‌‌‌‌‌State Republicans Go After Local Dems

? Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here to receive The Franchise in your inbox every week.

?? Hello readers!

Republicans in the Georgia legislature have quietly passed legislation that's resulted in Republicans taking control of several county election boards, a power grab for local GOPers who promote Trump’s lies about a stolen election.

Are you seeing structural changes at the local level that you think are politically motivated? Chime in on The Hive. You can also respond to this email and tell me about it.

Alright, let’s dig in.

Republican State Officials Are Seizing Power At The County Level

Reuters has some incredible reporting out of GEORGIA, where the Republican-controlled state legislature has passed county-specific legislation to replace the election boards in six counties in recent months.

In all of the counties, the legislative changes resulted in Republicans having majority control of the boards.

The reconstituted boards are already making moves, Reuters reports — including moves like eliminating early Sunday “Souls to the Polls” voting days and consolidating the precincts served by voting centers. Some Black Democratic board members have sought to be reinstated, and were denied.

Separately, CNN reports on a pattern in Texas and Georgia of Republican state officials seizing control — through redistricting and legal changes to county board powers — from local Democrats.

DOJ Sues Texas Over District Maps They Say Intentionally Discriminate 

The Justice Department filed its second voting rights lawsuit against TEXAS last week, this time over congressional and state House districts that it said intentionally diluted the votes of Black and Hispanic Texans.

The methods are so well-known by now that they have a name: Crack and pack. That is: Crack up minority communities in some places, so they won’t be able to make up a majority of the district, and pack them into other districts, so their legislative power is concentrated in a single representative.

We’ve seen these tactics all over the country, and the DOJ suit noted that courts have found that Texas violated its citizens’ federal voting rights every decade for the past 50 years (and then some…).

There are some interesting details in the Texas suit: The DOJ alleged that, in one instance, the state “consciously” drew a district to exclude some high-turnout Hispanic voters and replace them with lower-turnout Hispanic voters.

Around The States

A federal judge declined to throw out several lawsuits over GEORGIA’s new voting restrictions.
 

PENNSYLVANIA Republicans suggested a starting point for the redistricting process: A citizen-drawn map created by a former plaintiff in a lawsuit against the last Republican-drawn map. 

The NEW YORK CITY council has voted to allow non-citizens who are legal residents to vote in local elections. 
 

Also in the Big Apple, the deputy executive director of the often-embattled Board of Elections is being replaced in that role by the chair of the Staten Island Republican Party. 
 

CALIFORNIA is getting more competitive, thanks to a nonpartisan redistricting commission.
 

The NORTH CAROLINA Supreme Court pushed back the primary date on the calendar to allow more time for redistricting lawsuits to play out. 
 

The OHIO Supreme Court heard arguments in multiple lawsuits alleging that new state House and Senate maps violated rules against partisan gerrymandering. Separately, the state faces a federal suit over its U.S. congressional maps. 
 

A proposed VIRGINIA congressional map would leave Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) significantly outside of her district. Otherwise, the state would have fewer districts, but would retain roughly the partisan balance as it has now in its congressional delegation. 
 

MICHIGAN news outlets sued for access to public records from the state’s Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. 
 

A federal appeals court in ARIZONA found that it was legal to discard mail-in ballots that haven’t been signed by Election Day. 
 

Will SENATE DEMOCRATS finally devise some way to pass voting rights legislation despite the filibuster rules and Republican intransigence? Don’t hold your breath. Politico reports: “It’s not clear how it will work and stakeholders are being hush hush.” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is reportedly “discussing small changes to Senate rules with Republicans.” So there’s that.
 

Ahead of a “DEMOCRACY SUMMIT” at the White House, the Biden administration put out a fact sheet on the steps it’s taken to “restore and strengthen American democracy.” It’s a bit underwhelming. 

The Latest In Audit Mania

Is this what it takes to run for governor in GEORGIA? Sen. David Pedue (R-GA) filed a lawsuit full of reheated election fraud nonsense a few days after entering the gubernatorial race. 
 

The lawsuit came right after Perdue said he would not have certified his state’s 2020 election results, even now — “not with the information that was available at the time and not with the information that has come out now” — effectively admitting that he would have disenfranchised millions of people and participated in stealing an election. 

KANYE… WEST’S… PUBLICIST… pressured a Georgia election worker to confess to a voter fraud crime she never committed, weeks after the Trump campaign targeted the worker with selectively edited video. 
 

The “forensic audit” of four TEXAS counties has entered “phase 2.” Apparently the state will release some of their findings before New Year’s. 

Republican election lawyer BEN GINSBERG urged congressional Republicans to work with Democrats to update the law governing the Electoral College — the law Trump tried to exploit to steal a second term.

COLORADO Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) has asked the legislature for a security budget  to “address election-related concerns.” A spokesperson cited a “spike in threats” received by the office.

Rogue canvassers are going door-to-door in UTAH, just like they have in other states, in search of fodder for election fraud claims. 

Roll Call: Courts may play outsize role in redistricting fights
 

TPM: Biden Must Call On Senate To End Filibuster

Texas Monthly: Texas Election Officials Went Looking for Illegal Voters. They Found Some U.S. Citizens.
 

New York Times: In Bid for Control of Elections, Trump Loyalists Face Few Obstacles
 

Wall Street Journal: New Political Maps Will Kill Swing Districts From Coast to Coast

? Franchise subscriber but not yet a TPM member? New members can now get a 7-day all-access pass to try TPM Prime for FREE! Sign up here.

? Was this email forwarded to you? If you liked what you read, you can sign up here to get The Franchise in your inbox every week.

Advertise // Site // Contact