Category: voter suppression

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Nikki Haley Politics South Carolina United States voter suppression

Judge Slams Break On Nikki Haley’s Voter Suppression Law

Since winning the House of Representatives in November 2010, Republicans have been on a rampage trying all they could to suppress the votes of minorities throughout the United States. Republicans would have you believe that voter fraud is crippling our political process, and they are the only ones with the willingness and ability to fix it.

If you listen to the Republican logic, you will believe that on election day, millions of dead people come back to life and vote for Democrats. So to solve this dilemma, Republicans governors across the nation began implementing various forms of voter ID laws.

But the facts show a different story.

A recent Washington Post article found that “prosecutable cases of voter fraud are rare.” The report said that in Ohio for example, out of 9 million votes cast in the 2002 and 2004 elections, only 4 cases of voter fraud were reported. And “from 2002 to 2005, the Justice Department found only five people were convicted for voting multiple times.”

But what about on the national scene, the voter ID fraud cases must be ridiculously rampant, right? Well you’d be wrong to think that too. Another report, this time by the New York Times found that during the first five years of the Bush crackdown on voter fraud, from 2002 to 2007,  “about 120 people have been charged and 86 convicted” nationwide.

This is just a manufactured issue by Republicans claiming that we are under attack by  illegitimate voters from beyond the grave. That’s just not the case and these Republican governors know it. What they are actually trying to do, is suppress the minority votes for the 2012 election.

So we take pleasure in reporting what this judge did in South Carolina – putting the brakes on Gov. Nikki Haley’s voter ID law.

The U.S. Justice Department has blocked South Carolina’s controversial voter ID law, saying it would prevent black people from voting.

It was the first voter ID law to be refused by the federal agency in nearly 20 years.

The decision means voters will not have to show a Department of Motor Vehicles-issued driver’s license or photo ID card, a U.S. military ID or a U.S. passport. And it means the state, which says it plans to appeal the decision in court, will spend time and taxpayer dollars on the second such lawsuit during Gov. Nikki Haley’s term.

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Politics Voter registration voter suppression

Voter Suppression – The Case Of 96 Year Old Dorothy Cooper

In all her years of voting, 96-year-old Dorothy Cooper from Chattanooga Tennessee never had any issues, in fact, she admits to only missing one election in the last 70 years – the vote for John F. Kennedy in the 60’s, because she moved and couldn’t register in time.

But now we have Republicans who have gone on a rampage, trying to suppress and discourage as many voter from the poor and minority communities as they possibly could. And Dorothy Cooper is now fighting to vote in the 2012 elections.

Mrs. Cooper heard that a voter ID will be required to cast her vote in 2012. She gathered a few pieces of documents  – a rent receipt, her birth certificate, a copy of her lease and her voter registration card, and headed down to her local ID office, only to be turned away without an ID. According to the clerk, she needed to present a marriage certificate showing her last name is Cooper and not Alexander, as it appears on her birth certificate.

“But I don’t have my marriage certificate,” Mrs. Cooper told the clerk, but it was to no avail as she was denied the Voter ID.

Tennessee Department of Safety spokeswoman Dalya Qualls said in a Tuesday email that Cooper’s situation, though unique, could have been handled differently.

“It is department policy that in order to get a photo ID, a citizen must provide documentation that links their name to the documentation that links their name to the document they are using as primary proof of identity,” Qualls said. “In this case, since Ms. Cooper’s birth certificate (her primary proof of identity) and voter registration card were two different names, the examiner was unable to provide the free ID.”

Despite that, Qualls said, “the examiner should have taken extra steps to determine alternative forms of documentation for Ms. Cooper.”

The State has promised to work with Mrs. Cooper, to get her the Voter ID.

Mrs. Cooper’s case will not be an isolated one. As the elections approach, it is expected that this story will be repeated hundreds of thousands of times, as people all across the nation come face to face with these new Republican voting laws. And although Mrs. Cooper is determined to get her voting ID, the same cannot be said about the majority of individuals who already feel disenfranchised and discouraged by the process. These people will eventually pack it up and call it quits, which is exactly what the Republicans are hoping for.

