The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Sept. 6, 2023

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 scope of the New York election official impersonation story has widened.  And in Texas, the state legislature just dismantled its largest county’s election office.

First to New York, where 13 counties now report that activists showed up at homes demanding to see ID and accusing voters of being registered in more than one county.  A co-chair of the New York Board of Elections said: “These individuals are impersonating government officials in an effort to intimidate voters based on inaccurate and misleading information.” 

The Board asked New York state residents to report suspicious encounters QUOTE,  “. . . the State Board recommends collecting as much information as possible, not providing the individual with any personal information, and contacting local law enforcement to report the incident.” UNQUOTE  No arrests have been made, or the coordinating group confirmed.

Friday, the State of Texas eliminated the position of election director for Harris County, home to the liberal-leaning city of Houston, after organizational problems in the 2022 midterms.  Election responsibility now falls on the county’s clerk and tax collector, just six weeks prior to early voting for County Elections starts in October.    The legislature gave the state specific  authority to take this Harris County action earlier this summer, paired with another law allowing the state to take control of county elections when complaints are filed by county or party officials, or candidates. 

We have more on both stories at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl. 

Today’s Links
Articles & Resources:
New York Elections Board – State Board of Elections warns New York voters against impersonation of County
WXXI – Election officials warn of people impersonating staff, confronting voters at home
Houston Public Media – Judge temporarily blocks law abolishing Harris County elections administrator’s office; Texas AG files appeal
Texas Tribune – Texas Supreme Court lets state law eliminating Harris County elections chief stand, for now
CNN – Houston-area elections office dismantled as contentious Texas law takes effect
Texas Legislature – SB 1750 
Texas Legislature – SB 1933 

Groups Taking Action:
Texas Civil Rights Project, Houston in Action,  League of Women Voters Houston

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #ElectionDeniers #ProtectPollWorkers

The post Reports of False Election Officials Intimidating Voters Widens to 13 NY Counties; Texas Eliminates the Election Office in its Biggest County appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for May 26, 2023

Today’s Script: 
(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time)

Today’s Links now located below the script

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

May 29th ends the Texas legislature’s term, and we have a little bit of good news, some bad news, and some hopeful news. On the upside, more funding for poll workers and improvements to mail-in voting.  On the downside, withdrawal from ERIC, the voter registration crosscheck system.

Governor Greg Abbott signed SB 1052 which compensates poll workers for work before the polls open, and the Texas House passed SB 1599, improving tracking of mail-in ballots, and more options to fix vote-by-mail applications and ballots before election day.  The bill goes back to the Senate for approval.

As Votebeat Texas reports, it’s not all good news.  A bill setting rules for  an alternative to the multi-state Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, is poised for passage by the Texas House.  ERIC’s system identified over 900,000 Texas voters who were duplicated, had moved, or died, to keep voter rolls clean.  But conspiracy-driven activists have pushed states to pull out of ERIC, despite no comparable alternatives.

Pro-democracy groups are hopeful that some bills will DIE with the end of the legislative term:  Making it a felony for ineligible citizens who vote – even inadvertently; ending countywide voting, and giving the Secretary of State the power to order a new election – a bill targeting only liberal-leaning Harris County.

We have more on the Texas legislation at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org,where you can also sign up for the daily report by email.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Texas Legislature –  SB 1070 – Withdrawal from ERIC

Texas Legislature via Voting Rights Lab –  SB 1052 – Compensation for Poll Workers
Texas Legislature via Voting Rights Lab – SB 1599 – Mail-In Voting Application and Ballot Curing Options
Texas Legislature via Voting Rights Lab – SB 2 – Increasing Penalty for Ineligible Voting to a Felony
Texas Legislature via Voting Rights Lab –  SB 990 – Eliminating County-wide Voting

Texas Tribune – Texas House’s weekend off means key Senate bills die after missing a legislative deadline

Groups Taking Action:
Move Texas, League of Women Voters TX,  ACLU Texas, Mi Familia Vota, OCA Houston 

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Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #VotingRights

The post The Texas Legislature’s Session Ends May 29th with Democracy Bills Pending at the Deadline appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for May 5, 2023

Today’s Script:  (Variations occur with audio due to editing for time) 

Today’s Links now below the script

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

As the end of the legislative session draws near in Texas, we have an update on bills targeted at controlling Harris County election administration, where logistical and technical problems marred November’s election.  

Votebeat Texas reports county officials STILL don’t have a handle on how many voters were affected by ballot shortages, voting machine access problems, poor training and late openings.  Because Texas law allows county-wide voting, voters could go to another polling place and vote, a reason why it’s still unclear how many – if any – were disenfranchised.  A bill ENDING county-wide voting just passed the Senate. 

The lack of clarity has not stopped bills aimed at Harris County’s issues, as well as a pending lawsuit from Republican candidates who claim the problems cost them the election.

Votebeat’s report on resulting legislation includes Senate Bill 1933, which gives the Secretary of State the power to suspend and replace election officials in a county with a pattern of election administration problems.  Similarly, SB 1039 requires county election officials to give satisfactory answers to questions regarding the election, and allows the state to audit if necessary.

