American Democracy Minute

The Outcome of Reheard NC Case May Make the Scary Moore v. Harper Case Moot.  Is that a Good Thing? Today’s Links Articles & Resources: Democracy Docket - North Carolina Supreme Court Will Rehear Two Voting Rights Cases With New GOP Majority NPR - How a major election theory case at the U.S. Supreme Court could get thrown out Slate - Unfortunately, the Biggest Election Case of the Supreme Cour...

More Mail-In Voting Restrictions Proposed in FL -- But Florida Resident Donald Trump Apparently Flips Position on Drop Boxes Today’s Links Articles & Resources: Politico - Florida eyes more changes to voting laws ahead of 2024 Newsweek - Trump Does Complete 180 on Election Issue Florida Secretary of State - Report by the Department of State On Vote-By-Mail Voting – Security, Privacy and Electi...

North Carolina Supreme Court to Rehear Gerrymandering & Voter ID Cases Previously Struck Down Today’s Links Articles & Resources: Carolina Journal - N.C. Supreme Court will rehear redistricting, voter ID cases in March Associated Press - N. Carolina Supreme Court to rehear voter ID, redistricting Democracy Docket -  North Carolina Supreme Court Will Rehear Two Voting Rights Cases With New...

New York's Matching System of Citizen-Funded Elections for State Offices Today’s Links Articles & Resources: New York State Public Campaign Finance Board - Program Overview New York State Public Campaign Finance Board - Candidate & Committee Services City & State NY - What you need to know about New York’s new statewide public campaign finance program Albany Times Union - New matching...

Seattle's Democracy Voucher System of Financing Elections Helps Restore Power to the Voters Today’s Links Articles & Resources: City of Seattle - What is the Democracy Voucher Program? Seattle City Charter - Democracy Voucher Issuance Seattle Times - Data shows how well Seattle’s democracy voucher program is working Brennan Center for Justice - Public Campaign Financing Groups Taking Action: P...

The Election Worker Protection Act Failed in December.  Will it Be Re-Introduced? Today’s Links Articles & Resources: Sen. Amy Klobuchar - Press Release - Klobuchar, Durbin, Colleagues Introduce Comprehensive Legislation to Address the Rise in Threats Targeting Election Workers U.S. Senate - S.4920 - Election Worker Protection Act of 2022 Associated Press - Federal effort to boost election wor...

Election Workers Quitting Over Intimidation; Some States Are Taking Action To Protect Them Today’s Links Articles & Resources: Votebeat Arizona - Cochise County’s elections director resigns after protecting midterm ballots from Republican officials The 19th - With an eye on 2024, some states consider new protections for election workers Brennan Center - Election Officials Under Attack Brennan...

Arizona Election Fraud Conspiracy Theories Persist from Candidates & Legislators Today’s Links Articles & Resources: Arizona Mirror - Kari Lake wants an appellate court to consider new evidence, something they don’t do Courthouse News - A slew of election bills sent to Arizona House floor Arizona Mirror - 11 Arizonans were among 84 people who signed onto bogus election documents in 2020 Ar...

New Mexico Voting Rights Act Proposed, Increasing Voting Access & Protecting Native American Voters Today’s Links Articles & Resources: Albuquerque Journal - Democrats launch new campaign for NM voting rights bill Santa Fe New Mexican - Democrats expected to resurrect voting rights bill killed in last year's session New Mexico Legislature - Text of the **2022** version of the SB 8 New Mexi...

Holdouts Mississippi & New Hampshire Consider Online Voter Registration Today’s Links Articles & Resources: National Conference of State Legislatures - Online Voter Registration Mississippi State Senate - Senate Bill 2301 New Hampshire State Senate - Senate Bill 70 BallotPedia - Online voter registration by State Groups Taking Action: Mississippi Votes , League of Women Voters ,  ACLU Miss...

Vermont High Court Allows Legal Non-Citizen Residents to Vote in Local Elections Today’s Links Articles & Resources: Vermont Supreme Court - Ruling VT Digger - Vermont Supreme Court rules Montpelier can allow noncitizen voting in local elections Democracy Docket -  Vermont Supreme Court Allows Montpelier’s Noncitizen Voting Law To Remain in Place BallotPedia - Laws permitting noncitizens to vo...

Maricopa County, AZ Official Proposes Eliminating Election Day Drop-Off of Mail-In Ballots & Other Changes Today’s Links Articles & Resources: NPR - An Arizona official has a plan to speed up election results. Not everyone is on board KJZZ - Maricopa County recorder proposes 12 election reform laws Maricopa County Recorder's Office -  Arizona Election Law Reform proposals KJZZ - Faster res...

It's the 13th Anniversary of the Supreme Court's Citizens United Decision.  What is Citizens United and Why Should You Care? Today’s Links Articles & Resources: Brennan Center for Justice - Citizens United Explained Open Secrets  - Everything you need to know about Citizens United Federal Elections Commission - Citizens United v. FEC Campaign Legal Center - How Does the Citizens United Decisio...

