American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast

Aug. 8 Referendum Changing Ohio’s Threshold for a Ballot Initiative to Win Holds a 112-Year-Old Precedent and Reproductive Rights in the Balance

August 1, 2023December 30, 2023

Early voting for Ohio’s Aug. 8th special election is robust, as voters consider raising the threshold for a ballot initiative to win to a 60% margin. At stake in Issue 1 is a 112-year-old precedent of a 50%+ 1 simple majority rule — and an attempt to derail a reproductive freedom ballot question slated for November’s election.

U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Head Announces Additional Election Security Advisors to Assist States in Securing Elections

July 31, 2023December 30, 2023

The head of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA, spoke July 25th to state election directors, announcing an investment in new regional staff helping states protect their elections. She also cited artificial intelligence as an emerging threat.

Georgia’s Inactive Voter Purges: When Voter List “Election Integrity” Maintenance Becomes Voter Suppression

July 30, 2023December 30, 2023

As we reported last week, Georgia and 20 other states remove voters who may not have voted recently, but are otherwise qualified, arguing it’s done for “election integrity.” When does routine maintenance become a tool for voter suppression?

Georgia Prepares to Purge Almost 200,000 Voters from the Voter List, Applying “Use it or Lose it” Rules; 20 Other States Have Similar Laws

July 27, 2023December 30, 2023

Today we’re in Georgia, where almost 200,000 people who haven’t moved, aren’t felons, and whose voter eligibility hasn’t changed, may lose their voter registration prior to the 2024 Presidential election. The reason? They haven’t voted recently.

Florida Just Purged its List of Absentee Ballot Requestors, Forcing Millions of Voters to Reapply

July 26, 2023December 30, 2023

If you voted in the midterms by absentee ballot in Florida last year, your automatic request, along with millions of others, may no longer be valid for 2024, due to a new law requiring that absentee ballot requests expire in two years, rather than four.