The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for April 18, 2025

While corrosive democracy news from Washington continued this week, state news ranged from good in Delaware and Mississippi, mixed in North Carolina & Pennsylvania, to downright ugly in New Hampshire.

Voting Rights Lab reports the Delaware Senate advanced SB 2 and SB 3, constitutional amendments allowing 10 days of early voting and no-excuse absentee voting.  Legislative versions of both bills passed last year, but the Delaware Supreme Court found that the state constitution didn’t enable them.  The General Assembly must pass them again next year for them to be adopted.

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the Mississippi to redraw state senate districts for DeSoto County, which it found still violated the 1965 Voting Rights Act by diluting a majority Black section of the county, according to Mississippi Today.

State officials in North Carolina found fewer issues among the 5,000 military and overseas voters than state supreme court candidate Jefferson Griffin claimed, but the highly questionable post-election review of voter eligibility continues.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday appealed a federal court ruling directing county election officials to count otherwise eligible mail-in ballots without a date. 

The New Hampshire Senate advanced SB 213, which would require voters applying by mail for an absentee ballot to enclose a copy of their birth certificate, U.S. passport or naturalization papers, almost certainly disenfranchising otherwise eligible voters. 

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

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Delaware Assembly – SB 2  Constitutional Amendment instituting 10 days of early voting
Delaware Assembly – SB 3  Constitutional Amendment allowing no-excuse absentee votingMississippi Today – Court again orders Mississippi to redraw DeSoto County legislative districts with special elections looming

U.S. District Court (via Democracy Docket) – MOTION TO INTERVENE BY THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
WCNC – Undecided NC Supreme Court race hinges on only 1,675 ballots. Here’s who must act to have their vote count.
NH General Court – SB 213, a bill which requires the presentation of proof of identity, citizenship, age, and domicile when applying for an absentee ballot.

Groups Taking Action:

Common Cause DE,  NAACP MS, ACLU PA, Democracy NC, Open Democracy Action

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

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Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #NHNews  #NorthCarolina #Delaware #Pennsylvania #Mississippi

The post The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly:  Democracy Headlines from Delaware, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Feb. 13, 2025

Today’s Script

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

The New Hampshire legislature has proposed various schemes over the last decade to keep liberal-leaning college students living in the state from voting in elections.  Most have failed, but no fewer than three voter suppression bills are before the legislature this year.

A 2020 New Hampshire Supreme Court decision overturned a previous bill, SB 3, and preserved the current rules allowing college students to use their dormitory or off-campus address as their legal “domicile” for voting purposes. As of last November, an official student ID could still be used as identification.

That could change with HB 323, which eliminates school-issued identifications as acceptable means of ID for voting, whether from a public or private college or high school.  

SB 223 has been tried before.  It allows any student eligible to vote in New Hampshire to qualify for in-state tuition at any state university system campus, BUT also eliminates college-issued IDs as a form of identification.  The bill could cost the state’s universities $141 million dollars in tuition fees.

HB 289 challenges the definition of “domicile” again.  Previous bills tried to outlaw dormitories as acceptable domicile, a student’s intent to stay in the state long-term, requiring a car registration, or to have a New Hampshire driver’s license.  HB 289’s latest tactic prohibits domicile status for anyone who is legally a dependent at an address outside the state.

We’ve linked to local reporting and the text of the bills at  AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.   I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

NH Dept. of Justice – Establishing Domicile/Residence in New Hampshire
NH Supreme Court –  Decision overturning SB 3 – League of Women Voters NH v. Gardner
NH House – HB 323 – AN ACT requiring the presentation of a government-issued photographic means of identification in order to vote. 
NH Senate – SB 223 – AN ACT relative to using college or university student identification cards to obtain a ballot.
NH House  –  HB 289 – Prevents a person from claiming domicile if that person is a legal dependent of a person who does not live in New Hampshire.
New Hampshire Bulletin – Republicans say out-of-state college students should vote back home; students disagree
WMUR – Bill would remove college IDs as qualifying identification to vote in New Hampshire

Groups Taking Action:

Open Democracy NH, League of Women Voters NH, NH Youth Movement, NH Campaign for Voting Rights

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #NHNews #VotingRights #VoterSuppression #StudentVoters

The post Voter Suppression Bills Aimed at College Students Pushed (Again) by the NH Legislature appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Feb. 7, 2025

Today’s Script

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

A New Hampshire Senate bill, just killed in committee, would have moved the state’s four presidential electoral votes to a “Winner by District” system, from “Winner Take All”.  Nebraska, the only state besides Maine which apportions its electoral votes by district, is trying to end it.

The National Conference of State Legislatures defines a Winner Take All system as one where the winning candidate’s party, no matter the margin of victory, gets all of the electoral votes.   

Currently in Nebraska, which has 5 electoral votes,  and Maine, which has 4, one electoral vote is awarded for each Congressional district a candidate wins, and the candidate who wins the popular vote statewide gets the rest.  

New Hampshire is currently a winner-take-all state, with two Congressional Districts.  SB11 would have adopted the Nebraska and Maine model, likely in anticipation of gerrymandering a guaranteed GOP congressional district.  But February 5th, the Senate Election and Municipal Affairs committee recommended that it be killed in an upcoming full Senate vote.  

The AP reports that Nebraska’s GOP is irritated that candidates Obama, Biden and Harris won an electoral vote from greater Omaha’s Congressional District 2. Another legislative attempt to end it appears doomed to fail by filibuster, so state Republicans are preparing a ballot measure instead, hoping the voters will change what the legislature could not. 

