The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for July 30, 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.

When citizens move or die, voter registration lists need to be updated as part of routine list hygiene.  But when lists are aggressively purged, particularly close to an election, it crosses the line into voter suppression. 

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed Senate Bill 189 in May, allowing voters to be removed from the rolls as little as 45 days before an election.  SB 189 also allows citizens an unlimited number of voter eligibility challenges. In addition to Georgia’s purge of over 190,000 voters in 2023, activists are expected to challenge thousands more at the polls.  

Wyoming employed its new “use it or lose it” law in May to remove 28% of its registered voters, according to reporting by WyoFile. The law requires any voter not voting in the prior midterm or general election to be removed from its voter rolls.  

The Ohio Capital Journal reported July 25th that Ohio’s secretary of state posted a list of over 158,000 voters scheduled to be purged prior to the Presidential election.   The executive director of the Ohio Unity Coalition, speaking to Dayton Now said, “What we know is that 50% of these voters are registered in Ohio counties where a majority of Black and Brown population live.”  

Voters should check the status of their registration online or with their local election officials.  Find links at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Brennan Center for Justice – Explainer: Voter Purges

Voting Rights Lab – New Laws Risk Purging Eligible Voters in Advance of This Year’s Elections
Atlanta News First – More than 190K names removed from Georgia voter roll ahead of 2024 election
WyoFile – Wyoming voids 28% of its voter registrations in mandatory purge
Ohio Capital Journal – Ohio’s voter purge “disproportionately targets voters of color”, civil rights organizations say

Democracy Docket – Georgia Governor Signs Three Voter Suppression Laws
Associated Press – In Georgia, conservatives seek to have voters removed from rolls without official challenges
Dayton Now – Groups criticize Ohio Secretary of State LaRose for making over 158,000 voters inactive
Essence – Black People Are Getting Removed From Voter Rolls And More Purges Could Be On The Way

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

Groups Taking Action:

Ohio Organizing Collaborative, Ohio Unity Coalition, Common Cause Georgia, Fair Fight, ACLU Wyoming

The post When Voter Registration Purges Cross the Line from Standard Practice into Suppression appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for March 28, 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.

Maintenance of voter registration lists is a standard practice, to remove voters who’ve died, moved, or are no longer eligible.  But some hyper-partisan legislatures and state officials have weaponized the process.  If you’ve moved or skipped voting in a recent election, your voter registration may no longer be valid.

Wyoming announced the purge of 86,000 of its voters this week, over 30% of its 2022 registered voters.  That’s thanks to a new “use it or lose it” law giving county clerks authority to remove voters if they skip only one federal election.   

In January, Florida removed almost 1 million voters from its rolls as a result of a similar 2023 law.   Last year, just two weeks before the voter registration window closed in Ohio, Secretary of State Frank LaRose purged more than 26,000 voters – just weeks before a ballot question on abortion rights. 

The remedy in many states had been same day registration.  But election day registration has been under attack as well, forcing registrants to vote by provisional ballot, or trying to end same day registration altogether.  

The moral of this story is that under the cloak of “election integrity,” voter purges are being used for voter suppression purposes in several states.   NOW is the time to check your registration, giving you time to re-register before November.  

We have links to tools to check your registration at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Southern Coalition for Social Justice  – Combatting Wrongful Voter Purges
Democracy Docket – In Seven States, Removing Voters from the Rolls Just Got Easier
American Bar Association – (2020)  “Use It or Lose It”: The Problem of Purges from the Registration Rolls of Voters Who Don’t Vote Regularly

CBS News – Eligible voters are being swept up in conservative activists’ efforts to purge voter rolls
Public News Service – WY purged 86,000 voters, must re-register for presidential election
Michigan Advance – Judge dismisses lawsuit claiming Michigan didn’t purge dead voters from election rolls
The Guardian – (2023) Ohio purged 26,000 voters days before abortion referendum deadline

American Democracy Minute – (2023) Florida Just Purged its List of Absentee Ballot Requestors, Forcing Millions of Voters to Reapply
WMNF – Almost 1 million Florida voters declared inactive after law purging voter lists
U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

Groups Taking Action:
The Voter Purge Project,  Brennan Center for Justice,  Campaign Legal Center, League of Women Voters U.S.

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #ProtectElections #FreedomtoVote #JohnLewisAct

The post Have You Been Purged?  States Have Stepped Up Removals of Inactive Voters – Sometimes for Partisan Advantage. It’s Time to Check Your Registration appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Feb. 14, 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.

We’re updating recent stories today, including Donald Trump’s request for a stay from the U.S. Supreme Court on his immunity case, action by the FCC on use of AI in robocalls, and more misguided attempts at large-scale hand counting of ballots.

In an emergency appeal February 12th, former President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court to freeze the special prosecutor’s 2020 election case and the unanimous D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that Trump did NOT have immunity. Trump’s lawyers argue that it would radically disrupt his campaign if he stands trial during the height of the election cycle.

In a unanimous vote, the FCC announced new rules February 8th banning AI-generated robocalls, giving law enforcement more tools. The announcement follows sanctions against a Texas company which attempted to suppress turnout in the New Hampshire Primary using an AI-created voice of President Joe Biden.

WyoFile news reports that Wyoming’s highest election official has expressed support for a Republican proposal to give the Park County Commission the option of hand counting its almost 17,000 ballots instead of using electronic ballot tabulators. Secretary of State Chuck Gray campaigned in 2022 suggesting irregularities with electronic tabulators in Wyoming’s 2020 elections. Donald Trump received 70% of Wyoming’s 278,503 votes.

