American Democracy Minute

Federal Appeals Court on Undated Ballots May Protect PA Voters Today's Links:  Articles:    Philadelphia Inquirer , ACLU Pennsylvania Groups working on the Freedom to Vote in PA:    ACLU Pennsylvania , Keystone Votes coalition , Urban League of Philadelphia , Common Cause PA You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping your government by and for the people. An interesting pro-voter c...

FEC Deadlocks on Trump Campaign Payments to Family-Controlled LLC Today's Links:    Articles:  Business Insider,   Associated Press , Campaign Legal Center Organizations fighting political corruption:  Campaign Legal Center , Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW),   Public Citizen You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping your government by and for the people...

FEC v. Cruz SCOTUS Ruling on Campaign Finance Today's Links: SCOTUS Opinion Articles on FEC v. Cruz:  Talking Points Memo , Election Law Blog , The Guardian Campaign Finance Reform Groups:  Campaign Legal Center , Public Citizen , Brennan Center You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping your government by and for the people. You may have missed it, but there was a U.S. Supreme Cou...

Redistricting Whiplash in NY, FL & NH Links for Today: New York -  NBC article on new court Congressional map , Common Cause New York Florida - Miami Herald article on court stay, likely appeal lifted on Congressional map , Fair Districts Florida New Hampshire - InDepth NH article, Open Democracy Action You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping your government by and for the p...

Kansas Courts Review Legislature's Gerrymandered State & Congressional Maps Today's Links: League of Women Voters Kansas Kansas Reflector article on the May 16 Kansas Supreme Court case You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping your government by and for the people. Today we’re in Kansas, where redistricting map proposals are being reviewed by the Kansas Supreme Court on May 1...

Today's Links The Campaign Legal Center - " Voters Need to Know What “Redboxing” Is and How It Undermines Democracy " NH Public Radio -  In N.H., Pro-Fiorina Super PAC Tests Boundaries in Campaign Ground Game Get involved!  End Citizens United , American Promise Campaigns Using "Red Boxing" to Coordinate with Super PACs You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping your government by...

Legislatures and Courts Scramble to Finish Maps in NY, MO & FL Groups working on redistricting n New York, Missouri & Florida New York: Common Cause New York Missouri:  Fair Maps Missouri Coalition Florida:    Equal Ground , Fair Districts Florida You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping your government by and for the people. As states near their primary election dates, l...

A Mixed Bag of Redistricting Updates from OH, SC & NH Check out organizations working on redistricting in our featured states today: Ohio:    Fair Maps Ohio South Carolina:  ACLU SC & South Carolina Conference of the NAACP New Hampshire:  Open Democracy Action & League of Women Voters NH You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping your government by and for the people. W...

What's a "Wet Signature," and why does it matter for elections? Today's Links from Democracy Docket : The Little Known Rule That Makes It Harder to Register to Vote Georgia Sued Over Wet Signature Requirement for Absentee Ballot Applications You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping your government by and for the people. Let’s talk “wet signatures!”   Yes, there is such a thing ca...

Today's Links: Fair Vote:  Voter Turnout 101 Public Affairs Council:   Are Primary Voters Really Extreme? Federal Voting Assistance Program - Upcoming Primaries American Democracy Minute for May 10, 2022:  Why should you vote in your state's primary? You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping your government by and for the people. May 10th is primary day in Nebraska and West Virgin...

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping your government by and for the people. We reported last week that the Secretary of State in Florida had held up portions of SB 54, awaiting a court case involving another Florida voter suppression bill, SB 90, signed into law last year by Governor Ron Desantis.  It put further restrictions on the use of drop boxes and the role of groups fa...

Today's Action Links: NH's Open Democracy Action ACLU NH League of Women Voters NH You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping your government by and for the people. New Hampshire voters became the latest victims of the Big Lie Wednesday as its 400-seat legislature voted along party lines to adopt SB 418.   The bill throws out the state’s long-standing “Qualified Voter Affidavit” sy...

Today's links for more information and action: Georgia:   Voting rights group All Voting is Local Florida:  League of Women Voters Florida Arizona:  ACLU Arizona You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping your government by and for the people. We have freedom to vote updates from Arizona, Georgia and Florida today.   First an update on Georgia voter suppression bill SB 441, which a...

You're listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people. A glimmer of good news from California to share on the Money-in-Politics front today. Last week, AB1819 advanced out of the California State Assembly's Election Law committee, which prohibits “foreign-influenced business entities” from spending money in the state's elections and ballot initiatives. Th...

You're listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people. We noted yesterday that Governor Ron Desantis just signed a bill which banned ranked choice voting in Florida. But ballot initiatives to implement RCV in Missouri and Nevada are picking up steam. Ranked choice voting allows a voter to support a candidate they like but wouldn't otherwise win vs. the mo...

You're listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people. We're headed to Florida, land of sunshine, alligators and Governor Ron Desantis, who last week signed SB 524 into law, another in a string of voter suppression laws using unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud as a pretext. SB 524 creates the Office of Election Crimes and Security which will work...

You're listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people. Voting rights updates from Wisconsin and Nevada today.  The never-ending 2020 sham review in Wisconsin just got yet another extension from the speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly.  The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, who is not a professio...

You're listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people. A report by the Brennan Center for Justice has some sobering news for American election officials, who face the made up accusations of widespread voter fraud, and the very real cybersecurity threats coming from overseas. The Brennan Center reports that 77% of electon workers say threats against them h...

You're listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people. More court cases impacting fair voting districts today. In Florida, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis recently vetoed the legislature's Congressional District map so he could move forward his own. The DeSantis map disassembles a predominately Black district in northern Florida. The lawsuit argues that...

You're listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people. The impact of gerrymandering is poised to have an even larger impact on the purple state of New Hampshire.  New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu has pledged to veto a Congressional map passed by the legislature which makes the state's two seats uncompetitive – one manipulated to benefit Republicans, th...

You're listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people. More redistricting drama in Ohio last week. Cleveland.com reports that the Ohio Supreme court recently rejected the third set maps for the Ohio legislature which were specificially designed for Republican advantage.  Anticipating an appeal in federal court, state justices sent a message in the decisio...

You're listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people. With rampant gerrymandering by state legislatures around the US, the courts may be the last hope for fair, competitive districts. Not so in Wisconsin, however.  In March, Governor Tony Evers proposed maps which minimized changes to gerrymandered 2011 maps in an effort to get proposals passed that head...

You're listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people. An update on a Georgia voter suppression bill we told you about two weeks ago. Public pressure pushed HB 1464's senate committee to strip the most controversial provisions of the bill, among them using the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to follow up on election irregularities, not election officials....

You're listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people. This week to Arizona, where Republican Governor Doug Ducey has signed HB 2492, which imposes a “proof of citizenship” requirement to vote for all Arizona voters.  After 1996, Arizona required proof of citizenship for any new driver's licenses, allowing a driver's license to be used when registering to...

You're listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people. In the wake of Georgia's legislation last year adding layers of voter ID rules for mail ballots, limiting ballot drop boxes, and shortening the time in which to return those ballots, a bill passed last Tuesday in the Georgia House of Representatives piles on yet more restrictions. The Atlanta Journal...