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RandySF's JournalArizona Republicans Who Supported Repealing an Abortion Ban Face Blowback
State Representative Matt Gress, a Republican in a moderate slice of Phoenix, was in line at his neighborhood coffee shop on Thursday when a customer stopped and thanked him for voting to repeal an 1864 law that bans abortion in Arizona.
“I know you’re taking some heat,” he told Mr. Gress.
More than some.
Shortly after the repeal bill squeaked through the Arizona House on Wednesday with support from every Democrat, as well as Mr. Gress and two other Republicans, anti-abortion activists denounced Mr. Gress on social media as a baby killer, coward and traitor. The Republican House speaker booted Mr. Gress off a spending committee. And some Democrats dismissed his stance as a bid to appease swing voters furious over the ban during an election year.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/25/us/abortion-ban-arizona.html
If You Care About Reproductive Rights, Keep a Close Eye on These Under-the-Radar Elections
But the recent spate of decisions is also a reminder of the importance of state judicial elections. For one thing, there is a real chance that voters will approve ballot initiatives only to see them gutted by state judges. The balance of power of courts in key states that have just passed a ballot initiative, including Michigan and Ohio, will be determined in November. States where constitutional challenges under existing provisions are ongoing, including Kentucky and Iowa, also have key judges facing election. Wisconsin, already the site of the most expensive state supreme court election on record, will host another battle after one of the state court’s Democratic judges announced she is stepping down.
It is state judges who will decide whether to narrow or eviscerate state protections. And it is voters who will decide whether judges will be accountable for unpopular decisions.
First, state courts can determine whether voters who write reproductive rights into the constitution will actually get their way. A state could recognize reproductive liberty in theory while a state court signs off on any number of restrictions. That, after all, was what happened across large swaths of the country when Roe v. Wade was still the law. In Oklahoma, after the fall of Roe, the state supreme court recognized a right to life-saving abortions and then upheld a 19th-century law allowing abortions only when a patient’s life is at risk.
Then there is the possibility that a state supreme court will hold that fetal constitutional protections override whatever reproductive right becomes part of state constitutions. Anti-abortion groups argue that the word “person” in key state constitutional provisions applies from the moment an egg is fertilized. That means, they argue, that liberal abortion policies are themselves unconstitutional because they deny fetal persons equal protection and due process of law. For years, some anti-abortion groups have argued that a fetal right to life is paramount—that is, even if a constitution protects reproductive rights, fetal protection would trump it.
To date, no state court has recognized constitutional fetal personhood, but it’s hard to imagine that will last forever. The Alabama Supreme Court, which has judges up for reelection this year, already recognized embryos as persons for the purpose of state wrongful death law, but the judges’ reasoning seemed much broader. Some read the Florida Supreme Court’s decision allowing a ballot measure on abortion to go forward as inviting a personhood-based challenge. Any number of other states have personhood language in their laws that an opportunistic court could use to reinterpret the constitution.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/04/arizona-abortion-ban-court-state-judicial-elections-reproductive-rights.html
Missouri lawmakers divided on ballot measure to change constitutional amendment process
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Republican Missouri lawmakers are divided over how far to go with a ballot measure that would make it more difficult for future voters to amend the state constitution.
The GOP-led House on Thursday amended a proposed constitutional amendment that, if approved by voters, would raise the vote threshold needed for all constitutional amendments going forward.
The heart of the proposed amendment would raise the percentage of votes needed to enact voter-directed constitutional changes.
Currently, the constitution is amended with a simple majority statewide vote.
https://ktvo.com/news/local/missouri-lawmakers-divided-on-ballot-measure-to-change-constitutional-amendment-process
Arizona judge smacks down right-wing group's bid to ban ballot drop boxes: report
A state judge in Arizona has rejected a lawsuit by a right-wing group seeking to remove the procedure for counties to install unstaffed ballot drop boxes, Democratic voting rights attorney Marc Elias reported on Thursday.
The lawsuit was brought by the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, along with Mary Kay Ruwette, a retired HR specialist from Yavapai County who sued in her capacity as a voter.
"The lawsuit alleges that because using drop boxes to drop off mail-in ballots has not been authorized by the Arizona Legislature, it is an illegal method of voting under Arizona law," explained Democracy Docket, Elias' site keeping track of challenges to election law. "In addition, the plaintiffs argue that drop boxes 'lack crucial protections afforded to USPS mail collection boxes.' The plaintiffs request that the provisions of the EPM that allow for drop boxes be invalidated. The right-wing group also requests that the court block the enforcement and implementation of any provision of the EPM that authorizes the use of drop boxes in the state."
"The plaintiffs contend that Arizona only provides four ways to return an early ballot: delivered or mailed to the county recorder or dropped off by the voter or for the voter (by a family member, household member or caregiver) at a polling place," the report continued.
https://www.rawstory.com/arizona-judge-smacks-down-ballot-drop-box/
TX: Tarrant County DA wants Crystal Mason's illegal voting conviction reinstated
Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells wants Crystal Mason’s illegal voting conviction reinstated, his office announced Thursday.
