Louisiana: Civil rights groups fight to restore ex-felon voting rights | The Louisiana Weekly

Two civil rights groups have joined forces to battle a 2017 trial court ruling that allows the State of Louisiana to deny voting rights to more than 70,000 of its residents. On June 13, The Advancement Project, a civil rights and racial justice program based in Washington D.C., announced their intention to file an appeal in the Louisiana Court of Appeal for the First Circuit on behalf of the New Orleans-based non-profit organization Voice of the Experienced (VOTE). The appeal challenges a March 2017 decision by 19th Judicial District Judge Tim Kelley in which he, apparently somewhat reluctantly, upheld current laws that prohibit ex-felons on probation or parole from voting.

Louisiana: Civil rights group appeals voting ban for 70,000 Louisiana felons on parole, probation | The Times-Picayune

The legal battle over the voting rights of more 70,000 Louisiana residents on probation or parole will continue as civil rights groups announced Tuesday (June 13) their intention to appeal a state court’s ruling denying ex-offenders that right. The Advancement Project, a national civil rights and racial justice organization based in Washington, D.C., filed notice with the Louisiana 4th Circuit Court of Appeal of their intention to challenge a March 13 decision by 19th Judicial District Judge Tim Kelley in Baton Rouge. Kelley rejected a 2016 lawsuit seeking to restore voting rights of people on probation or parole for felony crimes, saying that, while he believed it to be unfair, it is legal under the state constitution to deny convicted felons that right, according to the Associated Press.

Louisiana: House passes bill Wednesday to make recall efforts easier | The Times-Picayune

Lawmakers in the state House overwhelmingly approved House Bill 272 on Wednesday (May 10) that makes it easier to recall an elected official from office. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Paul Hollis, R-Covington, now moves to the Senate for further consideration. “My belief is that we need to enact this immediately and across the board,” Hollis said, in response to a question from Rep. Joe Stagni, R-Kenner, about delaying implementation if the bill becomes law. Following a debate that lasted about 10 minutes and an added amendment requiring recall organizers to state the reason for targeting an election official for removal, House members voted 70 to 27 in support of the bill.

Louisiana: Let 70,000 ex-felons vote? No, says Louisiana House committee | Associated Press

Proposals to restore the voting rights of more than 70,000 Louisiana ex-felons on probation or parole got a chilly reaction from some state lawmakers Wednesday (April 26). The House Governmental Affairs Committee rejected one such proposal and persuaded a lawmaker to delay action on a similar bill until next week. Rep. Patricia Haynes Smith, D-Baton Rouge, pulled her House Bill 229 from a vote after her colleagues expressed concern about giving the vote back to people who have been on parole or probation for five years. The law affects about 71,000 people, roughly 1.5 percent of the state’s population. Similar proposals have died before in the conservative Louisiana Legislature. Smith introduced the bill after supporters of restoring voting rights struck out in court last month, when a judge told them they would have to get the law changed if they want the prohibition lifted.

Louisiana: House Lawmakers Not Keen to Restore Vote to Some Ex-Felons | Associated Press

Proposals to restore the voting rights of more than 70,000 Louisiana ex-felons on probation or parole got a chilly reaction from some state lawmakers Wednesday. A House committee rejected one such proposal and convinced a lawmaker to delay action on a similar bill until next week. Rep. Patricia Smith, a Baton Rouge Democrat, pulled her proposal from a vote after her colleagues expressed concern about giving the vote back to people who have been on parole or probation for five years. Similar proposals have died before in the conservative Louisiana Legislature.

Louisiana: Lawmaker filing bill to ease recall efforts | WWLTV

Motivated by recent failures to recall Jefferson Parish President Mike Yenni and former St. Tammany Parish Coroner Peter Galvan, a lawmaker says he’s filing a bill Thursday to reduce the threshold for petition signatures that must be collected to get a recall election on the ballot. State Rep. Paul Hollis, R-Covington, said he believes both houses of the Legislature will support his proposal when the session starts April 10 and will support the need to ease requirements under the state’s recall law, which he called the most onerous in the country. “I look at Louisiana compared to all the other states that allow for recalls and Louisiana’s threshold is by far the highest requirement and I certainly don’t want it to be the lowest and likewise I don’t want it to be easy, I just want it to be possible.”

