DEMOCRACY DOCKET: AZ Supreme Court won't disenfranchise 97K voters

 

Monday, September 23

Over the weekend, members received Marc's weekend reading list and his monthly State of Democracy premium newsletter. Upgrade to a premium subscription for $120/year to get exclusive updates that you won’t want to miss sent straight to your inbox.

Majority of voters view Project 2025 negatively, new poll shows An NBC News poll released yesterday revealed that 57% of registered voters around the country hold a negative view of Project 2025. Only 5% reported that they view it positively. Project 2025, an extreme anti-democracy policy agenda, has input from dozens of prominent right-wing organizations and figures. So, it’s a bit hard to believe that most Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, aren’t familiar with the plan or who's behind it. Read here to learn about nine Republicans who have ties to the plan's leading group. The latest on Arizona election cases  On Friday, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that 97,000 voters impacted by a data error can cast a full ballot this fall. Due to the state's proof of citizenship election law, the error risked the ability of affected Arizonans to vote in state and local elections. This has put Gina Swoboda, chair of the state’s Republican Party, into an awkward position. Mark Meadows appealed a decision on Friday to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals from a judge rejecting his request to move his Arizona fake electors criminal case from state court to federal court. This same move was rejected multiple times in Meadow's Georgia election subversion indictment. Two new voting lawsuits filed on Friday The Justice Department sued two Wisconsin towns for banning electronic voting machines in their elections. The DOJ argues that the towns violated federal law by failing to provide voting equipment accessible to voters with disabilities. In Nevada, a right-wing group sued Carson City and Storey County, alleging that local officials are violating state law by refusing to process voter challenges submitted by the group.

THE SCOREBOARD

Since Jan. 1, 2023

Voter challenges no longer allowed in Georgia until after election Counties in metro Atlanta have dismissed more than 45,000 voter challenges since July, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Georgia's county boards are now in a 45-day quiet period ahead of the election where no new voter challenges will be considered. Georgia State Election Board passed another controversial rule At its meeting Friday, the Georgia State Election Board passed a rule that will require election workers at each polling place to hand count all ballots cast on Election Day. To answer a commonly asked question: This new rule will require election workers to count the total number of ballots, but not which candidate received more votes. The rule was passed with a 3-2 vote, with three MAGA Republican board members supporting it. These members have been praised by Trump as “pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency, and victory.” Deep dive into New Hampshire’s proof of citizenship law Earlier this month, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) signed a bill into law requiring voters to present photo IDs and proof of citizenship. In a new YouTube video, Marc explains the law's disproportionate impact on young voters and how students are fighting back. Last week, a youth voting group sued Secretary of State David Scanlan (R) to block the law, claiming that it threatens people’s voting rights, violating the First and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Here’s what’s coming up tomorrow The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral argument in a Republican National Committee (RNC) challenge to a Mississippi law permitting mail-in ballots to be counted up to five business days after an election if they are postmarked on or before Election Day. The RNC, along with the Mississippi GOP, argued that the election law “effectively extends Mississippi’s federal election past the Election Day established by Congress” and results in “valid ballots” being “diluted by untimely, invalid ballots.”  Three Trump-appointed judges are slated to hear the case, and if they decide to rule in favor of the Republicans, numerous military and overseas voters could be disenfranchised, since their ballots may take a long time to be delivered.