Voting Law Proposals and Voting Rights Efforts (1 Viewer)

[MT15]

This is, IMO, going to be a big topic in the coming year. Republicans have stated their aim to make voting more restrictive in just about every state where they have the means to do so. Democrats would like to pass the Voting Rights Bill named after John Lewis. I’m going to go look up the map of all the states which have pending legislation to restrict voting. Now that we have the election in the rear view, I thought we could try to make this a general discussion thread, where people who have concerns about voting abuses can post as well and we can discuss it from both sides. Please keep memes out of this thread and put them in the boards where we go to talk about the other side, lol.

 

[MT15]

Thune: Republicans will use SAVE Act in midterms if Democrats don’t get ‘on board’

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) says Republicans will attack Democrats in the fall elections for failing to enact the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act if they don’…

thehill.com

So has Thune completely caved? Like all GOP cowards eventually do?

 

[Lapaz]

So has Thune completely caved? Like all GOP cowards eventually do?

The problem is Democrats are not countering the legislation. A large majority of voters support IDs, but that includes driver’s licenses and other government IDs. The save America act would destroy democracy by requiring onerous IDs, so I think Democrats should propose the “Save Democracy act” that would alllow any government ID, mandate minimum number of polling sites and voting hours, plus allow voting by mail, and even increase the penalty for fraud. In other words Democrats should address things to improve voting integrity.

 

[DaveXA]

The problem is Democrats are not countering the legislation. A large majority of voters support IDs, but that includes driver’s licenses and other government IDs. The save America act would destroy democracy by requiring onerous IDs, so I think Democrats should propose the “Save Democracy act” that would alllow any government ID, mandate minimum number of polling sites and voting hours, plus allow voting by mail, and even increase the penalty for fraud. In other words Democrats should address things to improve voting integrity.

Absolutely. Need to hone in on the fact that requiring passports to vote is effectively a poll tax which is unconstitutional. State clearly that any form of government ID is acceptable and that states should be required to provide free IDs to those eligible for government assistance.

 

[MT15]

 

[zztop]

ugh

Many states count mail ballots that arrive after Election Day. Those grace periods could go away

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments over a Mississippi law that allows counting late-arriving mail ballots after Election Day.

apnews.com

There will be just one Election Day for this fall’s midterm elections — Nov. 3. But voters in 14 states who cast their votes by mail have been given a grace period ranging from a day later to several weeks in which their ballots can be received and counted.

Whether that extra time should be allowed is at the heart of a case that will be argued Monday before the U.S. Supreme Court. If the court strikes down those grace periods, it will leave those states — and their voters — scrambling to adjust with only a few months before absentee ballots are sent out for this fall’s midterm elections.

 

[LA 2 L.A.]

ugh

Many states count mail ballots that arrive after Election Day. Those grace periods could go away

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments over a Mississippi law that allows counting late-arriving mail ballots after Election Day.

apnews.com

There will be just one Election Day for this fall’s midterm elections — Nov. 3. But voters in 14 states who cast their votes by mail have been given a grace period ranging from a day later to several weeks in which their ballots can be received and counted.

Whether that extra time should be allowed is at the heart of a case that will be argued Monday before the U.S. Supreme Court. If the court strikes down those grace periods, it will leave those states — and their voters — scrambling to adjust with only a few months before absentee ballots are sent out for this fall’s midterm elections.

The federal government, including even the IRS, recognizes the postmark as the legal date of submission. So any mail in ballot postmarked on election day or before is legally cast on time, regardless of how long it takes the post office to deliver it.

In honor of Paul Harvey, the rest of the story is that's why the Post Office just changed their postmarking policy. They are in on the voter suppression. Anyone voting by mail needs to complete and mail their ballots as soon as they get them and/or got to a post office counter and ask for a manual postmark.