Louisiana: Judge Doesn’t Like It, but Upholds Voting Ban on Some Felons | Associated Press

More than 70,000 Louisiana residents on probation or parole for felony crimes will remain unable to vote, under a decision issued Monday by a reluctant Baton Rouge judge who said he disagreed with the prohibition in law but had to uphold it. State District Judge Tim Kelley called it unfair to keep thousands of people from voting if they’re working, paying taxes and following the law. But he said Louisiana’s constitution and a four-decades-old state law required him to continue denying the voting rights. “I don’t like this ruling. I don’t like it. It’s not fair,” Kelley said.

Louisiana: Court ruling on voting rights of felons expected Monday | The Advocate

A state judge in Baton Rouge is slated to rule Monday on the legality of a four-decades-old Louisiana law that bars felons on probation and parole from voting. There are roughly 71,000 such persons in the state. Attorneys for eight individuals and a group called Voice of the Ex-Offender challenged the constitutionality of the 1976 law in a case that’s being heard by District Court Tim Kelley. In recently filed written arguments, lawyers for the plaintiffs and for the state Attorney General’s and Secretary of State’s offices have given Kelley plenty to chew on as he mulls his decision.

Louisiana: Investigation of Jefferson Parish ‘VIP’ voting machine now in DA’s hands | NOLA

A report by the Louisiana secretary of state’s office on the use of a Jefferson Parish voting machine reserved for “VIPs” has been turned over to the district attorney’s office. The state office would not release the findings of its election compliance unit on Tuesday (Nov. 29), however, citing a Louisiana law that shields “records pertaining to pending criminal litigation or any criminal litigation which can be reasonably anticipated” until the case is closed. The machine had been kept in a private conference room at Registrar of Voters Dennis DiMarco’s office in Elmwood during the early voting period leading to the Nov. 8 elections. It was not available to the general public. DiMarco said he and some of his staff let certain people use it to avoid waiting in line.

Louisiana: Early voting machine most voters never saw was seized in Jefferson Parish. Here’s why … | The Advocate

Early voters often brave long lines in order to cast their ballots ahead of election day, but a select few at Jefferson Parish’s East Bank government headquarters managed to avoid the wait. They got to vote on a special machine inside a conference room in parish Registrar of Voters Dennis DiMarco’s office, skipping the line. Not any more. That perk vanished Wednesday after a staff member in DiMarco’s office let the attorney heading the campaign to recall embattled Parish President Mike Yenni use the machine on the first day of early voting this week, prompting the lawyer to report the situation to election officials. Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler on Wednesday seized both the machine and the book containing the signatures of voters who had cast ballots on it. Neither will be released until officials begin tabulating early votes on Nov. 8. Schedler said in a letter that his action was “necessary to preserve the transparency and integrity of early voting and to promote confidence within the general public regarding the voting process.”

Louisiana: State’s voter record firewall is low tech | The Advocate

The “right to vote” in America has been taking something of a licking recently. Last week Yahoo reported that the FBI was trying to find out how Internet hackers accessed hundreds of thousands of voter registration records in Illinois and Arizona. As if a further reminder was needed in the age of Julian Assange and Edward Snowden, the unauthorized access to voter records underscored the vulnerability of the nation’s computer system and the impact that exposure could have on constitutional institutions, said Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler. He and other officers of the National Association of Secretaries of State on Aug. 15 discussed cyber security with U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson. Johnson offered assistance, perhaps making voting records part of the nation’s secured infrastructure.

