Same-day registration could yield high voter turnout in Maine

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Same-sex marriage is returning to the ballot in November, three years after Maine voters rejected the law. Election Day registration, which Maine voters restored last year, could increase turnout among same-sex marriage supporters. And with presidential candidates on the ballot, turnout for both sides is likely to be high.

Marriage rights passed in the spring of 2009 by the Democratic Maine Legislature and governor, then the law was rejected in November 2009 when 53 percent voted to repeal it. The People’s Veto repeated last November when voters restored Election Day registration, which the Republican-controlled Maine Legislature ended five months prior.

Republicans generally oppose Election Day registration, saying that it leaves elections vulnerable to error.

Election Day registration could mean higher turnout for same-sex marriage supporters, said Mike Tipping, a magazine blogger and communications director for the progressive grassroots organization that led the People’s Veto in 2011.

“I think it could affect the vote,” Tipping said. “I think that people who are registering for the first time might be more likely to be young, and might be more likely to support marriage rights.”

The 2011 election was the first in 38 years when Maine residents could not 
register and vote on Election Day. Sixty percent of the 400,000 who voted last November, supported Election Day registration. But the turnout to repeal same-sex marriage was greater, drawing 570,000 voters in 2009.

By Alex Remington, News21

 

Coffee Break Ballot, June 26: Current Trends in Voting Rights

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All it takes is one buzzy story for mentions of one of our key search terms to increase ninefold.

That term is voter ID, and that story comes to us today from Pennsylvania. At a Pennsylvania Republican Committee meeting this weekend, House Majority Leader Mike Turzai said that the new voter ID law would help Gov. Mitt Romney win the state.

The comment was reported by a Pennsylvania political blog Monday afternoon, and exploded across the Internet as progressive Twitter users reacted. Top-flight news organizations as diverse as CNN, Politico and even The New York Times have covered the story, and a tweet from Sandra Fluke, Georgetown law student and progressive activist, has been retweeted more than 100 times as of this blog post.

The resulting social media firestorm has pushed mentions of voter ID on Twitter to nearly 9,300 in the last 24 hours, the most seen in our regular searches on Topsy.com.

More on the Twitter explosion later, but first, some links.

What We’ve Been Reading

“Casting ballots on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border,” (Catherine E. Shoichet, 06/26, CNN)

“Pennsylvania’s Voter ID Law Spurs Debate,” (Michael Cooper, 06/25, New York Times)

“No voter ID measure expected this session,” (John Frank, 06/26, Raleigh News & Observer)

“Pay Those Bills On Time Or Forefeit Right To Vote,” (Ed Kilgore, 06/26, Washington Monthly)

“Gilchrist indicted for voter fraud,” (Kaylee Remington, 06/26, The Morning Journal)

“Detroit activists protest Gov. Rick Snyder over ‘voter suppression’ bills, bridge project,” (Jonathan Oosting, 06/26, MLIVE)

Twitter Trends

We could tell you again about how many times “voter ID” has been mentioned in the last 24 hours, or we could just direct you to this helpful analytics chart from Topsy.com.

That steep climb in mentions, and the buzz-worthy item in Pennsylvania has a lot of features that make stories like it popular on social media sites.

It features a prominent but nationally unknown state politician making politically tricky comments at a party-sponsored event. The tone and implications of Turzai’s comments lend credence to those who oppose voter ID laws and believe Republicans are trying to suppress Democrat voters. And the story has been tossed around a variety of news sites, exposing it to a wide audience and giving it the appearance of a major news event.

The furor over Turzai’s comments may die soon. We’re already seeing conservative pushback against this progressive anger, alleging that voter ID does intentionally suppress illegal or fraudulent Democrat voters and is therefore required and welcomed.

But know this: even the most inane political comment is no longer safe from the 24-hour hyper news cycle of Twitter, Facebook and the rest of the Internet, as Turzai now clearly knows.

For more news and links, follow us @WhoCanVote.

Elderly voters in Colorado turn to iPads for primary

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Elderly voters in Colorado turn to iPads for primary

Bernice Harris, 83, voted in the Colorado primary with the aid of an iPad. Photo by Alia Conley/News21.

Today is Colorado’s primary election, but some Denver residents were able to vote early — not by mail, but with an iPad.

Denver election officials went to senior centers last week and let voters select candidates on paper or on an iPad. Election judges explained how to enlarge the screen image and how to tap the screen to select a candidate.

 Bernice Harris, 83, said she hasn’t voted in 10 years, but the technology made it simple.

“It was easy,” she said. “I could see much better. [The election judge] showed me how to use it.”

Harris, who has lived at St. Paul Health Center for three years, said she would like to use an iPad to vote in November.

