Recent Reddit thread for updates and feedback: https://www.reddit.com/r/savethevote/comments/eilfus/gop_voter_suppression_q4_2019/
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
Florida
- DoJ orders Florida Secretary of State to cease voter purge within 90 days of an election https://thinkprogress.org/breaking-justice-department-demands-florida-stop-voter-purge-a38bf978a103/
- Trump calls for state to end absentee ballot count 4 days before deadline, which would negate about 20,000 ballots mostly by overseas military members in a race the Republican leads by less than 13,000 https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/as-nation-observes-veterans-day-trump-calls-for-blocking-military-votes/
- Although in November 2018 the voters backed a state amendment restoring voting rights to estimated 1.4 million felons who completed their sentence, State Governor Ron DeSantis and State Secretary Ken Detzner said it would not be active in time for the February elections. This contradicts the directive from the Florida Department of State. https://theintercept.com/2019/01/08/florida-felon-voting-rights-amendment-4-2/
- Despite successful Amendment 4 in 2018 to reinstate voting rights to former felons (estimated 1.4 million), GOP advanced a bill requiring court fees be paid in order to register https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/florida-republicans-move-limit-felon-voting-rights-despite-constitutional-amendment-n985156
- Florida Governor DeSantis signs poll tax in 2019, requiring felons who completed their sentence to pay fines in order to reclaim right to vote. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/florida-felon-voting-rights-ron-desantis_n_5d03c20de4b0985c419ce5af
- Florida District Court declares it unconstitutional to have a “poll tax” denying individuals with prior felony convictions until they pay fees https://lawandcrime.com/civil-rights/federal-judge-declares-gop-poll-tax-unconstitutional-says-state-cant-restrict-right-to-vote-based-on-ability-to-pay/
- Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and Texas Republicans fighting in court to protect Ballot Order Statute which places Republicans first on ballots, based on whose party which won the last gubernatorial election https://tucson.com/news/local/democrats-sue-arizona-over-law-that-places-republicans-names-first/article_a5ce38e0-a805-5e5a-b3c1-ad339ed356f9.html https://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/local/democratic-party-suing-georgia-over-absentee-ballot-rejections-listing-of/article_df71b754-02d7-11ea-a624-cf32c6881e42.html https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/texas/article/Democrats-sue-over-Texas-law-giving-Republicans-14802882.php
- District judge strikes down Florida law that placed GOP first on ballots for 20 years, saying “Florida’s ballot order statute is not neutral; instead, it affects Plaintiffs’ rights in a politically discriminatory way” https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/judge-strikes-down-florida-law-that-has-listed-gop-candidates-first-on-ballots-for-20-years/ar-BBWPxbi
Georgia
- Between 2012 and 2016, Georgia purged 1.5 Million voters from the voter rolls. 735,000 were purged from 2016 to 2018, with a whole 500,000 removed in one day. A federal court found that the 83% increase (12,000 to 22,000) in provisional ballots from 2014 to 2018 was likely due to administration errors. https://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt--politics/georgia-cancels-fewer-voter-registrations-after-surge-last-year/fqT1bcSzGu33UEpTMDzMVK/ https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/11/brian-kemps-win-in-georgia-tainted-by-voter-suppression-stacey-abrams/
- Despite a 6% increase in Georgia population from 2012 to 2018, county election officials closed 214 precincts across the state during that time https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/voting-precincts-closed-across-georgia-since-election-oversight-lifted/bBkHxptlim0Gp9pKu7dfrN/
- Elections director Linda Ford resigned after “a technical error” resulted in nearly 8,000 voters being transferred from “inactive” to “canceled” status six days after registration deadline https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/georgia-elections-official-resigns-over-misidentified-voters/XPpF1fvSyHJnmmD9VYQJSI/
- State settled on "Exact Match" rules dispute in 2017 and restored over 42,000 voters (64% purged were African-American) as Secretary of State promised to prevent future conflict https://lawyerscommittee.org/press-release/voting-advocates-announce-settlement-exact-match-lawsuit-georgia/
- Despite promise, "Exact Match" returned in 2018 as state purged voters for data errors like misplaced hyphens, typos, etc. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/states-push-new-voter-requirements-fueled-trump-n780611 https://thinkprogress.org/georgia-registration-lawsuit-b789d24105ed/ https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/11/17964104/georgia-voter-registration-suppression-purges-stacey-abrams-brian-kemp
