Voter suppression laws

[paddymcdougall]

Of course we knew this already - that voter suppression laws have partisan and racial motivations - but  nice to have it confirmed

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/yes-voter-id-laws-are-nakedly-political

Bentele and O’Brien remove any doubt about the racial motivations – which may coincide with partisan motivations – of the legislators who seek to restrict voting rights. They found in those states where minority turnout rose from the prior presidential election and where there were a larger percentage of minority voters in the years 2006 to 2011, the number of laws restricting voting rights proposed by lawmakers also went up. Similarly, in those states where the percentage of low-income voters rose, the response was to propose more laws making it harder to vote. In those states with a bigger African-American population, more restrictive legislation also passed and became law.

The partisan motive is also further detailed. Unsurprisingly, the more dominant Republicans were in office in the state, the more restrictive voting laws were passed. Moreover, in “swing states,” where Republicans feared losing power, Republican lawmakers responded by passing lots of laws to make voting harder in 2011.

[Howey]

NC's horrible law was deemed unconstitutional yesterday and a bipartisan group of congressmen introduced a bill restoring changes to the voting rights act stripped by the Supremes.

[paddymcdougall]

NC's horrible law was deemed unconstitutional yesterday and a bipartisan group of congressmen introduced a bill restoring changes to the voting rights act stripped by the Supremes.

Hadn't heard that update! thanks!

[uselesslegs]

It amazes me that for the most part, we...as a country, just looked the other way while this was all going down/being enacted.  We literally watched state after state do this and other than a bit of media flack...no Governmental body did shit.  We have the GOP Chairman from Penn admitting, "We probably had a better election. Think about this, we cut Obama by 5 percent, which was big. ... He beat [2008 GOP presidential candidate John] McCain by 10 percent, he only beat [2012 GOP presidential candidate Mitt] romney by 5 percent. I think that probably photo ID helped a bit in that."  And also from Penn we have the House Majority leader admitting without an ounce of shame that voter ID "is gonna allow Governor romney to win the presidency."  I mean the mutherfucker didn't even blink when he said it.  It was also in Penn that we learned that voter fraud as a problem was manufactured so an unnecessary solution, to a problem that didn't/doesn't exist, could be *legislatively addressed.*

How is this not illegal as hell?  Why aren't people going to jail?  This wasn't a matter of a *difference of opinion*...these individuals outright engaged and participated in fraud and lying to use legislative authority to alter and manipulated voter turn out and voting.  How the fuck has this been turned into, "Oh Gosh, I guess there was just a misunderstanding."...

[Howey]

Hadn't heard that update! thanks!

I was wrong. It was Pa.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-pennsylvania-voter-id-law-overturned-20140117,0,5408198.story

[paddymcdougall]

I was wrong. It was Pa.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-pennsylvania-voter-id-law-overturned-20140117,0,5408198.story

Well, it's good to hear Penn's law got overturned! it was pretty bad.