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.
Voting Law Proposals and Voting Rights Efforts (1 Viewer)
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Optimus Prime
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Guess this can go here
=================
PHOENIX — Anger and resentment welled inside the local leader as he surveyed the mourners at his friend’s funeral reception last year.
Bill Gates, 51, a lifelong Republican elected to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, stood with his wife and a friend and ticked off the names of those gathered around them who had betrayed him, their party and their country.
Gates stewed that they had done nothing as he and other leaders in Arizona’s most populous county faced relentless criticism, violent threats and online harassment for upholding the results of the 2020 presidential election.
They helped spread baseless conspiracies about the voting process that turned him and his colleagues into targets. They stood by as his family lived in fear and briefly fled their home.
Because of their actions and inactions, Gates said, his integrity had been questioned. He was labeled a traitor who should be shot or hung. One person wrote on social media that his daughters should be raped. He worried his own parents, avid Fox News viewers, might believe the lies about him.
At the reception, Gates began wildly waving his arms as he ranted. He was out of control and on the verge of disrupting the solemn gathering. His friend walked away. His wife, Pam, grabbed his arm tightly and shook him. “What the hell are you doing?” she asked. “You’ve got to stop this. Stop it!”
The intensity of the past two years had delivered Bill Gates to the brink. His usual cheerfulness and folksy humor were gone, and he had grown sullen and lonely as he detached from those closest to him.
He wasn’t sleeping and had lost his appetite. He was always preparing for the next fight, and his ever-simmering anger would increasingly explode into view during public meetings, interviews with journalists and social gatherings.
A therapist would soon tell him he was experiencing classic signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition typically associated with wartime veterans and violent assaults.
Gates is among many election officials whose lives were upended as they became high-profile targets under the false notion that widespread fraud had tainted the 2020 election. It is an idea that continues to be promoted by former president Donald Trump and his allies.
Efforts to forcefully combat these false narratives — including when Gates testified before the House Oversight Committee in October 2021 — are nearly always accompanied with threats and harassment.
Even today, more than two years after the election, it is not unusual for election workers to take different routes to their homes and offices to avoid being tailed, train in de-escalation techniques and bolster their home security systems.
Conferences for election officials now double as group therapy sessions, opportunities to talk with their peers about the strain the work has had on their mental health and their families……..
=================
PHOENIX — Anger and resentment welled inside the local leader as he surveyed the mourners at his friend’s funeral reception last year.
Bill Gates, 51, a lifelong Republican elected to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, stood with his wife and a friend and ticked off the names of those gathered around them who had betrayed him, their party and their country.
Gates stewed that they had done nothing as he and other leaders in Arizona’s most populous county faced relentless criticism, violent threats and online harassment for upholding the results of the 2020 presidential election.
They helped spread baseless conspiracies about the voting process that turned him and his colleagues into targets. They stood by as his family lived in fear and briefly fled their home.
Because of their actions and inactions, Gates said, his integrity had been questioned. He was labeled a traitor who should be shot or hung. One person wrote on social media that his daughters should be raped. He worried his own parents, avid Fox News viewers, might believe the lies about him.
At the reception, Gates began wildly waving his arms as he ranted. He was out of control and on the verge of disrupting the solemn gathering. His friend walked away. His wife, Pam, grabbed his arm tightly and shook him. “What the hell are you doing?” she asked. “You’ve got to stop this. Stop it!”
The intensity of the past two years had delivered Bill Gates to the brink. His usual cheerfulness and folksy humor were gone, and he had grown sullen and lonely as he detached from those closest to him.
He wasn’t sleeping and had lost his appetite. He was always preparing for the next fight, and his ever-simmering anger would increasingly explode into view during public meetings, interviews with journalists and social gatherings.
A therapist would soon tell him he was experiencing classic signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition typically associated with wartime veterans and violent assaults.
Gates is among many election officials whose lives were upended as they became high-profile targets under the false notion that widespread fraud had tainted the 2020 election. It is an idea that continues to be promoted by former president Donald Trump and his allies.
Efforts to forcefully combat these false narratives — including when Gates testified before the House Oversight Committee in October 2021 — are nearly always accompanied with threats and harassment.
Even today, more than two years after the election, it is not unusual for election workers to take different routes to their homes and offices to avoid being tailed, train in de-escalation techniques and bolster their home security systems.