- 107,000 registered voters purged in 2017 through "use it or lose it" policy after not voting for 3 years or responding to notice https://www.apmreports.org/story/2018/10/19/georgia-voter-purge
- After Kemp settled case in 2017 by removing 40-day deadline to correct "exact match" information, Georgia passed a new law reinstating a deadline. It also blocked tribal identification cards as ID when registering https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/11/17964104/georgia-voter-registration-suppression-purges-stacey-abrams-brian-kemp https://politics.myajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/georgia-elections-bill-passes-senate-after-debate/irbaMooFPhQPfuR1AvDTKP/
- In 2010, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Kemp’s office proceeded to question hundreds of voters and arrested a dozen activists, over a surge in minority registrations. There were no guilty verdicts. https://talkingpointsmemo.com/feature/abrams-kemp-bring-long-running-war-over-voting-rights-to-georgia-governors-race
- In 2012, Kemp blocked registrations from and investigated minority registration groups. Two and a half years later, the investigation closed without charges. https://newrepublic.com/article/121715/georgia-secretary-state-hammers-minority-voter-registration-efforts
- In 2018, Kemp arrested Black Get-out-the-vote activists accusing them of fraud, although the cases ended without conviction https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/11/17964104/georgia-voter-registration-suppression-purges-stacey-abrams-brian-kemp https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/av4nzb/the-quitman-10-2-and-voter-suppression-in-modern-georgia-715
- In 2018, county officials block bus delivering senior citizens to vote https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/10/17/17990110/georgia-senior-citizens-bus-removal-black-voters-matter-suppression
- Ahead of 2018 election, election board seeks to close 7 of 9 polling locations because they are not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, rather than improve disabled access https://thinkprogress.org/ada-voter-suppression-cd7031080bfd/
- Federal Judge blocks Georgia from rejecting absentee ballots and applications for ballots with signature problems without first giving voters notice and a chance to fix the problem. 5,147 mail-in ballots were thrown out in 2018. https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/5018933/10-24-18-TRO-Martin-v-Kemp.pdf https://www.aclu.org/blog/voting-rights/fighting-voter-suppression/court-blocks-georgia-rejecting-ballots-over https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/georgia-election-board-votes-counting-absentee-ballots-governor-race/J6jf5RklTe4DhFXICFdtBI/#
- DeKalb County board claims 50 absentee applications were received and processed for 2018 election, despite 4,700 applications sent with USPS scans verifying https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/dekalb-county/state-investigating-claims-local-elections-office-lost-1-000s-of-absentee-ballot-applications/859826997
- Two days before 2018 election, Kemp accuses Democrats of attempting to hack the election but won't give evidence. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/kemp-charges-georgia-democrats-attempted-voter-hack-abrams-fires-back-n931011?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma In 2016, Kemp accused the same thing, which was debunked by the DHS Inspector General. https://www.wabe.org/federal-review-debunks-georgia-election-hack-accusation-2/
- Still without evidence of a hack by Democrats, Kemp has repeatedly published the accusation on the front of http://sos.ga.gov/ which voters use to get voting information https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/11/georgia-governor-candidate-brian-kemp-attempts-last-minute-banana-republic-style-voter-manipulation.html
- Voting machines reported switching votes from Democrat to Republican but NOT switching from Republican to Democrat https://www.theroot.com/black-voters-in-georgia-say-something-funny-is-going-on-1829979736
- Federal judge blocks Gwinnett County from rejecting absentee ballots solely on the basis of an omitted or incorrect birth year and certifying election before ballots were counted https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/416427-federal-judge-finds-georgia-county-violated-civil-rights-act-by-rejecting
- Georgia held the third-longest wait times in the US in 2016, which repeated in 2018 with a Gwinnett County precinct outside Atlanta showing 4.5-hour lines. This lag did not exist in Republican districts. https://elections.mit.edu/#state-GA https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/11/equipment-malfunctions-and-voting-machine-shortages-bring-long-lines-in-georgia/ https://twitter.com/_2lite/status/1059802363995807750 https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/11/brian-kemps-win-in-georgia-tainted-by-voter-suppression-stacey-abrams/
