Kansas: Report: Kansas Election Law Suppressing Turnout | KCUR

Kansas’ “strictest in the nation” election law may have been written with the intent to discriminate against certain groups of voters and should be reviewed by the U.S. Department of Justice to ensure that it doesn’t violate federal law, a civil rights panel says in a report issued Tuesday. The report, written by the Kansas Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, says that the proof of citizenship and voter ID requirements imposed by a 2011 Kansas law “may impose a substantially higher burden than that which has been previously challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court.” Download the report from the Kansas Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Wisconsin: Election officials setting stage to remove hundreds of thousands of names from the voting rolls | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Wisconsin election officials are setting the stage to remove hundreds of thousands of people from the voting rolls because they have died, moved or not voted in the past four years. The voters will be notified and will have a chance to keep themselves registered to vote. Wisconsin Elections Commission approved the plan Tuesday to send postcards to up to nearly 800,000 voters by June to tell them they will be removed from the voter rolls if they don’t update their information. Also Tuesday, the commission certified to the Legislature that it has put in place a new system allowing people to use an online portal to register to vote, provided they have a valid Wisconsin driver’s license or state ID card. The system is for registering only and voters still have to cast ballots at the polls, in clerks’ offices or by mail.

Iowa: House GOP passes voter ID bill, sends to Senate | Associated Press

The Republican-controlled House on Thursday approved a voter identification bill, despite criticism from Democrats that the measure would suppress voter turnout among minorities, the elderly and the disabled. The bill by Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate would make several changes to Iowa’s elections system, though most attention has been on a requirement that voters show approved ID at the polls. The measure is opposed by advocates for easier voting requirements such as the League of Women Voters of Iowa and elections officials including the Iowa State Association of County Auditors. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 34 states had laws in 2016 requesting or requiring voters to show identification at the polls.

National: State Republicans Push For More Restrictive Voting Laws | NPR

Vice President Pence has yet to begin a promised investigation into allegations by President Trump that millions of people voted illegally in November. But that hasn’t stopped state lawmakers from taking action they say would limit voter fraud, even though the president’s claims have been widely discredited. Legislation to tighten voter ID and other requirements has already been introduced in about half the states this year. And in statehouse after statehouse, the debate has had a familiar ring. “We do not have a voter fraud problem in North Dakota,” Democratic Rep. Mary Schneider argued last month during a state House floor debate of a measure that would tighten that state’s voter ID requirements and increase penalties for voter fraud. “To say that there’s not a voter fraud problem in North Dakota, I think that’s another inaccurate statement. Maybe there have been no convicted cases but it doesn’t mean that we don’t have an issue,” countered Republican Christopher Olson, shortly before the measure was approved by a vote of 74-16.

Arkansas: Senate approves voter ID bill | Times Record

The Senate on Wednesday approved a bill to require Arkansas voters to show photo ID at the polls. House Bill 1047 by Rep. Mark Lowery, R-Maumelle, passed in a 25-8 vote, reaching with one vote to spare the two-thirds majority vote needed for passage in the 35-member Senate. The bill passed in the House in a 74-21 vote in January and now goes back to that chamber for concurrence in Senate amendments. Sen. Larry Teague, D-Nashville, was the only Senate Democrat to join with Republicans in voting for the bill Wednesday. Democrats cast all the votes against it.

Iowa: House approves voter ID bill following 12 hours of debate | Des Moines Register

Iowa would become one of 34 states that have enacted laws requesting or requiring some form of identification on Election Day under a bill approved by the Iowa House Thursday. House File 516 was approved on a party-line vote after nearly 12 hours of debate that spanned two days. It now advances to the Senate where a Republican majority also is expected to advance the legislation. Secretary of State Paul Pate, who submitted the bill, immediately praised its passage. … Democrats took to the floor Wednesday and Thursday in an effort to convince Republicans the legislation is unnecessary, expensive and would have a disproportionate and negative effect on minorities, the elderly, the disabled and others.

