DOJ sues Virginia to prevent it from cancelling voter registrations | The Excerpt
On Wednesday's episode of The Excerpt podcast: Paste BN Justice Department Correspondent Bart Jansen discusses the DOJ lawsuit after Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said he's he's purging voting rolls of noncitizens. Plus, a Georgia judge rules that local election officials don't have an option when it comes to certifying the election results this November by the state deadline. The U.S. warns Israel to increase humanitarian aid into Gaza or risk losing access to weapons. Paste BN National Correspondent Deborah Barfield Berry discusses how a pastor is working to get out the vote at go-go clubs. Giant pandas return to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Plus, check out our special episode on panda diplomacy from earlier this year.
Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
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Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and today is Wednesday, October 16th, 2024. This is The Excerpt. Today, I look at fights over who can vote and how results will be certified just weeks before Election Day. Plus the Biden administration presses Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza. And how a pastor is working to get out the vote at go-go clubs.
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With just under three weeks to go until the election, state legislatures and the courts are going head-to-head to argue over exactly who can vote and how results will be certified. A Georgia judge ruled yesterday that county election boards must certify election results by the state deadline even if they have concerns about the results. The decision came after Julie Adams, a Republican member of Fulton County's election board sought the right to refuse certification if she believed the results were incorrect. The judge emphasized that failing to certify would silence voters and violate state law. The ruling aims to prevent potential chaos in the upcoming November elections, ensuring all votes are counted and certified on time. Georgia's one of seven swing states whose electoral votes are critical to winning the presidency.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department is suing to stop Virginia from removing voters from rolls too close to the election. I caught up with Paste BN Justice Department Correspondent Bart Janson for more.
Howdy Bart.
Bart Jansen:
Hello. Thanks for having me again.
Taylor Wilson:
Thanks for hopping back on Bart. So let's just get the basics out of the way here at the top. What is this lawsuit centered on?
Bart Jansen:
Well, the Justice Department argues that the State of Virginia is tossing people off the voter registration rolls within 90 days of the election, so since August 7th through the election on November 5th. And that federal law prohibits you from doing that because they don't want any confusion about who is registered to vote. It's called a quiet time, and they want the voter registration rolls to be basically set for those final three months before an election.
Taylor Wilson:
Yeah. So what have we heard from Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin in kind of defense of this practice?
Bart Jansen:
Yeah. Well, he's saying that the state approved this law in 2006, that governors of both parties have been enforcing it for 18 years. And that it's trying to make sure that only legitimate votes are cast. So he signed an executive order on August 7th saying that election officials should check daily to see, okay, you compare the voter registration lists against Department of Motor Vehicle information, where people when they go in and do their motor vehicle registration, that there is a way for them to voluntarily say whether they are citizens or not. So if they replied no on that state form, then this electronic comparison, it's all handled automatically, then theoretically flags that. And so then it goes back to the local election registrars. They send a note to the voter saying, "You've been flagged as a non-citizen. If you don't come in or file a form that affirms your citizenship, we're going to drop you off the rolls. And the deadline for that response is 14 days."
So the Justice Department is concerned that actual citizens are being dropped off the voter rolls despite the fact that they're targeting non-citizens. It could be that they became citizens years ago, that the question was answered so long ago that it's no longer true, or that perhaps they just didn't get a response back within the 14 days for whatever reason. The Justice Department is concerned that you're throwing legitimate citizen voters off the lists. For example, in Prince William County, 43 of 162 people removed from the rolls before July 31st were likely US citizens according to the local election board.
Taylor Wilson:
Bart, you and I have talked about aspects of this issue before around non-citizen voting. Just remind us what the actual numbers say here and really how often non-citizen votes are cast.
Bart Jansen:
Yeah, it's microscopic. The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University did a study in 2016. They studied 42 jurisdictions, 23 million votes cast and found only 30, three zero, suspected non-citizens voting. A Libertarian Cato Institute has also taken a look at it and they say the number of non-citizen votes is not even measurable, it's just not significant at all. But the Republican National Committee has filed lawsuits in several states about different aspects of how voter registration is handled to try to make sure that non-citizens are not registered and so then cannot vote. They've done that in North Carolina. This executive order was signed by a Republican governor. There is another Justice Department lawsuit in Alabama over a very similar issue. And so this is not unique to Virginia, it's something that Republicans have been promoting this year to try to ensure that only Americans cast votes in the presidential election. But watchdogs, as you say, say that really nobody is showing up to do this because for a non-citizen to vote, they'd be basically filing paperwork declaring themselves a fraud and committing a federal crime by casting that vote in a presidential election.
Taylor Wilson:
Right. So Bart, we're three weeks out from Election Day. What's really next for this conversation and this issue going forward?
Bart Jansen:
Well, the Justice Department has asked a federal judge in Eastern Virginia to order the state not to do this anymore. And also to reinforce training to local election officials to understand that people shouldn't be challenged as they show up to vote if there's this question about their citizenship as part of their registration. They're trying not to have any confusion in these days leading up to the election. So we're waiting for a decision from the federal judge in Virginia. And from that point, Youngkin sounds pretty emphatic about enforcing this law. So it could potentially be appealed as well.
Taylor Wilson:
All right, great insight as always. Bart Jansen covers the Justice Department for Paste BN. Thank you, Bart.
Bart Jansen:
Thanks for having me.
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Taylor Wilson:
The Biden administration is warning Israel that it could risk losing access to US weapons unless it allows more humanitarian aid to flow to Palestinians in Gaza. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sent a letter to their counterparts in Israel on Sunday warning that Israel must take steps within the next 30 days to allow more food and other humanitarian assistance into Gaza or face restrictions on US military aid. The letter follows a recent drop in humanitarian assistance reaching the people of Gaza according to John Kirby, the White House Spokesman on National Security issues. Kirby said the administration made a similar request for concrete measures to boost humanitarian assistance back in April.
