voter rights

Cross-posted from the Institute for Southern Studies.

Eyes firmly planted on the 2012 elections, Republican state leaders across the South and country continue to push a host of bills aimed at restricting voting access and shaping who casts ballots next year.

As Facing South has been reporting, GOP leaders in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and other key states -- after campaigning largely on economic issues -- have made a top priority of passing measures that would shorten early voting, require voters to show photo ID at the polls, limit who can register and mobilize voters, among other measures that could have a big impact in close races.

Originally cross-posted from the Institute for Southern Studies, by Chris Kromm.

Last November, the big themes of the 2010 elections were jobs and the economy. But in states across the South and country, many of the most pitched legislative battles have focused on another issue entirely: voting rights.

With Republicans taking power or strengthening their hand in many state legislatures -- and the 2012 elections looming on the horizon -- GOP leaders are seizing the opportunity to push a raft of measures they claim will restore integrity to the voting process.

But the new voting bills share some important features: They all work to restrict the franchise and shrink the electorate -- in most cases, in ways that would decrease Democratic votes.

And many of the most restrictive measures are being pursued in key battleground states, where shaving just a few percentage points off the black, Latino or youth vote could mean the difference between a state going red or blue.

"It's shocking that the media is reporting on these bills as if they are merely innocent attempts at election reform," said a local North Carolina election official. "Why are they being pushed so hard now? Why in battleground states? Who stands to benefit? The most relevant questions just aren't being asked."

The Star has a great editorial on requiring photo ID to vote:

“What’s the harm in proving your citizenship?” say some of those advocating this unnecessary change. For one thing, in America we don’t have to carry around papers proving our citizenship, ready to flash them before any authority who may want to see them. North Carolina law currently does not require voters to present an ID, although if their eligibility is questioned they may eventually have to produce some proof of identity and place of residence.

For the life of me I can't understand why Tea Partiers, much less the bonafide Libertarians in their ranks, could envision this as anything other than a loss of freedom. Whatever validity their message had is lost under this hypocrisy.

The campaign of the candidate challenging a two-term congressman from North Carolina is raising eyebrows over questionable and possibly illegal tactics.

Poll workers associated with U.S. House District 13 candidate Bill Randall, a Republican businessman challenging incumbent Democrat Brad Miller, have taken actions at early voting sites that appear to cross the line from observing voters to intimidating them.

Randall is the politician who gained notoriety earlier this year when he suggested the BP oil disaster was a conspiracy between the company and the Obama administration who "[m]aybe wanted it to leak."

The Institute has a long track record of investigating and exposing threats to democracy and voting rights: Our series on North Carolina's 2008 primary elections led to the largest penalties to date for illegal robo-calling.

This year, we have already reported on the control exercised over many campaigns by funding from individuals, including Art Pope in North Carolina, and corporations, such as these heavy polluters. We are also dedicated to uncovering instances of voter intimidation and voter suppression such as this story in Texas, where comments by the local Tea Party are scaring both registered and unregistered voters, making them less likely to come out on election day. However, we cannot provide these kind of hard-hitting stories without your support. Please donate to ISS to enable us to continue our reporting on election scandal.

Some of you may have heard by now that Blanche Lincoln's victory over Bill Halter in the Arkansas Senate primary run-off has been somewhat tainted by the revelation that 40 out of 42 runoff election polls in Garland County were closed for early voting on the Saturday before Election Day after a public promise to keep them open. Only 2 polls were open throughout the entire county that day and hundreds of voters who showed up to vote were reportedly denied. Since Garland County was the most populous county Bill Halter won 3 weeks ago, his supporters are crying foul.

I always think of Georgia as a sister state to NC, our partner in shaping a new South, as it were. At Dem NC, we also often get calls from people Georgia seeking to replicate our ex-felon outreach, same day registration and voter-owned elections programs. So it was with great dismay that I learned Georgia’s Secretary of State is once again attempting to put in place procedures that would purge thousands of legal voters from the registration rolls, even in the face of clear evidence that his screening procedures are flawed:

Obama Incites Republicans With New North Carolina Black Voters

By Heidi Przybyla

Aug. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The North Carolina waterfront community of Elizabeth City witnessed an early skirmish in a high-stakes political battle over registering new black voters, which may help decide the outcome of the presidential election.

The state House is poised to pass Senate Bill 353 tomorrow, which would revamp the distibution of electoral college votes in NC. Under this new format, a candidate would get one electoral vote for each congressional district he or she carries. The candidate who wins statewide would take the remaining two votes.

Demand the Senate take a stand against voter suppression

Hans von Spakovsky has made a career out of suppressing the vote of minorities, most recently at the Department of Justice (DOJ). Under Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, von Spakovsky led the charge to turn the DOJ into an agency that undermines voting rights instead of protecting them.

Now Bush wants von Spakovsky to be confirmed for a seat on the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the agency in charge of enforcing election finance laws. It's an insult to Blacks, other minorities, and all who are struggling to maintain fair access to our democracy.