West Virginia: House Judiciary mulls stricter voter ID law | Charleston Gazette-Mail

The House Judiciary Committee worked through a bill Wednesday to require West Virginians to present government-issued photo identification at the polls before casting a ballot. After an hour of discussion, the committee sent the bill (HB 2781) down to a subcommittee for further review. Should it pass, the bill would trump sections of existing legislation (HB 4013), which passed last year and is scheduled to take effect in 2018. That law calls for a lower standard of identification for voters, allowing for bank statements, hunting licenses or having an adult or poll worker vouch for a familiar voter’s identity.

West Virginia: Stricter voter ID bill proposed despite lack of in-person fraud | Charleston Gazette-Mail

A voter identification bill going through the state Legislature would limit the types of government-issued photo identification voters could present at the polls. House Bill 2781 is being reviewed by a House Judiciary subcommittee. If passed, voters would be required to show a valid driver’s license, a West Virginia identification card, a U.S. passport or passport card, an employee photo identification card issued by a government agency, or a military photo ID.

West Virginia: House Voter ID bill in subcommittee | Fayette Tribune

Legislative efforts to prevent in-person voter fraud generated discussion Wednesday in the House Judiciary Committee. House Bill 2781, sponsored by Del. Saira Blair, R-Berkeley, would require voters to present government-issued photo identification at a polling place to verify their identity before casting their ballot. The bill would additionally eliminate the Automatic Voter Registration initiative found on a driver’s license application. If passed, West Virginia would be the eighth state to pass photo ID laws. Exemptions to the bill include nursing home residents and those who have religious objections to being photographed. Student IDs were also removed as legitimate forms of government photo IDs.

Iowa: Democrats dig in as lawmakers debate contentious voter ID bill | Des Moines Register

The Iowa House of Representatives debated a contentious voter identification bill into the evening Wednesday as Democrats fought changes they say would disenfranchise voters. Debate was ongoing, but Republicans hold a strong majority in the chamber and are expected to approve the measure. “Voter ID is a commonsense reform that makes it easier to vote, harder to cheat and nobody is turned away,” said the bill’s floor manager, Rep. Ken Rizer, R-Cedar Rapids. If approved, House File 516 would make numerous changes to the state’s election laws that Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate says are needed to ensure the integrity of the process and prevent fraud. Among them is a provision that would require every voter to present government-issued identification at the poll on Election Day, which Democrats argued would disproportionately hurt voter turnout among minority people, elderly people, disabled people and others.

Iowa: Iowans voice concerns as voter ID changes get public hearing | Des Moines Register

Some of the Iowans who attended a public hearing on proposed voter ID changes Monday night worried the proposal would disenfranchise voters, while others worried that failing to enact the changes could open the door for fraud. “Why would anyone resist a law to prove that they are eligible to vote in that precinct unless they are not eligible to vote in that precinct?” asked Kim Hiscox, a Polk County resident who spoke in favor of the bill. Others argued the legislation would make it harder for minorities, the elderly, the disabled, non-native English speakers and transgender Iowans to vote, despite Secretary of State Paul Pate’s claim that “no eligible voter will be denied their right to vote by this legislation.”

New Hampshire: Bill Would Bar Voting By People in New Hampshire For ‘Temporary Purposes’ | New Hampshire Public Radio

Republican lawmakers have proposed dozens of individual bills to tighten up New Hampshire election laws this year, but one new proposal coming forward this week would on its own enact a number of changes in what’s required for voters to register and how officials are expected to verify those credentials. The bill would specifically bar anyone who comes to New Hampshire only for “temporary purposes” from voting in the state – in this case, that includes anyone who’s here less than 30 days for vacation, anyone here for short-term work, volunteering or “working to influence voters in an upcoming election.” If someone already voted somewhere else and planned to return to vote there again in the future, that person “does not gain a domicile in New Hampshire regardless of the duration of his or her presence in New Hampshire.”

Editorials: The Justice Department to black voters: Don’t bother | The Washington Post

Texas is suffering the first consequence of the Trump administration’s indifference to voting rights, which is a polite way of characterizing the ongoing Republican campaign to disenfranchise young and minority voters who tend to support Democrats. In one of his first significant moves since taking office, Attorney General Jeff Sessions threw cold water on long-standing efforts by the Justice Department to clean up a blatantly discriminatory Texas law clearly designed to suppress African American and other Democratic-leaning votes. The move was in keeping with Mr. Sessions’s long-standing hostility to civil and voting rights, and with a widespread view within the GOP that nothing short of blatant hate speech should be considered as racism. However, by pulling back from the lawsuit seeking changes in the Texas statute, the administration threw in the towel on four years of efforts by civil rights lawyers in the Justice Department, which had so far been successful in the federal courts.

