The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for May 14, 2025

Governor Jared Polis signed the Colorado Voting Rights Act on May 12th, another state to take action in the face of ongoing erosion of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.  The Act forbids discrimination in voting practices, protects registration and voting for Native voters, and curbs racial gerrymandering, among several provisions.

Colorado’s VRA is the ninth in the U.S., and 2025 legislation is pending in Alabama, Arizona and Maryland.  Attacks on the federal VRA by the conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court have added urgency to state protections against voter suppression, dilution of voting power through gerrymandering, and blocking an individual’s ability to challenge voting laws.

The Colorado provision guarantees access for Native voters, who have been subject to voter suppression for decades in some western states. It also protects access for Hispanic, Black and disabled voters, and expands multi-lingual ballot access. It protects LGBTQ voters from registration and voting discrimination, and forbids additional barriers to voting for eligible incarcerated citizens.  

At the bill signing, Colorado Newsline quoted the sponsor, State Senator Julie Gonzales:  “We are taking action here today to ensure that every Coloradan can cast a ballot free from discrimination and free from fear.”

We’ve linked to the details of the bill at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.  

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Colorado Legislature – Senate Bill 25-1 – The Colorado Voting Rights Act
National Conference of State Legislatures – Legislatures Pursue State-Level Voting Rights Acts
Colorado Public Radio – Colorado lawmakers approve voting rights bill, despite pushback from local officials
Colorado Newsline – Gov. Polis signs voting rights bill, shielding Colorado from federal backsliding

Movement Advancement Project – Democracy 101: Understanding State Voting Rights Acts

Groups Taking Action:

NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Common Cause CO, Campaign Legal Center, League of Women Voters

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 #COVRA #Colorado #VotingRightsAct #StateVRA

The post Governor Signs Colorado Voting Rights Act in Effort to Guarantee Access and Voting Power for Native, Hispanic, Black and LGBTQ Voters appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

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

Democracy advocates fear that the recent Louisiana case heard in the U.S. Supreme Court could further erode the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  The Colorado Senate just passes a state VRA to ensure that all of its citizens have access to registration and voting. 

The Colorado Senate advanced SB 1 March 28th, prohibiting voter suppression for any group based on race, color, or language, and keeps voting jurisdictions from diluting voting power of concentrations of minority citizens through redistricting or other means.  

The act strengthens voter registration protections for Native American voters, and makes sure polling places, election notices and ballots are accessible to disabled voters.  

It specifically allows alternatives to in-person voting for primaries, and provides for multilingual ballots and election materials for communities with concentrations of minority language speakers.  It also expands notices of elections at government offices beyond just election offices, and prohibits barriers to voting for eligible incarcerated citizens.

Alabama, Arizona, and Maryland are also considering state VRAs in 2025.  If Colorado passes SB 1, it would join California, Connecticut, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Virginia and Washington which recently passed VRA statutes

The bill now goes to the Colorado House.   

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

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Colorado Senate – SB25-001 Colorado Voting Rights Act
Colorado Newsline – Colorado Senate gives preliminary approval to Voting Rights Act, which mirrors federal law
National Conference of State Legislatures – State Voting Rights Acts
National Conference of State Legislatures – Legislatures Pursue State-Level Voting Rights Acts
Campaign Legal Center – Protecting the Freedom to Vote Through State Voting Rights Acts 

Groups Taking Action:

ACLU CO, League of Women Voters CO, Common Cause CO, New Era Colorado Action Fund

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 #Colorado #VotingRightsAct #SB1 

The post Colorado Senate Advances State Voting Rights Act, As Federal VRA is Under Threat by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Conservative Majority appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Dec. 17, 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.

Following up our report on states which have passed a voting rights act comes an authorization to collect signatures for the Ohio Voters Bill of Rights, protecting voters from suppression tactics, and implementing reforms like automatic voter registration.  The State of Ohio tried to reject it.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost twice objected to the title of the measure, tactically delaying the measure beginning in early 2024 so it couldn’t make the November ballot.  October 30th, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the AG did NOT have the authority to reject it on the basis of its title.  Then in mid-November, the Ohio Ballot Board, headed by Secretary of State Frank LaRose, approved the measure to collect signatures, AFTER complaining about its content.  

If passed, the constitutional measure, similar to Michigan’s 2022 initiative, would enshrine Ohio voters’ right to vote: Early in person, by mail or on election day, and to do so without intimidation or harassment. It allows voter registration online, at the DMV, or on election day.  It gives municipalities flexibility to expand polling locations and use drop boxes, and directs that state government and the courts should defer to supporting voters’ rights. 

Given the state’s derailment of November’s citizen-led redistricting commission, expect more state-sponsored shenanigans before voters weigh in.  

