Daily Docket — Thursday, March 7

Today is the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday when the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and others marching for voting rights were brutally attacked by state troopers in Selma.

Congress can honor their work by passing the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to protect voting rights for all.

Here are some RNC-related updates.

• The Democratic National Committee moved to defend a Mississippi law — which allows for mail-in ballots to be counted if postmarked by Election Day but received five days later — from a legal challenge by the Republican National Committee (RNC). The GOP argues the rule violates federal law and is unconstitutional.

  
  

• A New York appeals court kept in place the state's new law that expands mail-in voting opportunities. The RNC and other GOP groups asked the court to temporarily block the law. A lower court dismissed the lawsuit, but an appeal remains ongoing.

  
  

• The Republican Party's spring meeting starts today in Houston, Texas, where members are expected to vote on a new RNC chair to replace Ronna McDaniel. Read about Michael Whatley, current North Carolina GOP chair and the front-runner for the job.

Here are some other updates.

• A Nevada judge allowed a measure to create strict voter ID requirements to go before voters this fall, but blocked two ballot initiatives to create an independent redistricting commission in the state.

  
  

• Also in Nevada, U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) asked Nevada's secretary of state for clarity about a coding “glitch” that erroneously marked some voters as having voted in the state's primary when they had not, while acknowledging the glitch did not impact the outcome.

  
  

• Right-wing groups filed a lawsuit alleging that the Maryland Board of Elections has failed to keep accurate voter rolls, improperly uses voting machines that are not certified correctly and unlawfully denied public information requests.

  
  

• In Marc’s latest, he argues that while defeating Trump at the ballot box is critical, ensuring justice is served for his criminal offenses is too. Read here.

Here’s what’s coming up.

• President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address is tonight at 9 p.m. EST. We will be on the lookout for any comments about voting rights and democracy.

  
  

• A hearing will be held tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. EST on remedial map proposals in the Washington legislative redistricting case.