Voters in some key swing states to decide on voting access
All but lost in the shadow of major contests for U.S. Senate and governor, voters in some battleground states will be deciding ballot proposals this November that could reshape the way they vote in the next presidential election. In Arizona, scene of the closest presidential contest in 2020, the question is whether to require more identification to vote in the future. In Michigan, another swing state, voters will consider whether to make it easier to cast early ballots. Voting-related proposals will be on the ballot in several other states, including a measure to adopt ranked-choice voting in Nevada that — if approved this year — would need a second vote in 2024 to take effect.” Most of the measures are garnering little attention but could have profound effects on voting in some of the most politically competitive states for years to come. They mark an escalation of what voting expert Jon Sherman describes as “the voting wars” — battles between Democrats, Republicans, and activist groups over laws specifying how people register, obtain mail-in ballots, prove their identity, and cast ballots. “The parties and their allies are fighting over every last voting rule and trying to make predictions about how they think it will help or hurt their chances of winning, particularly in closely competitive states,” said Sherman, litigation director and senior counsel at the Fair Elections Center, a nonprofit that advocates for voting access. Efforts to change voting laws ramped up after the 2000 presidential election when a U.S. Supreme Court decision in Florida’s exceptionally close race gave Republican George W. Bush the victory over Democrat Al Gore. It intensified after the 2020 election, as Republican President Donald Trump refused to acknowledge his loss to Democrat Joe Biden while pressing false claims of widespread fraud, and some Republican-led states responded by passing restrictive voting laws. Arizona, which Biden won by about 10,500 votes, was one center of controversy. After a six-month review focused on Arizona’s largest county, a Trump-friendly firm hired by Republican state lawmakers ended up with vote results confirming Democrat Biden’s victory. Republicans who control the Legislature subsequently placed a proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would strengthen voter identification laws. It would require people voting in person to show a photo ID, and eliminate a current alternative of providing two documents bearing a person’s name and address, such as a recent utility bill and bank statement. People voting with mailed ballots — the vast majority in Arizona — would have to list their date of birth and either their driver’s license number, a state identification number, or the last four digits of their Social Security number. Republican state Sen. J.D. Mesnard, who sponsored the measure, said the intent is to “make the election as secure as possible” while addressing “a growing crisis in confidence” that could discourage some people from voting. But rather than reassuring voters, tougher ID requirements could dissuade some from voting at all and actually lead to fraud by exposing personal information, said Darrell Hill, policy director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, which opposes the measure. “You’re opening people up to greater potential identity theft,” Hill said. Only a few states — Georgia, Minnesota, Ohio — have similar proof-of-identity measures for mailed ballots, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Arkansas requires voters to provide a copy of a photo ID when returning a mailed ballot. In Michigan next month, a ballot initiative would pre-empt Republican attempts to tighten photo identification laws by amending the state Constitution to include the current alternative of signing an affidavit. It also would expand early voting options, require state-funded return postage and drop boxes for absentee ballots, and specify that the Board of State Canvassers has only a “clerical, nondiscretionary” duty to certify election results. Trump allies had tried to persuade canvassers to delay certifying the 2020 results. The goal of the new initiative is to “enhance the integrity and security of the elections by sort of modernizing how they’re administered and making them more accessible,” said Khalilah Spencer, president of Promote the Vote, which backs the measure. On the other side, Michigan Republican Party spokesman Gustavo Portela said the initiative “opens the door up for fraud” through the combination of early voting and a constitutional exception to showing photo ID. Just four states — Alabama, Connecticut, Mississippi, and New Hampshire — lack an in-person early voting option for all voters. Connecticut’s November ballot will feature a proposed constitutional amendment authorizing the Democratic-led General Assembly to create an early voting law. A similar ballot proposal failed in 2014. Supporters in Connecticut hope this time is different — both because the new version is more clearly written and because the vote comes after the coronavirus pandemic heightened awareness about early voting. “The idea that everybody has free time on a Tuesday between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. — and that’s their only opportunity to participate in our democracy — is a little dated,” said Democratic state Sen. Mae Flexer, co-chair of the Connecticut legislative committee that sponsored the measure. In Nebraska, Republicans haven’t been able to get a voter photo ID bill through the nonpartisan Legislature. But it will appear on the November ballot, thanks to an initiative petition drive bankrolled by Marlene Ricketts, the mother of term-limited Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts. Civic Nebraska, a voting rights group opposed to the measure, describes it as “a solution in search of a problem.” “There’s not an iota of evidence in Nebraska that says we would need this extra step” to vote, said Civic Nebraska spokesman Steve Smith. Gov. Ricketts acknowledged during a recent radio call-in show that there hasn’t been much election fraud. But he said, “one of the things that came out of the 2020 election is that people had concern about the integrity of our voting systems.” There is no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. Judges have turned away dozens of challenges by Trump and his allies, multiple state reviews have confirmed the results, and Trump’s own Department of Justice concluded the election outcome was accurate. Nevada’s proposed constitutional amendment would advance the top
