The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Aug. 27, 2024

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

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

In a 5-4 vote August 22nd, the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated part of an Arizona voter suppression bill requiring citizens to provide proof of citizenship in addition to other identity documents.  

The law targets Native American voters, who sometimes don’t have birth certificates, and college students, who may not have the documents available.  Both groups skew liberal.

Arizona has two ballots for elections; a state ballot which includes local, state and federal candidates, and a federal-only ballot. The federal-only ballot uses an affidavit to swear to citizenship on penalty of perjury, but does not require the documents.  Democracy news outlet Votebeat found college students often use the federal-only ballot.

A 2022 Arizona law, House Bill 2492, requires that citizens registering to vote provide a birth certificate, passport or naturalization papers to register for either the state and federal, or federal-only, ballots.  Democracy groups argued it violated both the National Voter Registration Act and 1964 Civil Rights Act.  A recent study found 9% of Americans don’t have ready access to a birth certificate.  

In its short, unsigned decision, the high court allowed Arizona to enforce the law for the state and federal ballot, but not on the separate federal-only ballot, preserving the ability to vote for President, Vice President, House, and Senate races, but shutting those voters out of local and state elections.  

We’ve linked to more at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl. 

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Arizona Legislature – House Bill 2492
U.S. Justice Department – (March 2024) U.S. District Court Finds That Arizona Voter Registration Provisions Violate Federal Law
ACLU – Voting Rights Groups File Amicus Brief to Protect Arizona’s Eligible Voters from Documentary Proof of Citizenship Law
SCOTUS Blog – Justices allow Arizona to enforce proof-of-citizenship law for 2024 voter registration

NPR – Supreme Court grants GOP bid to require citizenship proof for some Arizona voters
Votebeat – Arizona’s federal-only voters are concentrated on college campuses, data show

Groups Taking Action:

Mi Familia Vota, League of Women Voters

Check Your Voter Registration:

• U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State
• USA Vote Foundation – Registration, Eligibility, State Election Office Links
• Vote.Gov – Register to Vote in Your State
• Vote.Org – Check Your Registration to Vote
  
  

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #Arizona #VoterSuppression #SCOTUS #USSupremeCourt

The post U.S. Supreme Court Restores Arizona Law Aimed at Disenfranchising Native Americans and College Students appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Feb. 23, 2024

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

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

We’re in Arizona today, where a new and normally mundane Election Procedure Manual for election officials has attracted not one, not two, but three GOP lawsuits. 

Arizona’s Secretary of State issued the updated manual in January, after review by the state’s governor and attorney general, and a 15-day public comment period.   

January 31st, House and Senate GOP leaders challenged six new provisions, one of which tells counties they must certify elections by the statewide deadline, or risk county results not being counted by the state.  In 2022, conspiracy theory-driven Cochise County commissioners tried to block certification.  

Another suit by the national and state Republican committees argues that the 15-day public comment period should have been 30 days, and takes issue with seven provisions, including allowing early voting mail ballots to be sent out of state, and allowing federal-only voters with no citizenship papers to vote in Presidential elections.  The Arizona GOP has used proof of citizenship as a voter suppression tactic aimed at Native American voters, some of whom do not have birth certificates. 

A suit filed February 13th by the Arizona Free Enterprise Club contends new rules protecting voters from threats and intimidation violate the free speech rights of poll watchers.  The rules come after masked and armed vigilantes were stationed at ballot drop boxes in 2022.

We have more details on the suits linked at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Democracy Docket – Arizona Republicans Challenge Elections Procedure Manual
Arizona Mirror/Votebeat – Arizona Republicans sue Adrian Fontes over election manual, claiming disenfranchisement
National Republican Committee/Arizona GOP – Arizona Superior Court Claim
Arizona Mirror – GOP sues Fontes over Election Procedures Manual 

Associated Press – Group challenges restrictions in Arizona election manual on ballot drop-off locations

Groups Taking Action:
Native American Rights Fund,  League of Women Voters Arizona, Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans, Voto Latino  

Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter and SHARE!  

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Want ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!

Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #ElectionDeniers #ProtectPollWorkers #VoterSuppression #NativeVote

The post Not One, Not Two, But Three Lawsuits Contesting Arizona’s New Election Procedure Manual for Election Officials appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

Listen!

Correction – the audio podcast version has an error that has since been corrected for the syndicated radio broadcast. We referred to the National Voting Rights Act; it is the National Voter Registration Act. Sorry for the error!

Today’s Links
Articles:
Arizona Star/Tuscon.com – Feds: Arizona could face lawsuit over voter ID law
Associated Press – Feds sue over new Arizona citizenship proof law for voting
Groups Taking Action:  Mi Familia Vota, Living United for Change AZ, League of United Latin American Citizens, Arizona Students Association, Arizona Democracy Resource Center

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

We reported back in April about a bill passed by the Arizona legislature and signed by Governor Doug Ducey that requires that Arizona voters must have proof of citizenship when voting for President, a law at odds with the National Voter Registration Act.  The U.S. Justice Department just filed suit last week to block that new law.  

Arizona has two ballots for elections; a state & federal elections ballot and a federal-only ballot, which was implemented when the State of Arizona implemented a proof of citizenship law in 2004 for state ballots. The federal-only ballot uses an affidavit to swear to citizenship on penalty of perjury, but does not require identifying papers.  It was used by about 12,000 voters statewide in 2020, some of whom are Native Americans who may not have the necessary documentation.  Election deniers pointed to baseless claims of voter fraud among these ballots when Donald Trump lost Arizona by just under 10,500 votes.  Voter fraud is extremely rare, and there was no evidence of widespread abuse in 2020.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich has made comments that allowing such voting without proof of citizenship was part of a widespread plan by “neo-Marxists” to allow non-citizens to vote.  But in addition to the Justice Department filing suit, two other voting rights organizations have filed their own suits, trying to protect the right of ALL Americans to vote.

We have links to articles and groups taking action at 

AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Granny D said “Democracy is not something we have, but something we DO.” 

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

The post American Democracy Minute for July 7, 2022: U.S. Justice Dept. Files Suit to Block Arizona from Requiring Proof of Citizenship to Use Federal Election Ballot appeared first on American Democracy Minute.