201,000 Floridians didn’t vote in November because the lines were too long source
This is an issue we take extremely seriously. When allegations were brought to our attention we severed all ties to the firm.RNC spokesman Sean Spicer • Speaking on the GOP’s voter registration efforts in Florida. As you may remember, in the aftermath of the 2008 election the Republican Party waged a legislative battle against ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), an organization that handled registration drives for primarily low-income citizens, as well as many urban and minority communities. Armed with evidence that street-level workers had filed fraudulent forms (as well as a hasty backlash over a deceptively edited video, for which the group was later exonerated), ACORN was effectively dismantled by Republican lawmakers. Now, however, the GOP faces a similar dilemma, as fraudulent forms filed by Strategic Allied Consulting have affected 10 different counties in Florida. To be clear, as with ACORN, a few bad apples does not necessarily a wholly corrupt enterprise make (though allegations about the firm throwing out forms filled out for Democratic registration are highly troubling), but with the push for aggressive new voter ID laws, as well as past stridency against ACORN, the Republicans are now forced into a zero tolerance posture. source
The Voting Rights Act wasn’t designed to be enmeshed in partisan politics. And that’s what is happening now.Nathaniel Persily, a professor at Columbia Law School • Discussing the sudden legal pressure the Voting Rights Act is facing in states like Texas. The act was introduced in the 1960s to protect African-American voters from disenfranchisement at the polls. But recent state laws have begun to test its legality. Earlier this year, the Obama administration blocked a Texas law that would require voters to show photo ID, saying it was “unfair to minority voters.” Texas says it wants to prevent voter fraud; Georgia and Indiana have passed similar measures. Now, the fight is starting to heat up — with a hearing on Monday in a federal district court on Texas’ law, a possible prelude to a Supreme Court decision. Is it a reflection of the political climate? “Actions and interpretations that previously would not have raised partisan eyebrows are now seen as outrages,” said Persily. source (via • follow)
Federal law says only U.S. citizens can vote in federal elections. We typically make this a state-by-state issue, but I don’t know why we don’t enforce that at the federal level. I don’t know why we don’t mandate at the federal level that you have to show proof of citizenship to vote.Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) • During a town hall meeting, on February 25, in the town of Palatine, Illinois. Walsh applauded efforts by several states around the country to institute Voter ID laws of their own volition, however he doesn’t believe that a few state-level programs go far enough. Many experts continue to insist that such laws are unfairly restrictive on minorities, among other vulnerable voter demographics, and attempt to address a voter-fraud problem that simply does not exist in any significant form. What do you think? Do we need national Voter ID laws like the one Walsh is suggesting? source (via • follow)
The point of elections is that the outcome should be uncertain. This was not the case in Russia. There was no real competition and abuse of government resources ensured that the ultimate winner of the election was never in doubt.Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe coordinator Tonino Picula • Discussing the results of the Russian presidential election, which strongly favored Vladimir Putin. Picula suggests that the election was “clearly skewed” in Putin’s favor. With 99 percent of the votes counted, Putin gathered more than 64 percent of the vote — this despite passionate, widespread dissent against the Russian leader. Another voting watchdog, Golos, said it had received 3,000 voting fraud reports. What do you think? Does it looks like the election was rigged?
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