We have the full text of the Ohio Voters Bill of Rights at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Ohio Attorney General – Full Text of the Ohio Voters Bill of Rights
State of Ohio – Summary – Ohio Voters Bill of Rights
Court News Ohio – Attorney General Not Authorized To Review Proposed Amendment Titles

Ohio Supreme Court – Decision in Dudley v. Yost

Ohio Capital Journal – Ballot board clears Ohio Voters Bill of Rights, organizers can begin collecting signatures

Groups Taking Action:

Ohio Voters Rights Coalition, Ohio Organizing Collaborative, Ohio Unity Coalition, Ohio NAACP 

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 #Ohio #VRA #OHVotersBillofRights #VotingRights

The post Ohio Voters Bill of Rights Ballot Measure Finally Authorized to Collect Signatures appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Dec. 16, 2024

Brian is gone today.  The current climate suggests that further VRA destruction is imminent, so expect pro-democracy states who’ve not already implemented state VRAs to act rapidly in 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.

We reported recently on the impact of Shelby County v. Holder, the U.S. Supreme Court majority’s decision invalidating Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.  Anticipating even more erosion of the VRA, some states have passed their own state VRAs. 

It’s not only the dismantling of Section 5, the preclearance requirements for states with a history of discrimination.  The conservative justices also just made proving racial gerrymandering harder under Section 2, and they’ve made it easier for a state legislature to dilute minority voting power.  And in the lower courts, more cases attempting to keep individual voters from bringing voting rights lawsuits under the VRA are pending. 

With dwindling protections from the federal government, California, Washington, Oregon, Virginia, New York, Connecticut, and Minnesota, have enacted State VRAs. Michigan, Maryland, New Jersey, and Florida have efforts underway. 

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund recommends that state VRAs should have preclearance requirements for counties or municipalities which have patterns of discrimination.  Rules should include a prohibition against vote denial or dilution through gerrymandering; strong protections against intimidation or deception; language assistance; a statewide database to make evidence-based decisions on election administration; and a directive to the state judiciary to support pro-voter and pro-democracy decisions.

We have the Legal Defense Fund’s recommendations and links to state VRAs at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
NAACP Legal Defense Fund – State Voting Rights Acts Provide Critical Protections to Black Voters and Other Voters of Color
Campaign Legal Center – Protecting the Freedom to Vote Through State Voting Rights Acts
Center for American Progress – The Protection of Voting Rights Requires State Action

State of Oregon via Casetext – Text of the Oregon Voting Right Act
State of Connecticut – Text of the Connecticut Voting Rights Act
NAACP Legal Defense Fund – Proposed Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Voting Rights Act of Florida (FLVRA)
NAACP Legal Defense Fund – The Proposed New Jersey Voting Rights Act (NJVRA)
Democracy Docket – Several States Look To Pass Their Own Voting Rights Acts

Groups Taking Action:

NAACP Legal Defense Fund, ACLU,  Campaign Legal Center, MALDEF, Voters Not Politicians

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and please 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 #VotingRightsAct #StateVRA #FreedomtoVote

The post With the SCOTUS Majority Intent on Dismantling the Voting Rights Act, Pro-Democracy States are Enacting State VRAs appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for June 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.

We reported recently on the impact of Shelby County v. Holder, the U.S. Supreme Court majority’s decision invalidating Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.  Anticipating even more erosion of the VRA, some states have passed their own state VRAs. 

It’s not only the dismantling of Section 5, the preclearance requirements for states with a history of discrimination.  The conservative justices also just made proving racial gerrymandering harder under Section 2, and they’ve made it easier for a state legislature to dilute minority voting power.  And in the lower courts, more cases attempting to keep individual voters from bringing voting rights lawsuits under the VRA are pending. 

With dwindling protections from the federal government, California, Washington, Oregon, Virginia, New York, Connecticut, and Minnesota, have enacted State VRAs. Michigan, Maryland, New Jersey, and Florida have efforts underway. 

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund recommends that state VRAs should have preclearance requirements for counties or municipalities which have patterns of discrimination.  Rules should include a prohibition against vote denial or dilution through gerrymandering; strong protections against intimidation or deception; language assistance; a statewide database to make evidence-based decisions on election administration; and a directive to the state judiciary to support pro-voter and pro-democracy decisions.

We have the Legal Defense Fund’s recommendations and links to state VRAs at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
NAACP Legal Defense Fund – State Voting Rights Acts Provide Critical Protections to Black Voters and Other Voters of Color
Campaign Legal Center – Protecting the Freedom to Vote Through State Voting Rights Acts
Center for American Progress – The Protection of Voting Rights Requires State Action

State of Oregon via Casetext – Text of the Oregon Voting Right Act
State of Connecticut – Text of the Connecticut Voting Rights Act
NAACP Legal Defense Fund – Proposed Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Voting Rights Act of Florida (FLVRA)
NAACP Legal Defense Fund – The Proposed New Jersey Voting Rights Act (NJVRA)
Democracy Docket – Several States Look To Pass Their Own Voting Rights Acts

Groups Taking Action:

NAACP Legal Defense Fund, ACLU,  Campaign Legal Center, MALDEF, Voters Not Politicians

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 #VotingRightsAct #StateVRA #MDVRA #MIVRA #FLVRA #NJVRA

The post The SCOTUS Majority is Bent on Dismantling the Voting Rights Act.  Lacking Federal Protection, Pro-Democracy States are Enacting State VRAs appeared first on American Democracy Minute.