Voting Law Proposals and Voting Rights Efforts (1 Viewer)

[MT15]

This is, IMO, going to be a big topic in the coming year. Republicans have stated their aim to make voting more restrictive in just about every state where they have the means to do so. Democrats would like to pass the Voting Rights Bill named after John Lewis. I’m going to go look up the map of all the states which have pending legislation to restrict voting. Now that we have the election in the rear view, I thought we could try to make this a general discussion thread, where people who have concerns about voting abuses can post as well and we can discuss it from both sides. Please keep memes out of this thread and put them in the boards where we go to talk about the other side, lol.

 

[zztop]

I don't necessarily think you should have to be required to provide an address, but, you still have to make a statement as to where you reside. So if you're homeless, or live at an unofficial address, for voter registration, you would need to list the city or district/precient where you reside and vote at the nearest polling location.

seems like there have been laws passed about this address requirement already. I found this: https://www.americanbar.org/news/ab...o-vote--nd--native-americans-settle-voter-id/

which says:

The dispute began in 2013 when the North Dakota state legislature passed a law requiring that all voters have a valid identification card with a home address. The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University found that 23% of voting-eligible Native Americans in North Dakota do not have such an ID card, compared with 12% of non-Native Americans. In fact, Campbell said, about half of all Native Americans lack the documents to obtain such an ID card.

 

[DaveXA]

seems like there have been laws passed about this address requirement already. I found this: https://www.americanbar.org/news/ab...o-vote--nd--native-americans-settle-voter-id/

which says:

The dispute began in 2013 when the North Dakota state legislature passed a law requiring that all voters have a valid identification card with a home address. The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University found that 23% of voting-eligible Native Americans in North Dakota do not have such an ID card, compared with 12% of non-Native Americans. In fact, Campbell said, about half of all Native Americans lack the documents to obtain such an ID card.

But that sounds more like lack of documentation than a lack of a physical address. That said, documentation on it's own is a problematic issue. You have to have documentation to get a state issued ID or driver's license. You also have to provide not just documentation but also proof of residence, at least here in Virginia.

I don't know how people who don't have sufficient documentation or proof of residence gets around that though.

There has to be some sort of vetting and verification process though. I guess the devil is in the details.

 

[Nebaghead]

But that sounds more like lack of documentation than a lack of a physical address. That said, documentation on it's own is a problematic issue. You have to have documentation to get a state issued ID or driver's license. You also have to provide not just documentation but also proof of residence, at least here in Virginia.

I don't know how people who don't have sufficient documentation or proof of residence gets around that though.

There has to be some sort of vetting and verification process though. I guess the devil is in the details.

I think the reservations don’t have street addresses and all mail is PO Box which isn’t allowed. I think they have addresses like building 1200 and not an actual legal address.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Going to be a fight over voting
=======================


WASHINGTON (AP) — A new executive order from President Joe Biden directs federal agencies to take a series of steps to promote voting access, a move that comes as congressional Democrats press for a sweeping voting and elections bill to counter efforts to restrict voting access.

His plan was being announced during a recorded addresson the 56th commemoration of “Bloody Sunday,” the 1965 incident in which some 600 civil rights activists were viciously beaten by state troopers as they tried to march for voting rights in Selma, Alabama.

“Every eligible voter should be able to vote and have it counted,” Biden says in his prepared remarks to Sunday’s Martin and Coretta King Unity Breakfast. “If you have the best ideas, you have nothing to hide. Let the people vote.”..........

Democrats say the bill will help stifle voter suppression attempts, while Republicans have cast the bill as unwanted federal interference in states’ authority to conduct their own elections.

The bill’s fate is far from certain in the closely divided Senate. Conservative groups have undertaken $5 million campaign to try persuade moderate Senate Democrats to oppose rule changes needed to pass the measure...........

Biden marks 'Bloody Sunday' by signing voting rights order

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new executive order from President Joe Biden directs federal agencies to take a series of steps to promote voting access, a move that comes as congressional Democrats press for a sweeping voting and elections bill to counter efforts to restrict voting access.

apnews.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

I think the reservations don’t have street addresses and all mail is PO Box which isn’t allowed. I think they have addresses like building 1200 and not an actual legal address.

article from a few years ago on reservations and
=====================

........We have now gotten a taste of what is to come in a ruling that didn’t involve Kavanaugh but shows where this is all going. The court declined to hear an emergency appeal in which voters in North Dakota challenged a law that not only requires voters to show ID at the polls, but also requires those IDs to have street addresses, not P.O. boxes.

The fact that the court didn’t rule on the case probably means the judges were split 4-4, so an appeals court ruling upholding the law will stand.

What’s the big deal, you might ask — shouldn’t IDs have street addresses? But if you understand North Dakota, you know that this law was specifically aimed at disenfranchising Native American voters, who vote heavily for Democrats.


In North Dakota, many of those voters live on reservations, which are often remote and spread over vast areas. So it is common for people’s homes to be on roads with no official name, leaving them without an official address and with no postal delivery.

They get their mail from a P.O. box at the nearest post office.
Let’s be clear about this: North Dakota Republicans are absolutely aware of this fact. It’s not like they were shocked to learn that many Native Americans who live on reservations in their state don’t have street addresses. That was the whole point.

This law was passed with one intent and one intent only: to make it harder for Native Americans to vote and to reduce the numbers who successfully make it to the polls.


Not only that, the new rule also wasn’t in place for the primary election but will be sprung on voters in the general election, many of whom will show up to their polling place only to find that they’ve been barred from voting...........

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/10/10/kavanaugh-and-the-courts-conservatives-will-accelerate-the-war-on-voting/

 

[zztop]

President Biden will sign an executive order today, on the 56th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday," meant to promote voting rights, according to an administration official.


