On The Docket 02/18/2022

IN THE NATION’S CAPITAL

From the U.S. Supreme Court to the White House

Last week, the Supreme Court stepped into the ongoing legal battle for fair maps in Alabama, marking the first time the nation’s highest court has gotten involved in this redistricting cycle. However, it likely won’t be the last time. To understand what to expect in the coming months, read “Why Does the U.S. Supreme Court Get Involved in Redistricting?” [link removed]

Let’s now travel across D.C. from the Supreme Court to the White House. Presidents’ Day is coming up on Monday! Without a doubt, the biggest legislative achievements throughout history were the results of years of activism and movement building, rather than the accomplishment of a single leader in the White House. However, if the president throws their weight behind a movement — or shirks responsibility — it makes a difference.

What do the years 1890 and 2022 have in common? Why is President Johnson admired? As we celebrate Presidents’ Day 2022, we’re taking a look at four key inflection points for voting rights when the head of state either stepped up or failed to meet the moment, whether within their control or not. Take a deep dive into voting rights history in “Presidents’ Day: From the White House to the Ballot Box.” [link removed]

IN THE STATES

Republican State Lawmakers Push for More Voting Restrictions

Every day, Republican lawmakers across the country are working to advance their mission to make it harder to vote. Here are a few concerning bills that have been introduced — we’ll make sure to keep a close eye on their progression through statehouses:

Tennessee lawmakers passed a bill on Monday to prohibit instant run-off voting for ranked choice elections, the method used by the Memphis-area county. [link removed]

Idaho Republicans introduced a bill to remove student IDs from the list of acceptable forms of voter identification (while adding a concealed weapons permit to that list). The proposed law would also remove the affidavit option for voters without an ID and eliminate the state’s Election Day registration. A second bill would make it illegal to collect and return multiple absentee ballots for other voters, a benign practice that is especially useful for Native American communities. [link removed]

Since 2013, all Utah voters are automatically sent a mail-in ballot before every election. Now, a Republican legislator wants to dismantle the state’s successful mail-in voting system and turn back the clock nearly two decades, reinstating a short list of excuses to request a mail-in ballot, which the state has not required since 2004. This bill would also ban drop boxes, drive-thru voting and community ballot collection. [link removed]

Similar to a bill introduced last year, the Kansas Legislature is proposing moving the return deadline for mail-in ballots to 7:00 p.m. on Election Day (cutting three days from the current rule that ballots are counted if delivered by the U.S. Postal Service within three days of election). A separate bill would create a near-ban on drop boxes in the Sunflower State.


DISTRICTS ON THE DOCKET

Toto, I Have a Feeling Kansas’ Maps Are Heading to Court

After the Kansas Legislature overrode a veto last week, two lawsuits were filed challenging the newly enacted congressional map. Both lawsuits were filed in state court, arguing that the map favors Republicans and dilutes minority voting strength in violation of the Kansas Constitution. The first lawsuit [[link removed]] argues that the Republican map drawers explicitly set out to gerrymander the state in their favor by splitting up Wyandotte and Douglas Counties — the state’s two Democratic strongholds and heavily minority counties — and “submerging” their populations into heavily white and Republican districts. The second lawsuit [[link removed]] makes a similar argument, adding that the Kansas Legislature violated its own redistricting criteria when drawing new congressional districts.

Every redistricting cycle since 1980, the courts have drawn Minnesota’s new congressional map, and 2022 is no exception. As anticipated, the Minnesota Legislature was unable to pass new maps by their Feb. 15 deadline. Instead, a special redistricting panel made up of state judges from different levels of Minnesota’s judicial system released new legislative and congressional maps on Wednesday. Read more about the maps ultimately selected by the panel here. [link removed]

A South Carolina redistricting lawsuit will move forward after a three-judge panel denied the defendants’ (including several House legislators) attempts to dismiss the case. The lawsuit, filed by the South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP and a voter, alleges that the new state House and congressional maps discriminate against Black voters in violation of the 14th and 15th Amendments. [link removed]

A six-day preliminary injunction hearing in three Georgia redistricting cases wrapped up on Monday. The hearing centered on whether Georgia’s new legislative and congressional maps dilute the voting strength of Black voters and if the maps should be blocked for the 2022 elections. We can expect a ruling as early as next week — keep an eye out for any updates in the Peach State. [link removed]