- 127,000 votes in black neighborhoods did not have a recorded vote for lieutenant governor in 2018, also known as a “drop-off,” despite continuing voting down the ballot. This loss is inconsistent with historical and national trends, and inconsistent between in-person and absentee votes. https://www.theroot.com/exclusive-thousands-of-black-votes-in-georgia-disappea-1832472558 https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/bjgh8qu5ymagc1ekkuor.png
- In 2019, Federal Judge orders Georgia to either upgrade and provide hard copies or resort to paper ballots for 2020 elections. Georgia has to replace its Diebold Accuvote TSX touchscreen machines, which were banned in other states after vulnerabilities and errors were discovered as early as 2006. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/08/judge-bans-insecure-touchscreen-voting-machines-from-georgia-after-2019/
- Two months before 2019 election, Jonesboro City Council vote to move city’s one polling location from a museum to the police department which had a known history of brutality and mistreatment, leading to police chief’s resignation https://www.theroot.com/white-city-council-in-majority-black-city-quietly-moves-1838888108 https://twitter.com/kristenclarkejd/status/1181262581438144512?s=21
- 5,147 absentee ballots in the 2018 midterm election were rejected based on claim of mismatched signature or similar issue. Election officials were supposed to notify all voters affected, but despite court demands policies had varied by county. https://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/local/democratic-party-suing-georgia-over-absentee-ballot-rejections-listing-of/article_df71b754-02d7-11ea-a624-cf32c6881e42.html https://whowhatwhy.org/2018/10/12/exclusive-high-rate-of-absentee-ballot-rejection-reeks-of-voter-suppression/ https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/georgia-election-board-votes-counting-absentee-ballots-governor-race/J6jf5RklTe4DhFXICFdtBI/
- Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and Texas Republicans fighting in court to protect Ballot Order Statute which places Republicans first on ballots, based on whose party which won the last gubernatorial election https://tucson.com/news/local/democrats-sue-arizona-over-law-that-places-republicans-names-first/article_a5ce38e0-a805-5e5a-b3c1-ad339ed356f9.html https://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/local/democratic-party-suing-georgia-over-absentee-ballot-rejections-listing-of/article_df71b754-02d7-11ea-a624-cf32c6881e42.html https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/texas/article/Democrats-sue-over-Texas-law-giving-Republicans-14802882.php
- Georgia set to purge 330,000, or 4%, of registrations from voter rolls for not participating in recent elections https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/purge-more-than-300-000-voter-registrations-planned-georgia/qfxvTqS7KenXjvKN208yII/
- Despite a median 4% increase in student voter turnout rate from 2012 to 2016 across the US and all regions, multiple states showed a decrease in turnout including Georgia, Wisconsin, Mississippi, Arkansas, Minnesota, and North Carolina. https://idhe.tufts.edu/sites/default/files/NSLVE%20Report%202012-2016_1.pdf https://i.imgur.com/AzIDF8d.png
- According to collaborated APM-WABE investigation, the 2017 purge of 560,000 voter registrations removed about 107,000 who would otherwise have been eligible to vote. 70,000 purged Georgians re-registered afterwords, most in the same county. In addition, at least 4,575 purged people went on to re-register but missed Georgia’s strict deadline. https://www.apmreports.org/story/2019/10/29/georgia-voting-registration-records-removed All told, 87,000 Georgians registered to vote and were rejected for applying after the deadline. https://www.apmreports.org/story/2019/10/28/georgia-voting-deadlines-2020-election
- Even after revising the 330,000 list down to 313,000 and then 308,753 due to more legitimate registrations that were discovered, Georgia still commits to the voter registration purge. https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2019/12/13/us/ap-us-voter-purge-georgia.html Only 3 days later, state restores 22,000 more citing screening errors. https://apnews.com/57a6119af18b84c0444532c23c3dc6cb
Illinois
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Maryland
Michigan
Mississippi
Missouri
Nevada
New Hampshire
New York
North Carolina
According to court, “In response, SL 2013-381 did away with one of the two days of Sunday voting… the State’s very justification for a challenged statute hinges explicitly on race -- specifically its concern that African Americans, who had overwhelmingly voted for Democrats, had too much access to the franchise.”
