The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for June 1, 2023

Gerrymandering Cases Still Percolating in Georgia, Massachusetts, Florida, Arkansas, and Utah

Today’s Script:  (Variations occur with audio due to editing for time) 

Today’s Links now below the script

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

Three years into the every-10-year redistricting cycle and challenges are still percolating around the country.  We have short updates from Georgia, Massachusetts, Florida, Arkansas, and Utah.

Two cases contesting Georgia’s congressional districts as racial gerrymanders violating the 14th amendment may be going to trial.  Common Cause v. Georgia, which includes another case, NAACP v. Georgia had pre-trial hearings on Monday.

The cities of Boston, Massachusetts and Jacksonville, FL just approved new voting district maps.  WBUR reports that Boston Mayor Michelle Wu signed new city council maps after a judge threw out existing maps as a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.  The Florida Times-Union reports that the City of Jacksonville twice redrew its school board maps after a federal court decision favored civil rights and citizens groups.  A settlement forces the city to use maps drawn by the plaintiffs until 2030.

KSL Salt Lake reports that democracy groups filed suit claiming that Utah’s legislature created “an extreme partisan gerrymander” after ignoring the state’s independent redistricting commission and creating its own, highly partisan congressional districts. 

An appeal on Arkansas’ congressional map was dismissed last week, with a three judge panel ruling that a group of Black voters failed to prove that racial gerrymandering was the primary factor in diluting their voting power.  

We have more on these cases and the groups taking action at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
All About Redistricting – Common Cause v. Georgia / Raffensperger
Democracy Docket – Massachusetts Boston City Council Redistricting Challenge
WBUR – Mayor Michelle Wu signs off on new Boston electoral map
Florida Times-Union – Jacksonville City Council approves redistricting settlement 15-3

KSL Salt Lake – Watchdog groups back lawsuit against Utah’s redistricting, allege partisan gerrymandering
Democracy Docket – Federal Court Dismisses Challenge to Arkansas Congressional Map

Groups Taking Action:
Georgia:   Common Cause GA,  Georgia State Conf. of the NAACP
Boston:  NAACP Boston Branch, MA Voter Table, New England United for Justice, La Colaborativa
Jacksonville:   Northside Coalition of Jacksonville, Florida Rising, NAACP Jacksonville Branch, ACLU of Northeast FL
Utah:  League of Women Voters Utah,  Mormon Women for Ethical Government
Arkansas:  Christian Ministerial Alliance Little Rock, ACLU Arkansas

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The post Gerrymandering Cases Still Percolating in Georgia, Massachusetts, Florida, Arkansas, and Utah appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for March 22, 2023

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

The New Yorker – A Rare Win in the Fight Against Dark Money
Arizona Mirror – Claiming a First Amendment right to anonymity, lawsuit aims to strike down ‘dark money’ prop
AZ Central – (Op-ed) Dark money groups now fighting Arizona’s new disclosure law. Shocker.
Open Secrets – ‘Dark money’ groups aligned with party leadership steer hundreds of millions of dollars into 2022 federal elections
Open Secrets – Reports on Americans for Prosperity
Brennan Center for Justice – Explainer on Dark Money

Groups Taking Action
Voters Right to Know,  Stop Dark Money, Issue One, Campaign Legal Center,

Today’s Script:  (Variations occur with audio due to editing for time)
Remember last fall when Arizona voters approved a citizen ballot initiative requiring disclosure of donors to Dark Money groups?   The granddaddy of Dark Money groups is now suing to overturn it:  Americans for Prosperity.

The Proposition 211 Voters’ Right to Know Act made it to the ballot last November, and 72% of the Arizona voters approved it.  It requires any person or entity spending $50,000 or more on a statewide campaign, or $25,000 on a local campaign, to disclose any original donor source over $5,000 dollars.

The Arizona Mirror reports that groups opposed to the measure, the Arizona Free Enterprise Club and the Center for Arizona Policy, filed a state suit in December, claiming it, quote, “… violates Arizonans’ right to speak freely by chilling donors from supporting causes they believe in and wish to support, lest their charitable giving become public knowledge.”

Last week, the granddaddy of Dark Money, the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity, filed a lawsuit of its own, this time a federal lawsuit, claiming that Prop 211 violates the First Amendment right to free speech by disclosing contributions made by donors to nonprofits. 

Dark Money entities include 501c nonprofits and Limited Liability Corporations,  and OpenSecrets.org estimates $295 Million dollars was spent by these groups influencing the 2022 midterms – that we know of.

