Examining efforts by state lawmakers attempting to take more control over local election administration.

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Welcome to the July edition of The Lever — reaching you in the heat of mid-summer. Our democracy is strongest when everyone has a voice.

In recent years we’ve seen new efforts by state lawmakers attempting to take more control over local election administration through legislation and rule-making. These efforts are sold to the public as a way to increase confidence in elections, but often have the opposite effect. In this month’s Hot Policy Take, we take a closer look at these efforts and their ramifications ahead of the 2024 election.

Later in this issue, we shine a light on a recent federal court injunction that could signal significant trouble for agencies and officials in attempts to address online election disinformation. We also share updates on the ground from our partners in Ohio, working hard to ensure that voters have what they need to vote in August’s upcoming special election in light of significant changes in Ohio election law implemented as a result of the passage of H.B. 458. ([link removed])


** HOT POLICY TAKE
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Since the 2020 election, state legislators and executives in several states have ramped up efforts to seize control of local election administration. Generally, the officials seeking greater control will cite claims of widespread election irregularities without proof to justify their efforts. However, these efforts at providing greater “security” have often led to lawmakers injecting partisan control over local elections and officials, and at times, led to voter intimidation.

In this month’s Hot Policy Take, we take a closer look at state lawmakers’ efforts to assert greater control over local election administration ahead of the 2024 election.
READ THE HOT POLICY TAKE NOW ([link removed])


** BY THE NUMBERS
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1 in 9

That’s how many election officials are new to the job since the 2020 election ([link removed]) . The local expertise of election workers is critical for running secure elections. As we cover in this month’s Hot Policy Tak ([link removed]) e ([link removed]) , there have been significant attempts in some states to expand state control of local elections. The mass departure of trusted local-level election administrators may have a negative impact on voters’ overall confidence in elections.
FURTHER ANALYSIS FROM THE BRENNAN CENTER ([link removed])


** WHAT WE'RE READING
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With the 2024 election steadily approaching and major social media platforms restructuring their formats and policies, a recent federal court injunction ([link removed]) will prohibit various federal agencies and officials from communicating directly with social media companies. As a result, officials have expressed concerns about a potential “chilling effect” from the injunction that could impact how the federal government and states might address election-related disinformation.

CNN has more: ([link removed])

“The trouble is that in many situations, the dividing line between domestic speech and foreign influence is not immediately obvious. A domestically originated false narrative can often be amplified by malicious foreign actors or vice versa, said Gowri Ramachandran, a senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. And during Russia’s attempted election meddling in 2016, disinformation agents posed as American social media users but the nature of the deception did not become clear until much later after a great deal of forensic effort.

“They had to do a lot of work to figure out and trace back the actual origins of where that content was. Well, the government doesn’t necessarily have those capabilities to do that back-end work that the social media companies do. But this injunction, if you’re a very cautious lawyer, you’re going to be like, ‘Well, you can’t tell me 100% that it’s foreign, and it could be domestic and that could be against this injunction.’”—Katie Harbath, a former Facebook official who helped lead the company’s global election efforts until 2021.

Even if the injunction is overturned, ongoing litigation could still prove to be its own source of electoral disruption in 2024. State election officials are also paying close attention ([link removed]) to this injunction with an eye towards their own anti-disinformation efforts.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE ([link removed])


** FROM OUR PARTNERS - All Voting Is Local Ohio and Common Cause Ohio

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The Ohio Special Election is coming up quickly on August 8. Partners in the Ohio Voter Rights Coalition ([link removed]) , including Common Cause Ohio ([link removed]) and All Voting is Local Ohio ([link removed]) , are hard at work preparing for the numerous changes in election law occurring as a result of the passage of H.B. 458. Some of the most significant challenges brought about by H.B. 458 ([link removed]) include time changes for early voting and new voter identification requirements. Additionally, the special election’s short timeline has meant fewer polling locations and precinct consolidations, and a potential shortage of poll workers. In response to these challenges, AVIL-OH is encouraging early voting, educating Ohioans about new ID requirements ([link removed]) , and helping to recruit poll
workers ([link removed]) . Common Cause Ohio is working closely with media outlets and encouraging Ohioans and their friends and family to make a plan to vote. Additionally, the coalition is hard at work training poll monitors ([link removed]) and election protection workers ([link removed]) — all to help ensure that Ohio elections run smoothly.

LEARN MORE: Voting In Ohio’s August Special Election (AVIL-OH) ([link removed])


** THE MARKUP
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The Markup is VRL’s weekly legislative update for voting rights insiders. If you’d like to get insights straight to your inbox each Monday, head here to sign up ([link removed]) .

Here’s a brief update on what we’re watching this week, and a sneak peek into what you can expect from The Markup each week:

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a legislative package on July 18 that implements “Promote the Vote” amendments to the state constitution ratified by voters in 2022. As a result of the legislation, voters will have at least nine days of Election Day-style early voting ([link removed]) ; will be notified of any defects preventing their mail ballots from counting and given the opportunity to fix them ([link removed]) ; will be provided with prepaid postage for all mail ballot applications and return envelopes; will be able to track their mail ballot ([link removed]) applications and ballots throughout the election; and will be able to join a permanent mail voting list ([link removed]) . The bill package also improves drop box access ([link removed])
and expands the types of ID ([link removed]) voters may show to receive a ballot. Another bill, also signed by Governor Whitmer on the 18th, enables municipalities to consolidate election precincts ([link removed]) with fewer than 5,000 assigned voters.

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