AND MORE:
Five separate lawsuits were brought challenging Alaska’s newly drawn legislative districts. After a 12-day trial was held, the court determined this week that there were deficiencies with the map, including that certain distinct communities were unnecessarily grouped together and the Alaska Redistricting Board did not follow public testimony and hearing guidelines. The map now goes back to the Board for redrawing. [link removed]

The second redraw attempt for Ohio’s legislative maps ended in failure yesterday when Republicans on the Ohio Redistricting Commission refused to adopt new maps. The path forward is unclear. [link removed]

Punxsutawney Phil indicated there would be six more weeks of winter, but how many more weeks until his home state draws new redistricting maps? Impasse litigation is finally moving as the Pennsylvania Supreme Court holds a hearing starting at 9:30 a.m. today. Watch here. [link removed]

There are now only nine states that still need to finalize new congressional maps — Missouri (still in limbo after last week’s filibuster), Louisiana, New Hampshire, Rhode Island (awaiting the governor’s signature) and Florida have yet to approve a map. The courts have taken over redistricting in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin where the government reached an impasse and North Carolina and Ohio are redrawing maps after their enacted maps were deemed unconstitutional.

The North Carolina Supreme Court struck down the state's congressional and legislative maps on Feb. 4. “A legislative body can only reflect the will of the people if it is elected from districts that provide one person’s vote with substantially the same power as every other person’s vote," wrote the court in its full opinion released this week. [link removed]


IN THE COURTS

First Provision of Texas’ Voter Suppression Law Blocked

A Texas judge blocked a provision of Texas’ new voter suppression law from being enforced while litigation continues. The elections administrator for Harris County and a volunteer deputy registrar sued over the anti-solicitation provision, which makes it a crime for election officials to encourage eligible individuals to request a mail-in ballot application. The judge found that it “is substantially likely that the anti-solicitation provision violates the First Amendment” and therefore a preliminary injunction is warranted because the plaintiffs’ “speech has been and continues to be chilled, and the need for relief is urgent, given the fast-approaching deadline for requesting applications for mail-in ballots.” Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has appealed the decision to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. [link removed]

The trial in four lawsuits challenging Florida’s new voter suppression law wrapped up on Wednesday after starting on Jan. 31. The judge heard from multiple voter registration organizations, experts and legislators about the impacts of the new law on voters. Next up, the judge will determine if the challenged provisions of S.B. 90 violate the U.S. Constitution and federal law as alleged and, if so, could block some or all of the provisions from being enforced. [link removed]

SPOTLIGHT

New Mexico is Leading on Voting Rights as Federal Push Stalls

By New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver. Read more ➡️ [link removed]

ASK MARC

What are your thoughts on the Senate's bipartisan Electoral Count Act (ECA) bill? Are there any provisions you think must be included?

As I have written, we need to recognize that the way Republicans will subvert elections will be in the offices of secretaries of state, county clerks and governors, not on the floor of the House and Senate. We need to update the ECA, but it needs to be revised in a way that deals with the modern threats of 2022. If all Congress passes is a bill that says Vice President Kamala Harris has no power to overturn elections and raises the threshold for members of Congress to challenge election results when electors are counted, then they will have done virtually nothing. [link removed]

…

I hear the term “community of interest” often. What does that mean?

During redistricting, there is often a focus on keeping communities of interest intact. A community of interest is a group of individuals who share common interests, goals or policy perspectives. For that reason or other reasons specific to the local context, states often try to keep them within a single district when possible.

Thanks to Ellen and Karen for asking questions this week – feel free to ask your own here [[link removed]] or join today’s Twitter Spaces at 2 p.m. to ask Marc directly. [link removed]

WHAT WE’RE DOING

For Presidents’ Day, the holiday honors all 46 leaders who have occupied the Oval Office, but with a special focus on George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Read a historian’s analysis of Lincoln here. [link removed]

We’re listening to the latest episode of Secretary Hillary Clinton’s podcast featuring Lina Hidalgo, the Harris County judge who oversees elections in the third largest county in the nation. ICYMI, Judge Hidalgo wrote for Democracy Docket this summer as Texas advanced its voter suppression bill. [link removed]



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Democracy Docket
PO Box 733
Great Falls, VA 22066
United States
Democracy Docket
PO Box 733
Great Falls, VA 22066
United States