We have articles and groups taking action at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org,   I’m Brian Beihl.

Remember to Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!  

#Democracy #DemocracyNews

The post <strong>The Granddaddy of Dark Money Groups – Americans for Prosperity – Goes After Arizona’s New Dark Money Disclosure Act</strong> appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

Listen!

Today’s Links
Articles: 
NPR – How the Supreme Court could radically reshape elections for president and Congress
Associated Press – Supreme Court to hear case on state authority over elections 
Politico – Supreme Court to hear case on GOP ‘independent legislature’ theory that could radically reshape elections
Groups Taking Action – Common Cause North Carolina, Common Cause, Declaration for American Democracy, Democracy Docket

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

While you were getting ready for the July 4th weekend, four members of the  U.S. Supreme Court agreed to Thursday hear a case from North Carolina which could explore the “independent state legislature” theory. It’s not an overstatement to say that If the high court agrees, it could have a profound negative impact on your right to vote and have it matter.

North Carolina’s legislature approved a gerrymandered Congressional map which was manipulated to cement 10 of its 14 Congressional districts for Republicans.  The state supreme court threw out the map, a new fairer map was drawn and the new map will be in effect for the 2022 midterm election.  

The Republican-dominated state legislature filed suit, and argues in Moore vs. Harper that the U.S. Constitution’s election clause overrides any protections in state constitutions or state courts, and allows state legislatures to control all aspects of elections.

But this new case is not JUST about redistricting.  It could allow extremist legislatures to target communities of color and other voting blocks they don’t like with even more draconian barriers to voting, and those voters would have no federal protections.  In addition, scholars say this could also foreshadow a post-election manipulation of Presidential electors by legislatures, essentially overriding the vote of the people.   Other observers suggest it could require two ballots, one state and one federal, with different rules to qualify and vote for each. 

Protection of the vote is paramount to our democracy, and alarmed pro-voter groups will be mobilizing on this topic.  We have links to articles and groups taking action at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl.

The post American Democracy Minute for July 6, 2022: Upcoming SCOTUS Case Could Profoundly Impact Your Right to Vote and Have that Vote Matter appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

Listen! https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/americandemocracyminute/episodes/2022-06-19T07_10_38-07_00

Articles:   
NM:  Washington Post – “New Mexico county certifies election results, bowing to court order”

NH:  InDepth NH – “Lawsuit Filed Against Affidavit Ballot Bill Soon After Sununu Signs It Into Law“
LA:   AP – “Louisiana asks Supreme Court to delay mostly Black district” ,  Louisiana Illuminator – “GOP lawmakers invoke ‘precedent’ to stall on 2nd Black congressional district”,

Groups Taking Action:
NM:  Common Cause NM,   ACLU NM
NH:  603 Forward, League of Women Voters NH, Open Democracy Action
LA:  Power Coaliltion,  ACLU-LA, League of Women Voters LA

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

Quick updates on court action on election subversion, voting rights and redistricting in the states of New Mexico, New Hampshire and Louisiana.

Last week we brought you the story of New Mexico’s Otero County Commission, which refused to certify the county’s state primary election results because they didn’t trust the state-inspected tabulation machines.  On Thursday, the New Mexico Secretary of State’s request to the courts to compel the commission to certify the results was granted.   The commission then voted 2-1 to certify, with election-denier and convicted January 6th participant Couy Griffin the holdout.

Friday, within hours of signing a New Hampshire voter suppression provisional ballot bill particularly targeted at young voters, Governor Chris Sununu and the NH legislature now face a lawsuit by voting rights groups.  SB 418 throws out a system which currently allows voters lacking a piece of documentation to still vote and have it count.   Now, voters will have to return within 5 days with documentation or the vote is invalidated.  Typically, over 600 people each election used the former system with almost no abuse.  

Finally to Louisiana, where the state’s attorney general has joined in an appeal to the US Supreme Court to derail a lower court ruling allowing a redrawing of the Congressional voting district map.  Gov. John Bel Edwards had vetoed the legislature’s map, saying that the map should include a second African-American district, since one-third of the state’s population is Black.  

Links to articles on these cases, and where you can take action are at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Granny D said, “Democracy is not something we have, it’s something we DO.” 

For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl.

The post American Democracy Minute for June 20, 2022: NM, NH & LA Court Updates on Election Subversion, Voter Suppression & Gerrymandering appeared first on American Democracy Minute.