Details: The executive order includes directives to all federal agencies to create a strategy to promote voter participation, like using their websites or social media accounts to encourage people to register to vote.

• It calls for a revamp of Vote.gov, the government’s voting information website, within 200 days.
• The order directs the Department of Defense to make it easier for active-duty military and voters living abroad to cast their ballots.
• It calls for a review of voting practices and how they affect people with disabilities.
• It also creates a steering committee on Native American voting rights.

What to watch: Biden will speak at the annual Martin and Coretta King Unity Breakfast Sunday, per an administration official, where he will deliver virtual remarks to commemorate the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 and introduce his executive order.

• “Every eligible voter should be able to vote and have it counted,” Biden is expected to say. “If you have the best ideas, you have nothing to hide. Let more people vote.”
• Biden is also expected to call on Congress to pass H.R. 1, the sweeping election bill recently passed by the House, and to restore the Voting Rights' Act, named in honor of the late civil rights icon, Rep. John Lewis.
• The House bill includes a host of provisions, including setting national standards for mandating automatic voter registration and expanding early and absentee voting, all measures meant to increase participation and combat states restrictions.
• The bill likely won’t garner enough votes needed in the Senate to break a likely filibuster.

 

[SaulGoodmanEsq]

To counter the issues re: homeless voters; in a just world, this legislation could include some localized 'hub' where homeless people could list as an address to ensure 'residence' within district. Something like a local state or federal courthouse/city hall/etc.

 

[DaveXA]

To counter the issues re: homeless voters; in a just world, this legislation could include some localized 'hub' where homeless people could list as an address to ensure 'residence' within district. Something like a local state or federal courthouse/city hall/etc.

I think in some cases you're allowed to use a PO Box as an address listing. I'm down with using government addresses for purposes of ensuring those without traditional home addresses to use alternative addresses for voter and ID registration.

 

[V Chip]

I mean with technology today we could have a completely no-ID system and use fingerprint reading technology that is prevalent even on cheap phones to allow people to vote. There’s so many other ways to tackle identity of voters that doesn’t require someone to have to pay for a picture ID and use that to validate identity.

 

[Saint by the Bay]

I mean with technology today we could have a completely no-ID system and use fingerprint reading technology that is prevalent even on cheap phones to allow people to vote. There’s so many other ways to tackle identity of voters that doesn’t require someone to have to pay for a picture ID and use that to validate identity.

This was actually what I told my wife. With fingerprint technology being so readily available now there’s no reason to not leverage that fo voter ID. It’s free, everyone has one and it can be captured when you vote for the first time and linked to your voter profile and digital footprint.

 

[donato]

In a lot of countries it's just so much simpler. In Mexico for example your main ID card IS the ID you use for voting. If you lose the card, it is replaced for free.

Why can't the U.S. just link voter registration to your driver's license or state ID and included in a state database for example? Put a 'C' for citizen on there if states are issuing driver's licenses to non-citizens.

Make it mandatory for each state to only allow renewals every 10 years and issue and replace cards for free. Find lost revenue somewhere else. Link the cards to everyone's fingerprint and have that fingerprint on the back of the card with your signature.

 

[DaveXA]

I mean with technology today we could have a completely no-ID system and use fingerprint reading technology that is prevalent even on cheap phones to allow people to vote. There’s so many other ways to tackle identity of voters that doesn’t require someone to have to pay for a picture ID and use that to validate identity.

Just make the IDs free. Can't be that hard to do.

But, I like going to fingerprints. That's probably the easiest and most secure way to validate a vote.

 

[Saint by the Bay]

The issue is that Democrats don't feel there is really a problem, so they don't want to "fix" it. Meanwhile, Republicans know there's no widespread voter fraud but there is a political benefit in lying to their constituents about it and their goal isn't fixing issues, it's suppressing the vote.

So what we don't get is common sense solutions because neither side is genuinely interested in a solution.

 

[Roofgardener]

.....“Every eligible voter should be able to vote and have it counted,” Biden is expected to say. “If you have the best ideas, you have nothing to hide. Let more people vote.”

• ....

I think that is the rub. How do you ensure that somebody is an eligible voter ?

The fingerprint idea seems good ! Providing everyone is happy to provide their fingerprints. And THAT could be a civil rights issue. (do the Police/FBI have access to that fingerprint database, for example ? Could help solve a lot of burgleries )

 

[GrandAdmiral]

Even if the Senate squeezes out approval of H.R. 1, a see a big court battle brewing over it. The red state AGs and SoSs are going to come out of the woodwork crying foul.

 

[Dragon]

We have a very secure system. Every child is registered at birth and get an ID nr. That ID nr is calculated by using birthdate, gender and information about whether the person is born as a citizent or naturalized. That ID is used for everything but NOT alone

It comes with a 2 factor validation system. Something you know and something you have. In order to log into any government system or to check in at the doctors office or similar, you need your ID, your personal login, your password and either a government generated code on your cellphone OR a code selected among 200 different ones on a plastic code card. You also need it whenever you pay with your credit/debit card online to verify your identity (EU regulations).

If you use your phone to generate the accesscode, you will need to provide a matching fingerprint so even if your phone is stolen, the thief will still not be able to gain access to the security codes. The plastic card solution is currently being phased out because it is not as safe as the mobile solution.

And you need it to vote. Everyone is required by law to have an official adresse. If someone is homeless, that would be city hall of the city where they live. So when they go to vote, they will already be registered as voters in that district, and alternately they can go to any city hall in the country and cast their votes which wil then be counted in the city where they are legal residents regardless of where the vote was cast.

 

[insidejob]

Voter suppression sure is getting expensive.

 

[Dragon]

Voter suppression sure is getting expensive.

Only in the swing states.. oh the hypocracy lol....