We have links to details on all these stories at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
U.S. Supreme Court – APPLICATION FOR A STAY OF THE D.C. CIRCUIT’S MANDATE PENDING
THE FILING OF A PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI
SCOTUSBlog – Trump asks justices to intervene in Jan. 6 case
Federal Communications Commission – FCC MAKES AI-GENERATED VOICES IN ROBOCALLS ILLEGAL

WyoFile – State’s top elections official backs hand counting ballots in Park County
WyoFile – (2022) Election integrity front and center in secretary of state race
BallotPedia – Presidential election in Wyoming, 2020

Groups Taking Action:
Protect Elections, People for the American Way, Common Cause Stopping Cyber Suppression Project, Brennan Center, League of Women Voters WY

Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter 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 #ElectionDeniers #TrumpCriminalTrial #SCOTUS #HandCounting #WyomingPolitics  #AIRobocalls #VoterSuppression

The post Updates on Trump’s Immunity Challenge, AI Robocalls, and Election Denier-Fueled Hand Counting of Ballots appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Jan. 22, 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.

A Gallup poll released this month found 43% of Americans identify as unaffiliated, independent voters. But in some states, they can’t vote in primaries. As voting begins Jan. 23rd in the New Hampshire Presidential Primary, what states are considering closing – or opening – primaries in 2024?

Closed primaries allow only those registered with a party to vote in that party’s primary.  Open primaries allow any voter to take either party’s ballot.  Semi-open primaries allow unaffiliated voters to take one or the other, while registered Democrats or Republicans can only vote in their primary.  

New Hampshire’s Presidential primary is the same as it has been for the last few decades, allowing unaffiliated voters – the state’s largest block of voters – to vote. But the NH GOP is considering closing its future primaries, joining legislators in Louisiana and Ohio.  Wyoming closed its primaries last year, joining Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, and Pennsylvania.  In Wyoming and New Hampshire, attempts to close the primary have been driven by “crossover” voting, where voters became independent to influence the outcome of another party’s primary.

With the ranks of unaffiliated voters growing, ballot initiatives for a fully open primary are under consideration in Nevada, Oregon, Arizona and Idaho.  Pennsylvania has open primary bills pending. 

We have information about your state’s primary system, and the groups taking action at  AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

National Conference of State Legislatures – State Primary Election Types
Gallup – Independent Party ID Tied for High; Democratic ID at New Low
Forbes – Voters Who Identify As Independents Skyrocket—As Democrats And Republicans Dwindle
American Democracy Minute – Fears of Crossover Voting Driving Party Activists to Close Primaries – But at the Expense of Silencing Independent Voters
CBS News –  “Crossover voting” in primaries in Wyoming is about to become more difficult

NBC News – 6 states are rethinking how they run their primaries in 2024
Louisiana Illuminator – (Opinion) Partisan primaries would be a move backward for Louisiana
Public News Service – Bills would open PA primaries to unaffiliated voters
U.S. Vote Foundation – Primary Election Dates and Rules in Your State

Groups Taking Action:
Open Primaries, FairVote, Represent.Us, Unite America,  Yes on 3 Nevada , Open Primaries Arizona, Idahoans for Open Primaries, Ballot PA

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Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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Are you a radio station?  

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #OpenPrimaries #LetIndependentsVote #IndependentVoters

The post On the Eve of the New Hampshire Presidential Primary, Some States Contemplate Closing their Primaries to Independents, While Others Consider Opening Them in 2024 appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Nov. 15, 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.

This past year, party activists in several states proposed CLOSING their primaries to anyone not registered with that party. Why?

A fear of “crossover voting” to derail extreme candidates seems to be the short answer.  Polarization has driven millions of voters of both parties to become independent, but they may be too moderate for the party faithful.

A recent proposal to close Republican primaries in New Hampshire cited the influence of unaffiliated voters on the outcome of Republican primaries.  Wyoming, Texas and Ohio have, or are considering, legislation requiring party affiliation to vote in a primary.    

Colorado Republicans have also been discussing ways to opt out of the state’s primary system.  Colorado Public Radio cited one state Republican leader as saying, “The current unconstitutional open primary scheme allows for Democrats, and other leftwing groups, to interfere in our primary nomination outcomes so they can weaken our general election prospects.”  

There is little evidence that crossover voting can flip the outcome of an election. 

But there is growing evidence that open primaries DO encourage candidates to be less extreme in primary races when they must appeal to the middle – not just to the 10% of party activists who show up for a closed primary. That may be why fringe activists want to slam the door, and why pro-voter groups advocate for primary access for all voters.  

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

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Politico – Open season on open primaries
NPR – The U.S. has a ‘primary problem,’ say advocates who call for new election systems
Ohio Capital Journal – Some lawmakers want to close Ohio primaries, claiming without evidence voters are gaming the system
InDepthNH – GOP Resolution Would Block 320,000 Undeclared NH Voters from Voting in Republican Primaries
Colorado Public Radio – Colorado Republicans reject rule change that would have made it easier to close GOP primary, leaving out unaffiliated voters
CBS News – “Crossover voting” in primaries in Wyoming is about to become more difficult
Wyoming Legislature – HB 103 – Political party affiliation declaration and changes
Bipartisan Policy Center – 2018 Primary Election Turnout and Reforms

Groups Taking Action:
Open Primaries, FairVote, Represent.Us, Unite America

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Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #IndependentVoters #CrossoverVoting

The post Fears of Crossover Voting Driving Party Activists to Close Primaries – But at the Expense of Silencing Independent Voters appeared first on American Democracy Minute.