Most telling is SB 1750, eliminating the post of election administrator – just in Harris County – and giving election responsibility to the county’s clerk and tax collector.   The House hears the bills shortly.

We have links to the Votebeat article and more at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Washington Post –  (2022) Texas investigating voting difficulties in Houston’s Harris County
Texas Tribune/Votebeat Texas – (2022) Almost two months after Election Day, Harris County still doesn’t know if polling site problems kept people from voting
Harris County via Votebeat Texas – Harris County Elections 2022 assessment
Houston Public Media – Layoffs in Harris County elections offices may explain some 2022 voting problems
Texas Tribune – Texas Senate moves to end countywide voting on Election Day
Votebeat Texas – Here are the Texas election bills to watch with a month left in the legislative session

Groups Taking Action:
League of Women Voters Houston, ACLU Texas, Mi Familia Vota, OCA Houston 

Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter and SHARE!  

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews 

The post Election Issues in Harris County, Texas Spawn Bills Aimed at Controlling Its Election Administration appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for April 7, 2023

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources
Democracy Docket –  Texas Senate Committee Advances Several Anti-Voting Bills
Texas Legislature – SB 990
Texas Tribune – Many Texans’ votes are lost when they go to the wrong polling place. Counties see countywide vote centers as an answer.
Texas Legislature – SB 1039
Houston Public Media – GOP claims of Election Day mismanagement, fraud don’t explain Democrats’ 2022 sweep of Harris County
Texas Legislature – SB 1070
Texas Legislature – SB 260
Dallas Morning News/Tyler Tribune – Skipping elections could put Texas voters at risk of being purged from rolls under bill

Groups Taking Action:
LULAC, NAACP Texas Conference, ACLU Texas,  Texas Right to Vote, Common Cause TX, League of Women Voters TX

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.

Democracy has had a rough couple of weeks in Texas.  Conspiracy-inspired legislation moved forward last week which changes polling place rules, puts voters on a purge list for not voting, and removes Texas from a program tracking voter registration changes. 

Last week, the Texas Senate State Affairs Committee endorsed SB 990, which stops residents from being able to vote at ANY county precinct, rather than just their local polling place.  While it doesn’t restrict voting, it does restrict convenience to out of town workers.

Under SB 1039, party officials, candidates, judges, and political committees could request an election audit to be conducted. If the audit turns up irregularities, a conservator could be appointed to run elections. This is a response to 2022’s paper shortages and technical problems in liberal Harris County which spawned fraud allegations, though no fraud has been found. 

SB 1070 guts a law facilitating an interstate program identifying duplicate voters and registration changes. In reality, it targets ERIC, the Electronic Registration Information Center, the recent victim of conspiracy theories suggesting it is linked to a liberal election fraud plot.

Most concerning to voting advocates is SB 260, which puts voters who have not voted in only 25 months on a list to be potentially purged, unless they respond to an election official’s inquiry.  Most states allow four or more years until this step. 

We have links to the legislation and groups taking action at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter and SHARE!  

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews

The post New Conspiracy-Fueled Election Legislation in Texas Moves Forward appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Feb. 16, 2023

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Votebeat Texas – Overlooked provision of SB 1 requires election equipment that doesn’t exist, at a cost of $116 million
Texas Secretary of State – SOS 101: Voting Systems in Texas
Texas Association of Counties – State law requires new voting machines (this refers to machines which can leave a paper trail, another requirement of SB 1)
Community Connect – (2021)  Harris County purchases 12,000 new hybrid voting machines ahead of May 1 elections at a cost of $54 Million
Austin American Statesman – From polls to ballots, here’s what a new Texas voting law means for you
Texas Legislature – Enrolled version of SB 1

Groups Taking Action:
Texas Civil Rights Project,  Mi Familia Vota, League of Women Voters Texas, ACLU Texas

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.

We’re in Texas today, where the conspiracy-fueled zeal for election integrity may cost the state money. Big money. When it passed its omnibus election bill SB 1 last year, an unnoticed provision may require new election equipment – for EVERY election.

Votebeat Texas reports that included in the bill was a requirement that election data be written on data storage devices in a way it can’t be altered.

By the September 2026 implementation, the new law will outlaw millions of dollars of current election equipment, and could force hand counting unless new compliant equipment is purchased. The Texas Secretary of State’s office estimates the cost could exceed $116 million dollars.

Currently, election officials use USB flash drives to download data from individual ballot tabulation machines, then transport the devices to a central county election operation. Current flash drives can’t make the data permanent, and would need to be replaced each election. The same with the central county computer’s storage drive, and tabulators. Other than write-once CDs and DVDs, the technology required doesn’t yet exist.

Most Texas counties don’t have the budget to replace equipment each election, and hand counting is less accurate, more expensive, and takes far longer than electronic tabulators. The conservative Heritage Foundation cites 105 alleged cases of fraud since 2005 in a state with almost 17.7 million registered voters.

We have the Votebeat article and more resources at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.

The post The Texas Legislature’s Zeal for Election Integrity Could Cost Money. BIG Money. appeared first on American Democracy Minute.