Conferences for election officials now double as group therapy sessions, opportunities to talk with their peers about the strain the work has had on their mental health and their families……..
Optimus Prime
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Rightwing election lawyer Cleta Mitchell, a key ally of Donald Trump as he pushed bogus claims of fraud to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 win, is facing intense fire from voting watchdogs and bipartisan criticism for urging curbs on college student voting, same day voter registration and absentee voting.
The scrutiny of Mitchell, who runs the Election Integrity Network at the pro-Trump Conservative Partnership Institute to which a Trump Pac donated $1m dollars, was sparked by recent comments Mitchell made to Republican donors, and a watchdog report criticizing her advisory role with a federal election panel.
Long known for advocating stricter voting rules that are often premised on unsupported allegations of sizable voting fraud, Mitchell last month promoted new voting curbs on students in a talk to a group of wealthy donors to the Republican National Committee, efforts that critics call partisan and undemocratic……..
“What are these college campus locations? What is this young people effort that they do? They basically put the polling place next to the student dorm so they just have to roll out of bed, vote, and go back to bed.”
Further in one part of her presentation cited by the Post, Mitchell charged blithely that “the Left has manipulated the electoral systems to favor one side … theirs. Our constitutional republic’s survival is at stake.”
It’s unclear if the RNC will back the latest proposals made by Mitchell, who the committee has worked with previously. But an RNC spokesperson offered effusive praise of Mitchell to the Post, saying: “As the RNC continues to strengthen our Election Integrity program, we are thankful for leaders like Cleta Mitchell who do important work for the Republican ecosystem.”……
www.theguardian.com
The scrutiny of Mitchell, who runs the Election Integrity Network at the pro-Trump Conservative Partnership Institute to which a Trump Pac donated $1m dollars, was sparked by recent comments Mitchell made to Republican donors, and a watchdog report criticizing her advisory role with a federal election panel.
Long known for advocating stricter voting rules that are often premised on unsupported allegations of sizable voting fraud, Mitchell last month promoted new voting curbs on students in a talk to a group of wealthy donors to the Republican National Committee, efforts that critics call partisan and undemocratic……..
“What are these college campus locations? What is this young people effort that they do? They basically put the polling place next to the student dorm so they just have to roll out of bed, vote, and go back to bed.”
Further in one part of her presentation cited by the Post, Mitchell charged blithely that “the Left has manipulated the electoral systems to favor one side … theirs. Our constitutional republic’s survival is at stake.”
It’s unclear if the RNC will back the latest proposals made by Mitchell, who the committee has worked with previously. But an RNC spokesperson offered effusive praise of Mitchell to the Post, saying: “As the RNC continues to strengthen our Election Integrity program, we are thankful for leaders like Cleta Mitchell who do important work for the Republican ecosystem.”……
Alarm after lawyer who aided Trump’s 2020 election lie attacks campus voting
Rightwing lawyer Cleta Mitchell faces criticism after comments to GOP donors urging new rules to make voting harder for students
superchuck500
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My district is going to the SCOTUS.
www.democracydocket.com
U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear South Carolina Racial Gerrymandering Challenge
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
Optimus Prime
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Just as it had been all day, courtroom 3C at the Alachua county courthouse was mostly empty when members of the jury filed in on Tuesday evening. John Boyd Rivers, a mason who once laid the bricks of the courthouse, stood up to hear whether or not they would convict him on two counts of voter fraud.
Judge James Colaw read the verdict on the first charge: not guilty. Then he read the verdict on the second: guilty. Rivers stood quietly as he listened, a small hole visible in the red long-sleeve shirt he wore to court over khaki pants and work boots.
It was a result that was unimaginable to Rivers, 45, who voted for the first time in his life in 2020.
Rivers became interested in doing so in February of that year when he was being held in the county jail on a different charge. One day, TJ Pyche, the outreach director at the local elections office, came to his unit with voter registration forms. An eager employee just a few weeks shy of his 25th birthday, Pyche told the inmates that Florida had recently changed its voting laws, making it easier for those with felony convictions to cast a ballot.
