Registration

Nevada’s Luck Runs Out: Voting Rights Case Remanded to District Court

Election Law Society · October 19, 2015 ·

By: Kelsey Carpenter

An interesting case has just been remanded back to the United States District Court of Nevada by the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals called National Council of La Raza v. Cegavske (2015) regarding the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA). Specifically the plaintiffs challenge Nevada’s following of Section 7 of the NVRA. Section 7 states that voter registration opportunities must be provided by all offices that handle public assistance and services to disabled populations. This provision of the NVRA exists to protect previously disenfranchised low-income voters from being unable to register to vote.

Voter Registration Series, Article 1: Mississippi

dwswan · September 22, 2015 ·

By: Caiti Anderson

The ability to vote is a powerful tool to ensure one’s voice is heard among the clamor of democracy. However, this right has remained elusive to many throughout American history. The long, hard slog to create a “more perfect union” comprises the battle for inclusivity in the American political process. Over the next few weeks, this series will study the history of voter registration through the comparative analysis of the history of voter registration in different states and the growing movement towards automatic voter registration. Today’s article will examine Mississippi and the ongoing journey towards fair voter registration laws in that state.

An article on Florida election law that does not contain the word “recount”

Election Law Society · November 17, 2011 ·

by John Loughney

In the cold, competitive (comfortingly predictable) world of election reform, two factions are locked in an epic, endless struggle, and both are positive the guys on the other side of the aisle threaten to undermine our cherished democratic system.

On one side, the shadowy Republicans—or so the Dems would have you believe—ruthlessly disenfranchise the poor, the pigmented, and the felonious. They callously seek to raise identification standards beyond all reason and whittle voting windows to woeful new lows.

On the other, the conniving Democrats—or so the GOP attests—are valiantly protecting nothing more than the madness of an election process riddled with voter fraud. They ignore how administrative inconsistencies have marred our legitimacy and skewed our tallies, how civics teachers run rampantly afoul of state election law, how…

Wait, civics teachers? [Read more…] about An article on Florida election law that does not contain the word “recount”

Maine-iacs Mobilized: New Voter Registration Laws in Maine

Election Law Society · October 12, 2011 ·

After thirty-eight years, a sleeping (political) giant is now awake in the Pine Tree State. In June of 2011, the Maine State Legislature repealed the long-standing law permitting Mainers to register to vote on the same day as elections, and replaced it with a new law prohibiting same-day voter registration.

Pursuant to LD 1376, Maine now requires that all in-person registrations occur no later than the third business day prior to the election date. Maine’s departure from being one of the country’s eight states to offer same-day voter registration was not a landslide victory. In the House, seventy-two representatives voted in favor, while sixty-five were opposed and thirteen representatives were absent, and the Senate showed a similar divide with seventeen votes in favor, fourteen against, and four excused. The close divide in both the House and Senate illustrates the partisan divide over same-day registration which was ultimately passed under Maine’s Republican majority. Reportedly, only one House Republican and two Senate Republicans voted with Democrats to oppose the legislation. [Read more…] about Maine-iacs Mobilized: New Voter Registration Laws in Maine

One Stop Shopping: Rhode Island Initiative Registers Voters at Work

Election Law Society · January 19, 2011 ·

The Newport Mansions, Family Guy, Brown University and the Farrelly brothers are a few of the Ocean State’s more notable features. To this list, we may soon add “Innovative Voter Registration.” Rhode Island Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis launched “Voters in the Workplace” in the summer of 2008. This initiative encourages and enables companies to host voter registration drives during normal business hours between August and October every year. These months include the registration deadlines for both the state primary and general elections. The Secretary of State’s office markets the program through social media and direct mail while working with Rhode Island’s chamber of commerce network and trade organizations for human resources managers.

So how does it work? A company contacts the Secretary of State’s office and expresses interest in hosting a voter registration drive for its employees. In the weeks leading up to the drive the company generally sends out e-mails notifying its workers, posts links to registration forms on their intranet, and displays voter registration posters. The Secretary of State’s Office supplies the company with all of these materials electronically, even the e-mail template. Some companies do more: Cox Communications in West Warwick ran promotions on its closed-circuit television network. On the day of the drive, staff members from the Secretary of State’s office travel to the company and conduct the voter registration. A drive is usually held in the cafeteria or another gathering space in the workplace during regularly scheduled breaks, lunch, or directly after work. Staff time spent on a typical registration, including travel, is about two hours. Chris Barnett of the Rhode Island Secretary of State’s press office indicated there is no discrete budget for the program and “the investment is simply routine overhead.” Dozens of companies have partnered with the Secretary of State’s office since the program began two years ago. [Read more…] about One Stop Shopping: Rhode Island Initiative Registers Voters at Work