, absentee voting led to big turnout in Kentucky | Will they be here to stay?
Kentucky Lantern – More Kentuckians cast early votes as they decide between Beshear and Cameron
WKRC – New bill would eliminate Kentucky’s ‘no excuse’ in-person absentee voting option
Kentucky Senate – Text of Senate Bill 61
Orlando Sentinel – Florida GOP lawmaker wants to end universal mail-in voting
Florida Senate – Text of SB 1752
WKMG-TV – ‘It would be a complete disaster:’ Florida bill would end no-excuse needed mail-in voting
Palm Beach Post – (Opinion/Analysis) Vote-by-mail in Florida is now a nightmare. Thanks, Donald Trump. Thanks, Ron DeSantis
All Voting is Local – Casting, Rejecting, and Curing Vote-byMail Ballots in Florida’s 2020 General Election

Groups Taking Action:
League of Women Voters FL,  Kentuckians for the Commonwealth

Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter and SHARE!  

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #VotebyMail #VotingRights #AbsenteeVoting #KentuckyPolitics #FloridaPolitics

The post Bills in Florida & Kentucky Would Revoke “No-Excuse” Absentee Voting – Despite its Popularity with Voters appeared first on American Democracy Minute.