Friday, September 20

Get ready for exclusive insights! In the lead-up to the election, Marc will unveil key voting stories you might have missed. Don’t miss his reading list and premium scoreboard tomorrow as well as an exclusive newsletter on Sunday. Become a premium member today for $120/year to stay informed.

Georgia faces numerous threats to democracy ahead of election

• MAGA members of the Georgia State Election Board passed a rule today requiring poll workers to hand count all ballots cast on Election Day, a move that would significantly delay election results and that the state's attorney general says is illegal.

  
  

• The DeKalb County, Georgia Republican Party filed a lawsuit this week to get hundreds of voters removed from the rolls ahead of the November election. The county said it would not consider voter challenges this close to the election, in compliance with federal law.

9th Circuit reinstates Arizona voter suppression law

• The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated Arizona's controversial 2022 voting law that requires county recorders to cancel certain voter registrations, makes it a felony to help some mail voters cast their ballot and more. Litigation will continue in a lower court.

Republicans push to change Nebraska's electoral system

• Nebraska Republicans are pushing for the state to change its electoral vote process to a winner-take-all system, which could give former President Donald Trump an extra electoral vote in this year’s close presidential race.

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Since Jan. 1, 2023

RNC continues to file anti-voting lawsuits across the country

• The Republican National Committee (RNC) sued Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) on Tuesday for not instructing election clerks to reject certain absentee ballots. This is the GOP's second lawsuit this month challenging signature verification guidance in the battleground state.

  
  

• The RNC sued Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, alleging it did not test its voting machines before sending ballots. The GOP is asking the court to stop the county from distributing more ballots until a new test is done and hand count ballots sent before testing.

  
  

• The 5th Circuit is scheduled to hear oral argument Tuesday in a lawsuit from the RNC seeking to block a Mississippi law that allows mail-in ballots to be counted if they’re received up to five business days after an election. This case was first filed in January.

  
  

• According to Democracy Docket’s data, the RNC has filed 20 voting lawsuits during this election cycle, primarily in crucial swing states like Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania.

RNC appeals UNC mobile ID decision

• After a North Carolina judge rejected the RNC's request to prohibit UNC-Chapel Hill affiliates from using their state-approved digital university IDs to vote, the RNC appealed the decision to the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

  
  

Wisconsin's highest court will weigh in on RFK Jr. ballot dispute case

• The Wisconsin Supreme Court will decide whether Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be listed as a presidential candidate on the state's ballot. A lower court denied RFK Jr.'s request to be removed from the ballot.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court to hear GOP appeal in naked ballot case

• The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will consider whether Butler County can count provisional ballots cast by voters whose mail-in ballots were rejected for missing an inner envelope. A lower court said the ballots must be counted, but the RNC appealed.

New Defending Democracy podcast episode out now

• New York Rep. Dan Goldman (D) has dedicated his career to protecting the fundamental right to vote. In a new episode of Defending Democracy, Goldman joins Marc to discuss the threat of Project 2025, the SAVE Act, voting rights bills and U.S. Supreme Court reform. Watch it on YouTube and listen wherever you get your podcasts.