Nevada saw a landslide victory in its Democratic primary this week for a state lawmaker who says she was targeted by Southwest Gas and other groups for promoting climate-change legislation.

Assemblywoman Lesley Cohen, D-Henderson, won the primary with about 70% of the vote. Southwest Gas contributed $10,000 to her primary opponent, Joe Dalia, after Cohen sponsored a bill last year requiring that energy planning be aligned with the state's climate goals. The group Nevadans for Economic Opportunity (NEO) paid for mailers attacking Cohen.

"They have a lot of money that they can deploy in small races where very few voters are paying attention to the fact that they're deploying this money, so that's concerning for reformers," said Kenneth Miller, a professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas who is an expert on money in politics. "The good news is that there's not a lot of evidence that that money, when it's spent, influences voters very much."

The Retail Association of Nevada, which funds NEO, also has contributed to the Dalia campaign. Dalia had no comment. NEO and Southwest Gas also did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

While this kind of political activity isn't illegal, said Matt Kasper, deputy director of the Energy and Policy Institute, which published an investigation into this race, it undermines the democratic process.

"It's unfair when you have a 'dark money' entity do these types of actions in political races," he said. "It confuses voters, it gives them misinformation; voters aren't able to see who is always behind these types of campaigns."

Cohen said she's now bracing for further opposition as she competes in the general election.

"These are groups that endorsed Donald Trump, and then they're coming after me in a Democratic primary," she said. "I worry that this is sending a chilling message to legislators, because if the coalition against me is successful, it's basically telling legislators, 'Get in line or we'll take you out.'"

Cohen's Assembly Bill 380 ultimately failed. It would have given the Public Utilities Commission more oversight over Southwest Gas and would have required the gas company to justify any expansion of natural gas, given the state's goal of "net-zero" emissions by 2050.

The Keystone State's general election is less than six months away and a nonpartisan, grassroots organization is already getting the word out to residents about the importance of voting and voter registration.

Pennsylvania has more than 8.7 million registered voters, but it is estimated the voter turnout during the municipal primary election was only 27.5%.

Becky Wyss, president of the League of Women Voters of Westmoreland County, said they are hoping to see a better turnout in November.

"The turnout was very light in Westmoreland County," Wyss pointed out. "I looked up the newspaper accounts of it. And the overall turnout for the primary was 29%. But that's up from 24.5% in 2019 when many of the same races were on the ballot."

Wyss noted they are committed to having Vote411.org set up for Westmoreland County in time for the general election. The League's national website is a one-stop shop for election information. Anyone can check their voter registration status, find their polling place or request a mail-in ballot. By entering a mailing address, voters can also see a guide to the specific races and candidates on their ballots.

Wyss explained turnout may have been low because of uncontested races, and independent voters may have been unsure about how Pennsylvania's closed primaries work. The League held a "Timely Topics Speaker Series," to help educate voters, and Wyss encouraged residents to attend the next speaker series.

"In the fall, we have two speaker series on the school board," Wyss said. "One is on school board governance. The second is on financing for schools. So we're hoping that will generate a lot of interest in getting people out to the general election. Because school boards, there's just a ton of school board elections going on right now."

Judy Clack, vice president of voter services for the League of Women Voters of Greater Pittsburgh, said the overall turnout there improved from 16.5% four years ago to 31% this year. She noted the district attorney and county executive race was contested this time, but four years ago, it was not contested.

"Mail in, 35% of our 31% who voted, voted by mail, 35% in Allegheny County, and our county has become very supportive of mail-in voting," Clack observed.

Clack added voting integrity is a top priority and contends the election process in Pennsylvania is secure.

"There is no fraud in Pennsylvania," Clack contended. "If you get a mail-in ballot, it is keyed to your voter registration. When you return it, they scan it and they see Judy Clack turned in her mail-in ballot. That is given to where my polling place is, and so I could not go vote again."


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The moment Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a sweeping elections bill into law last week, several voter-advocacy groups filed lawsuits against it.

Senate Bill 7050 creates a broad set of restrictions for third-party voter registration groups. It cuts the amount of time they have to submit voters' applications, and adds new and higher fines for late submissions.

Estee Konor - associate director of litigation with Demos, a 'think tank' that focuses on racial justice - said her group's lawsuit targets a new provision that bans any non-citizen from getting involved in voter-registration work.

Konor said it directly impacts groups she represents, such as Hispanic Federation and Poder Latinx, that have a long history of helping people register to vote.

"And really what this law does is," said Konor, "it is an attack on the ability of Floridians - regardless of their immigration status - to participate in the democratic process of civic engagement."

The bill's sponsor, state Rep. Lawrence McClure - R-Dover - said the bill is meant to hold voter-registration groups to high standards and protect voters' personal information.

Groups like the League of Women Voters and other plaintiffs are also suing, claiming the law is unconstitutional and violates the First and 14th amendments.

Konor said all Floridians, including non-citizens, have the right to participate in the work of building a better democracy. She claimed the law is a brazen attempt to shut down voter registration work in those communities.

"If an organization violates this law in any way, even if they do so by mistake, they will be fined $50,000 per person that has violated the law," said Konor, "and there is no limit."

The new law also requires those organizations to provide voter registration applicants with a receipt detailing the voter's personal information.

According a study by University of Florida Political Science Professor Daniel Smith, Florida voters of color are five times more likely than white voters in the state to register to vote through third-party civic engagement groups.

Support for this reporting was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.




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Washingtonians will soon find it even easier to register to vote.

Passed this session, Senate Bill 5112 automatically makes people applying for enhanced driver's licenses eligible to vote.

Alex Alston, consultant for the Washington Voting Justice Coalition, said a number of communities in the state will benefit from the legislation.

"We know that Black and brown communities and folks with socio-economic barriers are often those who are left out of the system," Alston pointed out. "Moving towards a more automatic voter registration system is something that the state's been working towards."

While Washington has made it easy to vote in many respects, including with all-mail elections, lawmakers say nearly 1 million eligible Washingtonians are not registered. After registering them, the state will send a notice in the mail giving people the chance to opt out.

The measure only applies automatic voter registration to people who prove their U.S. citizenship. Alston noted it ensures people not eligible to vote are not inadvertently signed up.

"We don't want inadvertent mistakes that would have negative immigration consequences for someone or their families," Alston emphasized.

Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, Massachusetts, Nevada and Oregon have adopted similar automatic registration measures. The law goes into effect July 23.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.


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