“An increasingly broad and powerful array of lawmakers is coalescing around the idea of changing how Congress tallies Electoral College votes — as MLK Day comes and goes on Monday without broader voting rights reforms,” Axios reports.
Bipartisan Voting Reform Bill Gaining Steam
New York Times: “A growing group of Senate Republicans and centrist Democrats is working on legislation to overhaul the Electoral Count Act, the 19th-century law that former President Donald Trump sought to exploit to overturn the 2020 presidential election. That effort is expanding to include other measures aimed at preventing interference in election administration, such as barring the removal of nonpartisan election officials without cause and creating federal penalties for the harassment or intimidation of election officials.”
“Democratic leaders say they regard the effort as a trap — or at least a diversion from the central issue of voter suppression that their legislation aims to address.”
Democrats Need to Spend Big to Overcome GOP Obstacles
“With the door slammed shut this week on federal legislation to create new protections for access to voting, Democrats face an electoral landscape in which they will need to spend heavily to register and mobilize voters if they are to overcome the hodgepodge of new voting restrictions enacted by Republicans across the country,” the New York Times reports.
Hundreds of Ballot Applications Being Rejected In Texas
“Hundreds of Texans seeking to vote by mail in the upcoming March primary elections are seeing their applications for ballots rejected by local election offices trying to comply with stricter voting rules enacted by Texas Republicans last year,” the Texas Tribune reports.
Wisconsin Judge Rules Ballot Drop Boxes Not Allowed
“A judge has ruled that absentee ballot drop boxes are not allowed under Wisconsin law, a ruling that could potentially remove an option for voting ahead of the state’s crucial midterm elections,” Wisconsin Public Radio reports.
Americans Split On Who Will Protect Right To Vote
A new Quinnipiac poll finds Americans are split on which party in Congress is more likely to protect their right to vote with 45% saying the Democratic Party, 43% saying the Republican Party and 12% not offering an opinion.
What the Voting Rights Bills Miss
Nate Cohn: “Neither of the voting rights bills, nor the emerging bipartisan effort to reform the Electoral Count Act, is sure to close off some of the most probable avenues for election subversion.”
“While the various legislative paths might protect access to voting or hold the promise of clarifying how Congress counts electoral votes, the proposals are largely silent on a crucial time frame — the period between the polls closing in November to January, when Congress gathers to count electoral votes. This is when election administrators go about the once routine business of counting and certifying election results.”
Trump Loyalists Join Forces to Take Over Election Process
“Extreme Republicans loyal to Donald Trump and his ‘big lie’ that the 2020 election was rigged have formed a nationwide alliance aiming to take control of the presidential election process in key battleground states that could determine the outcome of the 2024 presidential race,” The Guardian reports.
“At least eight Republicans who are currently running to serve as chief election officials in crucial swing states have come together to form the coalition.”
Schumer and Biden Keep Pushing on Voting Rights
Punchbowl News: “Please pause for a moment and consider just how much political capital President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer are spending right now on voting rights and scrapping the filibuster. Biden went to Atlanta on Tuesday to make a major speech on this, and now he’s coming to Capitol Hill today to lobby Democratic senators during a closed-door party meeting.”
“Let’s leave aside for a second the substance of the voting rights bill. We all understand that it’s unlikely to pass, right? And there are plenty of Senate Democrats – and many on the House side too – that wonder why the White House is pressing so hard on this. And why is Schumer forcing vulnerable lawmakers to do away with the filibuster? The vast majority of Democratic senators are ready to scrap the 60-vote threshold – if they can win. They can’t right now. And worse than that, Senate Democrats don’t have a graceful way out this political jam.”
Majority Want to Reform Electoral Count Act
A new Politico/Morning Consult poll finds that 55% of Americans support reforming the Electoral Count Act, the 19th-century law that Donald Trump tried to use to subvert the Electoral College on Jan. 6. 2021.
Bipartisan Group Looking at Election Reforms
“Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said that the bipartisan working group talking about changes to the Electoral Count Act is also considering a broad range of elections reforms,” Politico reports.
“The Maine Republican told reporters the group is looking at raising the bar for challenging a state’s electoral count, beyond the current requirements of one member of the House and one member of the Senate. But the lawmakers are considering updates to the Election Assistance Commission, an agency that provides guidance and grants to state and local election officials, as well as expanding the grant use for purposes such as training and voting machines.”
“In addition, Collins said the group is examining suggestions from Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) for how to protect election officials from harassment.”
Voting Rights Groups Skipping Biden’s Speech in Georgia
“When President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris deliver major speeches on voting rights on Tuesday in Atlanta, there will be notable absences in the crowd,” the New York Times reports.
“Stacey Abrams, the Democratic candidate for governor and one of the nation’s best known voting-rights advocates, will not be there. Nor will a coalition of Georgia’s most active voting-rights groups.”
Washington Post: In pivot to voting rights, Biden risks falling short on a second big goal.
Letting Non-Citizens Vote Is Terrible Politics
Mona Charen: “Acts like New York City’s cheapen the meaning of citizenship. Voting is not just a transaction. It isn’t just a matter of deciding which candidate will better handle snow removal or trash collection. Voting is an act of affiliation, a statement of solidarity with the nation you’ve adopted as your own…”
“It’s a lead-pipe cinch that this will become a major campaign talking point for Republicans. They will depict this as proof that Democrats only favor immigration because they want to pad the number of Democratic voters (leaving aside that Hispanic voters have been trending toward the Republicans in recent elections). And they will likely find that most Americans agree… This is an own goal for Democrats.”
The Bad Deal Democrats Should Take
David Graham: “Electoral-count reform is a narrow fix, insufficient for the many problems in the voting system—but it’s better than nothing at all.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“I am, as you know, a Black person, descended of people who were given the vote by the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution. The 15th amendment was not a bipartisan vote, it was a single party vote that gave Black people the right to vote. Manchin and others need to stop saying that because that gives me great pain for somebody to imply that the 15th Amendment of the United States Constitution is not legitimate because it did not have bipartisan buy-in.”
— Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), quoted by Politico.
Biden Heads to Georgia to Talk Voting Rights
“Fresh off a high-profile speech in which he warned that a dagger had been placed at the throat of American democracy, President Joe Biden will travel to the state that White House officials view as ‘ground zero’ for Republican-led election suppression efforts,” Politico reports.
“Biden will speak in Georgia on Tuesday. In his remarks, he is expected to not only echo the themes of his address on the anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection but to expand on his endorsement of a filibuster carveout to pass voting rights legislation in the Senate.”
Our Democracy Won’t Fix Itself
Rick Hasen: “Those who believe the last election was stolen will be more likely to accept a stolen election for their side next time. They are more willing to see violence as a means of resolving election disputes. Political operatives are laying the groundwork for future election sabotage and the federal government has done precious little to minimize the risk.”
“Many people who are not dispirited by such findings are uninterested. Exhausted by four years of the Trump presidency and a lingering pandemic, some Americans appear to have responded to the risks to our democracy by simply tuning out the news and hoping that things will just work out politically by 2024.”
“We must not succumb to despair or indifference. It won’t be easy, but there is a path forward if we begin acting now, together, to shore up our fragile election ecosystem.”
Cyber Ninjas Face Fine Over Arizona Election Review
“A judge said Thursday he will fine Cyber Ninjas, the contractor that led Arizona Republicans’ 2020 election review, $50,000 a day if the firm doesn’t immediately turn over public records related to the unprecedented inquiry,” the AP reports.
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