The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for March 20, 2025

Washington State implemented their universal vote-by-mail system in 2013, and built in signature-matching for identity verification.  A March ruling by the state supreme court upholds that rule as constitutional because voters can cure discrepancies. 

Before the 2022 midterms, a state-commissioned audit found that younger voters, voters of color, and non-English speakers were far more likely to have their ballots rejected, and the rate of rejection varied by county.    

Two recent lawsuits challenged the signature matching rule, claiming that the lack of handwriting standards and the inconsistent science for signature verification, resulted in the rejection of 4,500 Hispanic ballots in the 2020 primary, and 36,000 ballots from all voters in the 2022 midterms.

In the court’s recent opinion, Justice Steven C. González acknowledged those rejections: “All too many ballots are not counted because election workers cannot verify the voter’s signatures and the voter does not or cannot cure their ballot in time.”

But the court found no bias, evidence of partisan malfeasance, or that voters were intentionally blocked from voting.  It also found counties offered opportunities to cure those ballots.   The state’s auditor recommended more training for county election officials, outreach to the most affected voter groups to prevent discrepancies, and more valuable advice for any state verifying signatures.  We’ll have more on that in our next report.  

Find links at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.   I’m Brian Beihl.  

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Office of the Washington State Auditor – (2022) Evaluating Washington’s Ballot Rejection Rates
Democracy Docket – (2021)  Washington Signature Matching Challenge (LULAC)
Democracy Docket – Washington Supreme Court Upholds State’s Ballot Signature Verification System
Washington Supreme Court – Opinion in Vet Voice Foundation v. Hobbs
Washington State Standard – Washington Supreme Court upholds ballot signature verification system
Washington Secretary of State – Signature Verification & Compliance Tool Training Manual

Groups Taking Action:

LULAC, Vet Voice Foundation, The Washington Bus, El Centro de la Raza

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

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

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #StateofWashington #VotingRights #VotebyMail #SignatureVerification

The post Washington Supreme Court Rules Signature Matching Can Be Used to Disqualify Ballots But Acknowledges It Impacts Too Many Voters appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for April 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.

Washington state voters can breathe easier, after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge to the Washington Voting Rights Act, passed in response to the stripping Voting Rights Act protections by the same court in Shelby v. Holder.

In April 2023, the Washington State legislature passed HB1048, improving an earlier 2018 version of the Washington Voting Rights Act. The pro-voter reform was challenged by a GOP county commissioner, but was later upheld by the Washington Supreme Court. It was then taken to the U.S. Supreme Court which, April 15th, refused to hear the case.   

The commissioner argued that the law violated the state and federal constitutions when courts used it to change the election of Franklin county commissioners from at-large to using single-commissioner districts. The change allows Franklin County’s Hispanic voters to elect the candidate of their choice, rather than having their vote diluted countywide. 

HB 1048 stipulates, QUOTE “State and local laws related to the right to vote must be construed liberally in favor of protecting the right to vote and ensuring that all voters have equitable access to register and participate in elections.”   

While waiting for the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to pass Congress, Connecticut, New York, California, Oregon, and Virginia have adopted similar state VRA laws, and Minnesota is considering one.   

We have more on these state voting rights acts at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Brennan Center for Justice – State Supreme Court Upholds Washington State’s Voting Rights Act; Brennan Center Reacts
Washington State Legislature – Text of the Washington Voting Rights Act
Democracy Docket – US Supreme Court Will Not Review GOP Challenge To Washington’s State-Level Voting Rights Act
Center for American Progress – The Protection of Voting Rights Requires State Action
NAACP Legal Defense Fund – Reflecting on the Voting Rights Landscape a Decade After Shelby County v. Holder

Connecticut Legislature – AN ACT CONCERNING STATE VOTING RIGHTS IN RECOGNITION
OF JOHN R. LEWIS.
CalMatters – California’s high court upholds voting rights law
KARE – Minnesota Senate panel okays voting rights bill

Groups Taking Action:
Washington Voting Justice Coalition, League of Women Voters WA, Native Vote WA,  Native American Rights Fund, ACLU WA

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Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #VotingRightsAct #WashingtonState #VotingRights #JohnLewisAct
#FreedomtoVote

The post U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Washington State Case Challenging the Washington Voting Rights Act appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for May 10, 2023

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.

We have ANOTHER democracy lawsuit  to watch, this time in Washington State.  The case challenges the Washington Voting Rights Act, the state’s response to portions of the FEDERAL Voting Rights Act being struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. 

May 11th, the Washington Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Portugal v. Franklin County.  The Brennan Center for Justice reports that many Washington counties use an at-large method of electing county commissioners, instead of voting districts.  In 2020, Latino voters sued Franklin County because its at-large system made it difficult for Hispanic candidates to get elected and represent their communities’ interests.  One-third of eligible voters in the county are Hispanic, and 54% of the population. The county settled and agreed to create voting districts.

A county resident challenged the Washington State Voting Rights Act under the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause.  He claims the minority population isn’t sufficiently concentrated to draw districts as the federal Voting Rights Act prescribes, and therefore gives unfair treatment to minorities over other county voters. 

Voting rights groups worry that should the case reach the current anti-voter U.S. Supreme Court, it could further erode protections of minority voters in states like California, Oregon, New York, and Virginia, which adopted similar state voting rights protections.

We’ll keep you updated.  We have links and groups taking action at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Brennan Center for Justice – Washington Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to State Voting Rights Act
Brennan Center for Justice – Portugal v. Franklin County (Amicus Brief)

Election Law Clinic, Harvard Law – Portugal v. Franklin County
Democracy Docket – Washington Franklin County Electoral System Challenge

Groups Taking Action:
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC),  Campaign Legal Center, Brennan Center for Justice, American Civil Rights Project,

Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter and SHARE!  

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #VotingRights

The post Challenge to Washington Voting Rights Act in the State’s High Court Raises Concern Among Democracy Advocates appeared first on American Democracy Minute.