Alabama: NAACP Legal Defense Fund: More than 100,000 Alabama registered voters can’t cast a ballot | AL.com

More than 100,000 registered voters in Alabama can’t vote because they don’t have the photo identification required by the state, an attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund said Friday. And most of those who don’t have the photo identifications are poor, black or Latino, the lawyer says. A federal lawsuit challenging Alabama’s requirement that voters present photo identification before they can cast a ballot was filed in 2015 on behalf of the Alabama NAACP and Greater Birmingham Ministries. The lawsuit alleges the 2011 photo ID law is racially discriminatory, violating the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. A trial has been set for December in the case.

Kansas: Judge hears arguments in voter registration case | The Kansas City Star

Opponents of a Kansas law requiring proof of citizenship before residents can register to vote asked a federal judge Friday to void the requirement. During oral arguments in Kansas City, Kan., attorneys representing voters denied registration asked for summary judgment in their companion cases, rather than going to trial. They argued that evidence already on the record proves that elements of the law were unconstitutional. The law is flawed, the lawyers said, because it doesn’t treat all eligible voters equally. It applies only to new voters, exempting all who registered before Jan. 1, 2013, from having to show proof of citizenship.

Iowa: Contentious voter ID bill advances in Iowa Senate | Des Moines Register

A contentious voter identification bill cleared an Iowa Senate subcommittee Wednesday, although critics said there is no evidence it’s needed and a Democratic lawmaker scolded a state elections official for suggesting there is a lack of confidence in Iowa’s election system. Senate Study Bill 1163, which is proposed by Republican Secretary of State Paul Pate, was approved on a 2-1 vote, advancing the bill to the Senate State Government Committee. Republican Sens. Roby Smith of Davenport and Jake Chapman of Adel supported the bill, while Democratic Sen. Tony Bisignano opposed it. The Iowa House is considering its own version of Pate’s bill, which is House Study Bill 93. Deputy Secretary of State Carol Olson told the panel the legislation will modernize Iowa’s elections technology by establishing electronic poll books in every Iowa precinct. In addition, the bill calls for establishing a voter ID system with signature verification, absentee ballot verification and post-election audits.

Nebraska: Voter photo ID heads toward showdown | Lincoln Journal Star

The latest effort to require voters to present a photo ID in order to participate in Nebraska elections attracted strong opposition Thursday at a legislative hearing on its first step toward a filibuster showdown. The new proposal (LR1CA) offered by Sen. John Murante of Gretna was crafted in the form of a constitutional amendment that would be submitted to Nebraska voters in 2018. If voters approved the amendment, the Legislature would determine the voter ID requirements. … Opponents argued that requirements for voter photo IDs tend to suppress the votes of students and other mobile young people, the elderly and disabled, African-Americans, Latino-Americans and the poor, most of which are traditional Democratic constituencies. And that, some testifiers said, is what photo ID requirements are designed to do.

Texas: Was Texas Voter ID Law Biased? Justice Deparment Stays Out of Argument | The New York Times

For several days in 2014 at the federal courthouse here, lawyers argued over whether the Texas Legislature had passed its voter identification law motivated, at least in part, by a desire to deter minorities from voting. Lawyers for the Justice Department said it had, as did lawyers for minority voters and civil rights groups. Lawyers for Texas denied the allegation. More than two years later, in the very same courtroom, the same judge listened to what were largely the same arguments made by many of the same lawyers on Tuesday. But there was one significant exception: The Justice Department stayed out of the fight. On Monday, the Trump administration’s Justice Department withdrew its claim that Texas had enacted the law with a discriminatory intent, reversing a position that had been part of the agency’s yearslong legal battle.