“This data revealed that African Americans disproportionately used early voting, same-day registration, and out-of-precinct voting, and disproportionately lacked DMV-issued ID. Not only that, it also revealed that African Americans did not disproportionately use absentee voting; whites did. SL 2013-381 drastically restricted all of these other forms of access to the franchise, but exempted absentee voting from the photo ID requirement.” https://twitter.com/haroldpollack/status/1051657219899617280 http://pdfserver.amlaw.com/nlj/7-29-16%204th%20Circuit%20NAACP%20v%20NC.pdf
- In 2016, 7,000 voters removed for not showing up to hearing challenging their registration http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/national-politics/article112015652.html https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/3/13511264/north-carolina-voter-purge
- In 2016, judge ruled counties must restore thousands of voters removed due to mass-mailed notices being returned as "undeliverable" https://www.cnn.com/2016/11/04/politics/north-carolina-naacp-voter-registration/index.html
- In 2016, suits challenged Voter ID laws and state gerrymandering. On the floor, House Rep David R. Lewis, chairman of the redistricting committee, said “I think electing Republicans is better than electing Democrats ... so I drew this map in a way to help foster what I think is better for the country.” https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/11/us/north-carolina-voting-rights-redistictricting-battles.html
- Supreme Court rejects district map for gerrymandering in 2017 due to racial motivation https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/5/22/15676250/supreme-court-racial-gerrymandering-north-carolina
- Elections committee chair files 2017 bill that makes it so that the majority party (Democrats) can NEVER control an election board during an election year. Majority party would control chair in odd years, minority (GOP) would control chair in even years https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/north-carolina-republicans-election-boards_us_5c070ebfe4b0a6e4ebd96ee4 https://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2017/Bills/House/PDF/H1117v0.pdf
- GOP officials call election boards to keep early-voting sites open for shorter hours on weekends and in evenings. Counties that opened only one polling site during the first week of early voting had turnout decrease of 20% https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-northcarolina-insight-idUSKBN12Y0ZY
- Party Executive Director Dallas Woodhouse asks election boards to “make party line changes to early voting” to limit hours and keep polls closed on Sundays. Multiple counties vote to end Sunday voting http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article96179857.html https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article100284162.html
- GOP bill in 2018 to eliminate requirement for early voting the Saturday before election day, when 192k voted that day in 2016 (6.5% of early votes) https://www.wral.com/gop-proposal-would-drop-final-saturday-from-early-voting/17627479/
- State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement collects sworn statements that Leslie McCrae Dowless Jr. and other staffers on behalf of Harris campaign paid people to collect absentee ballots in 2018, coordinated alteration of Democrat and minority absentee ballots. The Harris campaign is also under suspicion for the abnormally high absentee ballots that he won (96%) in primary https://wapo.st/2rgE7Ap?tid=ss https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/419561-woman-admits-to-picking-up-absentee-ballots-in-north-carolina https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/419693-second-woman-says-she-was-paid-to-collect-absentee-ballots-in-north https://www.apnews.com/ab20c7bd12464a4383abfdc2bd88ca92 Dowless campaign worker gives testimony at evidentiary hearing that she and others collected and opened unsealed absentee ballots they collected to fill in the Republican candidate, in addition to fabricating absentee forms, using false names as witness, and storing copies of all ballots to be sent to a Bladen County PAC https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/gop-campaign-worker-admits-to-filling-in-republican-votes-on-absentee-ballots-says-she-was-later-told-to-lie/ Leslie McCrae Dowless Jr. and 7 others indicted https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/30/us/mccrae-dowless-indictment.html?emc=rss&partner=rss
- NC Board of Elections investigated campaign operative Leslie McCrae Dowless Jr. earlier in 2010 over allegations that he paid voters to fill out ballots. No criminal charges were made, as witnesses were unwilling to testify https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/424441-man-at-center-of-nc-election-fraud-allegations-was-previously-probed-for
- Elections board orders new election for House seat due to 2018 absentee ballot fraud https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-north-carolina/north-carolina-orders-new-u-s-house-election-after-tainted-vote-idUSKCN1QA1QG
- Democratic governor accuses GOP of blocking both 2018 investigation and interim Board of Elections after the North Carolina Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement declined to validate the election results. The investigation was forced to dissolve and the Republican chair is declining to nominate for the interim board, resulting in no investigation hearings https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/north-carolina-gop-accused-of-derailing-investigation-into-election-fraud/
