Lawmakers across U.S. Move to Include Young People in Voting
Nearly 500 pieces of legislation have been introduced around the country this year to make voting easier.
Maryland to Pennsylvania (and Four Other States): We’ll Redistrict When You Do
The idea is that six states would even each other out — some would go more red, others more blue.
Dems Add Another Group to Lead Redistricting Court Battles
Targets include Michigan, New Hampshire, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, and New Mexico.
Judge Rules that Texas City Discriminated
"When people claim that the Voting Rights Act was ‘gutted,’ the Pasadena case demonstrates they aren’t telling the truth.” -- J. Christian Adams
Court Overrules Federal Election Official on Proof of Citizenship
A top appeals court has overturned a federal official’s ruling […]
Oregon Registers Thousands Under New ‘Motor Voter’ Law
PORTLAND -- Roughly 68,500 Oregonians have been automatically registered to vote under the state's new "motor voter" law, according to the Associated Press. That's an average 13,700 new voters a month through May, a big jump from the 2,000 per month Oregon typically saw before the automatic voter registration system kicked in Jan. 1. The program automatically registers people to vote when they apply for or renew a driver's license or state ID card, and on Friday state elections officials began rolling out its second and final phase. Phase two involves mailing registration paperwork to another 145,000 residents who interacted with the motor vehicle department in the two years before motor voter went into effect.
Four Connecticut Republicans Oppose Automatic Voter Registration
HARTFORD -- An agreement between Secretary of the State Denise Merrill and Department of Motor Vehicle Commissioner Michael Byzdra to develop an automatic voter registration system is an unnecessary and expensive proposition. That was the message from four Republican lawmakers who held a press conference in late May at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford to criticize the decision. In response to the U.S. Department of Justice's threat to sue Connecticut for not complying with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, Merrill and Byzdra inked an agreement to come up with an automatic voter registration system for drivers to use at the DMV when they renew their license. Sen. Michael McLachlan, R-Danbury, said the current paper process has no new implementation costs. It involves making sure drivers are given voter registration cards by an employee at the counter and that those cards are mailed to their respective towns. The memorandum of understanding between Merrill and Byzdra sets forth a two-year process for coming up with an automated way for drivers to register to vote at the DMV.
Crucial Texas Voting Case to Be Heard
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 26, 2015) -- The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to states giving more political power to areas with high illegal alien populations. In a brief filed in March, the (ACRU) argued that Texas and a U.S. District Court erred in approving state senate districts based on "total population" rather than on eligible citizen voters. "Total population" includes illegal aliens. Counting non-voters, including illegal aliens, when assessing the size of senate districts, gives citizens living in areas with high numbers of illegal aliens more senate seats than areas with mostly U.S. citizens, the ACRU says in the brief, filed on behalf of the plaintiffs in Evenwel and Pfenninger v. Abbott et al. The ACRU brief notes that even the United States Department of Justice uses only citizen population in allocating legislative seats in redistricting litigation. "The current Texas method violates the one-man, one-vote concept that ensures fair elections," said ACRU President Susan A. Carleson. "We're pleased that the Court is taking the case."
Court to Hear Texas Voter ID Case
In early September, a court in Corpus Christi begins a trial that should decide whether the current law requiring Texas voters to show government-issued photo identification before casting a ballot is constitutional. As it has happened with cases over redistricting, the Texas voter ID fight is expected to get national attention because two years ago a three-judge federal court in Washington ruled the 2011 legislation unconstitutional.
Texas AG: Obamacare Would Not Be Law Without Vote Fraud
Attorney General Greg Abbott, a Republican gubernatorial candidate, discussed voting rights, redistricting and Texas' voter ID law at a panel in Austin on Sept. 28 and made the argument that the Affordable Care Act would not have passed into law without "voter fraud." Abbott, speaking at the Texas Tribune festival, said Minnesota Senator Al Franken won his seat, which was decided by a 312-vote margin, because of voter fraud and that his subsequent vote on the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, wouldn't have been cast.