Growing number of Democrats call on Joe Biden to reverse plan to end Title 42
A Democratic governor and several Democrats in Congress are calling on President Joe Biden to reverse the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s decision to end Title 42. Title 42, a public health authority that enables federal agents to quickly expel illegal immigrants during a public health emergency, has been in effect since March 2020. On April 1, the CDC announced it was terminating it on May 23. U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat from the border town of Laredo, Texas, told Fox News Sunday that Biden was listening to immigration activists, not border communities or their representatives such as himself. “But my question is, who’s listening to the men and women in green and in blue?” he asked, referring to Customs and Border Protection and Border Patrol agents. “And more importantly, who’s listening to the border communities, the sheriffs, the landowners, the rest of the people that live on the border?” he asked. Cuellar is facing a tough runoff election May 24 and, if he wins, a tough general election in November. “How can we have the federal public emergency extended to July 15 and say there’s a pandemic going on in the United States, but at the border, everything’s fine, and just let people into the United States,” he said, adding, “Those are mixed messages.” He also addressed the administration’s mixed messages when it comes to mandates. “How can you ask for international travelers to make sure … they’re vaccinated or even show their COVID-19 negative tests if they fly in?” Cueller asked, referring to vaccine mandates imposed on legal travelers when no such requirements exist for those who’ve entered the U.S. illegally and are then released into the U.S. by the Biden administration. Cuellar also posted pictures of existing overcrowded holding facilities at the border with Title 42 in place. “Title 42 is critical to ensuring the health and safety of migrants, law enforcement, and border residents,” he said. Democratic Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak wrote Biden late last week expressing concerns about Title 42 ending. He asked him “to reconsider any intentions of undoing Title 42 until there is a comprehensive plan for how the United States can avoid the humanitarian crisis this policy change would spark.” The CDC issued a statement on April 1 announcing it was ending Title 42 due to “an increased availability of tools to fight COVID-19 (such as highly effective vaccines and therapeutics)” and said, “suspending the right to introduce migrants into the United States is no longer necessary.” Instead, the Department of Homeland Security was implementing “appropriate COVID-19 mitigation protocols, such as scaling up a program to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to migrants and prepare for resumption of regular migration under Title 8,” the CDC said. But on April 12, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra announced he was renewing the national public health emergency order “as a result of the continued consequences of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.” He said the public health emergency “exists and has existed since January 27, 2020, nationwide,” and was renewed by the Trump and Biden administrations eight times. Set to expire April 15, it was renewed effective April 16 for an additional 90 days. Arizona Democratic U.S. Sen. Krysten Sinema argues extending the public health emergency “proves the need to delay lifting Title 42 to protect the health and safety of Arizona communities and migrants.” In a statement, she said she would “keep pushing for transparency and accountability from the administration to help secure the border, keep Arizona communities safe, and ensure migrants are treated fairly and humanely.” Earlier this month, she joined a bipartisan effort to prevent Title 42’s end until after the national public health emergency order ends. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., the lead Democratic cosponsor, filed the Public Health and Border Security Act of 2022. Joining him as Democratic cosponsors were Sinema and Sens. Joe Manchin from West Virginia, Jon Tester from Montana, and Maggie Hassan from New Hampshire. U.S. Rep. Jared Goldman, D-Maine, was the lead Democratic cosponsor of the companion bill in the House. Joining him were Democratic cosponsors, Reps. Tom O’Halleran and Greg Stanton of Arizona, Chris Pappas of New Hampshire, Stephanie Murphy of Florida, Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, and Tim Ryan of Ohio. The bill isn’t likely to pass the House even if it were to pass the Senate. So far, 22 states have sued to stop the administration from halting Title 42 in two separate lawsuits. Unless the Biden administration is stopped by the courts, DHS announced last month measures it was putting in place to prepare for up to 18,000 people a day expected to enter U.S. custody once Title 42 is lifted. This estimate is in addition to the roughly 2 million people who were apprehended or encountered by Border Patrol agents in Biden’s first year in office while Title 42 was in place. All encounter numbers exclude “gotaways,” those who evade capture and don’t surrender at ports of entry. Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
Despite past Democratic wins, Donald Trump making a play for Nevada
