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WELCOME BACK TO CITIZEN BY CNN

Hey CITIZEN readers,

 

We know it’s been a while since you’ve heard from us.

 

We’re relaunching this newsletter with the goal of helping readers stay engaged and on top of stories that matter.

 

We’re CNN Politics writers Kelly Mena and Fredreka Schouten. We’ve spent the past year covering the voting rights debate.

 

We are here to help guide this running conversation about voting rights in what could be a critical year for American democracy. We’ll use this space to share the latest developments in the battle for ballot access, hear from experts, answer your questions and provide news you can use as you prepare to vote this year.

 

Look for it in your inbox every Tuesday – along with a way to sign up for the free weekly CITIZEN BY CNN events. And, please, drop us a line to let us know what you think: [email protected].

 

Thanks for reading,

Kelly and Fredreka

POLICING ELECTIONS

 

Republicans in states such as Florida and Arizona have launched their new legislative sessions by pressing for changes to election laws.

 

In Florida, for instance, a catchall bill introduced last week includes plans for a new office to investigate election crimes. It’s a slimmed-down version of an elections police force sought by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

 

Keep in mind: There’s no evidence that widespread fraud tainted the results of the 2020 election in Florida – a state former President Donald Trump won handily. But Trump’s supporters in the Sunshine State have clamored for GOP officials to investigate his falsehoods about election fraud.

 

Similar ideas for election police units have cropped up from Trump allies in Arizona and Georgia.

OTHER STATES TO WATCH

 

Bills under consideration in Arizona would prohibit the use of unmonitored ballot drop boxes, require additional identification to vote and mandate that the state auditor general carry out “election integrity audits” of county election operations.

 

Arizona, a state that flipped blue in the 2020 presidential election, has been at the red-hot center of battles over voting. The GOP-led Senate last year authorized a widely panned “audit” of the election results in Maricopa County that failed to uncover fraud. This year, the battleground state will host one of marquee Senate races of the midterms as Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly seeks reelection.

 

But one controversial bill that would have empowered the legislature to reject election results was effectively killed last week after a bit of parliamentary maneuvering by the House Speaker Rusty Bowers, a Republican.

 

In another political battleground, a Pennsylvania state court recently struck down as unconstitutional an election law that allowed no-excuse mail-in voting. Gov. Tom Wolf immediately appealed, and as of this writing, voters can still request mail-in ballots for the May 17 primary.

 

A NEW LOOK AT AN OLD LAW

 

A bipartisan group of senators is working behind the scenes on an update of an arcane 19th century law, known as the Electoral Count Act, that governs how Congress counts the Electoral College votes for president.

 

A bit of recent history: On January 6, 2021, then-Vice President Mike Pence resisted calls by Trump and his allies to insert himself into the vote-counting process to toss out Joe Biden's slate of electors.

 

Pence, of course, refused to go along. And last week, the former Vice President issued his strongest rebuke yet of those efforts, saying Trump “is wrong” to claim Pence had the power to overturn the election results.

 

Among other things, lawmakers working on the re-write want to clarify a future Vice President’s role before the next presidential election. Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican helping to lead the talks, say lawmakers also may add stiffer penalties for threatening or interfering with election workers – following a raft of death threats and harassment since the 2020 election.

YOU NEED TO READ

 

• CNN legal analyst Joan Biskupic on why the Supreme Court’s move in an Alabama redistricting case could hollow out the country’s landmark voting rights law.
• CNN's Sara Murray and Devan Cole on the Atlanta DA investigating Trump's election interference.

• Zachary Wolf of CNN’s “What Matters” newsletter breaking down the 1887 Electoral Count Act.

• CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein on why states' rights are having a Republican revival.
• CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale debunking a false claim that Wisconsin voted to withdraw its electoral votes for President Joe Biden.

DATES TO WATCH

 

It’s hard to believe, but the nation’s first primary of the congressional midterms is just weeks away. Voters head to the polls in Texas on March 1. Early voting starts February 14.

 

February 18, meanwhile, is the deadline for election clerks to receive applications from voters who want to cast absentee ballots by mail.

 

Only certain categories of voters can vote by mail in Texas. They include people who are 65 and older, those who are sick or disabled and those who will be out of the county and unable to vote in person. The full list of eligible folks and instructions on how to apply can be found here via the Texas Secretary of State’s website.

 

MUST-SEE TV

 

CNN’s Original Series: “LBJ: Triumph & Tragedy” delves into one of America’s most consequential presidencies. And it brings to vivid life how President Lyndon Johnson and leaders of the Civil Rights Movement worked together to stir the nation’s conscience to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

 

(Fredreka, who has previewed parts of it, had to stop working on this newsletter and have herself a good cry at the sight of the bully clubs, horses and tear gas unleashed on voting rights protesters in Selma, Alabama, on March 7, 1965. The tears kept coming during LBJ’s “We Shall Overcome” moment before the joint session of Congress a little more than a week after Selma’s Bloody Sunday. Gripping stuff.)

 

“LBJ: Triumph & Tragedy” premieres Sunday, February 20 at 9pm ET.

 

WEDNESDAY'S CITIZEN EVENT

 

Join us on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET for another #CitizenCNN event, "The Impact of Inflation & Supply Chain Issues." You can RSVP here.

 

DID YOU MISS LAST WEEK'S CONVERSATION?

Last week, CNN's Amara Walker led an honest and emotional conversation with Kyung Lah, Lisa Ling and Olivia Munn about the impact of representation on changing hate. Click here to watch.

 

Click here to watch Citizen by CNN events on YouTube.