Tuesday, Aug. 6

THE SCOREBOARD

Kamala Harris selects Tim Walz as her running mate

• Vice President Kamala Harris announced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as her vice presidential pick for the 2024 presidential race. From restoring the right to vote to over 55,000 people to signing a state-level Voting Rights Act (VRA) into law, Walz has a strong record on voting rights.

  
  

• Since last spring, Walz has signed the Democracy for the People Act, Minnesota Voting Rights Act and Restore the Vote Act.

  
  

• The Trump campaign has already attacked Walz for restoring voting rights to thousands of Minnesotans with a previous felony conviction. Policies like the one Walz enacted ensure people can still vote after being convicted of, for example, 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

• Vote.org's all-in-one platform helps voters register, verify their registration, request a mail-in ballot, sign up for election reminders, find their polling location & stay up-to-date on the laws or policies that affect their ability to vote.

Deep dive into one of the many right-wing groups undermining democracy

• Meet America First Policy Institute: A right-wing think tank with ties to former President Donald Trump. The group has filed lawsuits in Arizona, Georgia and Texas to undermine voting rules and election certification that could have far-reaching implications this November. Read more here.

  
  

• This is hardly the first right-wing think-tank to get involved in election litigation. Groups like the Public Interest Legal Fund, Judicial Watch, America First Legal and Arizona Free Enterprise Club have made a name for themselves in the past few years for their legal assault on voting rights.

The latest on anti-voting lawsuits in Arizona

• Former Trump adviser Stephen Miller's legal group, America First Legal, filed a lawsuit alleging that Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer (R) is not verifying certain voters' citizenship, violating state law. Arizona law requires individuals to provide documentary proof of citizenship when they register to vote.

  
  

• An Arizona judge temporarily blocked rules protecting voters and election workers from intimidation and harassment in a right-wing lawsuit challenging the state's Election Procedures Manual. The judge found that the rules “chill” voters’ speech.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

Vote.org is the largest get-out-the-vote organization in the country. Since 2020, we have helped over 7.8M people to get registered. Since July 21st, Vote.org has seen a record-breaking 162K+ registrations on our site with over 80% of those registrations being under age 35. Help us keep the momentum building by supporting Vote.org in our mission to reach voters where they are.

Today is the 59th anniversary of the VRA

• The law has protected Americans' right to vote for decades but has been weakened in recent years by Republicans and the U.S. Supreme Court. Democrats have argued that it’s time to restore the VRA and pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

Meet Colin Allred — who is running for Senate in Texas

• Texas Rep. Colin Allred (D) is vying to take the spot of Sen. Ted Cruz (R) in the U.S. Senate. In this week's Candidate Q&A episode, Democracy Docket Staff Writer Crystal Hill spoke with Allred about why he's running and his stance on voting rights. Watch it here.

  
  

• “If you don’t like the [election] results…[because] your side didn’t win, then you have to change your candidates, change your message,” Allred said. “You come back and you try again, but you don’t try to make it so that the other side can’t be a part of the election.” That’s not who we are. That’s deeply, deeply corrosive to a democracy.”