Welcome to Bad News Weekly, your rundown of key attacks on voting rights and independent elections across the country – it’s a way to keep up with what the opponents of democracy are up to. We’ll highlight some of the worst anti-voter efforts, with a spotlight on the South, the original frontline in the fight for voting rights, and still its fiercest.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“The Trump administration had already made us dismiss our Georgia statewide lawsuit for intentionally suppressing Black votes. They didn’t ask for any information about it. They just told us to dismiss it. Then they issued a press release condemning the Biden administration for bringing the lawsuit — accusing us, the line attorneys, of fabricating evidence.” – A former Department of Justice Civil Rights Division lawyer on changes to the DOJ since Trump’s second term began.
NOTABLE TRENDS
DOJ Allegedly Investigating Debunked 2020 Georgia Election Fraud Claims: According to members of Georgia’s election denial movement, the Department of Justice is investigating debunked election fraud claims about the state’s 2020 election. At the center of these claims is an August 25 letter from Ed Martin, an election denier who was appointed by Trump as an attorney at the DOJ, demanding “immediate access” to 148,000 ballots and ballot envelopes from the 2020 election.
The letter was allegedly sent to Judge Robert McBurney, who has overseen election-related cases in Georgia; however, the letter has only been shared publicly by Cleta Mitchell and an anonymous far-right Twitter account.
Later, Janelle King, a member of the Georgia State Election Board, claimed that they had sent a letter to the DOJ asking for help to obtain the 148,000 ballot envelopes and that the DOJ was helping.
STATE ACTIVITY
Arizona • Bill to Overhaul Early Voting Introduced: State Rep Alex Kolodin (R), who is running for Secretary of State, introduced HCR 2001, a proposed ballot measure that would eliminate the state’s Active Early Voter List, which allows voters to sign up to automatically receive mail ballots, shorten the time to cast early ballots, and require proof of citizenship receive an early ballot.
Under HCR 2001, only voters who have provided proof of citizenship would receive an early ballot and they would have to request one every two years.
Because HCR 2001 is a concurrent resolution, it does not require the governor’s approval and would go to voters’ for approval on the November 2026 ballot if approved by the legislature.
Ohio • Legislature Passed Bill to End Mail Ballot Grace Period: The Ohio legislature passed SB 293 to remove the mail ballot grace period and require ballots to arrive by Election Day to be counted, and it is now headed to the governor.
The bill’s sponsors pushed SB 293 after threats of litigation from the Department of Justice over the mail ballot grace period and the U.S. Supreme Court’s hearing of Watson v. Republican National Committee, which challenges Mississippi’s law that allows the counting of mail ballots received after Election Day.
At the last minute, SB 293 was amended to direct county election boards to cancel a voter’s registration if the Secretary of State determines they are not a citizen, without a confirmation notice sent to the voter.
Texas County Republicans Are Pushing to Hand Count Next Year’s Primary: Republican parties in at least six counties in Texas are considering or have already made plans to hand count ballots in the upcoming March primary. The Republican parties in Dallas, Hays, Eastland, Gillespie, and Orange counties have approved plans to hand count ballots in the 2026 primary while they are considering a similar measure in Denton county.
Efforts to hand count ballots have repeatedly shown to be time-consuming and often error-prone.
In Maricopa County, Arizona, an effort to hand count 2020 election ballots took more than 100 people and months to complete, and the end result was 170,000 ballots from the correct total.
ANTI-VOTING GROUP ACTIVITY
Cleta Mitchell and the Election Integrity Network Pushed for One-Day Voting: During an Election Integrity Network meeting, Cleta Mitchell discussed plans to push to severely limit early and mail voting, to ensure that nearly all voting takes place in person on Election Day.
Mitchell said during a panel called “Restoring Election Day,” that she had worked with state lawmakers to develop model legislation for this aim. According to the plan, an excuse would be required to vote by mail, and Mitchell said that even being confined to a care home should not count as a valid excuse.
Mitchell also suggested that states should bar local election officials from printing additional ballots if they run out on Election Day.
If the Texas Republicans want to hand count their primary ballots, let them as long as they pay for it.
Primary elections should be on the dime of the state parties totally!
Man O man, we have to pay attention to everything this administration and despicable POS is doing and destroying.