Voting Newsletter: New Florida Law Causes Registration Plunge

March 27, 2012

Latest Developments

New Florida Law Causes Registration Plunge

The New York Times has found that voter registration rates have dropped in Florida since the state curbed community-based drives last year. “In the months since its new law took effect in July, 81,471 fewer Floridians have registered to vote than during the same period four years ago,” the Times reports.

The law is so burdensome that the League of Women Voters of Florida and Rock the Vote have halted their registration drives, which local election officials said “has been a factor in the decline.” In addition, “new registrations dropped sharply in some areas where the voting-age population has been growing,” such as Miami-Dade County and the Orlando area.

The Brennan Center is involved in two separate suits challenging the new registration rules. This month, the Center’s Lee Rowland urged a federal judge to temporarily block the law, saying it was “devastating the work” of her clients.

Voter ID on Minnesota Ballot in November

Minnesota’s House and Senate passed two separate versions of a strict voter ID bill last week, which will create a ballot measure in November 2012 asking voters to make the rules part of the state constitution. 

“Until now, Minnesota’s election system has served as a beacon,” said the Brennan Center’s Keesha Gaskins. “The current system provides eligible citizens full and fair access to the ballot, resulting in the highest voter turnout in every national election since 1996.”

Opponents have vowed to fight the ballot measure, saying it could disenfranchise thousands, particularly the elderly, students, and minorities. Proponents say it is needed to prevent voter fraud. (More rare than being struck by lightning, according to Brennan Center research.)

"I willingly admit there is some burden that will be placed on some of our citizens,” the bill's sponsor, Sen. Scott Newman, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

State Democrats said the amendment would also “essentially end same-day voter registration,” a popular measure that has been in place since 1973.

DOJ Civil Rights Chief Discusses Voting Rights Wednesday

On Wednesday, March 28, at 12:25 p.m., Thomas Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, will be at New York University School of Law to speak about DOJ’s approach to voting rights. One of the panelists at the forum will be Wendy Weiser, director of the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program and co-author of Voting Law Changes in 2012. The event is a rare opportunity to hear directly from Perez about the Justice Department’s views on the hotly-contested Voting Rights Act.

State Updates

South Carolina – The League of Women Voters of South Carolina, represented by the Brennan Center and other groups, asked to join a lawsuit challenging the state’s new voter ID law. After the Justice Department rejected the law because of its discriminatory effect on minority voters, South Carolina sued in federal court. Last week, a panel of federal judges allowed the ACLU to intervene in the case.

Pennsylvania – Pennsylvania’s governor signed a voter ID bill into law, which opponents have vowed to fight. Election officials have begun to worry about the cost and logistics of implementing the law. Some student ID cards were approved as valid voter IDs, while others will not be valid. Activists protested outside Philadelphia DMV offices. Read more here and here.

Texas – While trying to get its voter ID law approved by the federal government, Texas is now directly challenging a piece of the Voting Rights Act, claiming it is unconstitutional. The state is trying to keep legislators from giving depositions on the law, which they claim prevents voter fraud. An analysis from the San Antonio Express-News, however, shows less than five complaints of “illegal voting” out of 13 million votes cast. Opponents of the law called it “another 21st Century poll tax.” Read more here and here. The trial will begin on July 9.

Virginia – A voter ID bill is still awaiting signature from Gov. Bob McDonnell, who has not taken a public position on the measure. State Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said he thought the bill has a ’50-50’ shot at surviving Justice Department review.

Wisconsin – The judge who ruled Wisconsin’s voter ID law violated the state constitution denied a motion to delay the effect of his ruling. The delay was sought by the state Department of Justice, which, in a separate case, requested an appellate court to stay a temporary restraining order blocking the law. Read more here.

Colorado – The state House cleared a bill that would require photo ID to vote. Secretary of State Scott Gessler also asked the Department of Homeland Security to check the citizenship status of 4,500 registered voters.