- DA says over 1,000 ballots may have been destroyed in 9th district 2018 race https://www.foxnews.com/politics/over-1000-ballots-may-have-been-destroyed-in-tighty-contested-north-carolina-congressional-race
- In 2019, Federal judge shuts down GOP attempt to preserve gerrymander, where state Republicans claimed legislators and the justices are too racist to be trusted to redraw the maps in a way that wouldn’t violate the Constitution https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/01/north-carolina-republicans-gerrymander-anita-earls.html https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/12/north-carolina-republican-gerrymandering-plan-insanity.html
- NC judges strike down state legislature map for 'extreme partisan gerrymandering', requiring the new map be drawn in full public view at public hearings with all computer screens visible to legislatures and observers https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/09/03/north-carolina-judges-toss-maps-partisan-gerrymandering/2204294001/
- Hofeller emails released in 2019 show that Voter ID models and research discriminated based mostly on race rather than partisanship as claimed. For example, one document included a district cutting through HBCU A&T State University with the city map color-coded by race and age (highlighted in red at 50%+ black). Emails also include Hofeller pushing Republicans to campaign protecting the use of inmates in gerrymandering, as prisons cannot vote but would inflate population. https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-secret-files-of-the-master-of-modern-republican-gerrymandering https://media.newyorker.com/photos/5d7291409cecbb00083874cf/master/w_774,c_limit/Daley--Gerrymandering02.jpg
- North Carolina Republicans recommend Art Pope, who funded REDMAP which was behind multiple court-declared gerrymandered districts, to come back as special master to "referee" the new NC map replacing the invalidated map he helped make https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6386074-LD-S-Suggested-Referees.html https://www.npr.org/2011/10/06/141078608/the-multimillionaire-helping-republicans-win-n-c
- In midst of 2019 redistricting process that requires changes done in public, State Senator John Alexander is filmed dividing Democratic district in half to keep his seat safe. https://twitter.com/johnbisognano/status/1171950792196141056 Alexander announces retirement the day after reporting. https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article235028597.html
- In 2019, State Court judges strike down 2016 GOP map to create a “political gerrymander” for Congressional seats, seeking a 10-3 GOP seat advantage in a state where the 2016 popular vote was 49%-49%. The GOP admitted it in leaked records that they had attempted to do worse but saw 11 GOP seats as “impossible.” https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/10/28/1895606/-Victory-over-the-worst-gerrymander-in-modern-history-Court-blocks-North-Carolina-GOP-s-House-map
- Despite a median 4% increase in student voter turnout rate from 2012 to 2016 across the US and all regions, multiple states showed a decrease in turnout including Georgia, Wisconsin, Mississippi, Arkansas, Minnesota, and North Carolina. https://idhe.tufts.edu/sites/default/files/NSLVE%20Report%202012-2016_1.pdf https://i.imgur.com/AzIDF8d.png
- State Supreme Court rejects request to fast-track districting appeal, leaving the 2020 map as 8-5 or giving GOP 62% of seats for now, even though the state was 50-48 in 2018 and 53-47 in 2016. Although the current Court of Appeals process will likely not finish before 2020 election, the State Supreme Court gave no reason. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/north-carolina/articles/2019-11-15/north-carolina-supreme-court-wont-take-up-remap-appeal-now
- State Senator Jerry Tillman defended their process in 2019 saying “it is the province of the states and it then becomes the province of the prevailing party. It doesn’t say one thing about splitting a county or a precinct. It doesn’t say anything about being fair...Do you think it should be anything other than partisan? It’s set up to be partisan.” https://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/article237489259.html https://twitter.com/JeffJacksonNC/status/1196439138486108162 This is the same State Senator who earlier rejected a vote when all members were present, saying “I don’t believe we need your advice on when to call the vote. We’ll call one at the right time. I hope you’ll miss it.” https://twitter.com/JeffJacksonNC/status/1196440120288788481
- District Judge strikes down Voter ID law citing “intentional racial discrimination” and “sordid history of racial discrimination and voter suppression.” Although Voter ID will eventually be implemented as voted for in 2018, the judge struck down two versions - the 2016 law for use of racial data, and SB 824 for being worked on at a similar time by same legislators with the same maps. https://apnews.com/562a2b86f0a6c8ae95b1113cd2159b93
North Dakota
Ohio
- Documents reveal Boehner encouraged precision gerrymandering in Ohio districts in 2011 https://thinkprogress.org/documents-show-boehner-helped-gerrymander-ohio-map-giving-gop-12-of-16-congressional-seats-b1e1199ac4e3/
- State cuts "Golden Week" early voting in 2016, cuts early in-person voting from 35 days to 29 days https://www.cnn.com/2016/08/23/politics/ohio-golden-week-early-voting/