We have local reporting and more at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.   I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

National Conference of State Legislators – The Electoral College
National Archives – Distribution of Electoral Votes
New Hampshire Bulletin – Some push for end to New Hampshire ‘winner take all’ Electoral College allocations
American Democracy Minute – GOP-Controlled NH Legislature Proposes Proportional Presidential Electoral Votes. Will Gerrymandered Congressional Districts Follow?

NH General Court – SB 11 , relative to the allocation of electoral college votes
Nebraska Examiner – Lawmaker proposes ‘backup’ winner-take-all measure for Nebraska presidential electors
AP – The GOP keeps failing to make Nebraska a winner-take-all state. Now it might ask voters to do it

Groups Taking Action:

National Popular Vote, Stand Up America, FairVote, Common Cause US

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #ElectoralCollege #NationalPopularVote #NebraskaNews #NHNews

The post Nebraska & New Hampshire Wrestle with “Winner Take All” and “Winner by District” Presidential Electoral Vote Systems appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Jan. 9, 2025

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.

Legislation unveiled Monday by the New Hampshire Senate would change the state’s four Presidential electoral votes from “winner take all” to “proportional,” based on which party wins its two Congressional districts. Gerrymander the districts, and you guarantee more votes for your Presidential candidate. 

Senate Bill 11 would have New Hampshire join Maine and Nebraska as the only states which have proportional electoral votes, and would apportion them based on which party wins Congressional district 1 or 2.   

In November, the state’s Congressional seats went to Democrats reps Chris Pappas, and newcomer Maggie Goodlander, yet the state house, senate, governorship, and governor’s executive council all went red, in large part to gerrymandered voting districts.  Gerrymandered, except the districts for Congress.

A 2022 proposal by the NH House Election Law Committee radically gerrymandered the districts, guaranteeing the District 1 congressional seat for Republicans. So radical, in fact, that Republican Governor and possible Presidential candidate Chris Sununu surprised his own party by vetoing the map, and proposing his own competitive map similar to that of previous decades.

New Hampshire’s incoming governor, former U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte, may not have such competitive compulsions.  With a Republican House & Senate behind her, a gerrymandered Congressional district could be a two-fer for Republicans, both in New Hampshire and in the Presidential race. 

We have more at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

To view the whole script of today’s report, please go to our website.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

National Archives – Distribution of Electoral Votes
New Hampshire Legislature – Senate Bill 11
WMUR – Senate Republicans propose bill to reallocate New Hampshire’s electoral votes
New Hampshire Bulletin – 2022 House Republicans stand by proposed overhaul of state’s congressional districts
New Hampshire Bulletin – (2022) Sununu says he will veto congressional district maps
 
Groups Taking Action:

Open Democracy Map-a-Thon Project, League of Women Voters NH, NH Campaign for Voting Rights,  ACLU NH

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, 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 #NationalPopularVote #ProportionalRepresentation #ElectoralCollege #NH #603 #NHPolitics

The post GOP-Controlled NH Legislature Proposes Proportional Presidential Electoral Votes. Will Gerrymandered Congressional Districts Follow? appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for June 14, 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.

A voter suppression bill aimed at students and younger voters in New Hampshire has moved forward in the state’s legislature.  It requires proof of citizenship papers from every registering voter, and could disenfranchise thousands.

HB 1569 would end decades of allowing a citizen registering who can’t immediately access citizenship papers to use a sworn affidavit instead. It also requires narrow options for photo ID when voting, also with no opportunity for a sworn affidavit. There is almost no evidence of abuse of the sworn affidavit, for which lying brings fines or prison.  

The bill is the latest in a decade of GOP bills to target thousands of New Hampshire’s student voters, who are domiciled in the state most of the year and may register and vote if they qualify. GOP attempts to change domicile rules, end same-day registration, and require in-state tuition, have all failed in the legislature or courts. 

Such a bill doesn’t just affect students, however.  A new survey by the Brennan Center for Justice suggests that 21 million voting eligible Americans don’t have ready access to proof of citizenship.  HB 1569 is one of a number around the country targeting specific populations, including Black, Brown and Native Americans.

Governor Chris Sununu has not said whether he would sign the bill. Litigation is likely if he does.

Find out more and see the groups taking action at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
NH General Court – HB 1569 Text
Democracy Docket – New Hampshire Republicans Pass Bill Removing Exceptions to Voter ID Requirement
NH Public Radio – NH Senate backs stricter proof of eligibility rules for new voters
New Hampshire Bulletin – Secretary of state predicts ‘challenges,’ litigation if voter ID bill becomes law
Indepth NH – Voting Rights Groups Confront Scanlan for His Take on Proposed Voting Legislation
Bolts Magazine – New Hampshire Republicans Try to Require Proof of Citizenship to Register to Vote
Brennan Center for Justice – Millions of Americans Don’t Have Documents Proving Their Citizenship Readily Available

Groups Taking Action:

Open Democracy Action, League of Women Voters NH, ACLU NH, Kent Street Coalition, 603Forward

Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter and SHARE!  

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #VoterSuppression #StudentsVote #NHPolitics #NHNews 

The post NH Voter Suppression Bill Eliminates Sworn Affidavits for Voter Registration, Demanding Citizenship Documents for Otherwise Qualified Voters. It Could Disenfranchise Thousands. appeared first on American Democracy Minute.