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A pastor is working to reach potential if often overlooked voters at go-go clubs. I spoke with Paste BN National Correspondent Deborah Barfield Berry to find out more.
Deborah, it's always a treat having you on the show.
Deborah Barfield Berry:
It's always nice to be here. Thank you, Taylor.
Taylor Wilson:
So Deborah, why don't you just start by telling us about Pastor Tony Lee and his work getting out the vote in go-go clubs. This was kind of a surprising story to me.
Deborah Barfield Berry:
Yeah. So Pastor Lee is a pastor in Maryland, he has a church there. But he's been doing a lot of community work over the years, period. He does a lot of work in the community and especially with some get out the vote work. He had been going to the clubs before, but this has been a particularly ramped up effort and a more of an official effort that he's partnered with some groups, particularly, the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation to do this work in the weeks leading up to Election Day. Because as he and others have said, this is a big election and they wanted to make sure that they put some targeted efforts into reaching people.
Taylor Wilson:
And Deb, what exactly is this work? What is he doing in the clubs?
Deborah Barfield Berry:
Well, the night that I went out with him, which was what? Late Friday into Saturday morning, he basically goes to go-go clubs. And he kind of grew up in that space, so he knows the bands, he knows some of the people, knows the club owners. And for the early part of the evening, he was basically talking to folks. And many of them, he knows some from the church, he knows some from the communities, knows some from other work. And then in between sets he's brought on stage where he speaks to the crowd, to the club goers. And he for the most part, tells them about voting, how important it is, where to vote, how to vote, how to get your information. And this is a non-partisan effort, so he doesn't say who to vote for. But he definitely encourages them to make sure they get out and vote.
Taylor Wilson:
So Deborah, for folks who may not be familiar with go-go, what exactly is this type of music and what's the significance to this community and others?
Deborah Barfield Berry:
It's very much, pretty much a kind of a regional, local kind of phenomenon. And local meaning the DMV, which is DC, Maryland and Virginia area. If you live in this area, you'll know go-go. And for the most part, it's kind of a genre of music that has a lot of drums, a lot of beat, a lot of... a funky vibe to it and a lot of call and response. So they'll say some words, the crowd will respond back in words. It's a lot of bouncing and thumping. It's a very, very popular music in the DMV. And actually, in some other parts of the country as well, but very much here. And it has a lot of roots in some of the African tradition of music.
Taylor Wilson:
Interesting. So why did this pastor and others Deborah feel it's important to get out the vote in, I guess maybe non-traditional ways in settings like this?
Deborah Barfield Berry:
Well, Pastor Lee will say, so have actually many of the voting rights activists who are doing the work is that, they have to go where the people are, where the potential voters are, people who are already voting to make sure how they can counter misinformation, disinformation, make sure they know where they're registered, where their polling site is, what day they need to vote, when early voting starts, because for each state is different. So their passion, if you will, is to go where people are. So it's not the barbershop and it's not the church and in Pastor Lee's case, it's the go-go clubs. And it was packed that night.
Taylor Wilson:
All right, so final stretch here before Election Day, Deborah. Busy few weeks, I'd imagine. What's next for Pastor Lee in this campaign?
Deborah Barfield Berry:
At one of the go-go clubs. He was actually doing four or five clubs that weekend alone. So he's kind of doing his go-go tour in the area. So he's hitting other clubs as well. The weekend before he had gone to a gospel concert where he spoke. So he's going from the gospel concert to the go-go concerts. But that's part of what he's doing in the weeks leading up to Election Day. And there's a big deal, not only because he tries to remind people, not only is there a presidential election, which brings a lot of folks out, but in Maryland there's a big, very competitive Senate race. So the push there is also to make sure that voters come out for that race and the local races. So he's going to be busy like many of the activists in the upcoming weeks.
Taylor Wilson:
All right. Great story here. Deborah Barfield Berry is a national correspondent with Paste BN. I thank you as always Deborah.
Deborah Barfield Berry:
Thank you.
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Taylor Wilson:
Giant pandas are back in the nation's capital. The furry animals returned to Washington yesterday after nearly a year since the National Zoo's longtime residence headed back to China. One day after departing from Chengdu, male Bao Li and female Qing Bao landed at Dulles International Airport on a FedEx cargo plane known as the Panda Express. The pandas will be quarantined as they assimilate to their new surroundings for about a month. So visitors will not be able to see them right away. For the next 10 years, the pair will be on loan in the US as part of an agreement announced earlier this year. Their predecessors, a couple that had been at the zoo for 24 years and their cub were sent to China last November at the expiration of their lease. It was the first time the zoo didn't have any pandas since the 1972 start of a program that became known as Panda Diplomacy. Increasing tensions between the countries and the end of other leases appeared to threaten the program. But San Diego introduced two new giant pandas from China in August. And San Francisco is expected to welcome two others next year. For more on Panda Diplomacy, check out our special deep dive episode from earlier this year. We have a link in today's show notes.
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In the 1980s, Republicans and Democrats alike were concerned about global warming. Today, how worried you are about the environment is more closely aligned with your political leanings. Paste BN reporters looked at a variety of issues and topics ranging from climate change to retirement planning through the lens of generations, old, aging and young. Paste BN National Correspondent Elizabeth Weise joins my colleague Dana Taylor on The Excerpt to talk about the role of age in determining how we feel about climate change in the third of four specials exploring how different generations are handling life's pressure points. That episode is available today, beginning at 4:00 PM Eastern Time right here on this feed.
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Thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your pods. And if you're on a smart speaker, as always, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm Taylor Wilson, and I'll be back tomorrow with more of The Excerpt from Paste BN.