Thursday, August 2, 2012
Presidential politics And speaking of voter caging ....
Posted by Max Brantley on Thu, Aug 2, 2012 at 6:57 AM
- Bradblog
- JUST BECAUSE THE POLLS ARE OPEN: Doesn't mean many Americans will be able to vote.
I heard from him yesterday. I judge from his anger that Mitt Romney's stonewalling of questions about his income taxes and his tone-deaf support of windfall tax breaks for people like Mitt Romney are getting some traction. That was the message on cable TV last night, based on promising polling results for President Obama in key swing states such as Pennsylvania and Ohio.
But wait .....
Polls only measure the sentiment of "likely voters." How many of those people actually will vote?
Charles Blow writes about this in the New York Times.
For one thing, he notes, actual voting rarely matches the professed intentions of people to vote. No one wants to admit they won't vote. But then there's the orchestrated Republican vote suppression factor.
Then there are the new voter restrictions that are likely to trim the voter rolls and add tremendous voter confusion.Pennsylvania has passed a highly restrictive photo ID requirement for its voters. A study conducted by professors from the University of Washington and the University of New Mexico found that more than a million registered voters in Pennsylvania and 757,325 people who voted in 2008 lack a valid ID under this scheme. More than a third of registered voters are unaware that a photo ID law even exists.
This means that a lot of people who say that they are likely to vote may not actually be eligible to vote. (Arguments in a suit contesting the Pennsylvania law are being heard this week .)
Now to Florida and Ohio: both states have cut their early voting periods. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, more than a million people who voted in Florida and Ohio in 2008 did so on days that have been eliminated.
Florida, where Tim Griffin played in the vote caging game, is purging voters again this year, with little concern for tossing legitimate voters.
Arkansas Republicans are pushing hard, of course, for voter ID laws that disproportionately impact Democratic-friendly voter segments. But they also want to limit early voting. We ought to encourage more voting. By postcard. By Internet. By hundreds of poll locations in shopping malls and elsewhere that are accessible seven days a week. Dream on if the GOP takes control. Fully participatory democracy runs entirely too much risk of the wrong sorts of people having a strong voice in outcomes.
Speaking of...
-
Republicans mount PR effort on Voter ID bill
April 4, 2013The Arkansas Republican Party, having passed a Voter ID bill developed nationally to depress turnout among traditional Democratic constituencies, mounted a PR effort this morning to show that they really do care about people voting. /more/
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House overrides Beebe veto of voter ID bill
April 1, 2013At 2:20 p.m., the House is hearing arguments from Rep. Stephen Meeks to override Gov. Mike Beebe's veto of the bill to require a photo ID to vote in Arkansas. /more/
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Speaker Carter gets touchy on senator's outburst
March 30, 2013The Arkansas legislature faces a six-day week next week because of the need for extended meetings to complete action on pending business before the currently scheduled end of the session April 19. /more/
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The Good God Friday Edition
March 29, 2013Prop 8 and DOMA and the Arkansas General Assembly and Sen. Mark Pryor shameful responses where, the fight over voter ID, media criticism of the Democrat-Gazette, the morality of Republican tax cuts, Big River Steel, new numbers on expansion and the latest on the potential merger between UAMS and St. Vincent — all covered on this week's edition. /more/
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Republicans don't want poor people to vote
March 29, 2013When they say it (voter ID, whatever) isn't about race or poor people .... Check this out. /more/
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The floor to Gov. Beebe
March 28, 2013Gov. Mike Beebe on Monday vetoed the Republican vote suppression bill because it unnecessarily restricts the right to vote. It was courageous. /more/
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Gov. Mike Beebe vetoes Voter ID bill
March 25, 2013Gov. Mike Beebe has vetoed SB 2, the Republican-backed Voter ID bill. /more/
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The gubernatorial race open line
March 21, 2013The line is open. Finishing up: * VOTING RIGHTS: Now that the legislature has approved a bill to make it harder to vote in Arkansas, it's a good time for reading the Encyclopedia of Arkansas's new entry on voting rights in Arkansas. /more/
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NSFR: Not suitable for Republicans working in legislature
March 20, 2013Wider circulation on YouTube of Rep. John Walker's powerful remarks on efforts to make it harder to vote in Arkansas, a speech that a white-faced Republican unborn when Walker faced institutional discrimination found inappropriate. /more/
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Back in Arkansas
March 18, 2013Well, I"m back in Arkansas, operating on some time zone other than Central Daylight Time. /more/
- More »
Comments (6)
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