Coffee Break Ballot, June 13: Current Trends in Voting Rights

So little time, so much Florida.

We promise that we’re looking out for other states and other stories with  trends and news in voting rights and election administration. For example, did you know that Louisiana just voluntarily moved the New Orleans City elections in 2014 so as not to conflict with the Big Easy’s famous Carnival Parade season?

But Florida keeps dominating the digital conversation. Gov. Rick Scott made an appearance on NPR’s “Tell Me More” this morning, and the Florida struggle prompted a lively US News & World Report Debate Club session on voter fraud.

Will Florida stay in the forefront of national voting news? Maybe — but meanwhile, we’ve been looking into some other issues in the newsroom. Check out our list of stories this morning for more.

What We’ve Been Reading

Is Voter Fraud a Real Problem?” (Debate Club, 06/13, US News & World Report)

Florida’s noncitizen voter purge grew from 5-minute conversation,” (Marc Caputo, 06/13, Miami Herald)

Purge Overkill — John Oliver & Florida’s Voter Registration Law,” (John Oliver, 06/12, The Daily Show”

Jon Stewart’s ‘Daily Show’ Blasts Voter ID Laws, Ridicules Florida Governor,” (Casey Cheap, 06/13, Red Alert Politics)

How Should Voter Purges Work?” (Abby Rapoport, 06/13, The American Prospect)

The Real Victims of Voter ID Laws,” (Short Documentary, 06/13, Center for American Progress)

Twitter Trends

Thanks to a recent bipartisan call to sum up President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney’s respective campaigns in pithy, plentiful tweets, many political Twitter users have been sending bouncy voter ID-related tweets about both political parties.

The buzz has created a minor spike in our regular voting rights search terms in the last few days, according to social media search engine Topsy.com.

For more on the latest voting rights news and trends, be sure to follow @WhoCanVote.