The Washington Post reports on a federal court ruling that blocks a controversial Texas law requiring voters to present photo IDs. Read more.
Judge to Block Voter Registration Provisions in Florida
A measure that would make it harder for organizations to register voters in Florida is slated to be blocked by a federal judge, according to a New York Times article. Read more.
Suspected Illegal Voters Turn Out to be Citizens
The Associated Press reports that nearly a third of people whose citizenship and right to vote were questioned by Colorado’s secretary of state were found to be U.S. citizens. Read more.
Ohio Ordered to Count Some Disputed Votes
The Washington Post reports on a federal judge’s ruling that Ohio must count improperly cast ballots if the mistake is caused by an election worker rather than a voter. Read more.
Justice Department to Monitor Voting in Two States
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that it will monitor the Aug. 28 elections in three cities in Alabama and in Arizona’s Maricopa County to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Federal observers will be assigned to monitor polling place activities. Read more.
GOP Committee Endorses Proof of Citizenship for Voter ID
The Huffington Post reports that the GOP’s platform committee, meeting in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesdays, officially endorsed state voter ID laws that require voters to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Read more.
Justice Department Approves Virginia Voter ID Law
NBC news reports that the Justice Department has approved Virginia’s new voter ID law, expanding the kinds of identification that will be honored at the polls while restricting the ability to vote without showing any ID. Unlike states with the strictest photo ID requirement, Virginia will allow voters to cast a ballot if they present a student ID card issued by a state college or university as well as documents that carry no photo, including a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, or paycheck showing the voter’s name and address. Read more.
Coffee Break Ballot, July 27: Current Trends in Voting Rights
After nine weeks of tracking, posting and tweeting, our voting rights trend watch has come to an end.
That doesn’t mean we won’t keep tabs on the voting rights buzz cycle in the run up to the Nov. 6 election. But our regular postings on the daily ups and downs of our reading habits end today, just as the News21 newsroom empties and the summer comes to a close.
The biggest and most exciting parts of our reporting are still to come. Stay posted to votingrights.News21.com for our upcoming launch in a few weeks.
What We’ve Learned
Here are some trends and topics from our more than 40 posts.
- Trends on Twitter are Ephemeral
We’ve tracked the rise, fall and further fall of a few voting rights-related search terms, but we couldn’t help but notice the cyclical nature of any report, voter suppression/voter fraud alarm or well-argued column. The quick-reaction qualities that make Twitter excellent for instant news alerts also make it a terrible memory keeper.
- Even the Most Explosive Numbers Fade
Remember when Pennsylvania admitted that up to 750,000 registered voters didn’t have a photo ID required under the state’s new law? Or perhaps when the Sentencing Project reported that one in 10 Florida adults would be prevented from voting because of felony convictions? Reactions to reports and statistics that are difficult to comprehend can’t last, because memories fade quickly – the numbers won’t mean much until the election.
- Voting Rights, Voter ID and Voter Fraud Only Trend During Elections
We admit we’ve been lucky. The Wisconsin recall election in mid-June was a fluke in an election-year summer. That and a few hotly contested primaries enabled us to see how an election can drive interest in election policy minutiae that dominate a news day. Keep posted for a few more closely watched primary elections in August as lead-ins for how Twitter users might behave come November.
- Election Policy Is Hard to Explain on Social Media
Explaining the intricacies of poll challenges, ballot access and election technologies is not suited to crowd-sourcing techniques. Factoids are tweeted, retweeted and replied, but the ultimate election law understanding comes in the links and stories within the tweets.
- Voter Fraud Is Always Popular on Twitter
Got an example of voter fraud? How about absentee ballot fraud? Voting registration fraud? Did you dog or cat receive a registration form in the mail? If so, that story likely will be tweeted, retweeted and angrily posted all around social media. It’s a phenomenon that is rather evergreen; registration fraud always can occur, regardless of elections.
Remember to keep an eye on our homepage for our site launch, and keep following @WhoCanVote for more links, commentary and voting rights news.
Virginia Felon files lawsuit
to regain voting rights
A felon and former Richmond, Va., councilman who wants his voting rights restored, filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the Commonwealth of Virginia, Gov. Bob McDonnell, the secretary of the commonwealth and one other election official.
Sa’ad El-Amin, 72, a political activist, lost his voting rights after a 2003 tax evasion conviction. He was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release, which he completed in August 2009.
Virginia is one of four states in which the governor must approve felons’ applications to restore voting rights. Virginia felons must wait two or five years – depending on the crime – after serving their sentences and complete restitution and other legal costs before they can apply to McDonnell, who decides. There is no appeals process and applicants who are denied must wait a year before reapplying.
The lawsuit argues that the review process is not transparent and violates due process. El-Amin also argues the law is unconstitutional because he claims it was created to suppress black votes.
A spokesman for the Virginia Attorney General’s Office told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that he couldn’t comment on pending litigation.
By Maryann Batlle, News21
UPDATE: Memphis officials appeal to federal court on library card voter ID
Memphis is asking a federal judge in Nashville, Tenn., to allow library cards with photo ID as acceptable identification under the state’s new voter ID law.
The city and Memphis resident Daphne Turner-Golden Tuesday asked for a restraining order to stop election officials from denying use of a public library photo ID.
The city asserts the cards should be sufficient, but Mark Goins, the state election coordinator, has said they are not. The law requires IDs to be issued by the state or federal government; a city ID would not suffice.
The city administration was motivated to create a way for residents to get photo identification after a former city employee died from heat-related causes last summer. He was not able to get electricity or other utilities because he could not show a photo ID.
Library cards satisfy the photo voter ID requirement because they are issued by an “entity of the state,” city attorney Herman Morris Jr., said in a statement.
“When they passed that law that said you had to
have a photo ID by a state entity or
a federal entity, but it didn’t really have to be an
entity that you’re in or that you’re
voting in,” Morris said. “It could be a fishing
license from the state of Alaska that
expired 10 years ago.”
At least 300 people got the new cards in the first weekend; 200 were renewals, according to a city official.
By Kassondra Cloos, News21