U.S. Supreme Court won't hear a case challenging the constitutionality of the Washington State Voting Rights Act

[RandySF]

Democracy Docket
@DemocracyDocket
BREAKING: U.S. Supreme Court won't hear a case challenging the constitutionality of the Washington State Voting Rights Act. These crucial state-level voting rights protections will remain in place in the Evergreen State.

[yankee87]

1. Good news

Pleasantly surprised that the the Reich Wing SCOTUS didn’t stay Thomas to consider it.

[KS Toronado]

2. Isn't Washington one of the few States that use paper ballots only?

Wonder what the challenge was?

[brooklynite]

3. Mailing ballots to all voters without prior request.

[PatSeg]

4. Can you imagine

if it was like there in every state? Republicans can and they know they'd probably never win another election, well at least legitimately anyway.

[LeftInTX]

5. Significantly reduces the number of at-large districts in local elections and changes them to single-member districts

https://www.aclu-wa.org/pages/voting-rights-faq

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Voting_Rights_Act

In Texas, many local elections are single-district because we've always been under the Voting Rights Act

Example of at-large: County Tax Appraisal Board Member. (snooze....it's going to be At-Large...mainly because no one cares right now. ) All three positions are gonna be on everyone's ballot.
Other example: Small town with five City Council positions - Each voter votes for each five city council members

Examples of single member: City Council: Single-member representing each part of town.
All congressional districts
State representatives and state senate districts (Texas used to have some county at-large but that was like 70 years ago)

Advantages of at-large: Districts don't need to be drawn and elections are easier to administer.
Disadvantages of at-large: Minority areas or geographical areas of special interest are not represented.

Single-member districts are much better representation. Minorities tend to have lower turnout, so many times their voices are not represented in at-large races.
Even in areas without minorities, single-member district have areas of town with certain interests such as flooding, projects (downtown construction) newer areas: new construction, side walks etc.

[samnsara]

13. 100% mail in.oregon first then wash state. we dont even need a stamp to return our ballot

..this is the first I have heard of someone challenging it.


HOW DARE THEY!!

[KS Toronado]

15. No stamps needed, that's thinking ahead and ensuring every vote counts.

Plus it's less expensive than voting machines (some people have trouble with) and polling places.
How it should be in all 50 States.

[Ping Tung]

6. We don't register by party any more and have "top two" primaries.

Because of which we are now rid of a Repug congresswoman we've been stuck with for 12 years. She was brave/reckless enough to not support Trump and voted for his impeachment. The local MAGAs ran a SuperTrumper against her. She came in third and the "top two" were the Trumper and a slightly moderate liberal Dem who is now holding the seat.

[plimsoll]

7. It does have interesting impacts on voter intimidation.

My nearest drop box is in a super market / mushroom mall parking lot. In 2022 there were about 10 extra large pickups backed into spaces, so they could catch "illegals." If Trump had been on the ballot I would have called the police over electioneering due to the flags.

This year I think I'll drive our old car and play the local Cumbia station at full volume. It might be fun.

[LeftInTX]

9. Weird. Never thought of that. In Texas, all mail voting is USPS

We have a 100 foot rule at all polls, so electioneering stays in parking lots.

We have a few trouble makers, but it's usually campaign-on-campaign trouble.

[plimsoll]

12. There's a drop box and a row of parking spaces.

There’s a 100 foot rule too, hold over from in person voting, but if they are only in pickups you’d have to prove intent. I can’t prove it’s intimidation, but you only see that collection of vehicles parked in that arrangement leading up to the end of the drop off window.

[samnsara]

14. we just walk ours out to our mailbox. We do sometimes choose to use a drop box

but only to bug ppl who may be watching it. We even took a photo of ourselves dropping our ballot in.

[4lbs]

8. In California, EVERYONE is now mailed a ballot. One can still "elect" (ahem) to vote in person

at a designated local vote center or you can mail in your ballot, drop it off at the local registrar's office, drop box, etc.

Each election, a voter is given about 5 or 6 different ways their vote can be counted.

If you mail in your ballot, you must sign and date it.

What if you mail in your ballot, and then vote on election day at a vote center? Well, only the last vote done will be counted.

So, if an election is say, November 4, and you mail in your ballot and it is received in October, then you vote on Election Day, only your election day vote is counted as it is the most recent and considered your latest and "official" choice. Your mail-in ballot will then be looked at, shown that you already voted, and it will be discarded.

Thus, one CANNOT vote twice because only your last vote is counted.

[angrychair]

10. Similar in WA

You have drop boxes, you can mail it in postage free or there are physical voting locations (like at the local committee college). At least in general election voting. As far as I know none of that is changing.
Personally I've only ever used the drop boxes.

[4lbs]

11. Yes, in California, the Democratic Governor and Secretary of State looked at how Washington and Oregon

did their voting, decided to have a "paper trail", and do this. It was reviewed and legality confirmed by the Democratic state Attorney General and also approved by the Democratic Lt. Governor (like the VP of the state). Leave it to Democrats in our state to make it easier to vote and expand voting hours and places, while other states (namely red ones) try to limit them and make it harder to vote.

I have been voting by mail for about 6 elections now (Presidential, Primary, and local county ones), and it is very easy.

They even give you a prepaid envelope to return your ballot, so you don't have to pay for anything. It is usually yellow (or occasionally a large white one).

One can also check online at their local county registrar's office website to determine if their ballot was received and will be counted. You only need to put in your last name, and either the last 4 of your SSN, or CA DL (Driver's License) number if you don't want to divulge any SSN info, or don't have one.

If it was received and your identity confirmed it will show something like:

First Name: John

Last Name: Doe

Party Registration/Affiliation: DEMOCRAT

Date Ballot Mailed: September 16, 202x

Date Ballot Received: October 15, 202x

Status: Ballot Accepted

The "Ballot Accepted" sometimes just shows "Accepted" and means that it was received in the timeframe allotted and the signature matched (usually the one on file, or maybe the one that the state DMV has) and everything was accepted and is "good to go".

It still won't be counted until AFTER election day though.