Louisiana: Elections chief already making plans to carry on following flood | USA Today

Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler said his staff is already making preparations to set up mobile voting precincts where needed as well as processes to reach displaced voters even though the fall election is months away. Schedler and his communications director Meg Casper said they are beginning assessments of polling places and their viability following devastating flooding in southern Louisiana. Early voting for the Nov. 8 election begins Oct. 25. “The good news is we’ve done this before,” said Schedler, referring to elections following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Louisiana: Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser draws ire of Secretary of State Tom Schedler with statements about voting laws | State Politics | theadvocate.com

Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler has blasted recent remarks from Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser about the state’s voting laws as being “irresponsible.” The News Star reported on Monday that Nungesser, a Republican who took office in January, told the Ouachita Parish Republican Women that he wants better Republican voter turnout, but he claimed that Democrats busing in voters during the state’s early voting period remains a hurdle. “They don’t have to bring them to their precinct,” the report quotes Nungesser as saying. “They bring them all to one place, and if they can’t find their name, they’re allowed to fill out a piece of paper and vote. And if the election is not contested, that vote will count. Now they have a whole week to bus people who have no idea why they’re going there but to pull a lever for someone.” The News Star story didn’t include a response from Schedler, who is also a Republican, but on Tuesday, the Secretary of State’s office sent a news release criticizing Nungesser’s remarks as “nonsensical” and expressed personal offense.

Louisiana: Attorney General reviewing lawsuit over voting rights for ex-offenders | Louisiana Record

In the wake of a lawsuit filed against the state to restore voting rights to ex-offenders, the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office said voting restrictions on those on parole or probation is constitutional. Voice of the Offender (VOTE) filed a lawsuit against the state, the governor, and the secretary of state on July 1 requesting that individuals on probation and parole be granted the right to vote. “Although we are not a named defendant in the case, our office is reviewing the case,” Ruth Wisher, spokeswoman with the AG’s office told the Louisiana Record. “We do believe that restrictions on voting rights are constitutional.”

Louisiana: Felons on parole, probation sue to obtain voting rights | NOLA

A lawsuit filed Friday (July 1) in state court seeks to restore voting rights for some 70,000 Louisiana residents who are on probation or parole for felonies. The suit was filed in Baton Rouge by the group Voice of the Ex-Offender and several convicted felons who have been denied voting rights. The suit says state laws blocking people who are on parole or probation from voting violate the Louisiana Constitution. The 1974 constitution allows suspension of voting rights for people judicially declared mentally incompetent or those who are “under an order of imprisonment” for a felony. The lawsuit contends that the denial of voting rights does not extend to felons who have been released on parole or probation.

Louisiana: Lawsuit seeks to restore voting rights for some 70,000 residents on probation or parole | Associated Press

A lawsuit filed Friday in state court seeks to restore voting rights for some 70,000 Louisiana residents who are on probation or parole for felonies. The suit was filed in Baton Rouge by the group Voice of the Ex-Offender and several convicted felons who have been denied voting rights. The suit says state laws blocking people who are on parole or probation from voting violate the Louisiana Constitution. The 1974 constitution allows suspension of voting rights for people judicially declared mentally incompetent or those who are “under an order of imprisonment” for a felony. The lawsuit contends that the denial of voting rights does not extend to felons who have been released on parole or probation.

Louisiana: State increases private and independent voting options for voters with disabilities | American Press

People with disabilities will now find it easier to vote. On Thursday, Governor John Bel Edwards signed HB 614 into law. This legislation, authored by Rep. Helena Moreno, D-New Orleans, will provide voters with disabilities the opportunity to vote privately and independently via absentee ballot for the first time. “I was honored to author this necessary legislation so that individuals with disabilities will finally gain the independence of filling out their own ballots. This not only enhances voting rights, but also helps reduce fraud,” said Moreno said in a news release. With the signing of this legislation, Louisiana will become one of the first states in the country to make its absentee ballot by mail process accessible to people with disabilities.

