Tag Archives: new vote denial

Race and Representation in the Battleground Counties

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Voter turnout nationally during the 2020 Presidential Election was 66%—the highest since 1900. But a recent analysis from The Union of Concerned Scientists of voter turnout by precinct in 11 battleground counties found clear racial disparities, driven in part by differences in election resources & voter communication in individual precincts & counties. The findings are presented through an interactive map and also available in more fun forms on twitter and Instagram. The full report, Race and Representation in Battleground Counties: Racial Disparities in Voter Turnout and Ballot Rejections in the 2020 Election, is worth the read.

As summarized by the authors:

“The results show that 2020 turnout was highest in majority-White precincts and lowest in majority-Black and majority-Hispanic precincts.”

[At the same time,] “Many majority-Black precincts turned out at rates higher than the average majority-White precinct in 2020. Similarly, turnout rates in some majority-Hispanic precincts were close to the average turnout in majority-White precincts. ”

Poverty explains much of the difference, but the authors conclude that:

“While inequalities in voter turnout are more persistent and rooted in deeper social inequities, democratic capacity can be cultivated even in hostile conditions. Local civic organizations can also benefit from greater data transparency and data sharing in partnership with local election administrators.”

With a focus on large and diverse communities within electorally pivotal states, the report looks at:

  • Maricopa County, AZ 
  • Fulton County, GA 
  • Wayne County, MI 
  • Columbus, Durham, and Mecklenburg Counties, NC 
  • Cuyahoga and Lorain Counties, OH 
  • Allegheny and Philadelphia Counties, PA 
  • Milwaukee County, WI 
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“Texas Republicans Push New Voting Restrictions Aimed at Houston”

election administration

N.Y. Times: Texas’s Republican-dominated state Legislature is targeting Harris County — the newest urban area to show signs of becoming a Democratic Party stronghold in the state — for voting restrictions. If passed, the law would limit polling places, increasing penalties for voting illegally, and, most importantly, allow the state to order a new election in Harris County alone when there have been issues with voting. Harris County did experience administrative bumps in the last election, but local voting rights advocates are not persuaded this law is a genuine effort to address those missteps.

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“Under the Radar, Right-Wing Push to Tighten Voting Laws Persists”

The Voting Wars, voting,

N.Y. Times article bout a second, concerted wave of republican-sponsored legislative efforts to restrict voting, funded by “billionaire-backed advocacy groups” allied with Trump. The key point is that this new wave is based on a strategy of “radical incrementalism”–an effort to make changes without grabbing attention. Their next target: rank-choice voting.

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“Election Day Problems Inflame Voter Fraud Conspiracies in Houston”

election administration

Bolts Magazine has this nice analysis of the way administrative incompetence on Election Day in Harris County is fueling Republican conspiracy theories. Harris County experienced notable (if not necessarily widespread) problems on Election Day: Polls opened late; they were understaffed, and they ran out of paper. The kind of things that drive voters and election lawyers mad. But now the stories are bringing out the truly mad, as election deniers fill meetings waiting “their turn at the mic to chastise county commissioners and local election officials” to rant with quotes from the Book of Ezekiel.

Anthony Gutierrez, executive director of Common Cause Texas, probably has it right:

“There seem to have been some mistakes made but all these investigations and legal challenges are more about manufacturing justifications for new voting restrictions, not about trying to make sure everyone is able to vote in the future.”

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“Arizona voters reject effort to enact stricter voter ID law”

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AP News says it is now clear that Proposition 309,  which would have imposed additional hurdles for absentee ballots and stricter voter ID requirements, has failed. The measure has fallen short by about 20,000 votes–over the recount margin.

“Arizona voters who overwhelmingly cast their ballots by mail have rejected a measure that would have required them to add more information to the simple signature and date they now put on the back of the return envelope.”

Had the measure passed, voters would have been required “to write their birthdates and add state-issued voter identification numbers, driver license or identification card numbers or a partial social security number to affidavits rather than just signing and dating them.” The back-of-envelope signature used by many counties would also have been changed to require that they be placed into a second envelope.

Meanwhile, those who lack photo IDs issued by state, tribal, or federal authorities would no longer have been able “to vote by presenting two alternate documents, such as a utility bill.”

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