Democrats have kept Nevada in their column in every presidential election since 2004. In the 2018 midterm election, Democrats delivered a “blue wave,” flipping a U.S. Senate seat and bolstering their dominance of the congressional delegation and Legislature. But this year, political strategists and organizers warn Nevada is still a swing state. And it could swing. “I don’t know where this state goes,” said Annette Magnus-Marquart, executive director of the Nevada progressive group Battle Born Progress. “Nevada is still a purple state. Nevada is still a battleground. No matter what your party is, you have to fight when you’re running in this state.” President Donald Trump, who narrowly lost here in 2016, scheduled a rally Sunday night in Carson City, his second campaign visit to the state in as many months as the first big wave of voting kicks off. Nevada’s Democrat-controlled state government is automatically mailing ballots to all active registered voters because of the coronavirus pandemic, but in-person voting that started Saturday is typically when most people vote. It’s expected to remain a popular choice this year, with long lines forming at several sites Saturday. Democrat Leigh Natale, a 65-year-old retired paralegal, waited outside a polling place tent set up in a parking lot south of the Las Vegas Strip. She called Trump “a crazy man” and said his handling of the pandemic “just exacerbated what was already a really horrible administration.” A Joe Biden supporter, Natale said, ”It’s time we had some forward-looking policies and got back on track in this country.” Toward the back of the line, 55-year-old Tom Johnson, a corporate trainer who says he is an unaffiliated voter, was going to vote for the president. “He’s doing better than anybody else could” in fighting the virus, Johnson said. The pandemic has pummeled the tourism-dependent economy. The unemployment rate is the highest in the nation. For the vaunted Democratic political machine, it’s shifted in-person campaigning and knocking of voters’ doors to a virtual effort for much of this year. Republicans only moved to a virtual format for a few months and have been working hard, with a staff twice as big as their 2016 effort. They’re making inroads with a diverse electorate and trying to redirect economic frustrations away from the president and onto the state’s Democratic governor, Steve Sisolak. Though Trump lost Nevada in 2016, he performed better than Mitt Romney in 2012 or John McCain in 2008. The state also has has a higher percentage of noncollege educated whites, who have made up the base of his electoral support, than in many other pivotal states, including Florida, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Recent polls suggest that Biden is ahead in Nevada, though some show narrower margins than others. But the state has a strong independent streak and is notoriously difficult to poll. The hospitality industry, including the gambling-resort hub of Las Vegas, has a significant slice of night and shift workers and a highly transient population moving in, out and around the state. Those same factors can make door-knocking particularly important for reaching and registering voters. Since the spring, Republicans have consistently added more voters to their rolls than Democrats each month, narrowing their voter registration deficit in September to 5 percentage points — 1 point narrower than in 2016. Biden’s campaign has maintained that it can effectively organize digitally, but earlier this month it resumed door-to-door canvassing. The former vice president and his running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, made their own visits to Las Vegas this month. Rory McShane, a Nevada-based Republican political strategist, said the state has a strong populist presence and Republicans may benefit from voters who may be frustrated with Sisolak’s virus-related restrictions and a hobbled state unemployment system that still has tens of thousands of residents who’ve been waiting for assistance since spring. Democrats aren’t buying that theory. They say the Trump administration’s handling of the pandemic, the economic fallout and the president’s disregard of his own government’s health and safety guidelines will all hurt him. William Jordan, 57, said as he waited to vote in Las Vegas on Saturday that the president has handled the crisis “very horribly,” which added to Jordan’s decision to vote for Biden. Jordan, a Democrat who says he aligns with Republicans on economic issues, said he had recovered from COVID-19. His 82-year-old mother survived the virus but he has had two friends who have died from it. Jordan also cited the president’s rhetoric on race as one of the big reason’s he’s voting Democratic. “The country has been pulled apart so drastically and that makes me fearful for myself as a Black man and for my kids, growing up and just people in general,” he said. “It’s depressing, to be honest with you.” Trump’s campaign has been courting the state’s diverse demographic groups, including Black voters, a fast-growing population of Asian American and Pacific Islanders and Latinos, who make up 29% of the population. In Nevada, Latinos in particular have been disproportionally impacted by COVID-19 and make up almost half of the state’s confirmed coronavirus cases. No group is more motivated than the 60,000-strong casino worker’s Culinary Union. About half of the heavily Latino, heavily female union is currently out of work and 50 of its members or family members have died from COVID-19. The union has endorsed Biden and says it has turned its political organizing and canvassing program on earlier than ever and bigger than ever, with 350 people currently in the field. Geoconda Argüello-Kline, the union’s secretary-treasurer, said her members will work “until the last minute to be sure we can get the last person to go vote,” and feel “the only way we’re going to get out from this mess is to remove President Trump.” Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Donald Trump defies coronavirus rules as ‘peaceful protest’ rallies grow
Democratic governors and local leaders have urged the president to reconsider the events, warning that he’s putting lives at risk.
US relief checks begin arriving as economic damage piles up
The U.S. government began issuing one-time payments this week to tens of millions of people.
