Political candidates and voters in New Hampshire now have to contend with the state’s last-minute approval of a new congressional district map.
On Tuesday, the New Hampshire Supreme Court unanimously approved a new map just a day before candidates begin running in the fall election.
Olivia Zink, executive director of New Hampshire-based Open Democracy, a nonpartisan, nonprofit civic organization, said the timing of the new map was less than ideal.
“The filing period opens the first Wednesday in June and lasts 10 days, which is state law,” Zink explained. “The maps were drawn less than 24 hours before the filing period opened for congressional races. We were the last state in the nation to finalize a map.”
The court’s intervention to create a final Congressional map was a last resort, after the governor vetoed two Republican-approved maps last week.
Zink noted that only a few cities changed in Tuesday’s state Supreme Court decision, moving them from the First District to the Second District.
“The court drew a ‘least modified’ map,” Zink pointed out. “They changed five towns to kind of northern New Hampshire: Albany, Jackson, Sandwich, Campton and New Hampton.”
With the unique way New Hampshire’s new congressional map has become law, Zink noted that current congressional districts may not last into the future.
“Because this map was drawn by the court, the legislator can introduce a new map next year,” Zink pointed out. “We will remain vigilant to ensure the process is fair and transparent.”
While Zink wishes the timing had been better, she believes the new map is “competitive,” compared to earlier more partisan proposals.
get more stories like this via email
Maine outreach groups are doing their part to increase voter turnout in the June 14 primary elections and November general election.
They are focusing some of their efforts on data from low-income and minority communities that indicate they are underrepresented in the voting booth.
Anna Kellar, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Maine, said this election cycle was part of a larger campaign to expand a voter turnout program, which began in 2018.
“Focusing on 10 communities with the lowest turnout in 2020, with higher than average poverty rates, lots of renters, people who move frequently,” Kellar pointed out. “We have information translated into six languages.”
The Neighbor to Neighbor program is voluntary and non-partisan. Trained volunteers knock on doors, help people register to vote or request an absentee ballot, and answer voting-related questions.
Like other states across the country, Kellar explained that Pine Tree State is always working to build voter confidence in the electoral process.
“Misinformation about election procedures has had an impact,” Kellar acknowledged. “We heard that election officials had their work cut out for them and in some cases it was more difficult to find election workers.”
Kellar added that the upcoming June 14 primary will feature a mix of single and hard-fought races, and stressed the importance of local races in Maine.
“Several hotly contested primaries for the State Senate and State House, as well as the special election for a race for the State Senate,” Kellar pointed out. “We always try to tell voters that local races, in some cases, are just as important and their vote will have a lot more impact.”
Kellar pointed out that a new “open primaries” bill will eventually allow voters not registered as a Democrat or Republican to participate in future primaries, but not in time for the June 14 election. The bill comes into force in 2024.
get more stories like this via email
As the state’s June 7 filing deadline approaches for primary candidates running in federal races, a growing number of organizations in Massachusetts support a permanent extension of early and mail-in voting.
The COVID pandemic has changed the number of people who vote in the United States In 2020, the Commonwealth introduced postal voting and expanded early voting for the September 1 state primaries and November 3 general elections.
Both elections saw the highest turnout in decades, with the majority voting early, either in person or by mail. But these changes were short-lived and quickly expired.
MassVOTE communications consultant Alex Psilakis said his nonpartisan group wants to make them permanent with the VOTES Act.
“It would make voting by mail permanent and expand in-person early voting in Massachusetts,” Psilakis said. “We also lobbied for Election Day registration. We expect a decision on that very soon in Beacon Hill.”
And while Massachusetts law allows people incarcerated on remand or non-criminal convictions to vote, MassVOTE believes this group rarely gets the chance to vote.
The VOTES Act would also take steps to ensure that right, through increased voter education efforts and the provision of mail-in voting resources in prisons.
Psilakis said canvassers are also knocking on doors in support of what’s called the Fair Share Amendment.
“The goals of the Fair Share amendment are to increase funding around issues like education and transportation,” Psilakis said. “And in our traditionally underrepresented communities, education and transportation lack the funding to operate at a truly effective level.”
The MassBudget think tank reports that the proposed legislation would generate about $2 billion each year through increased taxes on households with annual incomes of $1 million or more.
get more stories like this via email
A Dane County judge rules the city of Madison did not violate election laws when it accepted a nearly $1.3 million election administration grant from the Center for Tech and Civic Life in 2020 .
The lawsuit was brought by a coalition of Madison residents who argued the city broke election rules when it accepted the money. In December, the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission upheld the legality of the grants.
Dane County Circuit Judge Stephen Ehlke upheld the decision on Wednesday.
“The bottom line is that the Commission correctly concluded that there was no probable cause to believe that any Wisconsin law had been violated,” Ehlke said.
Madison leaders argued the funding was needed to safely hold the state’s elections during the pandemic. Among other things, the money was used for voter education and awareness, hiring more poll workers and buying ballot boxes; another contentious issue currently before the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
The Center for Tech and Civic Life distributed more than $10 million in grants to nearly 200 Wisconsin communities in 2020. The lion’s share of the money, nearly 90%, went to Wisconsin’s five largest cities. state, which also happen to be the most liberal. , but Ehlke noted that any community could apply for the grants.
“These funds were allocated nationwide in red, blue, and purple regions without considering any particular jurisdiction’s voting tendencies,” Ehlke pointed out.
The other four Wisconsin cities receiving large grants are also facing lawsuits from the same attorney, Erick Kaardal, an attorney with the conservative Thomas Moore firm. A bill to ban such subsidies in the future passed the Republican-held Legislature, but Governor Tony Evers vetoed it earlier this year.
get more stories like this via email
