Latest news with #Zuckerbucks
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bills banning ballot drop boxes, touch screen voting machines fail in Senate
CHEYENNE — A majority of Secretary of State Chuck Gray's election integrity bills died Friday night after failing to pass first reading in the Wyoming Senate, including two that threatened to 'upend' Laramie County elections, according to County Clerk Debra Lee. A large number of election-related bills were filed this session, making up 8% of total proposed legislation, according to House Bill 245, 'Pen and paper ballots,' would have removed touch-screen voting machines that have been used by Laramie County voters for decades. Lee previously told lawmakers this bill would 'upend' elections in her county. 'We've been using these for decades,' Lee said in a House committee. 'They don't know how to mark a paper ballot, I have to be honest.' Another failed bill, HB 131, 'Ballot drop boxes-prohibition,' would have created a statewide ban on ballot drop boxes. Lee and several other county clerks argued that the removal of ballot drop boxes could disenfranchise qualified electors from participating in Wyoming elections. Lee previously told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle she received a lot of correspondence from voters who were grateful for the ballot drop box outside the Laramie County Governmental Complex. 'They could deliver their ballot securely, they could deliver it independently,' Lee said. 'Some of them had health concerns, and they really were glad that they were able to get that ballot to us without having to come into the office.' Gray's election priorities Before the start of the session, Gray told members of the press he was working closely with lawmakers to promote his election integrity priorities this legislative session. These priorities included requiring proof of voter residency and U.S. citizenship, a statewide ban on ballot drop boxes, a ban on ballot harvesting, requiring 'true' photo ID, a ban on Zuckerbucks, improving voter list maintenance statutes and requiring hand verification of voting machines. The secretary of state celebrated a victory on Monday, after HB 156, 'Proof of voter residency-registration qualifications,' successfully passed the Legislature and headed toward Gov. Mark Gordon's desk. Sponsored by Wyoming Freedom Caucus chairman emeritus Rep. John Bear, R-Gillette, HB 156 creates a new 30-day residency rule in order to vote in Wyoming elections and includes a requirement of proof of U.S. citizenship. 'Only United States citizens, and only Wyomingites, should be voting in Wyoming elections. Period,' Gray said in a news release. 'With the passage of this landmark legislation, Wyoming will further cement our commitment to election integrity, as the only state to require proof of citizenship for all elections, an important priority of President Trump. 'I urge the Governor to sign this common-sense, conservative piece of election integrity legislation.' Bills that ban Zuckerbucks and other third-party funding administrations, improve voter maintenance list statutes and prohibit rank choice voting are still making their way through the session. However, Gray expressed his disappointment over the other election bills that failed to pass the Senate. 'Despite a lot of the good work we have been able to achieve and continue to achieve, I am disappointed that seven key election integrity bills were not heard on Friday,' Gray said in an email to the WTE. 'All of these passed overwhelmingly in the House of Representatives, were heard and passed the Senate Corporations(, Elections and Political Subdivisions) Committee, and died before they could be heard in the Senate.'
CBS News
18-02-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Wisconsin Supreme Court rules Republican official had no right to bring lawsuit challenging mobile voting
The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a Republican Party official lacked the standing to bring a lawsuit challenging the use of a mobile voting van in 2022. The lawsuit sought to ban the use of mobile voting vans in any future election in the presidential battleground state. The court did not address the legality of mobile voting sites in its ruling, meaning mobile voting vans could be used in future elections. A single van has been used only once — in Racine in a primary election in 2022. It allowed voters to cast absentee ballots in the two weeks leading up to the election. Racine, the Democratic National Committee and others argue that nothing in state law prohibits the use of voting vans. But the court did not rule on the merits of the case. The court ruled 4-3 to dismiss the case, with four liberal justices in the majority and three conservative justices dissenting. Instead, it ruled that the Racine County voter who brought the lawsuit, the county's Republican Party chairman, Ken Brown, was not "aggrieved" under state law and therefore was not permitted to sue. The ruling could make it more difficult to bring future lawsuits challenging election laws. Republicans in this case argued that it violates state law to operate mobile voting sites, that their repeated use would increase the chances of voter fraud, and that the one in Racine was used to bolster Democratic turnout. Wisconsin law prohibits locating any early voting site in a place that gives an advantage to any political party. There are other limitations on early voting sites, including a requirement that they be "as near as practicable" to the clerk's office. For the 2022 election, Racine city Clerk Tara McMenamin and the city had a goal of making voting as accessible to as many voters as possible. Racine purchased its van with grant money from the Center for Tech and Civic Life, a nonprofit funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife. Republicans have been critical of the grants, calling the money "Zuckerbucks" that they say was used to tilt turnout in Democratic areas. Wisconsin voters last year approved a Republican-backed constitutional amendment banning the use of private money to help run elections. The van was used only to facilitate early in-person voting during the two weeks prior to that 2022 election, McMenamin said. It traveled for two weeks across the city, allowing voters to cast in-person absentee ballots in 21 different locations. Brown filed a complaint the day after the August 2022 primary with the Wisconsin Elections Commission, arguing that the van violated state law. He argued that it was only sent to Democratic-leaning areas in the city in an illegal move to bolster turnout. McMenamin disputed those accusations, saying it shows a misunderstanding of the city's voting wards, which traditionally skew Democratic. The elections commission dismissed the complaint four days before the 2022 election, saying there was no probable cause shown to believe the law had been broken. Brown sued. A Racine County Circuit Court judge sided with Republicans, ruling that state election laws do not allow for the use of mobile voting sites.
