(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Trial for trio of voting laws concludes with testimony from Secretary of State's Office – Daily Montanan [1] ['Darrell Ehrlick', 'More From Author', '- August'] Date: 2022-08-25 Even though the Montana Secretary of State’s Office knew that more than 3,000 voters may be affected by changing Election Day Registration in Montana, Republican Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen delivered on her campaign promise to eliminate the option, as well as enact several other laws, passed by the 2021 Legislature, and challenged as unconstitutional. During testimony in the final day of a scheduled two-week trial, Austin James, the chief legal counsel for Jacobsen’s office, testified about how the office shepherded the legislation, and pushed back against the narrative that state government had robbed voters of the opportunity to vote by listing the different avenues still available to vote. The final day’s testimony also showed the political pressure Jacobsen’s office used to assuage lawmakers’ concerns about objections to the trio of bills which eliminated same-day voting, paid ballot collection and change voter identification laws. Still plenty of ways to vote James recounted the ways in which the Secretary of State informed voters of the changes to Montana laws – from radio and newspaper advertisements, to postcards sent to every active and inactive voter in Montana, as well as using Facebook. He also testified that previous witnesses who appeared in court and recounted being denied voting were due to administrative errors or election judges who weren’t trained properly, not the result of the three bills being challenged. However, he also testified that prior to passing the laws, the Secretary of State’s office also made calculations as to how many voters would likely be denied voting because of the elimination of House Bill 176, which ended Election Day registration and voting. That number was calculated at 3,352. James also testified that all three measures were part of Jacobsen’s political platform used for election to the office, with voter identification topping that list. James testified that what lawmakers wanted and what other constituents wanted were incorporated into the bills. For example, an expired driver’s license was still acceptable so that older people or those with disabilities could still use the government-issued identification. And James said he fought for tribal identification to be included. Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued that Montana driver’s licenses as well as concealed-carry permits were also available to non-residents. Behind the scenes As part of the trial, attorneys introduced emails and communication to and from the Secretary of State’s Office and lawmakers, which included talking points and responses to opposition drafted by James to give to House Bill 176’s sponsor, Rep. Sharon Greef, R-Florence. The emails show that Greef was concerned about defending the bill, and she also provided a list of people who signed up to testify in opposition to HB176, noting that there wasn’t a single supporter and more than a dozen opponents. “She was nervous as a legislator, so she was nervous about answers, so (state elections coordinator) Dana Corson was giving her answers,” James said. James told the court that opponents of the bill would likely play “hardball,” and the office needed to provide answers to the lawmakers. “DARN … all opponents,” Greef said in an email the night before the hearing in January 2021, “but your team will knock ‘em dead. We’ve got this, Angela (Nunn, the Secretary’s chief of staff).” James also testified that Jacobsen’s office was attempting to drum up support for the hearing, asking former Broadwater County elections chief Doug Ellis to testify at the legislative hearing, which he did. Ellis was the only supporter not affiliated with the office, and he also testified as a witness during trial. James also testified that after district court Judge Michael Moses issued a temporary injunction against the laws, it took six days for the Secretary of State to offer advice to election administrators across the state who were facing elections with just days left. Internal documents presented at trial showed that Corson called the temporary order a “smack in the face,” but when the Montana Supreme Court modified the injunction, Corson sent out advice within a day. However, James defended the office’s actions saying that it was reviewing what Moses’ orders meant for voters and the state, and that it needed time to give clear, precise directions. With the 2022 midterm elections approaching currently, Moses told the parties that he’d try to issue a decision in the case as quickly as possible, but acknowledged no matter what the decision says, it’s likely to be appealed to the Montana State Supreme Court. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2022/08/25/trial-for-trio-of-voting-laws-concludes-with-testimony-from-secretary-of-states-office/ Published and (C) by Daily Montanan Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/