Louisiana: New voting laws block little fraud — but many elders, women, and minorities | The Louisiana Weekly

Much of the reporting about the voter-ID laws many states have passed in recent years has centered on how they often block access to the polls by lower-income minority and naturalized citizens. But a subtext has been the barring of many older people from their right to vote. “Voter ID laws disadvantaging older persons place a burden on the voting rights of those most likely to participate in the electoral process,” said Daniel Kohrman, a senior attorney with the AARP Foundation Litigation office in Washington, D.C. That’s because older citizens vote at greater percentages than younger people. A total of 33 states have laws requesting or requiring voters to show some form of identification at the polls this year. (West Virginia’s new law goes into effect in 2018). Of those, 17 states will have restrictive voter-identification laws on the books for the first time in a presidential election, according to New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice.

Louisiana: Foreign-born citizens in Louisiana have had to take extra steps to register to vote — until now | PRI

Until this week, naturalized citizens in Louisiana were required to go an extra mile to register to vote: After filing a standard registration form, potential voters born outside the US were required to submit proof of citizenship, in person, at their local registrar’s office. “It felt like we were targeted,” says Tu Hoang, an attorney in Louisiana. Hoang, 28, emigrated from Vietnam with his parents when he was five. He became a US citizen when he was 19 and registered to vote soon after. He was able to navigate the system without any hiccups, providing proof of citizenship with his voter registration form, but noticed an unsettling shift years later when he was organizing voter registration drives in the Vietnamese community of New Orleans. Around 2012 the procedure became more cumbersome — a shift other advocates also noticed. The proof of citizenship requirement became more strictly enforced and applicants were required to make an extra trip, several weeks after filing the registration form, rather than submitting both together.

Louisiana: State Repeals Century-Old Voter Registration Requirement | Associated Press

Louisiana has repealed a century-old state law that required naturalized citizens to provide proof of their citizenship when they registered to vote, a change that effectively resolves a lawsuit’s discrimination claims. Civil rights groups that sued last month to block the 142-year-old law’s enforcement announced Wednesday that they will withdraw their federal lawsuit now that state lawmakers have removed it from the books. Their suit claimed the old law discriminated against foreign-born, naturalized U.S. citizens by arbitrarily subjecting them to “heightened” voter registration requirements that didn’t apply to native-born citizens.

Louisiana: Bill proposes campus cards as valid voter ID | CR80News

Louisiana’s House Education Committee has approved a bill that will enable college students in the state to use their campus-issued student ID cards as an official form of identification for voting. Per a report from The Advertiser, the bill could enable campuses to implement the measure as early as this fall, although it won’t be required to take effect until 2019. According to House Bill 940, brought forth by Rep. Randal Gaines, D-LaPlace, valid student ID cards will be required to have a photo of the cardholder along with a signature in order for the credential to be accepted under Louisiana state voter identification laws.

Louisiana: Suit: Louisiana voter registration law is discriminatory | Associated Press

A century-old Louisiana law discriminates against foreign-born, naturalized U.S. citizens by arbitrarily subjecting them to “heightened” voter registration requirements that don’t apply to native-born citizens, civil rights groups claim in a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday. Attorneys from the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Fair Elections Legal Network are seeking a court order blocking enforcement of the state law, which has been on the books since 1874. Their class-action suit claims the law is unconstitutional because it requires naturalized citizens to provide documents proving their citizenship when they register to vote, while other residents simply must swear that they are citizens on the voter registration application.

Louisiana: Technology trips election returns, again | The News Star

For the second time in two elections, a “technical glitch” stalled the Ouachita Parish Clerk of Court’s Office in completing election returns Saturday night. Over 50 minutes elapsed before election results were updated on the Secretary of State’s website at about 10:15 p.m. At the time, less than 10 precincts remained out across three local elections. Ouachita Parish Clerk of Court Louise Bond said equipment including laptops and readers are brought in from the Secretary of State’s office for the election. “We have a computer that has a reader and sometimes they don’t read, and we had a glitch in it,” she said. Cartridges that register votes from each precinct are brought to the clerk’s office where they are electronically read. Bond said the reader was unable to extract information from a cartridge that came from western Ouachita Parish.

