Coffee Break Ballot, July 26: Current Trends In Voting Rights

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We have to admit that it’s a little challenging to report on social trends in voting rights news and conversation when the main platform of that dialogue serves up a great big fail whale.

As our readers probably have noticed, microblogging site Twitter shut down temporarily this morning, rendering our regular trend-tracking efforts mostly moot.

But we have found some great reads on Florida voters affected by the controversial, ongoing voter roll purge, and we’ve been fortunate enough to catch the Pennsylvania ACLU’s series of timely factoid tweets on photo voter ID in that state.

What can we say? We’ve got one more day of updates, one more day of blogging. Stay tuned.

What We’ve Been Reading

“Florida at the forefront as states plan fresh assault on voting rights,” (Ed Pilkington, 07/26, The Guardian)

“Voter suppression: ‘I’m a better citizen than any of them. I’m not going to quit,'” (Ed Pilkington, 07/26, The Guardian)

“In Voter ID Law Court Fight, Expert Says Pennsylvania Is Soft-Pedaling The Impact,” (Cherri Gregg, 07/26, CBSNews)

“Pennsylvania Governor Can’t Recall Requirements of Voter ID Law He Signed,” (Ryan J. Reilly, 07/26, Talking Points Memo)

Twitter Trends

Aside from the obvious, Twitter outage-related decline in all of our Topsy.com search terms this morning, the most notable trend is a slight decline in mentions of ‘voter ID’ on Twitter.

Even though the Pennsylvania photo voter ID state lawsuit continues today and through the rest of the week, the bombshell pretrial admission by the state that it had no credible cases of in-person voter impersonation fraud sparked a momentary Twitter firestorm. It has since died down.

The conclusion of the trial and lingering discomfort on both sides of the voter ID argument over Pennsylvania’s voter fraud admission will probably keep voter ID on the rise later in the week, but we’re deeply fascinated by the changes in conversation as new buzz items distract and distort the fundamental facts at the core of this issue.

As always, remember to follow us @WhoCanVote.

 

California still waiting
on statewide voter database

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As the national debate over voter ID approaches fisticuffs, the state of California continues to shy away from the fight, focusing on a more pressing, local problem — the lack of a statewide voter registration database.

The state has a “cobbled county-by-county system” that makes it difficult to maintain accurate roles with such a young, mobile population, said Kim Alexander, president and founder of the non-profit California Voter Foundation.

The online database, VoteCal, has been in the works since 2006, Alexander said, and would collect voter registration into one system. The database is a requirement of the Help America Vote Act of 2002, with which California still does not comply, Alexander said.

California is one of 20 states with a Democratic governor, Jerry Brown, but Alexander said you wouldn’t know it based upon the database’s slow progress. Democrats have been “lazy and complacent,” and have squandered this opportunity, Alexander said.

A 2010 report by the Secretary of State projects the database will not be completed until 2015.

By Annelise Russell, News21

 

Charlotte Grant: Celebrating sobriety by finding her voice at the ballot box

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Charlotte Grant: Celebrating sobriety by finding her voice at the ballot box

Charlotte A. Grant, 37, of Nashville, Tenn., has made a habit of voting since ending her drug use in 1998. Photo by Michael Ciaglo/News21.

Charlotte A. Grant, 37, of Nashville, Tenn., was convicted of 112 misdemeanors over four years, and though she never lost her voting rights, it was not until she was clean that she realized the impact of her vote. Grant has been a regular voter since her sobriety in 1998.

“For years, I was never heard, never had a right or a choice in anything because the drugs controlled me. When I got clean, that’s what most citizens do: vote and have a voice. That inspired me. I didn’t feel like I was a criminal anymore. I felt like I was just everybody else.”

By Carl Straumsheim and Michael Ciaglo, News21

Coffee Break Ballot, July 25: Current Trends in Voting Rights

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Pennsylvania calmed down a bit today, but the Keystone State voting rights fight is far from finished. Commonwealth Court heard opening arguments in a Pennsylvania ACLu suit that seeks to block the recently adopted photo voter ID law.

The hubbub around yesterday’s rally opposing the law spilled into today’s columns, articles and tweets.

Pennsylvania is on the front lines of the election year tussle over ballot access. The judge in the case has said he hopes to make a ruling on the constitutionality of the law by mid-August. Appeals are possible. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Justice has not yet announced whether its investigation into the state’s voter ID law will result in a separate, federal suit.

Nothing like a little court case to get reporters and civil rights activists riled.

