Oregon Supreme Court bars GOP lawmakers with excessive absences from running for office.
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Daily Docket — Thursday, Feb. 1
Here are some recent updates.
* A lawsuit was filed ([link removed]) challenging Louisiana's new congressional map, which was redrawn to satisfy the Voting Rights Act. Twelve voters — identified as "non-African American" in filings — claim that the two new majority-Black districts are racially gerrymandered.
* Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled Legislature appealed ([link removed]) a pro-democracy decision that could prevent thousands of ballots from being unfairly rejected due to witness certificates with an incomplete address.
* The Oregon Supreme Court barred ([link removed]) Republican state lawmakers with 10 or more unexcused absences from running in 2024 and 2026, upholding a voter-approved amendment that disqualifies truant lawmakers from seeking reelection to the Legislature.
+ In response to GOP walkouts that halted work in the Oregon Legislature, voters approved an amendment in 2022 to disqualify lawmakers with 10 or more unexcused absences during the legislative session from seeking reelection. Republicans challenged the state's interpretation of the law.
* The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) submitted ([link removed]) an amicus brief in a case challenging Florida's rule that prohibits online voter registration. The DOJ urged a court to reject the Republican National Committee's arguments that threaten the Materiality Provision of the Civil Rights Act.
* Data shows ([link removed]) that voter registrations are up 45% at departments of motor vehicles (DMV) across Pennsylvania compared to two years ago after Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) implemented automatic voter registration in the state. The new registrations are divided equally among political parties.
+ Shapiro announced ([link removed]) the start of automatic voter registration in September. All eligible voters renewing or applying for a driver’s license or state ID will automatically be registered to vote at the DMV unless they opt out.
Read the latest from sheriffs expert and Democracy Docket contributor Jessica Pishko.
* In her piece from today, Jessica dives into a sheriff's race in Louisiana where a Black Democratic candidate — who would be the first Black sheriff in Caddo Parish’s 185-year history — won by one vote and his white Republican opponent has challenged the outcome in court, an eerie parallel to a 1966 race when a segregationist sheriff challenged six ballot boxes from primarily minority precincts. Read now. ([link removed])
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