2021 election reform

Colorado Proposes Ranked Choice Voting Legislation

Election Law Society · January 22, 2022 ·

By: Wes Zieke

The pioneer spirit is alive and well in Colorado, this time manifesting itself as legislation to change the way Coloradans vote in certain elections. In 2021, Colorado signed HB-1071 into law making it easier for cities and towns to switch over to a Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) scheme in their nonpartisan elections. RCV is an increasingly popular electoral system, though only two states currently use it for all of their congressional and state elections (Alaska and Maine). So, what does HB-1071 do? To answer that question, we first need to know what RCV is and what it purports to address.

RCV is a voting system that allows voters to rank their choices from most to least preferable. Next, the votes are tallied and if a single candidate gets over half of the first-choice votes, that candidate wins and the election is over. However, if no candidate receives over half the first-choice votes, an instant runoff begins. In the instant runoff, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and everyone who voted for the eliminated candidate will have their second choice receive their vote. This can take several rounds, but it ultimately ensures that the winning candidate gets more than half of the votes. Does that make RCV the “perfect” voting system, or even an improvement?

Is it Really Jim Crow 2.0? The DOJ Seems to Think So

Election Law Society · November 3, 2021 ·

By: Lubna Alamri

In March 2021, Georgia governor Brian Kemp signed into law the “Election Integrity Act of 2021”, a law that many have criticized as an effort by Republicans to suppress the minority vote after President Biden’s election and the Democrats’ win of both Senate seats in Georgia.

Most of the controversy surrounding the new law stems from its efforts to tighten limits on absentee voting . Among some of its more notable provisions, the law now requires voters to obtain a voter ID number in order to apply for an absentee ballot, cuts off absentee ballot applications 11 days before an election, and limits the number of drop boxes in each given county. One of the more unusual provisions includes a prohibition on the distribution of food and drink to voters waiting in lines, that is despite Georgia having some of the Nation’s longest waiting lines, especially in heavily minority populated areas.

Florida Senate Bill 90: Usual or Unusual Beast of Burden?

Election Law Society · October 22, 2021 ·

On May 6, 2021, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida signed Senate Bill 90 into law. While the Governor and his Republican colleagues in the Legislature heralded SB 90 for its election integrity and transparency measures, critics called foul, or rather “voter suppression.” SB 90 is Florida’s contribution to a flurry of state-led reforms sparked by the national discourse on the validity of the 2020 election. As a result of SB 90, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida now has a substantial election law docket. Petitioners assert a variety of claims (including ADA, Equal Protection, and Fifteenth Amendment claims), with claims regarding Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act featuring prominently.