voting rights

State court adopts new congressional districts in Florida

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Back in July, the Florida Supreme Court struck down eight congressional districts in Florida gerrymandered to benefit Tea-Publicans. State Supreme Court strikes down congressional districts.

The Florida legislature convened a special session over the summer that failed to produce new district maps by the court imposed September deadline.

The Florida legislature failed again on Friday when a state judge rejected maps drafted by the Republican Legislature and approved one drawn by the challengers in the lawsuit — a coalition of voter-rights groups and Democratic-leaning individuals. Judge Picks Voting Map in Florida:

The_Gerry-Mander_EditThe new 27-district map could likely flip a few House seats from Republican to Democrat, and vice versa, in the 2016 election, including one held by Representative Daniel Webster, a conservative Republican from Orlando now vying to become the next speaker of the House. But however much it changes the political balance of power, supporters of the lawsuit say the ruling is a step toward fairer districts, rather than those created out of political calculation.

Judge Terry P. Lewis of Florida’s Second Circuit Court, who has handled the case from the beginning, will now send his recommendation back to the State Supreme Court for a final decision.

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Governor Brown signs universal (automatic) voter registration bill

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The state of California will join the state of Oregon in implementing universal (automatic) voter registration. It’s time for voter advocacy groups in Arizona to file a bill in the legislature and to file a ballot measure for universal voter registration in Arizona.

The San Jose Mercury News reports, Gov. Jerry Brown signs ‘motor voter’ law, voter registration through the DMV:

Voting-RightsLegislation Gov. Jerry Brown signed Saturday requires California drivers who are eligible to vote to be signed up automatically when they get a new license — a dramatic expansion of voting rights that could grow the state’s voter rolls by millions of people.

When Assembly Bill1461 takes effect in January, California will become the second state in the nation to adopt an automatic voter registration system at a time when many states are restricting their citizens’ right to vote. Oregon enacted a similar law earlier this year.

Secretary of State Alex Padilla first promised to expand access to the polls last year as a candidate on the campaign trail.

He sponsored the legislation and applauded Brown for taking swift action to help the 6.6 million Californians who are eligible but not yet registered to vote, noting that citizens need not “opt-in” to other fundamental rights such as free speech or due process.

“In a free society, the right to vote is fundamental,” Padilla said. “The New Motor Voter Act will make our democracy stronger by removing a key barrier to voting for millions of California citizens.”

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Faith based supply-side ‘trickle down’ economics has made Arizona one of the poorest states in the country

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Follow up to So how’s that faith based supply-side ‘trickle down’ economics working out for you, Arizona?

That faith based supply-side “trickle down” economics has made Arizona one of the poorest states in the country. Arizona remains among worst in poverty:

trickle downStarting from the top, an estimated 21.2 percent of all Arizonans in 2014 were at or below the federal poverty line.

Nationally, it was 14.8 percent.

That was bad enough to rank third-worst in the nation. Only Louisiana and Mississippi had higher rates.

Perhaps more worrisome, Arizona’s poverty rate went up in 2014 while the nation stayed the same.

The last time Arizona’s rate looked like the nation as a whole currently does was 2007, when Arizona ranked 10th-worst in the nation with 14.3 percent of its residents in poverty.

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(Update) California’s minor political parties appeal ‘top-two’ electoral system to U.S. Supreme Court

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Earlier this year I posted about California’s minor political parties appeal ‘top-two’ system to U.S. Supreme Court:

In January of this year, the Court of Appeal of the State of California (1st District, Division 1) upheld California’s “top-two” primary electoral system in the case of Rubin v. Padilla (.pdf):

StopTop2We affirm the trial court’s dismissal of the action. Given the structure of California’s “top-two” electoral system, minor-party candidates have no right to appear on the general election ballot merely because they have made a showing of significant public support. The role played by the general election under the former partisan system is fulfilled by the primary election in the top-two system, and there is no material barrier to minor-party participation in the primary election. Further, the failure of minor-party candidates to appear on the general election ballot does not substantially burden their members’ rights of political association and expression, and California’s interest in expanding participation in the electoral process is adequate to justify any burden that may occur. Lastly, because California’s electoral system treats all political parties identically, plaintiffs’ claim that they are denied equal protection of the laws is groundless.

This is a sweeping dismissal of minor political party rights and limiting the choices of voters in a general election.

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California passes universal (automatic) voter registration bill, awaits governor’s signature

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The California legislature just passed a bill for universal (automatic) voter registration that has the potential to add millions of new voters to the voter rolls. Governor Jerry Brown has 30 days to decide whether to sign the bill.

The Brennan Center for Justice reports, A Watershed Moment for Voter Registration:

Voting-RightsIf Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs the bill into law, the plan would dramatically modernize voter registration in the Golden State by replacing old-fashioned, ink-and-paper cards with a system that automatically registers eligible citizens when they visit the DMV. Automatic registration in the most populous state in the country is a watershed moment in the effort to fix our broken election system: California will be putting the responsibility for ensuring eligible citizens can vote where it should be — on the government, not the individual.

The Brennan Center explains why California’s automatic registration bill is so important, as the bill makes two very small but transformative changes. California’s legislature is one of many that have considered automatic registration, based on a Brennan Center proposal, and is the third state legislature to pass such monumental reform.

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