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Barack Obama Politics Republican United States voter suppression

Maryland Republicans Indicted For Voter Suppression

Two aides to Maryland’s former Republican Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr, were indicted on voter suppression charges last Friday. The two aides, Julius Henson and Paul Schurick conducted over 100,000 robo calls last mid-term elections, telling a predominantly black voting block in Maryland to stay home, because President Obama and the Democratic contender for governor Mr. O’Malley, had already won. The call stated;

“Hello. I’m calling to let everyone know that Governor O’Malley and President Obama have been successful. Our goals have been met. The polls were correct, and we took it back. We’re okay. Relax. Everything’s fine. The only thing left is to watch it on TV tonight. Congratulations, and thank you.”

Well, the call was right about one thing, O’Malley eventually won the election, but the intent of the robocall was as obvious – voter suppression, and for Henson and  Schurick’s role in the crime, the indictment awarded them the following;

Julius Henson and Paul Schurick each face three counts of conspiracy to violate Maryland election laws, one count of attempting to influence a voter’s decision and one count of failing to provide an authority line (on campaign material). Schurick also is charged with one count of obstruction of justice.

An arraignment in Baltimore Circuit Court is scheduled for July 18.

The indictment, handed up by a Baltimore City grand jury, came after an eight-month investigation by State Prosecutor Emmet Davitt into tens of thousands of robocalls that went out late on Election Day. A caller instructed voters in Democratic areas to stay home and “relax” because Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley had already won. In fact, the polls were still open.

And even with this investigation and indictment, multiple Republican governors are trying the same stunt in their states for the 2012 elections. So far this year, six Republican controlled states are racing to carry out more restrictive laws ultimately geared towards voter suppression.

You would think its wise for one to learn from another’s mistakes, but these are Republicans. Their belief system is freedom – to make their own mistakes and decide if they should learn from or repeat their same mistakes again and again. One has to wonder at what point does that kind of freedom turn into just plain stupid?

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Democratic Party Domestic Policies Immigration National Anthem Republican United States voter suppression

In Your Face Hate – G,O.P tells Latinos “Don’t Vote!”- Video

The Land of the Free and The Home of the Brave.

These are the last few words of The Star-Spangled Banner, our National Anthem.  They represent the core of what America is – a nation where freedom reigns due to the ultimate sacrifice of the men and women who died to make this freedom possible.

Your Vote Counts

Don’t tell that to the makers of this ad, a group calling themselves, “Latinos For Reform.” This group is advising Latinos to bypass these elections and “Don’t Vote,” because, according to its website, “Democratic leaders had two years to push for comprehensive immigration. It turned out that their efforts were scant: all talk and no action.”

We checked out the website associated with this ad and found the following, “If, however, we don’t vote for these politicians, then we will command the attention and respect of both sides of the aisle.” The site claims that this is “the only way to make them stop taking us for granted.”

It’s quite frankly appalling to think that any group, especially one that claims to represent the voice of its members, would tell their members to keep their mouths shut!

The makers of this ad know one thing – that Republicans have been against Comprehensive Immigration Reform and have stood in the way of any real advancement on this issue for decades. The makers of the ad also know that since the Obama Administration, Immigration Reform and the Republicans opposing it have been a major topic in Washington over the last year.

From Republicans asking for the building of the “fence,” to their wanting to ship all illegal immigrants out of America back to their original country, to the “Anchor Babies,” these are all ways the Republicans are trying to suppress the Latino vote. Republicans know that thinking Latinos and other minorities will not cast a vote for a Republican, so advising Latinos to stay home will guarantee a no vote for Democrats.

Republicans are banking on suppressing Latinos, but Latinos are wiser than these Republicans are giving them credit for. Unlike what the author says on the Latinos for Reform website, staying home and keeping your mouth shut is not the way to make your voice heard. It is a way to help Republicans win.

In the land of the free, all legal voters must cast their votes. It’s the only way to make your voice heard.

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