That’s the Ticket

This Week in Democracy

• After a virtual roll call,?Vice President Kamala Harris?officially became the Democratic nominee for president ?and?chose Minnesota Gov.?Tim Walz?to be her?running mate.?Walz is a pro-democracy governor who has signed?multiple ?bills ?into law ?that protect voters’ rights, defend against voter suppression, and make voting easier and more accessible for Minnesotans. ?
• Arizona Attorney General?Kris Mayes?announced ?that former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis?would?cooperate with her investigation?into the?2020 fake electors scheme .?Lorraine Pellegrino,?one of Arizona’s fake electors,?pleaded guilty?to a misdemeanor in the case, becoming?the first person involved in the scheme ?to accept criminal responsibility. ?
• Justice Department Special Counsel?Jack Smith?asked ?for three more weeks to prepare for the next hearing in?Donald Trump’s?federal election interference case.?Judge?Tanya Chutkan?previously?set the next hearing?for August 16 . Last week, Chutkan denied Trump’s motion to dismiss the entire case. ???READ:?Trump’s federal charges, explained

• The?U.S. Supreme Court?denied ?Missouri Attorney General?Andrew Bailey’s attempt to block or delay?Trump’s sentencing?in his criminal hush money case in New York. The sentencing hearing remains?scheduled?for September 18 . ?
• A?bipartisan group of five secretaries of state?sent a letter ?to?Elon Musk,?the chairman of X (formerly Twitter), urging him to make changes to X’s chatbot, which has been giving its users inaccurate answers to questions about elections. “This issue underlines the importance of checking with trusted sources of election information, such as your state or local election officials to get accurate information about the election process,” New Mexico Secretary of State?Maggie Toulouse Oliver?said.

That’s the Ticket

Now that both major parties have selected their presidential and vice presidential nominees for the 2024 election, voters can more fully understand the stakes for our free and fair elections.

The election offers a sharp contrast between election denial that’s stuck in the past and a forward-looking pro-democracy message.

In the presidential race, Donald Trump used his convention speech to?repeat familiar lies ?about the 2020 election. Just last week, he?attacked Republicans in Georgia ?who stood up to him when he tried to steal that election. Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, has said there was?“large-scale” illegal voting ?in 2020. That is false, and it smears the thousands of election officials who make sure our elections are secure and accurate. Vance has also?raised unfounded doubts ?about this year’s election.

In contrast, Vice President Kamala Harris has?worked to protect the freedom to vote ?during her tenure in office. Her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, has?showed?the power state officials have to make elections stronger. In his state, Walz has?lowered barriers to voting ,?made elections more accessible ,?protected election workers from intimidation , and?protected voters from deceptive deepfakes . These are among the?many steps a governor can take ?to preserve and improve democracy.

A reminder: As election season ramps up, voters can get the facts at?ElectionDeniers.org —not just for the presidential race, but for Congress and statewide elections, too.

State of the States

In Nevada,?Elko County commissioners?voted down a proposal ?to count ballots by hand in November, concluding that it would not meet state guidelines for conducting a hand count. These guidelines are in place to keep the risks of hand counting ballots as the primary method of tabulation—an inherently?more costly ,?error-prone , and?slower ?method of counting ballots—to a minimum.

After the vote, Republican Commissioner Jon Karr said that claims of widespread voter fraud are “one of those urban legends that’s spread like wildfire, and none of it’s true,” and that debating hand counting harms the elections department. “To me, it gives doubt on their integrity as well, and that’s where I get rather emotional and strongly disagree,” he said. ?

???READ:?The Reality of Full Hand Counts: A Guide for Election Officials

In the News

• ABC News:?Trump agrees to ABC News debate with Harris ?

• The New York Times:?Bipartisan Legal Group Urges Lawyers to Defend Against ‘Rising Authoritarianism’ ?

• Reuters:?Two US battleground states seen vulnerable to post-election chaos ?

• The Associated Press:?Judge in Trump’s hush money case delays date for ruling on presidential immunity ?

• The Associated Press:?Justice Dept. says it’s committed to sharing info about foreign election threats with tech companies ?

• Bloomberg:?US Justice Department Boosts Effort to Avoid Election Mayhem ?

• USA Today:?How secretary of state elections became the new battleground for election deniers ?

• ABC News:?2020 presidential race election conspiracy theories live on in state's GOP primary ?

• The Detroit News:?Most election officials who certified Michigan's 2020 race are gone. Expert sees trouble ?

• Michigan Public:?Benson: Michigan plans “panic button” for election worker safety ?

• KRNV:?How Nevada is cleaning the voter rolls with Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar ?

• CPR News:?Colorado election officials train on how to combat AI misinformation

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