Who Was Granny D and Why is She Important to American Democracy? Today’s Links Articles & Resources: Open Democracy:    REGISTER for free Granny D Birthday Celebration, featuring former U.S. Senator Russ Feingold. Open Democracy - Remembering Granny D GrannyD.org -  Videos of Granny D New York Times Obit (paywall) - https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/us/12haddock.html Los Angeles Times obit -...

Ranked Choice Voting May Have a Breakout Year in 2023 with Bills Proposed in 9 States  Today’s Links Articles & Resources: Try Out Ranked Choice Voting - Election: Practice Ranked-Choice Voting: Favorite Alaska Wild Animal NBC News - Following a big year, more states push ranked-choice voting  CT Mirror/Hartford Courant - Could CT get ranked-choice voting? There’s a bill submitted that calls f...

Reporting Reveals Coordinated Heritage Action Effort to Restrict Voting in Swing States Today’s Links Articles & Resources: The Guardian - Rightwing group pours millions in ‘dark money’ into US voter suppression bid New York Times (Paywall) - https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/23/us/politics/republican-voter-laws.html Heritage Action - "Election Integrity" Plan Urban Milwaukee - GOP Leader Thrill...

Voter Fraud Is Extremely Rare. Most Get Caught, Like These Alleged Cases in Iowa & Alabama Today’s Links Articles & Resources: Associated Press - An Iowa official's wife is charged with 52 counts of voter fraud in congressional race Sioux City Journal - Wife of Woodbury County elected official faces 52 counts of voter fraud U.S. Department of Justice - Woman Arrested for Voter Fraud Scheme...

Minnesota Considers Sweeping Pro-Voter Democracy Reform Package Today’s Links Articles & Resources: Minnesota Reformer - Steve Simon wants automatic voter registration, right to vote for people on parole/probation Minnesota House of Representatives - DFLers Introduce the Democracy for the People Act Democracy Docket - Minnesota Lawmakers Introduce Omnibus Democracy for the People Act Groups Ta...

Ohio Passes Stringent Voter ID, Limits Drop Boxes & Shortens Early Voting Today’s Links Articles & Resources: Cleveland.com - Ohio voters will need photo ID for in-person voting, under bill signed by Gov. Mike DeWine Columbus Dispatch - Gov. Mike DeWine signs photo ID requirement, election changes into law Democracy Docket - Ohio Governor Signs Strict Photo ID Bill Into Law Democracy Docke...

New U.S. House Majority Neuters the Office of Congressional Ethics Today’s Links Articles & Resources: The Guardian - House Republicans move to defang ethics office investigating its members The Guardian - House Republicans aim to rein in ethics body preparing to investigate their party Washington Post - House Republicans pass ethics changes that Democrats say would hamper probes Democracy Adv...

The Midterms Were Mostly Trouble Free - But We Have Updates From Two Places Where Things Went Wrong Today’s Links Articles & Resources: Votebeat Texas - Harris County still doesn’t know how many voters were kept from voting on Election Day Votebeat Texas - Critics are pouncing on Harris County’s election fumbles, real and concocted, to fuel legal challenges Texas Tribune - GOP Harris County ju...

One of the Deals Made to Elect Kevin McCarthy Speaker Was With a SuperPAC Today’s Links Articles & Resources: Salon: - “Shameful”: Democrats sound alarm over “creepy” dark-money super PAC deal to help McCarthy win Politico - Complaint from End Citizens United Reuters - Kevin McCarthy elected House speaker, but at a cost The Hill - McCarthy-backed PAC agrees to not spend in safe GOP open-seat p...

2023 Anti-Voter Predictions -  Hyper-Partisan Courts Means More Gerrymandering on the Horizon Today’s Links Articles & Resources: U.S. Supreme Court -  2019's Rucho v. Common Cause Decision   New York Times  - The Election Is Over. The Fight Over Voting Rules and Gerrymanders Isn’t. Dallas Morning News - Razor-thin GOP majority in Congress rests on 4 ‘extra’ seats from Texas gerrymander Washin...

2023 Anti-Voter Predictions - Expect Further Restrictions on Election Day Registration Today’s Links Articles & Resources: Brennan Center for Justice - Election Day Registration:  A Study of Voter Fraud Allegations and Findings on Voter Roll Security Yale Law Review - Election Day Registration and the Limits of Litigation NH Business Review - Claims of widespread voter fraud in New Hampshire l...

2023 Anti-Voter Predictions - Citizen Ballot Initiatives Likely Targets of Anti-Voter Legislatures Today’s Links Articles & Resources: BallotPedia - 2022 ballot measures Michigan House -  Promote the Vote Initiative Business Insider - Results: Nevadans approve Question 3 to add ranked choice general and top-five primaries to the state's elections Connecticut Insider - Connecticut residents app...