The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Jan. 5, 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.

While some state legislatures are making it harder to vote, a 2023 recap from Voting Rights Lab shows a few states passed legislation to help people register to vote and to make voting more accessible to all citizens.

Michigan passed several laws to implement an expansion of voting rights passed by ballot measure in 2022.  It includes automatic voter registration at the DMV and other state agencies, a permanent vote by mail list, nine days of early voting, making secure drop boxes available, and pre-registration for 16 & 17 year olds.

Minnesota restored voting rights to returning felons upon release, helping an estimated 55,000 citizens to vote. It also expanded automatic voter registration to more state agencies, created a permanent mail-in voting list, and offered pre-registration to 16 & 17 year olds.

The New Mexico Voting Rights Act passed in March.  It automatically registers voters at the DMV and other state offices, restores the vote for the formerly incarcerated, creates a permanent absentee voter list, mandates same-day registration, and enacts the first Native American Voting Rights Act.

Connecticut voters passed a 14-day early voting period, and its legislature moved a constitutional amendment to a November 2024 vote which would allow no-excuse absentee voting.   

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro directed that automatic voter registration be implemented by the DMV.  And all New York voters have the opportunity to vote by mail, though this new law is being challenged in court.  

We have links to the legislation summarized at Voting Rights Lab at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Voting Rights Lab – The Top Ten Election Laws of 2023
Michigan Advance – At Detroit NAACP, Whitmer signs voting rights bills
Minnesota Public Radio – Voting rights restored to 50,000 under new Minnesota law
New Mexico Governor’s Office – Gov. Lujan Grisham signs New Mexico Voting Rights Act into law
Associated Press – Connecticut Senate passes early voting bill, new system allows up to 14 days of in-person voting
Spotlight PA/Votebeat – Pa. will now prompt people to register to vote when they get a driver’s license

Democracy Docket – New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Signs Package of Voting Rights Laws

Groups Taking Action:
Common Cause, League of Women Voters, Public Citizen, Declaration for American Democracy, NAACP, Native American Rights Fund,  League of United Latin American Citizens,  National Disability Rights Network

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #FreedomtoVote #VotingRights #LetUsVote

The post Democracy News Wasn’t All Bad in 2023;  MI, MN, NM, CT, PA, & NY All Passed Substantial Pro-Voter Legislation  appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for April 4, 2023

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
KOB4 News – New Mexico Voting Rights Act heads to governor’s desk
Hobbs News/AP – Gov. Lujan Grisham signs New Mexico Voting Rights Act into law
NM Legislature – HB 4 New Mexico Voting Rights Act Bill Language
Office of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham – Gov. Lujan Grisham signs New Mexico Voting Rights Act into law
The Sentencing Project – The Sentencing Project Applauds Voting Rights Reform in New Mexico

Groups Taking Action:
NM Native Vote, ACLU New Mexico, The Sentencing Project, OLE’ NM,  League of Women Voters NM, Common Cause NM

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

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

In a year of many anti-voter bills around the country, we have a ray of sunshine for you today.  March 30th, New Mexico’s governor signed the HB 4 New Mexico Voting Rights Act, expanding voter registration and vote-by-mail options, and making voting more available for the state’s Native Americans, and returning felons.

The new law signed March 30th by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham enacts automatic voter registration when doing business at the Motor Vehicles Department, and gives the option of election-day registration at all polling places.  It enhances mail-in voting by creating a permanent absentee voter list, assisting elderly and disabled voters, and guarantees two secure, monitored drop boxes in every county.  

The Act also restores voting rights to an estimated 11,000 returning felons immediately upon release from confinement, eliminating the waiting period during probation or parole.

Included in the package of reforms is a first in the United States:  The Native American Voting Rights Act.   It allows Native nations, tribes and pueblos to apply to change their voting locations and provide drop boxes.  And most importantly, it allows Native citizens to use government buildings as a registered address. Since some rural locations don’t have addresses, legislators in other states have used address requirements to suppress the Native vote.  

We have links to articles, the bill’s language, and groups taking action at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter and SHARE!  

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews

The post New Mexico Passes Expansive Voting Rights Bill, Enhancing Voter Registration & Access  appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Jan. 27, 2023

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Albuquerque Journal – Democrats launch new campaign for NM voting rights bill

Santa Fe New Mexican – Democrats expected to resurrect voting rights bill killed in last year’s session
New Mexico Legislature – Text of the **2022** version of the SB 8 New Mexico Voting Rights Act.  The text for the 2023 version has not yet been posted.  2022 provisions like allowing 16 & 17 year olds to vote local elections has reportedly been dropped in 2023.

Groups Taking Action:

ACLU NM,  Organizers in the Land of Enchantment (OLE’), NM Native Vote

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

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

While there are hundreds of bills around the U.S. making it harder for targeted groups of citizens to vote, we’re highlighting New Mexico, which will be proposing reforms to INCREASE access for all eligible voters.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that the New Mexico Voting Rights Act was proposed at a press conference Tuesday by House Speaker Javier Martínez, and democracy advocates. Among the reforms is automatic registration of eligible voters during Motor Vehicle Department transactions, unless the citizen opts out. This system is similar to that of neighboring Colorado.

For whom mail-in voting is necessary or convenient, the bill creates a permanent absentee voter list to which an absentee ballot would be mailed without a request for every election.

The bill would also restore voting rights to citizens leaving incarceration, changing the current statute which doesn’t restore those rights until after parole.

Unlike neighboring Arizona, which has repeatedly passed laws making it more difficult for Native Americans to vote, the bill creates a Native American Voting Rights Act. Included would be a provision for Natives who don’t have traditional addresses to use official tribal buildings as a voter registration address. It would also facilitate polling locations on tribal nation land.

We have links to articles and groups taking action, at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl.

The post New Mexico Voting Rights Act Proposed, Increasing Voting Access & Protecting Native American Voters appeared first on American Democracy Minute.