- Voters assigned as inactive not included in absentee application mailings in 2016, reducing options for them becoming active again https://thinkprogress.org/ohio-is-making-it-harder-for-inactive-voters-to-become-active-again-94bc31dc5f4f/#.3qf08ru6y
- Removed registration of voters who didn't vote in 3 elections and failed to reply to notice. Given the fact that nobody reported any of this back when notices were claimed to be sent, did they even send notice? Upheld by Supreme Court 5-4 in 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/11/us/politics/supreme-court-upholds-ohios-purge-of-voting-rolls.html
- Federal judges ordered Ohio to allow voters to vote in 2018 who had been purged for not voting over a six-year period https://www.10tv.com/article/federal-judges-order-ohio-allow-purged-voters-back
- In 2019, Sixth District Court for Ohio ruled district map unconstitutional. Leaked emails revealed that the map (made in secret) was intentionally designed to increase partisanship. As a result of the gerrymandering, the GOP consistently claimed 75% of House seats despite a 51%-47% vote lead in 2012, a 58%-42% lead in 2016, and a 52%-47% lead in 2018. https://www.cleveland.com/open/2019/05/federal-judges-toss-out-ohios-congressional-map-as-illegal-gerrymander.html https://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/2017/11/emails_documents_disclose_ohio.html https://www.scribd.com/document/408565244/Sixth-District-Court-Ohio-Redistricting-Decision
- Ohio set to remove 235,000 people from voter rolls in 2019 for being inactive, although thousands were found as incorrectly listed in the month since and 11,872 voters demonstrated legitimacy by updating registration https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ohio-voter-purge_n_5d713ebce4b0a606aa4f3df2
- Ohio officials admit nearly 20% of people listed for removal were legitimate active voters, including the head of the League of Women Voters of Ohio that was resisting the purge https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/14/us/politics/ohio-voter-purge.html
- Ohio rejects more than 7,350 absentee ballot applications based on missing or different signature, or in 5 counties no reason specified https://www.cbsnews.com/news/voting-thousands-of-ohio-absentee-applications-denied/
Pennsylvania
Tennessee
Texas
- Judge rules in 2017 that Texas Voter ID law discriminates https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/23/politics/texas-voter-id-ruling/index.html
- Texas election officials confirmed that voting machines used in 30% of its counties are switching people’s votes https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/1055912575093792768?s=19 https://apnews.com/a8825810d10441f2ad828e95d6851d55
- Secretary of State David Whitley apologizes for 2019 claim of 58,000 illegal votes that was shared by the AG, Governor, and President as at least 20,000 votes have already been identified as legitimate. Whitley blames it on bad wording and will still forward the names for investigation and possible prosecution, a claim which was itself denied by the AG. https://thinkprogress.org/texas-secretary-of-state-illegal-voters-david-whitley-donald-trump-d3c6d9c3b29f/ https://www.texastribune.org/2019/02/11/texas-ags-office-said-it-was-investigating-voters-citizenship-review-l/
- Judge halts effort to purge 95,000 voters in 2019, which so far only found 80 ineligible out of 95,000 accused registered voters. Even the Secretary of State David Whitley, who has since resigned, admitted to accidental additions. Gov. Greg Abbott, who pushed the voter purge before Whitley, gets to pick his replacement ahead of 2020. https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2019/mar/02/federal-judge-halts-texas-voter-roll-pu/ https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a27750601/texas-governor-greg-abbott-voter-roll-purge/
- In June 2019, Governor signed bill, effective ahead of 2019 election, to ban mobile voting locations. Mobile voting locations allow election officials to expand voting in rural locations, colleges, and retirement homes where potential voters cannot reach official facilities. https://www.kxan.com/state-of-texas/state-of-texas-democrats-suing-state-over-ban-on-mobile-voting-locations/ https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=86R&Bill=HB1888
- Texas responding to signature discrepancies by throwing out mail-in ballots, rather than allowing provisional ballot verification as other state laws allow https://www.huffpost.com/entry/texas-signature-mismatch-absentee-ballot_n_5d4b414ae4b01e44e4749888?3cl
- Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and Texas Republicans fighting in court to protect Ballot Order Statute which places Republicans first on ballots, based on whose party which won the last gubernatorial election https://tucson.com/news/local/democrats-sue-arizona-over-law-that-places-republicans-names-first/article_a5ce38e0-a805-5e5a-b3c1-ad339ed356f9.html https://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/local/democratic-party-suing-georgia-over-absentee-ballot-rejections-listing-of/article_df71b754-02d7-11ea-a624-cf32c6881e42.html https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/texas/article/Democrats-sue-over-Texas-law-giving-Republicans-14802882.php
Utah
Virginia
Wisconsin
- Expanding on Voter ID restrictions, in 2011 Wisconsin rejected Student ID’s that do not have an issuance date, an expiration date of no more than 2 years from the date of issuance, a signature, and independently verified active enrollment. This would mean that even having a legitimate photo ID could not be enough to permit voting rights, and goes against state claim that they support free ID’s. https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/471346-foundation-for-student-voters-files-suit-against-wisconsin-alleging https://andrewgoodman.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/AGF-Voter-ID-Lawsuit-Wisconsin.pdf