Rivers remembers asking Pyche if he could vote while in jail on a violation of his probation. As Rivers remembers it, Pyche said that he could as long as his prior convictions weren’t for murder or sex offenses – crimes that result in the permanent loss of voting rights in Florida. Rivers hadn’t been convicted of those crimes, so he filled out a voter registration application, registering as a Republican, and gave it to Pyche.
When Rivers eventually received a voter registration card in the mail, he believed he was eligible to vote. And he was thrilled, as it made him feel as if he was a part of something.
That fall, he cast his first ballot in the presidential election.
Nearly two years later, Rivers was indicted for voter fraud along with nine other people who registered with Pyche.
In dozens of cases in Florida, prosecutors have filed charges against people with felony convictions who believed they were eligible to vote, received voter registration cards in the mail and then later turned out to be ineligible because of their criminal history…….
Voting advocates have decried the prosecutions across Florida as intimidating, designed to dissuade people who are uncertain about their eligibility from voting. And they are particularly alarmed at those prosecutions enabled by Pyche, an official elections office employee.
“They set up about a dozen people, essentially, set them up, sent them a voter registration card, encouraged them to register, sent them a voter registration card, and then when they registered, the supervisor of elections office – nobody’s charged from [that office],” said Andrew Darling, Rivers’ lawyer. “It sends a message that we don’t want you voting.”
“American states have a long, ugly history of using law enforcement to intimidate and suppress voters,” said Blair Bowie, an attorney at the Campaign Legal Center who specializes in restoring voting rights for people with felony convictions. “This is clearly what is happening in Florida. We should be paying attention because other states may follow suit.”………
www.theguardian.com
Judge James Colaw read the verdict on the first charge: not guilty. Then he read the verdict on the second: guilty. Rivers stood quietly as he listened, a small hole visible in the red long-sleeve shirt he wore to court over khaki pants and work boots.
It was a result that was unimaginable to Rivers, 45, who voted for the first time in his life in 2020.
Rivers became interested in doing so in February of that year when he was being held in the county jail on a different charge. One day, TJ Pyche, the outreach director at the local elections office, came to his unit with voter registration forms. An eager employee just a few weeks shy of his 25th birthday, Pyche told the inmates that Florida had recently changed its voting laws, making it easier for those with felony convictions to cast a ballot.
Rivers remembers asking Pyche if he could vote while in jail on a violation of his probation. As Rivers remembers it, Pyche said that he could as long as his prior convictions weren’t for murder or sex offenses – crimes that result in the permanent loss of voting rights in Florida. Rivers hadn’t been convicted of those crimes, so he filled out a voter registration application, registering as a Republican, and gave it to Pyche.
When Rivers eventually received a voter registration card in the mail, he believed he was eligible to vote. And he was thrilled, as it made him feel as if he was a part of something.
That fall, he cast his first ballot in the presidential election.
Nearly two years later, Rivers was indicted for voter fraud along with nine other people who registered with Pyche.
In dozens of cases in Florida, prosecutors have filed charges against people with felony convictions who believed they were eligible to vote, received voter registration cards in the mail and then later turned out to be ineligible because of their criminal history…….
Voting advocates have decried the prosecutions across Florida as intimidating, designed to dissuade people who are uncertain about their eligibility from voting. And they are particularly alarmed at those prosecutions enabled by Pyche, an official elections office employee.
“They set up about a dozen people, essentially, set them up, sent them a voter registration card, encouraged them to register, sent them a voter registration card, and then when they registered, the supervisor of elections office – nobody’s charged from [that office],” said Andrew Darling, Rivers’ lawyer. “It sends a message that we don’t want you voting.”
“American states have a long, ugly history of using law enforcement to intimidate and suppress voters,” said Blair Bowie, an attorney at the Campaign Legal Center who specializes in restoring voting rights for people with felony convictions. “This is clearly what is happening in Florida. We should be paying attention because other states may follow suit.”………
He voted in Florida for the first time in 2020. Then came the criminal charges
John Boyd Rivers says he was misled by an election official who urged him to vote for the first time in 2020. Now he’s been found guilty of voter fraud
superchuck500
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Texas hates democracy.
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superchuck500
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More voter suppression in Florida.
The GOP is setting up 2024.
The GOP is setting up 2024.
DaveXA
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But of course. Smh.
