Tag Archives: voter ID laws

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Pennsylvania Voters Don’t Need ID to Go to the Polls – For Now


Pennsylvania Voters Don’t Need ID to Go to the Polls – For Now

                         In a highly anticipated ruling, Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Judge Robert E. Simpson Jr. ruled the state cannot enforce its restrictive voter ID requirement until after the November presidential election.

The ruling is a qualified win for voting rights advocates. The ruling strikes two provisions of the law that would have required voters without sufficient identification to show their IDs within six days of voting or appear before the county board of elections. State poll workers will still be allowed to asked voters for photo identification, but voters who are unable to produce ID that matches the bill’s requirements will still be allowed to cast a ballot, and the state will still be allowed to educate voters about the new ID requirement.

The ruling applies only to the election this November. A trial on the merits of the law will be scheduled later in the year, said Simpson.

The next great task will be for civil rights groups to educate poll workers and citizens to prevent possible harassment at the polls and make sure the law is not wrongly enforced at the expense of voting rights.

This was Simpson’s second look at the law. He had previously refused to block the voter ID law despite his “sympathy” for those “burdened by the voter ID requirement.” Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court overturned that ruling and ordered Simpson to issue an injunction blocking the law from going into effect unless the state could prove it was providing “liberal access” to photo identification and that there would “be no voter disenfranchisement” on Election Day.

This latest ruling makes Pennsylvania the eleventh state to have either a state or federal court block a voter suppression law passed by Republicans since the 2010 election. It’s a sign our system of checks and balances is working and that the courts are doing their job to protect fundamental rights from legislative interference. But given the veracity with which Republicans have pushed these laws, and given the number of states with measures on the ballot in November, a victory like the one in Pennsylvania should simply give us a second to catch our breath and re-group, because the battle to secure voting rights for everyone is far from finished.

Related Stories:

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Throws Voters A Bone

Judge Wont Block PA Voter ID Bill, Appeal Imminent

Pennsylvania Voter ID Trial Starts Under Federal Scrutiny

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

VIDEO: How to Fight Voter Suppressio​n!

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This year our country faces an important election and the Latino vote will matter more than ever before. But there are powerful groups trying to prevent us from making a difference.
Contribute $15 to help us fight voter suppression and racist voter id laws through exciting, informative and controversial videos that give power to our community.
It is projected that more than 12 million Latinos could go out and vote in this year’s election. That would be an increase of 25% from 2008! What’s even more important is that Latino voters could decide key swing states like Colorado,Nevada and Florida. Unfortunately 23 states across the country have either passed or introduced legislation that would make voting more difficult not just for Latinos, but other minority groups, as well as young voters and seniors. That is why empowering the Latino community to vote is imperative this election.

Now we need YOUR help to do more and mobilize record numbers of Latino voters!
Through key, effective and powerful partnerships with Latino organizations doing amazing work on-the-ground and Cuéntame’s innovative video and social media reach, our efforts are making an impact. Our first electoral video, “How To Fight Voter Suppression” in partnership with NCLR has garnered widespread media attention.
Please donate $15 and help us get the funding we need to get more Latinos registered and voting this November.
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Get ready to Vote ! Be Informed …


Please click on the photo to read what is says … Every State should be required to send this mailer out to each and every person with an address  . Call your States Elections Office and push for the Presidential elections to be National process.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Millions disenfranc​hised … Rashad Robinson, ColorOfChange.org


More than 55,000 ColorOfChange members have demanded that corporations stop suppressing our votes. Can you help us get to 75,000 by signing the petition now?

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/alec

You can read the email below for more information on how corporations are suppressing the votes of Black folks, other minorities, and young people through an organization called the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Please take a moment to add your voice and ask your friends and family to do the same. Thanks!

– Rashad

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Major corporations are helping suppress the votes of Black folks and other minorities through a right wing group called ALEC.

Please join us in demanding that they stop:

For years, the right wing has been trying to stop Black people, other people of color, young people, and the elderly from voting for partisan gain — and now some of America‘s biggest companies are helping them do it.