- Voter ID law deterred a potential 16,800 to 23,250 voters in 2016 https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2017/09/26/wisconsin-voter-id-law-deterred-nearly-17-000-voting-uw-study-says/702026001/
- Court orders state to investigate DMV failing to provide IDs within required time in 2016 https://www.thenation.com/article/a-federal-court-orders-wisconsin-to-stop-suppressing-the-vote/
- Merged DMVs in 2018 in areas with limited transit https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/madison-leaders-criticize-state-s-dmv-consolidation-over-potential-voting/article_c6bc7568-f494-560e-9cbf-ba8cc9d5a578.html
- Lame-duck bills made to move 2020 presidential primary from April to March to separate appointees from a risk of presidential "blue wave," leading to 3 elections in 3 months. They would also restrict in-person voting ahead of an election, despite a previous attempt being ruled unconstitutional https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/wisconsin/articles/2018-11-30/legislative-leaders-to-vote-on-extraordinary-session Outgoing governor Scott Walker signs the bills into law https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/wisconsin-gov-scott-walker-signs-bills-weakening-democratic-successor-n948096
- Judge blocks lame-duck 2018 laws by outgoing GOP leadership to, among other changes, restrict in-person voting to the two weeks before an election http://www.startribune.com/judge-blocks-wisconsin-lame-duck-laws/507466732/
- Despite a median 4% increase in student voter turnout rate from 2012 to 2016 across the US and all regions, multiple states showed a decrease in turnout including Georgia, Wisconsin, Mississippi, Arkansas, Minnesota, and North Carolina. https://idhe.tufts.edu/sites/default/files/NSLVE%20Report%202012-2016_1.pdf https://i.imgur.com/AzIDF8d.png
- Judge sides with conservative suit, orders purge of up to 234,000 voter registrations in state where party won 2016 election by fewer than 23,000. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/13/us/wisconsin-voter-rolls-purge.html After deadlock with all 3 Republican members for voter purge, Wisconsin Elections Commission asks to put purge on hold while lowering estimate to 144,000 registrations at risk. https://www.chicagotribune.com/midwest/ct-wisconsin-voter-purge-20191230-lhestnlqwfhfpmizipelcmzyca-story.html
National
- In the 2008 and 2012 elections, there was an anomalous vote gain relative to precinct size that increased Romney's count and McCain's when Romney quit, but did not affect Democrats or other elections https://web.archive.org/web/20130126180125/http://www.themoneyparty.org/main/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/2008_2012_ElectionsResultsAnomaliesAndAnalysis_V1.51.pdf
- In 2012, GOP won 33-seat majority despite Democrats having 1.37 Million more votes or getting 49.2%-48.0%. http://cookpolitical.com/user/login?destination=/story/5195 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dC1t1lUqkKTDRAWimeq8gN9UN7Zbl3X_3cN2aUkAxj0/edit#gid=0
- Supreme Court 2013 ruling freed nine states, mostly in the South, to change their election laws without advance federal approval https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/26/us/supreme-court-ruling.html
- In 2016, at least 868 polling places closed in southern states, increasing lines https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/4/13501120/vote-polling-places-election-2016
- According to smartphone data processed by UCLA, Carnegie Mellon University, and University of Chicago, residents of entirely black areas had a 29% longer wait and were 74% more likely to have to wait more than 30 minutes to cast their ballot than residents in entirely white neighborhoods in the 2016 election. Compared to a national average 19 minutes wait to vote, this is substantial and significant evidence of racial disparities in voter wait times. https://arxiv.org/pdf/1909.00024.pdf https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/460965-study-voters-in-black-neighborhoods-face-longer-wait-times
- Despite a population increase of 4% and increased voters, at least 1,688 polling places have closed from 2012 to 2018. Nearly 1,200 of the closings were in southern states. https://civilrights.org/democracy-diverted/ https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-locations/southern-u-s-states-have-closed-1200-polling-places-in-recent-years-rights-group-idUSKCN1VV09J?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews
- In 2018 Supreme Court ruled 5-4 ok'ing an already proven gerrymandered map. Argument was that if a judge reactivates interim map without intent to gerrymander, it isn't a gerrymandered map https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/06/the-abbott-v-perez-case-echoes-shelby-county-v-holder-as-a-further-death-blow-for-the-voting-rights-act.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/supreme-court-upholds-texas-redistricting-that-a-lower-court-said-discriminated-against-black-and-hispanic-voters/2018/06/25/bd09592a-7885-11e8-93cc-6d3beccdd7a3_story.html?noredirect=on