Mason, a Tarrant County resident, was acquitted of an illegal voting charge last month. Sorrells’ office is now asking the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to overturn the ruling that cleared her.
Mason was convicted of illegal voting in March 2018 and sentenced to five years in prison for casting a provisional ballot in the 2016 election while on supervised release for federal tax evasion.
"This office will protect the ballot box from fraudsters who think our laws don't apply to them," Sorrells’ office said in a statement.
The office argues the Second Court of Appeals did not give proper deference to the trial court's guilty verdict and reweighed the evidence in favor of Mason when it overturned her conviction.
https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/25/crystal-mason-illegal-voting-texas-tarrant-county/
ND: Marijuana petition approved for circulation
Secretary of State Michael Howe on Thursday approved a petition for circulation that seeks to put a measure to legalize cannabis on the election ballot.
The proposal, if passed, would make it legal for those ages 21 and older to produce, process, sell and use cannabis. It also would appoint a state body to regulate cannabis-related businesses in North Dakota.
In order to make it on a ballot, the petition’s backers will have to collect at least 15,582 valid signatures by April 25, 2025, according to a Thursday announcement by the Secretary of State’s Office.
If the signatures are turned in by July 8 of this year, the measure will be up for a vote in the general election in November.
https://northdakotamonitor.com/briefs/marijuana-petition-approved-for-circulation/
NH: Judge allows DNC's lawsuit over affidavit ballots to continue over state's objection
A state superior court judge is allowing the Democratic National Committee’s lawsuit against the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s office to proceed, ruling that a newly implemented affidavit ballot system backed by Republicans could negatively impact some qualified voters.
Two previous lawsuits brought by voter advocacy groups and the ACLU of New Hampshire challenging the constitutionality of the same law, SB 418, which took effect in January 2023, were dismissed on procedural grounds. Those cases are now on appeal to the New Hampshire Supreme Court.
Under the law, which was backed by Republicans and signed by Gov. Chris Sununu, first-time New Hampshire voters who register at their polling locations without identification are able to cast provisional numbered ballots. The would-be voter is then given seven days to mail necessary documents to the Secretary of State’s office to prove their eligibility. If that paperwork is not received in time, the city or town is notified and required to pull the marked ballots from totals, and amend the final election results.
Republicans argued the change was necessary to prevent illegal voting in state elections. Under the previous law, voters were able to sign an affidavit swearing to their eligibility, with potential legal penalties for fraudulent voting. Even if criminal charges were subsequently filed for wrongful voting, however, those votes would remain in the final tallies.
https://www.nhbr.com/judge-allows-dncs-lawsuit-over-affidavit-ballots-to-continue-over-states-objection/
Two Florida Supreme Court justices qualify for the 2024 ballot
After being appointed during the past two years by Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida Supreme Court Justices Renatha Francis and Meredith Sasso qualified this week to appear on the November ballot for merit-retention elections.
Francis was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2022, while Sasso was appointed in 2023.
Under Florida law, Supreme Court justices and appellate court judges go on the ballot every six years for voters to determine whether they should be retained.
They do not run against other candidates.
https://www.wmnf.org/two-florida-supreme-court-justices-qualify-for-the-2024-ballot/
Malcolm Kenyatta (D) makes history after winning primary for Pa. Auditor General
State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia) became the first openly gay man to be nominated by a major party for statewide office in Pennsylvania on Tuesday.
Kenyatta defeated Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania Auditor General.
The Associated Press called the race with Kenyatta leading Pinsley throughout the evening and Kenyatta will face Republican incumbent Auditor General Timothy DeFoor in November.
Kenyatta was the favorite to win the primary election and received endorsements from the Pennsylvania Democratic Party and all the major unions from across the commonwealth after promising to restore public school audits and establish a Bureau of Labor and Worker Protections, which will investigate wage theft and union busting.
https://keystonenewsroom.com/story/malcolm-kenyatta-makes-history/
Local DFL committee affirms decision to endorse Minnesota House candidate with criminal past
A local DFL party unit in northwestern Minnesota is resisting a state party call to rescind the endorsement of a House candidate convicted of second-degree assault.
In a statement, the Minnesota Senate District 12 committee said officials there did not find sufficient cause to take action against Judd Hoff. Earlier this month, the committee endorsed Hoff in the District 12B race. Hoff is running against Rep. Mary Franson, R-Alexandria.
In August 2020, Hoff assaulted a person with a machete after a confrontation. According to court documents, Hoff argued he was using self-defense.
Hoff received a 13-month prison sentence. He served about eight months in the St. Cloud prison before being put on supervised release for the remainder of the sentence, which was completed in January 2023. Franson has also accused him of stalking her in the neighborhood where both live.
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/04/25/local-dfl-committee-affirms-decision-to-endorse-minnesota-house-candidate-with-criminal-past
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