As the U.S. Postal Service continues implementing operational changes in an effort to shore up its finances and modernize its infrastructure, the agency expects an increase in delays between when you mail something and when it is postmarked, according to a public notice in the Federal Register that took effect Dec. 24. A postmark shows the date your mail was processed, and historically has been applied the same day you mail an item.​

​

However, due to limiting pickups at many postal locations and mail now often traveling farther to regional processing centers where the postmark is applied, "the postmark date does not inherently or necessarily align with the date on which the Postal Service first accepted possession of the mailpiece," the notice reads.​

USPS changes may delay postmark dates. What it means for your tax returns, ballots, bills and more

Due to operational changes at the Postal Service, the agency says there will be more delays between when you mail something and when it gets postmarked.

www.cnbc.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

California sheriff running for governor seizes more than a half million ballots from 2025 election

A California sheriff running for governor has seized more than half a million ballots cast in a November special election from county election officials, saying he’s investigating a ballot count discrepancy.

apnews.com

 

[zztop]

^
Bianco seized ballots in Riverside County, the inland California county of 2.5 million people where he has twice been elected sheriff. He called the effort “a fact-finding mission.”

Bianco said the investigation had “absolutely nothing to do” with his campaign for governor.

 

[MT15]

Mini-Trumps. Emboldened by the mango Mussolini.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Bianco said the investigation had “absolutely nothing to do” with his campaign for governor.

 

[LA 2 L.A.]

^
Bianco seized ballots in Riverside County, the inland California county of 2.5 million people where he has twice been elected sheriff. He called the effort “a fact-finding mission.”

Bianco said the investigation had “absolutely nothing to do” with his campaign for governor.

He's specifically targeting the special election in which voters overwhelmingly approved redistricting the state. This is a desperate move to try to undermine our vote and the redistricting.

 

[Optimus Prime]

 

[Optimus Prime]

California sheriff running for governor seizes more than a half million ballots from 2025 election

A California sheriff running for governor has seized more than half a million ballots cast in a November special election from county election officials, saying he’s investigating a ballot count discrepancy.

apnews.com

California sheriff defends his past membership in the extremist Oath Keepers militia

In an interview, Sheriff Chad Bianco sought to minimize his past affiliation with the group, 17 members of which have been indicted in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

www.npr.org

 

[efil4]

TiL

 

[Optimus Prime]

TiL

How many times is he going to say this lie?

Do any of the reporters there ever say that's a lie?

 

[LA 2 L.A.]

How many times is he going to say this lie?

Do any of the reporters there ever say that's a lie?

Just to visually drive the point home that Trump is lying. This is a map of the countries that allow voting by mail.

Global in-country postal voting data | International IDEA

Methodology

www.idea.int

 

[Dragon]

Just to visually drive the point home that Trump is lying. This is a map of the countries that allow voting by mail.

Global in-country postal voting data | International IDEA

Methodology

www.idea.int

Our election starts at 8 AM tomorrow and runs until 10 PM.

Denmark is marked as “no” on early voting, which is technically correct—but in practice, we do have early voting. You can cast your vote up to two weeks in advance at city halls, libraries, and other designated locations where special polling stations are set up. The same applies to prisons—incarcerated individuals retain their right to vote. Voters with disabilities can also request to vote from home. In those cases, election officials will visit them and collect their ballot in a sealed envelope.

All ballots are paper-based, and the counting process is very thorough. Each batch is counted at least twice by different people, and if there’s any discrepancy, it’s recounted. With around 14 parties on the ballot and no primaries, the ballot itself can easily be over three feet long

Because Denmark is a relatively small country with many polling stations, about 95% of votes are typically counted before midnight. After that, the real work begins. With so many parties, no one usually has a majority—so forming a government turns into a few days (sometimes longer) of negotiations, compromises… and a fair amount of political “speed dating” until enough parties agree to work together

 

[Optimus Prime]

CNN) — The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared dubious of state laws that allow the counting of mail ballots that arrive at election offices after Election Day as justices heard oral arguments in a challenge to Mississippi’s five-day grace period for mail ballots.

Over the course of more than two hours, justices raised an assortment of reasons why they saw those policies as problematic, seemingly embracing Republicans’ arguments that the state laws run afoul of statutes passed by Congress establishing Election Day in November for federal offices.

The lawsuit against Mississippi’s practice was brought by the Republican National Committee in 2024 and puts into jeopardy the mail ballot deadlines of several other states.

Thirteen other states and the District of Columbia also set mail ballot receipt deadlines after Election Day, and 29 states, plus DC, count ballots that arrive after Election Day that are cast by military families and citizens living overseas in certain circumstances, according to the National Conference of State Legislature…….::

https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/23/politics/supreme-court-mail-in-ballots-takeaways-mississippi?cid=ios_app