The regular weekend lull in voting rights news hit in full force, with a pause in online discussion of some of our regular voting rights topics.
The News21 newsroom has hit a bit of a pause as well. More than half of the team has left the building, and the rest will finish stories and leave at the end of the week.
We’ll still be blogging all week, and the tweets won’t stop until well past the mid-August site launch. Until then, stay tuned to what’s going on in voting rights news.
What We’ve Been Reading
“Do We Need a New Voting Rights Act?” (Abby Rapoport, 07/23, The American Prospect)
“Bill Daley Asks: Is Obama Campaign Ready for Recounts?” (James Warren, 07/23, The Daily Beast)
“Public Relations Firm Educating Pennsylvania Minorities On Voter ID Stacked With Republicans,” (Ryan J. Reilly, 07/20, Talking Points Memo)
“The voter ID mess subverts an American birthright,” (Charlie Crist, 07/20, Washington Post)
“GOP trumpets rampant Philly voter fraud in a report that doesn’t show it,” (Issiah Thompson, 07/20, Philadelphia City Paper)
“Rate of Possession of Valid Photo Identification, And Public Knowledge of the Voter ID Law in Philadelphia,” ( Matt A. Barreto and Gabriel R. Sanchez, 07/16, University of Washington)
Twitter Trends
Well-placed and widely read reports and articles — like those that covered the new lawsuit in Pennsylvania over that state’s strict photo voter ID law — can spur online conversation.
Twitter conversation across four key search terms on social media search engine Topsy.com was considerably quiet this morning. One trend is a concerted push from progressive opponents of voter ID laws in Pennsylvania and other states.
Viral mentions of an upcoming anti-voter ID rally on the steps of the state Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., have spread this morning, as have legal briefs and summaries of the ACLU lawsuit against voter ID requirements there.
Most of our linked articles this morning will direct you toward the Keystone State, and all this digital buzz is why.
For more news and links, remember to follow us @WhoCanVote.