Connecticut – A bill allowing same-day voter registration advanced in the Senate. Read an op-ed supporting the measure from the Brennan Center’s Nic Riley and Myrna Pérez.

Illinois – In last week’s election, ballots in nearly a quarter of Illinois’ counties were too large for scanning machines. A voter ID proposal failed in a Senate committee.

Kansas – All Kansas college photo IDs are valid for voting, it was determined recently. The state Senate is considering a proposal to move up the start date for a proof of citizenship requirement for registration.

Kentucky – A man who committed a felony 14 years ago and spent nine years in the U.S. Army, wrote an op-ed in the Lexington Herald-Leader urging the state legislature to allow a voter referendum that would automatically restore voting rights to most persons with criminal convictions in their past. Read letters in support from law enforcement and religious leaders.

Maine – The state Senate approved a bill to study voter registration.

Michigan – A House committee approved a bill to require photo ID to get an absentee ballot. Read more here.

Minnesota – Both chambers of the legislature passed a voter ID bill last week. The measure, which amends the state constitution, would go before the voters on the November ballot. Opponents have vowed to fight the new rule, and the Star Tribune calls a court fight “inevitable.”

Mississippi – Mississippi voters approved a constitutional amendment last fall requiring photo ID to vote. The state house passed a bill that would implement voter ID. Opponents are urging the Justice Department to reject the law.

Missouri – Lawmakers have proposed a voter ID constitutional amendment, and a judge is now considering a challenge to the measure.

Nebraska – A county official eliminated half of Omaha’s voting sites, and voting rights advocates have threatened to sue. Read more here and here.

New Hampshire – A bill requiring voters to become state residents (by declaring residency, registering their car, and applying for a New Hampshire driver’s license) passed the Senate.

Ohio – One state lawmakers said “Ohio is not meeting its obligation to update voter registrations when voters change their address with the” Bureau of Motor Vehicles. PolitiFact checks it out and rates it true. Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers are trying to repeal the controversial election law passed last year and replace it with a new one. The law will be on the ballot in November.

Tennessee – State lawmakers introduced a bill to repeal Tennessee’s voter ID law. Read more here.

See our up-to-date summary of all pending and passed voting laws.

New Data and Research

Allow ‘Pre-Registration’ at 16

Ceridwen Cherry writes in the University of Michigan of Journal of Law Reform:

“Lagging youth participation rates threaten participatory democracy and undermine the representation of young people’s interests in elected government. However, the percentage of registered youth who actually cast ballots is very high. The correlation between registration and actual voter participation suggests that when given assistance and greater opportunities to register, young citizens will vote. This Note proposes a national pre-registration law that would allow voter registration to begin at age sixteen. Such a law would be feasible, constitutional, and politically viable and may increase not only the voter participation of young people, but also the socioeconomic diversity of the electorate.” Read more.

Media Round-Up

  • USA Today editorial: “The biggest problem at the polls isn't unqualified people scheming to vote illegally. It's qualified voters staying home by the millions.”
  • Wendy Weiser, director of the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program, analyzed voter ID laws on PBS NewsHour.
  • The Center’s Myrna Pérez appeared on MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Parry show to discuss restrictive voting laws and restoring the right to vote.
  •  Andrew Cohen, legal analyst for The Atlantic, explained “how voter ID laws are being used to disenfranchise minorities and the poor.”
  •  “DOJ Follows Its ‘Conscience’ In Civil Rights Battles,” according to a NPR report.
  • As voting law challenges continue to stack up, Ryan J. Reilly at TPM said “the voting wars could get bloody.” Reilly cited the Brennan Center’s new analysis showing 70 percent of the electoral votes needed to win the presidency now come from states with new restrictive voting laws.
  • Watch NBC’s interview with Attorney General Eric Holder on voter ID laws.
  • The Nation’s Ben Adler wrote about the “assault on the Voting Rights Act,” detailing Texas’ challenge to the landmark civil rights law.
  • The Tea Party is launching an effort to challenge voters at the polls, NPR reported.

Other News