voter participation

For some time there has been a concerted effort to disenfranchise a huge swath of voters in the US. The US Supreme Court recently agreed to hear the case of the Republican redistricting plan in Texas.  US Attorney General Eric Holder, Jr. has his hands full monitoring and addressing the states trying, and perhaps succeeding, to restrict the voting rights of groups of voters.

These efforts, Mr. Holder said, have led many Americans “to believe that we are failing to live up to one of our nation’s most noble, and essential, ideals.” Quoting John Lewis, the Georgia congressman who was beaten in the 1960s while advocating voting rights for blacks, he said those rights are under attack by “a deliberate and systematic attempt” to prevent millions of voters from exercising their constitutional right to engage in democracy.
 

It was very encouraging to hear Mr. Holder recognize the depth of the assault on a fundamental constitutional right. The question is how far he will use his department’s power to stop it. [The New York Times]

Public officials should know by now that transparency is especially critical in the redistricting process.  In Boston, the draft plan has Chinatown split into different voting districts.  This may seem to benefit the current Councilor, Bill Linehan, who narrowly won his office by less than 100 votes over a challenger from Chinatown.  To complicate the matter further, Councilor Linehan is part of the group recommending this redistricting plan.

Voting IS a constitutional right.  It seems some want to restrict that right as much as possible, no surprise, in a partisan fashion.  Why is this still going on in the US in the 21st century?  Aren't we spending trillions of dollars defending countries in the name of "Democracy" so they can have fair and accessible elections?  Who's going to assure that we have fair and accessible elections here?

There has never been a problem in this country with ordinary people trying to vote illegally. There is, however, a long, sad and well-documented history of efforts to stop people from voting....New voter ID rules are even more troubling than laws that cut down on the registration period.... Such measures disproportionately affect the poor, the elderly and minorities — groups that traditionally favor Democrats. They represent craven abuses of power to gain partisan advantage. [Full Article: The New York Times]

What is really behind the wave of states making changes to its Election Laws?  The latest, New Hampshire, want to requre all new voters to be residents.  Sounds simple, but it never is... Check out the debate between domicile and legal residence.  It's not only about voter disenfranchisement, there are economic consequences to New Hampshire as well.  It's never simple...

That law says that claiming domicile for voting purposes does not establish the person's voting address as his legal residence for other purposes. [House Election Law Chairman David]  ] ]Bates would make the voting address the legal residence and that is what could affect students' status and therefore their tuition rates...  [Full Article: The Boston Globe]

If there is no discernible voter fraud in the United States, why then are many states pushing for restrictive measures and passing legislation, including Massachusetts, that make it more difficult for people to vote?  Is this a rhetorical question asked because you can figure out the answer?

Seven states this year have passed laws requiring strict photo ID to vote, and similar measures were introduced in 27 other states. More than 21 million citizens — 11 percent of the population — do not have government ID cards. Many of them are poor, or elderly, or black and Hispanic and could have a hard time navigating the bureaucracy to get a card... Other states are beginning to require documentary proof of citizenship to vote, or are finding other ways to make it harder to register...In all cases, they are abusing the trust placed in them by twisting democracy’s machinery to partisan ends.  [Full Editorial: The New York Times]

A Mansfield Selectman didn't get his initiative petition approved by the AG, Martha Coakley.  He wanted everyone to show ID before they could vote.  We already have procedures in place to detect voter fraud...why the need to impose hardships on those who may not be able to afford the costs for acceptable ID before they're able to vote?  Especially when voter fraud has not been proven an issue in MA...

“This petition simply does not meet the required legal standards,” said AG spokesman Brad Puffer. “Forcing voters to incur an expense in order to cast a vote infringes on the freedom of elections. We have applied the same standard to all petitions."  [Full Article: Boston Herald]

In Kevin C. Peterson's letter to Governor Patrick, Mr. Peterson makes an appeal to end the practice of packing and cracking, which suppresses the political expression of racial minorities.  Now is the time, before the redistricting plan is finalized, to be intentional and just in incorporating legislation that engages all people in the political process.

...the Commonwealth must employ a moral logic of redistricting that seeks to achieve the broadest range of civic opportunities in the state; it must commit to an effort of civic realignment that takes seriously the goal of individual freedom and equality, especially for groups that have been the most adversely impacted during past redistricting cycles. [Full Article: CommonWealth Magazine]

Some people want to use the get out the vote grassroots-organizing expertise of the activist group Neighbor to Neighbor as an excuse to suppress voter participation by claiming voter fraud and then trying to push through legislation making voting less accessible.

... Neighbor to Neighbor, built on a foundation of strong, persistent and successful political grass-roots organizing, primarily in low-income and under-represented communities, has become a major player in political races...The group's power has grown exponentially as the overall participation in the voting process has declined over the years... makes friends of politicians it endorses and enemies of those it does not.  [Full Article: Worcester Telegram & Gazette]

Arizona's political parties can be as imaginative as the names of Ben & Jerry's ice creams.  Democracy in action...perhaps...depends on if these people come out to vote...

 “So whether you are a member of the Klingon Party, Coffee Party, the Honest and Competent Party, Awesome Party or the Good Decision Maker Party, exercise your most basic of rights,” he [Ken Bennett, AZ Secretary of State] wrote.  [Full Article: The New York Times]

If we started with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one would expect that by 2011 we should have made voting accessible to everyone and it would not still be a big issue.  Unfortunately, many states are going backwards in voting rights and voting access to restricting or even, by consequence of their legislation, to disenfranchising groups of voters.  Even here, a Mansfield Selectman is seeking to change the voting laws for Massachusetts, requiring all voters to show I.D. before they can vote.

While defending its photo ID law before the Supreme Court, Indiana was unable to cite a single instance of actual voter impersonation at any point in its history. Likewise, in Kansas, there were far more reports of U.F.O. sightings than allegations of voter fraud in the past decade. [Full Op-Ed: New York Times]