What We’ve Been Reading

“Pennsylvania voter ID case opens in state court,” (Robert Barnes, 07/25, Washington Post)

“What’s the Deal with the Pennsylvania Voter-ID Law?” (Abby Rapoport, 07/25, The American Prospect)

“Judge denies restraining order in Memphis suit to make library photo cards valid for voter ID,” (Richard Locker, 07/24, Memphis Commercial Appeal)

“Key state of Colorado among worst prepared for voting problems, report finds,” (Stephanie Cordon, 07/25, CBSNews)

“Why Today’s Voter ID Faceoff in Pennsylvania is Crucial,” (Brentin Mock, 07/25, The Nation / Colorlines)

“No, Democrats Aren’t Trying to Register Kids and Dogs to Vote,” (Ryan J. Reilly, 07/25, Talking Points Memo)

“Democratic Voting Enthusiasm Down Sharply From 2004, 2008,” (Jeffrey M. Jones, 07/25, Gallup)

Twitter Trends

Our four key voting rights search terms are booming today on Twitter. The Pennsylvania voter ID state trial, coupled with an explosive FOXNews story on a culture of vote buying in eastern Kentucky, has pushed voting rights social media conversation sharply up.

According to social media search engine Topsy.com, the biggest gainers today are “voter ID” and “voter fraud.” The Pennsylvania case ties both terms — it centers on a voter ID law, and the state announced it has no credible examples of voter fraud. The Kentucky story shows prosecuted election fraud – while in this case was not preventable through photo voter ID laws – that still proves troubling to election integrity activists.

We’d love to see this kind of momentum build well through the rest of the summer and into the fall elections.

But the Olympic opening ceremony is Friday, meaning attention will be diverted to London for a fortnight of athletic excitement.

For voting rights excitement, remember to follow us @WhoCanVote.

Can people rely on lesser known voting rights protections?

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The Voting Rights Act, recently well known for its federal approval required under Section 5, also includes a portion that prohibits vote dilution, or depriving minority voters an equal opportunity to elect a candidate.

In the past, courts have restricted applying Section 2, mainly because of the burden of proof that’s required, said Allison Riggs, a staff attorney with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, a Durham, N.C.-based non-profit advocacy group.

Riggs, who has argued redistricting cases on behalf of state branches of the NAACP and defended the constitutionality of Section 5 in court, said she is concerned by the growing number of groups challenging the section as unconstitutional. For example, a Section 5 lawsuit filed by Shelby County, Ala., said the law was outdated, claiming the demographics in the municipalities had changed in the years since the Voting Rights Act was passed. The case is expected to reach the Supreme Court.

“In all of the work we do, there is a thread of concern that this Supreme Court might be inclined to strike down what has been the most important tool in our pocket for advancing and protecting minority voting interests,” Riggs said, noting that many still rely on the protections offered by Section 5.

Section 2 is harder for voters to depend on, she said. The burden of suing is on the minority voter claiming disenfranchisement. It’s costly, intense litigation, Riggs said, which excludes many from pursuing a case.

“One of the reasons that Congress said we need Section 5 is because Section 2 is very limited in its ability to bring about remedies because it’s time consuming, expensive and [voters] don’t have access to the resources they need in order to get there,” Riggs said.

By Caitlin O’Donnell, News21

Coffee Break Ballot, July 24: Current Trends in Voting Rights

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We promise that we’ve been reading about states other than Pennsylvania.

But the state admits in pre-trial documents that no examples of in-person voter impersonation fraud exist – the fraud that photo ID laws would prevent – and that it will not argue that point in the ACLU trial against Act 18. We admit: we read the entire brief.

As this is posted, a large protest is taking place on the Capitol steps in Harrisburg, Pa. The U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division is investigating the photo voter ID law independently of the suit the ACLU.

Many voting rights watchers have been waiting for a turning point in the debate over the efficacy, effect and educational aspects of photo ID laws. Few observers, however, could have expected that Pennsylvania – which does not fall under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act – would push the debate as much as it did today.

What We’ve Been Reading

“Ahead of Voter ID Trial, Pennsylvania Admits There’s No In-Person Voter Fraud,” (Ryan J. Reilly, 07/24, Talking Points Memo)

“U.S. investigation of Pa.’s new voter ID law,” (Bob Warner and Angela Coloumbis, 07/24, Philadelphia Inquirer)

“Pennsylvania Voter ID Law Goes to Court,” (Ari Berman, 07/24, The Nation)

“DOJ letter on voter ID,” (Tim McNulty, 07/24, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

“Wisconsin Republican Senator Believes Voter ID Will Help Romney ‘In A Close Race,’” (Scott Keyes, 07/24, ThinkProgress)

“Pennsylvania admits it: no voter fraud problem,” (Jamelle Bouie, 07/24, Washington Post)

Twitter Trends

There’s been huge movement in the social media discussion of voting rights, but not in ways expected.

