On The Docket 05/27/2022

Happy Friday!

Welcome back! This week, we take a look at primary election results in Georgia, Pennsylvania and Texas and possible recounts that may occur. Court deadlines are fast approaching for states that have failed to enact new redistricting maps.

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Primary Elections Expose Republican Hypocrisy

Primary season is in full swing. This Tuesday, in a test of Trump’s endorsing power in Georgia, incumbent candidates Gov. Brian Kemp (R) and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) resoundingly defeated their Trump-endorsed and “Big Lie” counterparts, former U.S. Sen. David Perdue (R) and U.S. Rep. Jody Hice (R).

It was a win against election deniers, but not a win against vote suppressors. Let’s not forget that both Kemp and Raffensperger support Georgia’s massive 2021 voter suppression law. As governor and secretary of state, these two leaders have defended Joe Biden’s 2020 win in the Peach State while embracing restrictive voting laws cut from the same “Big Lie” cloth.

After last Tuesday’s primary election in Pennsylvania, the race between Republican Senate candidates is still too close to call, triggering an automatic recount by state law. Remember, Republicans fought to throw out eligible mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania in 2020 for simply missing the date on outer security envelopes. Now GOP Senate candidate David McCormick is suing to ensure similar ballots are counted in his primary race.

Opposing candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Republican National Committee and the Pennsylvania Republican Party have now intervened in the case to oppose the counting of undated but otherwise eligible mail-in ballots. You can find updates on our live page. [link removed]

Recount recap: two Democratic Texas primaries may possibly head to a recount. The results in Tuesday’s runoffs were extremely close in Texas’ 15th and 28th Congressional Districts with the winners not yet called. Forget how recounts work? Learn more here. [link removed]

In Texas’ 28th, one of the most conservative Democrats in the U.S. House (and the only anti-abortion one) faced a primary challenge from a candidate backed by progressive heavyweights. [link removed]

In Texas’ 15th, an open seat led to a close challenge. As of Friday morning, the more progressive of the two Democratic candidates is holding onto a slight edge of a couple dozen votes. [link removed]

Courts Intervene and Impose New Maps

There are new maps in New York. After the Empire State’s congressional and state Senate maps were struck down as unconstitutional, a trial court, assisted by a redistricting expert, released the final maps after midnight last Friday. The new congressional map has caused a significant shakeup among the state’s Democratic delegation. The map is also more competitive than the overturned map, with 21 of 26 seats nominally Democratic — but many with close margins between Democrats and Republicans. [link removed]

The map is a major setback in Democratic efforts to retain control of the U.S. House of Representatives this year.

Two other efforts were rejected this week in New York: a lawsuit to strike down the state’s Assembly map and a lawsuit to move primary elections for statewide elected officials.

Court deadlines draw to a close in New Hampshire and Ohio. With Republican legislators and Gov. Chris Sununu (R) unable to agree on the configuration of New Hampshire’s two congressional districts, the state Supreme Court is prepared to step in today, May 27. The Legislature passed a new congressional map yesterday that Sununu vowed to veto, all but confirming the court will draw it instead. Tomorrow, May 28, a federal court will impose a set of new legislative maps in Ohio.

On Wednesday, the Ohio Supreme Court struck down the Commission's legislative maps for the fifth time. These exact maps are the ones that the federal court plans to impose on May 28. We’re watching to see what’s going to happen.

Legislative Sessions Come to an End

What passed? Within the next few weeks, a majority of state legislatures will conclude their 2022 sessions. Here’s a recap of just a few of the new, concerning voting and election laws:

In Arizona: House Bill 2492 requires all Arizonans to provide proof of citizenship to register to vote, endangering the voter registrations of a large number of individuals. Arizona also banned same-day voter registration, even though the state does not have it. [link removed]
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In Florida: Senate Bill 524 creates a special force to investigate elections, bans ranked choice voting, increases the penalties for returning more than two mail-in ballots, prohibits the use of private donations and more. [link removed]

In Georgia: Senate Bill 441 empowers the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to investigate election crimes. [link removed]

In Utah: House Bill 313 requires voters who did not provide voter identification during registration (usually people who registered online or at a voter registration event) to present it before voting. In a state where 94% of the population voted by mail in 2020, those voters will now have to include a photocopy of their identification with their mail-in ballot. [link removed]

More News
Everyone is shouting from the rooftops — down ballot races matter. A lot. This week, we have two new articles on how judges become judges and the key players of election administration.
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U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) introduced the Sustaining Our Democracy Act to provide $20 billion in federal funding over the next decade for states and local election administration. [link removed]

Poll Watchers: Republicans’ Latest Weapon

The dark side of poll watching. Read more ➡️ [link removed]

What We’re Doing

We are heartbroken and angered by the mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde. For decades, politicians have failed to act; demand your senators pass gun safety legislation now. [link removed]

We’re reading the Texas Tribune’s reporting on county level redistricting and what happens when political power is dismantled (even the DOJ has gotten involved). Also, don’t miss the New York Times’ data visualizations into how Trump’s election lies have taken over state legislatures.
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Join Run For Something’s “Run for Roe” webinar on June 1 to learn how pro-choice leaders in local office can protect and expand reproductive rights. [link removed]

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