Category:Election Law: Difference between revisions

Election Laws in the U.S.

Fifty States, Variations, Complications

Overview, Begin @Ballotpedia:

https://ballotpedia.org/Elections

https://ballotpedia.org/The_Ballotpedia_News_Update

Voting Rights

Voting is the foundation of our democracy—the laws governing who can vote and how, when, and where we vote are complex and vary widely from state to state. Issues involve... Voter registration. Mail voting. In-person voting. ID requirements. Proof of citizenship. Voting and criminal justice system (loss of voting rights issues). Voter lists maintenance and removals. Criminal and civil enforcement. Election authority.

• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Voting_Rights

Voting Rights Lab

Democracy and the Democratic Republic

Tracking election law and proposed legislation across all 50 states and DC.

• https://votingrightslab.org/another-change-making-year/

A Letter from our Executive Director

In the last few years, the resiliency of American elections has been tested – but it has not broken. From holding a major presidential election during a pandemic, to unlawful and failed attempts to overthrow the will of the voters, to historic numbers of bills being debated to change our election systems, we have witnessed some of the greatest challenges to our democratic institutions and freedom in history. But through it all, voters across the United States remained engaged, showed up to make their voices heard, and successfully defended our democracy.

Even so, this country has a long way to go to build a democracy that works for all of us, and ensuring every American has the freedom to vote how they choose is core to that mission. That’s why I’m excited to share this new report from Voting Rights Lab with you.

The follow report (PDF) is unlike any other we’ve issued before, tracking and analyzing the trends in state-level legislation across the first quarters of 2021, 2022, and 2023 – so we can better understand where we are at this moment in time, right on the heels of the most dynamic period for elections law in recent memory and ahead of another major federal election. Even though many states are still early in their legislative sessions, our findings are instructive for our collective movement for free and fair elections. Importantly, our research shows that despite what you may hear in the news, the movement for a more accessible and fair democracy is in fact winning, as most of the bills introduced in the last three years actually would improve voting access. In recent years, we’ve seen numerous states adopt state-level voting rights constitutional protections, expand mail and early voting opportunities, restore voting eligibility to individuals with past felony convictions, and break down other barriers to participation in our democracy. We’ve also seen extremely important, lesser noticed reform passed with bipartisan support that will have a lasting impact on all voters, such as creating a cure process for fixing minor errors on mail ballot envelopes in nine states, including Texas; allowing in-person early voting for the first time in four states – Missouri, South Carolina, Connecticut, and Kentucky; and giving election officials more time to process mail ballots in 23 states, including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, and Ohio.

Our data shows 2023 is on track to bring concrete gains for voters as well. The report also documents that the number of bills enacted at this point in session related to voting and elections is actually higher than what it was in the first quarter of 2022, meaning state lawmakers are still focused on voting and elections. Indeed, anyone working in the elections policy space will tell you we are as busy as we have ever been.

• https://votingrightslab.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/VRL-2023_YOYT-Report.pdf

In 2023, the Voting Right team is tracking 1,918 bills in 50 states and DC.

• https://tracker.votingrightslab.org/

Highlighting / Voter Access - https://tracker.votingrightslab.org/pending/snapshot/access

and Interference with Election Administration - https://tracker.votingrightslab.org/pending/snapshot/interference

Voter Turnout in the U.S.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_turnout_in_the_United_States_presidential_elections

Voter Turnout - Expand or Suppress the Vote

• http://www.electproject.org/home/voter-turnout/voter-turnout-data

• http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/voter-turnout-united-states/

• http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/08/02/u-s-voter-turnout-trails-most-developed-countries/

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"FairVote Reform"

http://www.fairvote.org/problems

http://www.fairvote.org/fair_rep_in_congress#why_rcv_for_congress

How district's elect the US House of Representatives

* https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/lets-change-how-we-elect-the-house-of-representatives/2017/06/27/92f28570-5ab9-11e7-a9f6-7c3296387341_story.html

June 2017 / Voting Reform Proposed in the US Congress

Did you know that more than 85% of congressional seats are completely safe for one party?

* https://beyer.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=616

“The Fair Representation Act is the most comprehensive approach to improving congressional elections in American history,” said Rob Richie, the executive director of FairVote. “It creates an impartial, national standard that gets at the core of FairVote’s mission: Giving voters greater choice, a stronger voice, and a representative democracy that works for all Americans.”

The Fair Representation Act would move US House elections into multi-member districts drawn by independent redistricting commissions, and elected through ranked choice voting. The multi-member districts would be effective in states apportioned six or more seats in the House, and would elect three to five Representatives each, depending on the size of the state. Taken together, these three measures would incentivize congressional candidates to appeal to a broader range of voters.

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Model Voter Registration Law: Expand the Vote, Expand Democratic Participation

Oregon is first-in-the-nation with a prototype for... automatic registration...

The "motor voter" bill: An ebullient Governor Brown called it a "unique and humbling opportunity" when she signed House Bill 2177 on March 16 -- creating a first-in-the-nation system that automatically registers Oregon voters (with an opt-out window) by drawing data from their driver's license records.

Model Legislation for Your State:

OREGON 78th LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2015 House Bill 2177

• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Oregon_Automatic_Voter_Registration

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Oregon Automatic Voter Registration / March 2015

• http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/politics/2015/03/19/faq-oregons-new-motor-voter-law-work/25048243/

• http://www.cbsnews.com/news/oregon-adopts-nations-first-automatic-voter-registration-law/

• http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/oregons-motor-voter-law-quickly-increase-voter-registration

• http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/03/should-voter-registration-be-automatic/388258/

• http://www.fairvote.org/reforms/universal-voter-registration/why-universal-registration/

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• http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-automatic-voter-registration-bill-20150427-story.html

• http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/04/08/voter-registration-could-be-automatic/

"There’s absolutely no good reason for such proposals not to be adopted — and not just state-by-state, either. There’s no good reason for the burden of voter registration to be on the voter, instead of on the government."

"Indeed, the United States is unusual in making it hard by requiring a two-step process for eligible voters — that is, registering and then voting. Most world democracies have automatic registration."

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June 2015

"Everyone, every young man or young woman, in every state in the union should be automatically registered to vote when they turn 18—unless they actively choose to opt out. But I believe this would have a profound impact on our elections and our democracy. Between a quarter and a third of all eligible Americans remain unregistered and therefore unable to vote."

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Additional Voting Resources via GreenPolicy:

• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Ballot_Access

• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Campaign_Finance

• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Duopoly

• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Redistricting

• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Voting

• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Voting_Systems

• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Money_in_Politics

• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Redistricting_-_Opposing_Gerrymandering

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