The biggest mover in our search process is voter fraud, an election or primary centered term that coalesces around ballot mischief allegations. An almost six-fold increase in mentions of voter fraud stems from Pennsylvania’s no-fraud admission.

As news sources – Talking Points Memo, The Washington Post, MSNBC – pick up the story, users have been tweeting and retweeting the legal brief and related stories. The Harrisburg rally also took a news tweet turn when the voter fraud pretrial brief became public, as state politicians and civil rights leaders responded to the news.

In short, it’s a Keystone State kind of day.

Be sure to follow us @WhoCanVote for more updates and links throughout the day.

Democracy NC Director: Opposition to Voter ID Goes Beyond Party Lines

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The fight over photo voter ID laws is far from over. Even in states such as North Carolina, where a Republican-controlled General Assembly recently failed to override Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue’s 2011 veto of a photo voter ID bill, state electoral politics continue to raise voter ID.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory has promised to implement a photo voter ID law, while Democratic Secretary of State Elaine Marshall has circulated a petition decrying such laws as efforts to suppress Democratic-leaning voters.

Bob Hall, executive director of progressive non-profit Democracy North Carolina, doesn’t care which party sponsors photo voter ID laws. In a state that only recently returned to Republican legislative control after more than 100 years, Democrats have been as guilty of historic voter suppression as Republicans.

“It used to be the Democrats that did this kind of mischief,” Hall said. Democracy North Carolina recently produced a short documentary film on the history of voting rights in the Tar Heel state. “We would have been beating up on them, too.”

While North Carolina political leaders have conceded that a photo voter ID law will not be in effect before October early voting or the November general election, Hall and other civil rights organizations in the state have been preparing a case.

“We will work with others to challenge it through the preclearance process and through the courts,” Hall said. “And we will also be helping people — if we get to that point — of learning how they can get an ID .”

What worries Hall the most, he said, is that changes in election administration law can affect the most motivated and excited voters, who often do not regularly vote.

“In 2010, Republican white males were more motivated to vote, and they did,” Hall said. “And in 2008, African American female Democrats were more motivated to vote, and they did.

“That’s the kind of voter that could be pushed away by erecting some barriers horrible enough to make it an inconvenience to vote,” he said.

By Nick Andersen, News21

SC voter ID law spurs League of Women Voters to act

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The League of Women Voters of South Carolina has been concerned about the state’s photo voter ID bill since it appeared in the General Assembly, but it was not until Gov. Nikki Haley signed the bill into law May 18 that the league acted.

The league is a defendant in South Carolina’s lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice, supporting the federal government’s claim that the law will negatively impact
voters.

“The league believes that voting is a fundamental right, and the government depends on
all citizens being informed,” said Barbara Zia, president of the South Carolina League of Women Voters. “We feel, and we have made this case to the court, that [our] mission of engaging citizens in our democracy would be impacted if this law were [upheld].”

The case will be argued in September before by a federal court in Washington, D.C, but
Zia said her group is encouraging residents to obtain a photo ID, just in case.

“This barrage of legislative measures to restrict voting will definitely have an impact
on voter access and we feel government should be in the business of increasing citizen
participation in our nation’s democratic process, rather than decreases,” she said. “We
don’t want to go back to the old days we remember in the South of voting restrictions.

“This is a step backwards.”

By Caitlin O’Donnell, News21

Coffee Break Ballot, July 23: Current Trends in Voting Rights

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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.

Colorado county ordered to conduct uncontested primary

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Colorado is one of few states that allow officials to cancel primary elections if they are uncontested.

The law was adopted in 2009, but no counties invoked the law until 2011 when El Paso County, Colo., canceled its primary election, prompting Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler to sue.

An appeals court upheld the suit, requiring Wayne Williams, El Paso County clerk and recorder, to carry out the uncontested election. It cost the county $68,000 in printing and mail costs.

Williams wasn’t pleased with Gessler’s interpretation of the law.

“We’re never happy to be told we can’t save money,” Williams said.

An El Paso County registered Democrat sent an email to Williams in mid-June asking why he even received a ballot.

“I’m assuming some law requires this ballot to be mailed to every registered Democrat and our tax dollars pay for it,” he wrote, “but it seems like a waste of money.”

Williams thinks that the few voters in the uncontested primary race “feel a civic responsibility to vote,” he said, while most people “think it’s not worth voting.”

Days before the 2012 Colorado primary, only 15 percent of the 65,000 voters had returned their uncontested ballots.

“When you have most jurisdictions during this recession that have had diminished sales tax numbers and less property tax coming in, you have to look at how you can provide the critical services in the most cost-effective way possible,” Williams said.

By Emily Nohr, News21