- GOP strategist Thomas Hofeller, who ghostwrote the Neuman DoJ letter to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, cited his own unpublished study showing that the question would be "advantageous to Republicans and Non-Hispanic Whites" and had been talking to Census Bureau since 2010. The DoJ claims Hofeller's study "played no role" but they copied from his study verbatim. https://www.npr.org/2019/05/30/728232221/gop-redistricting-strategist-played-role-in-push-for-census-citizenship-question https://www.npr.org/2019/06/15/732669380/emails-connect-census-official-with-gop-strategist-on-citizenship-question https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6077735-May-30-2019-Exhibit.html#document/p120/a504025 https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6077715-May-30-2019-Letter-to-Judge-Jesse-Furman.html Email releases further reveal that staff like Principal Deputy Assistant AG John Gore and Commerce advisor Mark Neuman may have continued the lie during deposition to cover up a draft letter sent to Hofeller. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/11/hofeller-document-census-citizenship-question-supreme-court-consequences.html
- In 2019, 3 Federal judges - New York, California, and Maryland districts - find Trump's citizenship census question unlawful. They claim it violated the Administrative Procedure Act, that Wilbur Ross concealed his basis for the question, that there's no genuine need for the question, and it prevents the US gov from carrying out its mandate. https://www.npr.org/2019/04/05/700982993/trump-administrations-census-citizenship-question-plans-halted-by-third-judge Supreme Court agrees, saying the Trump explanation for it is inadequate but allowing for a citizenship question in the future. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/citizenship-question-supreme-court-2020-census-trump-today-latest-scotus-news-a8977936.html
- In 2019, Supreme Court temporarily blocks lower rulings requiring new voting maps for Ohio and Michigan, despite leaked emails in both states showing intentional gerrymandering. In Ohio the GOP consistently claimed 75% of seats despite a 51%-47% vote lead in 2012, a 58%-42% lead in 2016 and a 52%-47% lead in 2018. In Michigan the GOP consistently claimed 64% of seats despite a 46%-51% loss in 2012, a 47%-49% loss in 2014, and a 48%-47% lead in 2016. https://www-nbcnews-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1010146 https://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/2017/11/emails_documents_disclose_ohio.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/us/michigan-gerrymandering.html?module=inline
- In 2019, Supreme Court rules 5-4 that vetting gerrymandering is beyond its constitutional reach, moving districting out of federal control and overturning lower rulings in Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, and Wisconsin. https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/06/27/fiasco-democracy-right-wing-supreme-court-gives-green-light-partisan-gerrymandering https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/6/27/18761166/supreme-court-gerrymandering-republicans-democracy
- In 2019, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked an election security bill to authorize hundreds of millions of dollars to update voting equipment. McConnell himself has put no bills on the floor for machine improvement. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mcconnell-defends-blocking-election-security-bill-rejects-criticism-he-is-aiding-russia/2019/07/29/08dca6d4-b239-11e9-951e-de024209545d_story.html
- South Carolina, Nevada, Arizona and Kansas GOP officials seeking to cancel 2020 primaries and caucuses, skipping over challengers to Trump to require Trump as 2020 candidate. https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/06/republicans-cancel-primaries-trump-challengers-1483126?cid=apn This is in direct violation of some of their rules, like South Carolina where it would require a prior vote. https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/460391-south-carolina-gop-appears-to-violate-own-rules-in-canceling-primary-for
- GOP senators twice block election security bills hours after Mueller warns of Russian interference. https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/25/politics/republican-senators-block-election-security-legislation/index.html GOP continues blocking 3 election security bills in October. https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/467130-senate-gop-blocks-three-election-security-bills-for-second-day
- GOP votes against HR4 Voting Rights Advancement Act requiring preclearance for voting changes in states that have repeat voting rights violations, must notify the public of voting changes https://trackbill.com/bill/us-congress-house-bill-4-voting-rights-advancement-act-of-2019/1617370/ https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/116-2019/h654
"I don't want everybody to vote... As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down."
-Paul Weyrich, co-founder of Heritage Foundation and ALEC, 1980
“Look, if African Americans voted overwhelmingly Republican, they would have kept early voting right where it was,” Wrenn said. “It wasn’t about discriminating against African Americans. They just ended up in the middle of it because they vote Democrat.”
-Carter Wrenn, Republican consultant in North Carolina
“There's a lot of liberal folks in those other schools who that maybe we don't want to vote. Maybe we want to make it just a little more difficult. And I think that's a great idea.”
-Cindy Hyde-Smith, Republican Senator of Mississippi, 2003
More quotes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZDzDDMuXYo&t=211s
Seeking more examples, if you have them.
Get out and vote. https://www.vote.org/