Arkansas: Committee OKs 2 Voter ID proposals | Northwest Arkansas Democrat & Gazette

An Arkansas Senate committee on Thursday recommended that the upper chamber approve both a proposed constitutional amendment and a bill on the same topic — requiring voters to show a photo identification in order to cast ballots. House Bill 1047 is by Rep. Mark Lowery, R-Maumelle. The proposed constitutional amendment is House Joint Resolution 1016 by Rep. Robin Lundstrum, R-Elm Springs. If the Senate approves HJR1016, it would appear on the ballot in the November 2018 general election. If the House concurs with a Senate amendment to HB1047, the bill will go to the governor. Proponents of both measures contend that they will increase voter confidence and guard against voter fraud. Opponents counter there is little fraud of this kind, and the identification burden on voters would unduly restrict the right to vote.

Iowa: Controversial voter ID bill would hurt out-of-state students | KCCI

A controversial bill that would require Iowans to show voter identification at the polls cleared an Iowa Senate subcommittee Wednesday, though the measure is being widely criticized for potentially preventing particular groups from voting. Ambassadors with the Andrew Goodman Foundation, a nonpartisan organization that works to promote young voices in democracy, wrote a letter this week voicing opposition to the legislation, Senate Bill 1163, saying it would “erect significant barriers to out-of-state college students’ eligibility to vote in Iowa.”

Minnesota: Senators debate provisional ballots | Minnesota Lawyer

A controversial proposal to use provisional ballots to stanch voter fraud is winding its way through the state Senate. The bill would introduce — for the first time in state history — provisional ballots to Minnesota elections. Provisional votes would be cast, then set aside until a challenged voter’s eligibility is reviewed by election authorities and either affirmed or denied. Officials would have seven days to make that decision. The provision was initially introduced as part of a stand-alone bill, Senate File 1225, authored by Sen. Mary Kiffmeyer, R-Big Lake. It has since been rolled into Kiffmeyer’s much larger election omnibus bill, Senate File 514. Yet it consistently takes center stage in committee deliberations.

Minnesota: Court Rules Against ‘Please ID Me’ Buttons At Polling Places | WCCO

A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that a Minnesota law banning political apparel at polling places does not infringe on First Amendment rights and includes shirts and buttons distributed by Minnesota Tea Party groups that read “Please ID Me.” The U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals said that the groups Minnesota Majority, Minnesota Northstar Tea Party Patriots and Election Integrity watch failed to prove that the state statute was selectively applied or limited voters’ right to free speech. The shirts were meant to support laws that require state-issued photo ID at polling places aimed at cracking down on voter fraud. There is currently no such law in Minnesota.

New Hampshire: New sweeping Senate GOP voter registration bill detailed: Requires ‘verifiable’ proof of domicile | WMUR

Comprehensive Republican legislation aimed at tightening the state’s voter registration process requires that new voters back up their claims of a Granite State domicile with “a verifiable act or acts” showing that they are not in New Hampshire temporarily. The legislation also makes it clear that voting in more than one state in the same election a is Class B felony with a maximum sentence of seven years in prison and a fine of no more than $4,000. State Sen. Regina Birdsell, R-Hampstead, first described her comprehensive amendment to Senate Bill 3 in an exclusive interview with WMUR.com a week ago. The 11-page amendment has now been drafted, and it was officially released on Thursday by the state Senate. View the amendment here.

National: After Court Setbacks, Lawmakers Push for New Voting Restrictions | Stateline

Amid President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of massive voter fraud in the 2016 election, bills have been introduced in at least 20 states that would make it more difficult for many people to vote. In some states, such as Texas and Arkansas, lawmakers are responding to court rulings that struck down or scaled back earlier attempts to restrict voting. Bills in other states would make changes to early voting and registration deadlines. Proponents of the legislation say the proposed limitations, such as requiring a photo ID and eliminating Election Day registration, are necessary to restore public confidence in the electoral system. They say the measures protect the integrity of the ballot box by confirming voters’ identities and whether they are qualified to vote. In state legislatures the measures are backed mainly by Republicans, though polls show that most Democrats also support a photo ID requirement.