Louisiana: The Trump-Cruz Louisiana Delegate Fight Could Be First Sign Of Turmoil To Come | TPM

Political observers have wondered for months whether Donald Trump’s unconventional, “political outsider” campaign would put him at a disadvantage if the Republican presidential race were to come down to the wire. Now, a fight stemming from the complicated process of selecting convention delegates suggests it has. The Trump campaign is currently in a tizzy over a development regarding Louisiana’s delegation to the Republican National Convention. While Trump narrowly defeated Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in the state’s primary earlier this month, a recent Wall Street Journal report suggested that Cruz will head to Cleveland with more Louisiana delegates than the real estate mogul, prompting Trump to accuse Cruz of trying to “steal” delegates. “It’s the first bit of concrete evidence that we’ve got that the Cruz campaign is organized and that the Trump campaign is playing catch-up,” said Josh Putnam, a lecturer at the University of Georgia who tracks delegate rules at the blog FrontloadingHQ. “This process is going to go on to other states where similar battles are going to be fought under different state party rules.”

Louisiana: Senate rejects bill to ease absentee voting | The Times-Picayune

The Louisiana Senate voted 11-24 Tuesday (March 29) against legislation that would have made it easier to vote by mail. Sen. Karen Carter Peterson, D-New Orleans, brought Senate Bill 164 to allow anyone to vote by mail. Under current law, people must meet certain criteria to vote absentee. There was no discussion about the proposal on the Senate floor before it was rejected, but the vote broke down along party lines. All 11 senators who voted to expand absentee voting were Democrats. Every Republican either opposed the bill or was absent from the vote. Peterson is the head of the Louisiana Democratic Party.

Louisiana: Senate votes to ban personal spending of campaign money | The Clarion-Ledger

The Senate on Wednesday unanimously approved campaign-finance and elections reform that includes prohibition of politicians using campaign money for personal expenses such as cars, apartments and clothes. “It’s really common sense,” said Senate Elections Chairwoman Sally Doty, R-Brookhaven. “The question you ask yourself is, ‘Is this a campaign-related expense, or an expense related to holding office?’ If the answer is yes, you’re fine. If it’s no, then you shouldn’t do it.” House Bill 797, now rewritten by the Senate, also includes a prohibition on politicians cashing out their campaign funds as a nest egg when they leave office and requires them to itemize campaign spending with a credit card. It would also prohibit legislators from soliciting campaign funds during a legislative session, although Doty said this might require changes so it doesn’t hamstring lawmakers running for other offices.

Louisiana: Trump Camp Will File RNC Complaint Over Delegates, Not A Lawsuit | TPM

An adviser to Donald Trump’s campaign on Wednesday clarified that the campaign will file a complaint with the Republican National Committee (RNC) over the selection of delegates in the Louisiana primary, not a lawsuit, as Trump suggested in a Sunday tweet. Trump’s lawsuit threat followed a report that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) could gain up to 10 unbound delegates from the Louisiana primary, five of which were previously committed to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) before he dropped out of the presidential race. Trump won the primary, but could end up with fewer delegates than Cruz. Delegates supporting Cruz have also secured five of Louisiana’s six slots on the rules committee for the Republican convention.

Louisiana: Schedler now wants to keep Election Assistance Commission | USA Today

Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler, in a break with other state election officials, now says the Election Assistance Commission should remain in place. His view marks a reversal of his earlier position that the commission, which helps states run their elections, should be eliminated. ‘’I kind of like what I see now,” Schedler said in a recent interview. “And I’m willing to take a look-see attitude.” Schedler heads the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), but he said he was speaking only in his capacity as Louisiana’s secretary of state in offering his revised position to shut down the federal agency.

Louisiana: State high court overturns bar to felons running for office | Associated Press

The Louisiana Supreme Court has overturned a constitutional amendment barring felons from running for office because voters approved a version without a last-minute legislative change. “Simply stated, what the citizens voted on was not what the legislature enacted,” Justice John L. Weimer wrote for the 6-1 majority in a lawsuit brought by former state Sen. Derrick Shepherd. Voters had approved an amendment in 1997 forbidding convicted felons from running for office for 15 years after the end of their sentences. However, the version on the ballot omitted an amendment exempting those sentenced only to probation.