Michigan voting rights battle looms as Republicans plan to side-step Whitmer veto
Michigan Republicans are planning on using state law to circumvent Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s power to veto their proposed voting reform legislation. If state Republicans can gather 340,000 signatures in favor of their proposed restrictions, then they can pass and enact their legislation over the governor’s veto power. Republicans’ proposed bills would require that voters submit IDs or only be allowed to cast provisional ballots, restrict access to ballot drop-boxes, and prohibit Michigan’s secretary of state from mailing all of the state’s registered voters
Universal mail voting could become permanent in Nevada elections with new bill
Lawmakers in Nevada are considering a piece of legislation which would make mail-in voting permanent throughout the state. Republican lawmakers opposing the bill claim that it will not help improve voter trust in the state’s election system, regardless of whether or not claims of widespread voter fraud took place during the 2020 election.Visit KTNV 13 to learn more. Voter Education Week Young adults will be the nation’s largest voting bloc in the upcoming election and the National Voter Education Week plans to equip them with the
New Jersey lawmakers approve bills expanding voting rights as GOP-led states move to restrict access
Lawmakers in New Jersey have sent two bills to the governor: one expanding early voting and one giving the county board of elections the authority to determine where ballot drop boxes are placed. Prior to these two bills, the New Jersey state legislature had also passed legislation prohibiting deploying police at polling places for non-emergency situations and banning police from serving on a Board of Elections unless they are off-duty.Visit CNN to learn more.Image credit: Famartin (CC BY-SA 4.0) Voter Education Week Young adults will be the
Florida Republicans considering new election bill that would effectively ban giving voters water
Florida Republicans have introduced a new bill aimed at improving voter confidence by restricting access to the ballot box. The bill in question would require voters to request mail ballots more frequently, add more identification requirements for mail voting, and limit how drop boxes are used. It would also ban giving any item—including food and water—or interacting with voters within 150 feet of a polling location. This provision is similar to one included in a recent election reform law enacted in Georgia.Visit NBC News
Democrats Splinter Over Strategy for Pushing Through Voting Rights Bill
Congressional and state Democrats are quietly disagreeing over portions of the party’s massive voting rights bill, the For the People Act. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia currently opposes the bill because it has failed to attract any Republican support. African-American members of the House of Representatives are concerned that the redistricting provisions in the bill might threaten their majority-minority districts. And state election officials are concerned that some of the bill’s rules and requirements are confusing, impractical, and would be impossible to put