Daily Docket — Wednesday, Feb. 22

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Here are some updates from today.

The Republican-controlled Kansas House of Representatives passed a bill that would reduce the time frame for mail-in ballots to be returned. Currently, ballots that arrive up to three days after Election Day are counted, but the bill would require ballots to arrive by 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Judge Janet Protasiewicz and former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly advanced out of a nonpartisan primary election for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Protasiewicz, a liberal, and Kelly, a conservative, will face off in the general election, which will determine control of the state’s highest court, on Tuesday, April 4.

Virginia state Sen. Jennifer McClellan (D) won a special election for Virginia’s 4th Congressional District. McClellan earned nearly 75% of the vote to defeat her Republican opponent and secure the seat of late Rep. Don McEachin (D-Va.), who died in November after a battle with cancer.

The Minnesota Senate passed a bill that would restore voting rights to individuals with felony convictions who are on parole, probation or community release. It now goes to Gov. Tim Walz (D) for his signature. Once enacted, over 50,000 Minnesotans will regain the right to vote.

The New Mexico House passed House Bill 4, the New Mexico Voting Rights Act. The bill passed 41 to 26 and now heads to the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Here are some updates from the past few days.

On Feb. 17, the Democratic-controlled Virginia Senate passed House Bill 1948, a bill that would repeal the witness requirement for mail-in voting. The bill passed the Senate 35 to 4 with bipartisan support; it unanimously passed the Republican-controlled House earlier this month.

On Feb. 17, the Utah House passed a bill that would raise the threshold to enact a ballot measure from 50% to 60% if the measure increases taxes. Utah joins states like Florida, Missouri and Ohio in proposing legislation to curtail the ballot initiative process.

On Feb. 17, North Carolina Republican legislators submitted their opening brief in a previously decided voting case, Holmes v. Moore, that the North Carolina Supreme Court’s new GOP majority agreed to rehear. The court previously affirmed a lower court decision to block a photo ID law from going into effect.

On Feb. 16, North Carolina Republicans introduced a bill that would propose a constitutional amendment to limit in-person early voting in the state. The proposal represents an attack of the most popular voting method in the state; in 2022, over half of voters voted early.

Can’t get enough news? You can always find more details about these updates on our News Alerts page.

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