These companies have helped pass discriminatory voter ID legislation by funding a right wing policy group called the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Voter ID bills linked to ALEC have already passed in seven states,1 and similar voter ID bills have been introduced in 27 other states.2

Supporters of discriminatory voter ID laws claim they want to reduce voter fraud (individuals voting illegally, or voting twice). But such fraud almost never actually occurs, and never in amounts large enough to affect the result of elections.3 What is clear is that voter ID laws prevent large numbers of eligible voters from casting a ballot, and could disenfranchise up to 5 million people.4

ALEC’s voter ID laws are undemocratic, unjust and part of a longstanding right wing agenda to weaken the Black vote. Major companies that rely on business from Black folks shouldn’t be involved in suppressing our vote. Please join us in demanding that these companies stop funding ALEC:

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/alec

ALEC’s right wing agenda

The American Legislative Exchange Council is a behind-the-scenes group whose membership consists of legislators and corporations who work together to push legislation that benefits their interests. ALEC crafts model legislation, which its member legislators then introduce in statehouses across the country, without mentioning its corporate ties. The group has written legislation to impose harsher criminal penalties on juveniles, to privatize education, and to break unions.

ALEC is funded in part by the Koch Brothers, the same family that funds the radically conservative tea party. It also receives funding from large corporations, many of which are household names.

“Voter fraud” and discriminatory voter ID laws

Supporters of discriminatory voter ID laws say they’re needed to stop “voter fraud.” The fact is that voter fraud rarely occurs, and when it does occur it does not happen at a scale that would change the outcome of an election. The kind of voter fraud addressed by the ALEC voter id bill happens as infrequently as death by lightning.5

Over and over again, the myth of widespread voter fraud is used to justify stronger restrictions on voting and voter registration (like voter ID laws), as well as voter roll purges. It has also been used to attack organizations which register large numbers of low income and minority voters, by painting simple mistakes made during registration drives as organized efforts to commit voter fraud. These kind of made up scandals have helped the right wing convince the public that voter fraud is real and voter ID laws are necessary to protect the integrity of elections.

The truth is that voter ID laws are discriminatory — Black people, Latinos, the elderly, students, people with disabilities, and the poor are all less likely to have the photo IDs necessary to vote under these laws.6 For example, if you’ve recently moved because of foreclosure or some other economic circumstance, you’re more likely to have recently ended up in a new state which won’t accept your out of state driver’s license. If you don’t have a car, you’re less likely to have a driver’s license in the first place.

In many states, it can be expensive and time consuming to secure the proper ID. Even when the ID itself is free, it often requires supporting documents like a birth certificate which cost money to achieve. There are already stories of voters who have been eligible for years struggling to navigate a frustrating bureaucratic maze in order to vote. Requiring ID to vote amounts to a modern day poll tax. And that’s the real purpose of voter ID laws – they are an important part of the modern effort to suppress the votes of groups that usually vote against right wing politicians.

These laws are part of a long history of voter suppression directed at Black folks and other underrepresented groups. No longer is the Black vote suppressed through violence, intimidation and literary tests. It’s now suppressed through laws that make it burdensome and difficult for many Black folks to vote.

Corporate-backed voter suppression

Some of the companies supporting ALEC may simply be unaware that the group is involved in voter suppression. Others might think that voter suppression will benefit their political interests, and hope that they can get away with supporting it because so few people have even heard of ALEC.

We’ve started reaching out to these companies to make sure they know what they’re supporting, and to demand that they stop. Adding your voice to this campaign will help us convince these companies that continuing to support ALEC will hurt their reputation with consumers. We hope that many of them will simply do the right thing and stop supporting ALEC. If they don’t, we’ll be prepared to shine a spotlight on them and make sure the world understands what they’re involved in.

Please take a moment to join us in standing up to corporate-backed voter suppression. And please ask your friends and family to do the same. It takes just a moment:

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/alec

Thanks and Peace,

— Rashad, James, Gabriel, Dani, Matt, Natasha and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team     December 8th, 2011

Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU—your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don’t share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way. You can contribute here:

http://www.colorofchange.org/donate

References

1. “New Evidence of ALEC Connections in All Successful Voter ID Legislation,” Campus Progress, 09-08-11 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1065?akid=2356.1174326.HucObH&t=8

2. “First, show your face,” The Economist, 09-17-11 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1066?akid=2356.1174326.HucObH&t=10

3. “The Myth of Voter Fraud,” Washington Post, 03-29-07 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1067?akid=2356.1174326.HucObH&t=12

4. “GOP, ALEC Could Make It Harder For 5 Million To Cast Ballots,” Mother Jones, 10-3-11 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1068?akid=2356.1174326.HucObH&t=14

5. See reference 3.

6. “Citizens without proof,” Brennan Center For Justice, 11-2006 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1069?akid=2356.1174326.HucObH&t=16