The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for April 15, 2025

Brian is traveling today, so we’re rebroadcasting a piece from last December.  As predicted, the Utah legislature has introduced two bills to make it harder to pass citizen ballot initiatives.

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:

Utah Dispatch – Utah lawmakers move to set higher bar for ballot initiatives — but voters will have a say in 2026

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

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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 April 14, 2025

The SAVE Act, which we’ve been following since January, passed the U.S. House April 10th. The restrictive voting bill, like President Trump’s recent executive order, requires proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and would end online voter registration. It’s not likely to pass the Senate.

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE Act, attempts to keep noncitizens from voting, which is already illegal and there is no evidence of widespread voting by noncitizens in any state.  But its requirements that citizenship documents be submitted in-person at registration or to make a simple address change, could upend the U.S. election system.  The Center for American Progress points out it would end online and mail-in voter registration in 42 states.   

As we recently noted, one in nine Americans may not have ready access to a birth certificate, and an estimated 69 million women with a married name may not have a birth certificate that matches.  U.S. Passports are an option for some, but an estimated 49% do not have a valid passport, according to the U.S. State Department. The logistics and impact of such legislation are staggering.

It passed 220 to 208 in the House, but needs 60 votes in the Senate to overcome the filibuster, so it’s unlikely to pass.  

We’ve linked to analysis of the SAVE Act at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl. 

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Rep. Chip Roy (R) TX – Rep. Roy reintroduces bill to protect the integrity and sanctity of American elections
U.S. Congress – Text of the SAVE Act
National Conference of State Legislatures – 9 Things to Know About the Proposed SAVE Act

NPR – The House has passed the Trump-backed SAVE Act. Here are 8 things to know
Center for American Progress – The SAVE Act: Overview and Facts

Newsweek – Republicans Reject SAVE Act Amendments Aimed at Protecting Women’s Votes

Groups Taking Action:

Declaration for American Democracy, The Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights, US Vote Foundation, Association of Americans Resident Overseas (AARO)

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 #SAVEAct #USHouse #Disenfranchised @WomenVote

The post Bill Which Could Disenfranchise Millions, the SAVE Act, Passes the U.S. House; Unlikely to Pass the Senate appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for April 9, 2025

Democracy advocates fear that the recent Louisiana case heard in the U.S. Supreme Court could further erode the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  The Colorado Senate just passes a state VRA to ensure that all of its citizens have access to registration and voting. 

The Colorado Senate advanced SB 1 March 28th, prohibiting voter suppression for any group based on race, color, or language, and keeps voting jurisdictions from diluting voting power of concentrations of minority citizens through redistricting or other means.  

The act strengthens voter registration protections for Native American voters, and makes sure polling places, election notices and ballots are accessible to disabled voters.  

It specifically allows alternatives to in-person voting for primaries, and provides for multilingual ballots and election materials for communities with concentrations of minority language speakers.  It also expands notices of elections at government offices beyond just election offices, and prohibits barriers to voting for eligible incarcerated citizens.

Alabama, Arizona, and Maryland are also considering state VRAs in 2025.  If Colorado passes SB 1, it would join California, Connecticut, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Virginia and Washington which recently passed VRA statutes

The bill now goes to the Colorado House.   

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

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Colorado Senate – SB25-001 Colorado Voting Rights Act
Colorado Newsline – Colorado Senate gives preliminary approval to Voting Rights Act, which mirrors federal law
National Conference of State Legislatures – State Voting Rights Acts
National Conference of State Legislatures – Legislatures Pursue State-Level Voting Rights Acts
Campaign Legal Center – Protecting the Freedom to Vote Through State Voting Rights Acts 

Groups Taking Action:

ACLU CO, League of Women Voters CO, Common Cause CO, New Era Colorado Action Fund

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 #Colorado #VotingRightsAct #SB1 

The post Colorado Senate Advances State Voting Rights Act, As Federal VRA is Under Threat by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Conservative Majority appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for April 7, 2025

Some good news during some very dark days for American democracy.  A federal judge ruled Pennsylvania mail-in ballots without a date can be counted, protecting the vote of as many as 10,000 citizens who made a simple mistake.

The ballots were received by election officials on time from eligible voters, but lacked a date, or included the wrong date. Republicans sued to invalidate them and won in lower state courts.  Pro-voter groups claim rejecting the ballots violated the Commonwealth’s Free and Equal Elections Clause. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court initially refused to hear the appeal last September, but said in January it will now hear the case. 

Meanwhile, the ACLU asked the U.S. Supreme Court to find that rejecting the ballots was a violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act’s Materiality Provision, preventing ballots from being rejected for trivial issues.  The high court refused the ACLU case, but the U.S. District Court ruled March 31st that the rejections were illegal.  

Judge Susan Baxter wrote, “The evidence of record demonstrates that county boards across the Commonwealth discarded 10,657 otherwise valid ballots in the 2022 general election solely because voters either forgot to date them or used an incorrect date. Such disenfranchisement burdens the right to vote and there is no valid state interest to weigh this against.”

It’s unclear when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will weigh in on the issue.

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

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

American Democracy Minute – (2024) After Years of Litigation, Undated Ballot Envelopes are Again at Issue in Pennsylvania’s 2024 Election – and Thousands Likely Disenfranchised
Reuters – Pennsylvania can discard undated mail-in ballots, US appeals court rules
ACLU – Pennsylvania State Conference of the NAACP et al. v. Schmidt et al
Jurist – US judge rules Pennsylvania rejecting undated mail-in ballots violated First Amendment
U.S. District Court for Western Pennsylvania via Democracy Docket – BETTE EAKIN, et al. Plaintiffs
vs. ADAMS COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS, et al
Democracy Docket – Pennsylvania Must Count Undated Mail-In Ballots, Federal Court Rules

Groups Taking Action:

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

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 #Pennsylvania #UndatedBallots

The post Good Democracy News for a Change:  Federal Court Directs Pennsylvania to Count Undated Mail-in Ballots in Ongoing Partisan Dispute appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

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

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 #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.