Tag: Voter rights
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RNC and Wisconsin GOP seek to intervene in absentee voting lawsuit
On Aug. 8, the Republican National Committee, the Republican Party of Wisconsin, and GOP chapters in Rock and Walworth counties filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit challenging Wisconsin’s absentee voting laws. The Elias Law Group, which describes itself as a “mission-driven firm committed to helping Democrats win, citizens vote, and progressives make change,”…
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Florida Rights Restoration Coalition files a federal lawsuit concerning the state’s implementation of a 2018 amendment to restore voting rights to people with prior felony convictions
The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC), which sponsored the voter-approved Amendment 4 in 2018, filed litigation in federal court on July 19, 2023, alleging that the state’s implementation of the amendment is preventing eligible voters from voting and intimidating voters. FRRC stated that the state’s implementation is unconstitutional and illegal under the Voting Rights Act.…
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Enacted ballot collection bills make mostly small changes, several states considering new restriction and penalties
Ten states are considering legislation related to ballot collection, or ballot harvesting, while three states have enacted legislation on the topic so far in 2023. In 2022, seven states enacted bills while 15 others considered legislation. The number of bills and states considering ballot collection measures is smaller in 2023 than last year. Most legislation…
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North Dakota House passes veto override on ranked-choice voting prohibition
The North Dakota House of Representatives voted on April 10, 2023, to override Gov. Doug Burgum’s (R) veto of HB1273. The bill would ban the use of ranked-choice and approval voting methods in the state. Ranked-choice voting is an electoral system in which voters rank candidates by preference on their ballots. Approval voting allows voters to…
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New Mexico enacts bill on felon voting rights, automatic voter registration
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) signed HB4 into law on March 30, 2023. Proponents of the law referred to it as the New Mexico Voting Rights Act. The bill makes automatic voter registration, which was previously only available through the Department of Motor Vehicles, available at other state or local public offices designated…
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Availability of voter files by state
Voter files are digital databases of information about registered voters that the federal government requires each state to maintain. States can legally sell voter file information to individuals or groups, and each state has developed its own guidelines regarding these sales. Prices range from $0 to $37,000. Additionally, the data included for sale and the…
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Signatures submitted for voting policy amendment in Michigan
The Promote the Vote 2022 campaign submitted 669,972 signatures to the secretary of state to qualify for the Michigan ballot this November on July 11. The measure would make multiple changes to voting and elections in Michigan, including policies around absentee voting, early voting, voter identification, and election audits. The signature requirement to qualify for…
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Federal appeals court rejects claim that Georgia requirement that voters pay postage for absentee/mail-in ballots amounts to a poll tax
On Aug. 27, 2021, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit unanimously affirmed a lower court’s decision finding that a Georgia law requiring voters to pay the price of postage for returning absentee/mail-in ballots does not constitute an illegal poll tax. The plaintiffs had argued that requiring absentee/mail-in…
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U.S. District Judge rules Florida cannot condition voting on financial obligations a felon is unable to pay
On May 24, 2020, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle ruled that Florida cannot prevent felony convicts from voting based on fines, fees, or restitution they are unable to pay. Florida voters approved Amendment 4, a citizen initiative, in 2018 by a vote of 65% in favor to 35% against. The initiative was designed to automatically…
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District court decides that Alabama elections do not violate Voting Rights Act
On February 5th, U.S. District Judge W. Keith Watkins ruled that Alabama’s at-large method of electing appellate judges does not dilute the voting power of black citizens. The case was brought to the court by the NAACP, which contended that Alabama’s mode of at-large elections for appellate judges, as opposed to voting by election districts,…