Georgia: License Bill Tweaked: ‘Noncitizen’ Becomes ‘Ineligible Voter’ | WABE

A Georgia House committee approved a measure Monday that would require the phrase “ineligible voter” printed on licenses issued to people who don’t have U.S. citizenship. The bill originally required the term “noncitizen,” but the bill’s sponsor state Rep. Alan Powell, R-Hartwell, said he reconsidered after the legislation faced backlash. “A driver’s license is the first form of an ID that people have, and obviously I just didn’t take into account for political correctness,” Powell said.

Iowa: House panel debates elections bill | Quad-City Times

Iowa is one of the top states in the nation when it comes to elections and the Republican-controlled House State Government Committee approved an Election Modernization and Integrity Act its sponsor said will make it even better. The committee, which convened briefly at 3 p.m. Tuesday but didn’t begin discussion until after 7:30 p.m., continued debating past 11 p.m. whether the bill would, as Chairman Ken Rizer, R-Cedar Rapids, said, “make it easier to vote, harder to cheat and nobody will be turned away.” In the end, the committee voted 14-9 along party lines to approve the bill, making it eligible for consideration by the full House.

North Carolina: Bill to match jury excuses with voter lists raises concerns | WRAL

A bill that would require clerks of court to report to the State Board of Elections the reasons some people have been excused from jury duty has raised concerns from local officials and some senators who worry people could be improperly excluded from voting. Senate Bill 60, which was debated but not voted on by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, and a companion measure represent the latest effort to take people who are ineligible to vote off the state’s voters rolls. To demonstrate the need for the measure, Sen. Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth, pointed to reports out of Ohio that non-citizens may have voted in recent elections. Her proposal is similar to bills that have been filed in prior sessions.

Texas: Voter ID law back in court after Justice Department pulls out | San Antonio Express-News

Lawyers for the state of Texas argued during a court hearing in Corpus Christi on Tuesday that the Legislature did not act with discriminatory intent when it passed a voter ID law that has since been struck down, but they also told a judge that lawmakers will make fixes to it in the current Legislative session. Critics, however, said the proposed changes, if passed in newly introduced legislation, are irrelevant to the discriminatory purpose behind the 2011 law’s passage. Plaintiffs that include civil rights groups asked U.S. District Judge Mary Nelva Gonzales Ramos to hold the state accountable. The groups argue that the Texas law has the potential to keep 600,000 voters, mostly African-Americans and Hispanics, away from the polls. They point, for example, to a provision that allows Texas voters to use hunting licenses as identification, but not student identification cards.

Iowa: Proposed changes to voter ID bill would reduce early voting | Associated Press

Early voting in Iowa would be reduced under new proposed changes to a voter identification bill approved Monday by a Republican-controlled House subcommittee. The changes, introduced in an amendment by Rep. Ken Rizer, R-Marion, go beyond the scope of the voter ID bill originally filed and promoted by Secretary of State Paul Pate. The amendment was approved about an hour after it was made public during a subcommittee of the House State Government Committee, which Rizer chairs. It advanced with only Republican support. Among the changes is a plan to reduce early voting in a primary or general election in Iowa from 40 days to 29 days. Iowa has one of the longest early voting periods in the country. Rizer said it’s wrong to assume fewer people will vote early under the proposed new system.

Iowa: Voter ID legislation advances in Iowa House | Des Moines Register

A bill requiring Iowans to show identification at the polls was approved by a panel of legislators Monday amid concerns the requirements could restrict access to voting. House Study Bill 93 would make a number of election-related changes that Secretary of State Paul Pate says are needed to ensure the integrity of Iowa’s election processes and prevent fraud. Among them is provision that would require every voter to present valid government-issued identification, such as a driver’s license or military ID. “We don’t have a voter fraud issue in the state of Iowa,” said Connie Ryan, a lobbyist with the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa Action Fund. “And it makes no sense to put in provisions that would actually limit people’s ability to vote.” According to an Associated Press report, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate’s office was notified of 10 potentially improper votes cast out of 1.6 million counted statewide in the most recent elections. But the proposal remains popular. According to a Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll conducted earlier this month, 69 percent of respondents said they support requiring an ID to vote. And although the plan is most popular among Republicans, with 88 percent saying they support mandatory voter ID, 48 percent of Democrats also said they think voters should have identification.