House of Representatives Pushing Haphazard Election Overhauls
Opponents of H.R. 1 were galvanized last week, as proponents of the legislation indicated their intentions to enact individual provisions of the law using a “piecemeal” strategy. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer highlighted this intention Thursday, catching opponents in the Senate off guard. Rather than focus on improving the security…
Senate Introduces Voting System Cybersecurity Act to Strengthen Elections
On Tuesday, the Voting System Cybersecurity Act of 2019 was introduced into the United States Senate, demonstrating a bi-partisan commitment to securing our election administration and infrastructure. The legislation, if passed in both chambers, would add a representative of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to…
House Administration Committee Highlights Importance of Decentralization and Agreement on Election Vulnerabilities
On Wednesday, the Secretaries of State of Michigan and Alabama appeared before the House Administration Committee in order to advocate for increased funding and support to safeguard our elections against cyber attacks. The hearing demonstrated that both sides of the political aisle are in agreement that cyberattacks pose…
New Election Proposals in Minnesota’s House Would Abandon Bi-Partisan Tradition
Recent proposals to significantly alter elections in Minnesota have raised concerns from advocates of free and fair elections. Adherents of good governance in Minnesota have addressed that anything but bi-partisan, or non-partisan, fixes to the election laws would bring about a “partisan arms-race”, and thus, honored an unwritten tradition that…
Recent Judicial Opinions Override the Will of the People in Redistricting Battle
As states look to strengthen their election systems heading into the 2020 election, federal courts are handing down rulings that could significantly distract from their efforts, if not alter the electoral landscape altogether. Among the recent rulings include orders to redraw district maps in Ohio, Mississippi, Michigan, and Maryland that…
Overview: House Oversight and Reform Hearing “Protecting the Right to Vote: Best and Worst Practices”
Yesterday, the House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties held a hearing titled “Protecting the Right to Vote: Best and Worst Practices”. The Subcommittee featured testimony from four witnesses: Dale Ho of the ACLU, Leigh M. Chapman of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights,…
Ballot Integrity Measures Being Cast as Suppression in Key States
National Public Radio’s recent article on election reforms in traditionally conservative states demonstrates a fundamental media bias against strengthening the protection of the ballot box, at a crucial moment when Americans’ trust in their ballot being counted is in jeopardy. Highlighting the reforms in states such as Texas, Tennessee,…
State Legislators Pushing Changes to Absentee Balloting
Heading into the 2020 election, statehouses across the nation are increasing legislative activity promoting election “fixes”. Florida, Delaware, and Iowa are examples of states that have recently considered significant legislation changing the electoral processes. Florida’s proposal, SB7088 and it’s counterpart, HB 7101, would “prohibit supervisors from mailing out ballots…
Supreme Court Finds No Racial Gerrymandering in Abbott v. Perez, Except for One District
On June 25, 2018, the Supreme Court in Abbott v. Perez overturned the lower court’s finding that the Texas legislature had gerrymandered legislative districts against Hispanic citizens when redrawing occurred in 2013 after the lower courts struck down the districts drawn in 2011. The Court ruled that the district court…
Senate Rules and Administration Committee Hearing on Election Security
On June 20, 2018, the Senate Rules and Administration Committee held a hearing on election security preparations that are being made at the local and state level. The committee heard witness testimony from state and local officials, along with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Senior Cybersecurity Advisor, Matt Masterson….