Friday, Aug. 23

Republicans remain steadfast in their efforts to suppress the vote. In New York, the state’s highest court upheld a law expanding access to early mail-in voting, rejecting a GOP challenge. In Nevada, Republicans on a county election board begrudgingly voted to certify primary results after a lawsuit. And, in Utah, Republican lawmakers put a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would give them veto power over voter-approved ballot measures.

New York high court upholds early mail-in voting law, rejects GOP challenge

New York’s highest court upheld the state’s Early Mail Voter Act, a newly enacted law that allows all registered voters to vote by mail during the early voting period.

The state’s high court rejected claims from the Republican plaintiffs — including the Republican National Committee, which is frequently involved in anti-voting cases — that the law violates the state constitution. In a statement, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), who signed the law in 2023, called the ruling “another loss for those who seek to disenfranchise New Yorkers and undermine access to the ballot.”

Read more on the ruling.

The decision comes after Hochul signed seven bills into law that expand ballot access, including a measure requiring certain local governments to receive preclearance for legislation that could potentially violate the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York.

But that doesn’t mean Republicans are done targeting pro-voting legislation. Last week, a New York appellate court heard arguments in a Republican-led challenge to a state election law aimed at streamlining the process of counting absentee ballots. Read more about the case.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

As the election nears, efforts to disrupt certification persist

Earlier this month, the GOP-controlled Georgia State Election Board passed rules that will give county election officials more power to delay certification of election results and could embolden election deniers seeking to hamper the process.

On Monday, the board passed a rule that prohibits a county election board from certifying results if there is a discrepancy between the number of ballots distributed and the number of voters — until the board investigates the discrepancy.

This comes days after Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) slammed the board for passing new rules so close to an election. The board earlier passed a rule stating that it can only certify an election “after reasonable inquiry that the tabulation and canvassing of the election are complete and accurate, and that the results are a true and accurate accounting of all votes cast in that election.”

Read the latest on what’s happening in Georgia.

Concerns around certification are mounting as county boards staffed with election deniers try to stall and prolong the process. In Nevada, for example, the Washoe County Commissioners in July voted to certify the recount for June primary election races after Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar (D) took legal action.

The Nevada Supreme Court dismissed the case after the commission certified the vote, but didn’t rule definitively on the issue, leaving open the possibility that a similar incident could happen again. Read more on the Nevada lawsuit.

Ballot initiatives are taking off — Republicans are taking notice

Utah Republican legislators are trying to undermine the will of voters through a constitutional amendment that would give them veto power over voter-approved ballot measures.

The Legislature convened a special session Wednesday and voted to place a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot that would essentially allow lawmakers to “retain the ability to amend or repeal legislation” approved through voter referendums.

Nationally, ballot initiatives are spreading like wildfire as voters put issues like abortion rights and gerrymandering on the ballot this November. According to the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, there were 134 measures on statewide ballots in 2024 as of July 31.

But interference from state officials is complicating the process. In Ohio, for example, Citizens Not Politicians, an advocacy group that seeks to end gerrymandering, sued state officials for approving allegedly misleading language proposed by Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R), instead of what was proposed by the initiative’s organizers.

Read more on the Ohio lawsuit and the constitutional amendment in Utah.

FROM OUR DESK: These Right-Wing Groups Are Trying to Remove Millions of Voters Around the Country

What We’re Doing

Democracy Docket staff writer Courtney Cohn just finished reading “The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates,” a memoir of sorts written by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) in 2011, over a decade before he was elected as the third Black governor in U.S. history, and Maryland’s first.

Moore tells his story of redemption — from a troubled teenager to a Rhodes Scholar, decorated combat veteran, White House Fellow and business leader — alongside the story of a man with the same name and similar upbringing. However, the other Wes Moore ended up at a completely different place in life… serving a life sentence in prison for murder.

The biggest message she took away from the book was that a combination of a person’s race, income level, environment, family and education can often determine their future, but with the smallest interventions, it doesn’t have to.

The Republican plan for the 2024 election is simple: make it harder to vote and easier to cheat. Marc Elias and Paige Moskowitz break down the various tactics the GOP is using to suppress voters, how these efforts will intensify and what actions voters can take to protect themselves. Watch on YouTube here.