J-DONK
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I guess I'll put this here. DFL party in Minnesota has been busy. They tackled Abortion, free school lunches, marijuana, free tuition, etc. Seriously, it's a long list.
www.cbsnews.com
This is one of the funniest memes out right now about the DFL parties run on legislation with a one vote majority.
2023 Minnesota legislative session ends. See what bills passed
The Minnesota Legislature wrapped up all of its work in the 2023 session on Monday. Here's some of what the bills lawmakers passed this year.
www.cbsnews.comThis is one of the funniest memes out right now about the DFL parties run on legislation with a one vote majority.
Optimus Prime
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a surprising ruling in favor of Black voters in a congressional redistricting case, ordering the creation of a second district with a large Black population.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined with the court’s liberals in affirming a lower-court ruling that found a likely violation of the Voting Rights Act in an Alabama congressional map with one majority Black seat out of seven congressional districts in a state where more than one in four residents is Black.
The case had been closely watched for its potential to weaken the landmark voting rights law.…..
apnews.com
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined with the court’s liberals in affirming a lower-court ruling that found a likely violation of the Voting Rights Act in an Alabama congressional map with one majority Black seat out of seven congressional districts in a state where more than one in four residents is Black.
The case had been closely watched for its potential to weaken the landmark voting rights law.…..
Supreme Court rules in favor of Black Alabama voters in unexpected defense of Voting Rights Act
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a surprising 5-4 ruling in favor of Black voters in a congressional redistricting case from Alabama, with two conservative justices joining liberals in rejecting a Republican-led effort to weaken a landmark voting rights law.
apnews.com
It’s the only way the GOP can win, stop people who may not like them from voting…
The thing is most everyone seems to like the convenience of mailing in ballots
GrandAdmiral
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Seriously, I do need a shocked face for this one. Not because they got it right, but because THEY GOT IT RIGHT...WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a surprising ruling in favor of Black voters in a congressional redistricting case, ordering the creation of a second district with a large Black population.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined with the court’s liberals in affirming a lower-court ruling that found a likely violation of the Voting Rights Act in an Alabama congressional map with one majority Black seat out of seven congressional districts in a state where more than one in four residents is Black.
The case had been closely watched for its potential to weaken the landmark voting rights law.…..
Supreme Court rules in favor of Black Alabama voters in unexpected defense of Voting Rights Act
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a surprising 5-4 ruling in favor of Black voters in a congressional redistricting case from Alabama, with two conservative justices joining liberals in rejecting a Republican-led effort to weaken a landmark voting rights law.
And lawmakers in Louisiana might be shaking in their boots as the black voting percentage is higher in Louisiana.
(Hence the reason participating in the census is so important.)
coldseat
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One would hope that at least two of the conservatives are starting to realize how radicalized the decisions of their court have become and that their previous decisions taking a torch to the VRA have contributed greatly to the increase in racial violence and tension in this country. Maybe be it's too much to hope for, but at least we have this decision.
DaveXA
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Roberts doesn't shock me, but Kavanagh, that's pretty interesting. Good for them in this case. Too bad that wasn't the case on overturning Roe vs Wade tho.
coldseat
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For me, Roberts decision was more of a surprise in this case than anybody else's. He's spent years railing against and cutting down the VRA. But I'll take it either way.
GrandAdmiral
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I think Roberts may have influence on Kavanaugh. Before the Dobbs decision leaked (by Alito IMHO), the rumor was the Roberts was pulling Kavanaugh to join in on his compromise decision.
DJ1BigTymer
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Considering his opinion ten years ago, this is a surprise because it shows that he was wrong on Shelby County v. Holder, which essentially gutted the provisions in the 1965 Voters Right Act that would have prevented this latest action.
2013 Roberts on Alabama: 40-year-old facts having no logical relationship to the present day" and thus is not responsive to current needs. Congress cannot subject a state to preclearance based simply on past discrimination...
Also...
2023 Roberts on Alabama: “The heart of these cases is not about the law as it exists. It is about Alabama’s attempt to remake our §2 jurisprudence anew,” Roberts wrote. “We find Alabama’s new approach to §2 compelling neither in theory nor in practice. We accordingly decline to recast our §2 case law as Alabama requests.”
It seems to me that these cases keep popping up because States are continually proving the Court's 2013 decision wrong.
Optimus Prime
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But 18th century views on firearms are absolutely relevant to the present day
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