South emerges as flashpoint of brewing redistricting battle
Southern states stand to benefit most from the reallocation of House seats following the 2020 Census, especially North Carolina, Florida, and Texas. These states’ legislatures are controlled by Republicans, meaning that the GOP will control the redistricting effort in those states. Republican lawmakers face few obstacles to redistricting in a way that benefits them, following a 2013 Supreme Court decision which removes federal oversight from the process.Visit AP News to learn more.Image credit: EpicTop10.com (CC BY 2.0) Voter Education Week Young adults will be the nation’s
Progressive groups announce $30M voting rights effort
Let America Vote, End Citizens United, and the National Democratic Redistricting Committee announced that they are launching a $30 million campaign to persuade the Senate to pass H.R. 1, a major elections and ethics reform bill passed by the House of Representatives in early March. The groups plan to spend $20 million on ads to persuade voters, and the remaining $10 million on outreach to legislators and activists. H.R. 1 is unlikely to pass without changing the Senate’s filibuster rules, specifically by allowing bills
Georgia voting rights activists pressure big corporations to oppose GOP-backed ballot restrictions
Voting rights activists in Georgia have put pressure on some of the state’s largest corporations—including Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, Home Depot, and UPS—to condemn recently passed bills which restrict access to the ballot box and stop donating to Republican lawmakers who support them. These efforts have produced mixed results thus far, with corporations issuing general statements in support of fair and secure elections, without specifically criticizing Republican-passed election bills. Visit CNBC to learn more. Voter Education Week Young adults will be the nation’s largest voting bloc in the
Texas GOP launches avalanche of bills to curtail voting
Republican lawmakers in Texas have introduced over two dozen bills which would limit voters’ access to the ballot box. These bills include eliminating drive-thru early voting, limiting early voting hours, shrinking the time period when mail-in ballots can be returned, and penalizing local election officials for not purging voters quickly enough. As has happened in several other states in the wake of Democratic victories in the 2020 election, these bills have been introduced in the name of preventing voter fraud, though there is no
Kentucky Election Reform Effort Gets Bipartisan Backing
Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Kentucky have shown support for an election reform bill that both expands voter access and shores up election integrity. The bill provides for three days of early voting access and allows people to fix signatures if they signed their mail-in ballot incorrectly while also banning ballot harvesting and making it easier to remove people who have moved out of Kentucky from the state’s voter rolls, among other provisions. Kentucky, which had some of the most restrictive election laws before