Through Monday evening, more than 400,000 ballots had been returned, and the majority of Colorado counties choose to vote by mail for the primary.

By Alia Conley, News21

Voter ID report by bipartisan commission still at issue, 7 years later

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The bi-partisan Commission on Federal Election Reform issued a 2005 report that recommended 87 changes to the U.S. electoral system. Many of those recommendations have not been implemented, but Robert Pastor, executive director of the commission, said it’s not too late.

“Almost every significant electoral system in the democratic world requires some form
of voter ID for its citizens to vote,” Pastor said. “The United States is one of the very few (that do not) and that’s mainly because our entire electoral administration system is severely lacking and one of the least impartial and professional election administrations in the entire world.”

In recommending that voter ID be required at polls, Pastor said, the commission considered Republican and Democratic views.

“There were two concerns, one by Republicans that an absence of voter ID can lead to
 electoral fraud and, from Democrats, that the inclusion of a voter ID card could lead to
disenfranchisement,” he said, adding that the commission sought a compromise.

Commissioner Spencer Overton, a law professor at George Washington University Law School, dissented, writing that the proposal “would prevent eligible voters from proving their identity with even a valid U.S. passport or a U.S. military photo ID card.”

Overton added that the ID proposal would make “the poor, the disabled, the elderly, students and people of color would bear the greatest burden.”

Overton’s dissent was sharp, but part of the commission’s discussion.

Pastor was disappointed in the reaction from elected officials, he said.

“The people on the commission were eager to listen to each other and to find legitimate areas of agreement,” Pastor said. “Our politicians are not interested in listening to each other and prefer a polarizing political climate. That’s where we are as a country.”

By Caitlin O’Donnell, News21

 

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

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The weekend has a funny way of slowing social media.

It’s not as if news doesn’t happen on Saturday or Sunday — this weekend saw the dramatic conclusion of Egypt’s hotly contested presidential election — but the kinds of workaday, event-specific incidents that often drive our reporting project here at News21 definitely die down when the clock hits 5 on Friday afternoons.

A great example of this is House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s controversial press conference Friday, when she accused the House Republicans’ vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt as proof of the party’s support of voter suppression.

The press conference pushed mentions of voter suppression on Twitter well above its traditionally low market share — as mentioned in our Friday blog post — but the term is back to its low numbers this morning.

Did the weekend defuse the anger of conservative Twitter users, thereby diluting the comments’ shelf life in the media buzz cycle?

We’ll keep you posted on those trends throughout the week. In other news, our reporters @MichaelCiaglo, @CFStraumsheim and @AndreaRumbaugh will be traveling to Tennessee and Florida to report on restoring voting rights for felons in each state. Be sure to follow them for updates and on the ground reporting.

What We’ve Been Reading

“Few Iowa Felons Pursue Voting Rights,” (Ryan J. Foley, 06/24, AP)

“State was warned that voter purge was based on bad data,” (Kathleen Haughney, 06/22, South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

“Voter ID Cases Unlikely to be Decided by Election Day,” (Ann-Elise Henzi, 06/25, WUWM)

“Voting Problems During the Wisconsin Recall Election — A Preview of November,” (Dara Lindebaum, 06/22, American Constitution Society for Law and Policy)

“Pelosi: Contempt, voter suppression linked,” (06/21, UPI)

“Suddenly, elections supervisor becomes a tempting job,” (Jeremy Wallace, 06/21, Sarasota-Manistee Herald-Tribune)

Twitter Trends

As we wrote, the weekend is usually a damper on social media activity surrounding our key search terms. This weekend was no different, although a mention of voter ID on ABC’s “This Week” political roundtable Sunday has garnered buzz among conservative Twitter users. Several conservative blogs have used video of Washington Post columnist George Will “taking down” Democratic Party strategist Hillary Rosen’s concern over alleged voter suppression efforts by the Republican Party.

Videos like this are sure to get heavy play on social media networks; they are short, quote-heavy examples of a controversial issue.

In general, we’re seeing a broad stabilization across our four key search terms (voting rights, voter ID, voter fraud and voter suppression) on social media search engine Topsy.com

It’d be easy to say that we’ve reached a pre-election lull, but all we need is another buzz-happy story to shoot social media activity up.

We’ll be the first to tell you when that happens. Follow @WhoCanVote for the latest links, news and trends in voting rights news.

Photo ID opponents struggle to find disenfranchised Tennessee voters

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Tennessee’s photo voter ID law took effect in January, and while no lawsuits have been filed, lawyers are looking for affected voters willing to challenge the law.

The American Civil Liberties Union has been trying to file a lawsuit, but no plaintiffs have come forward.

“They remain silent and their right to vote is chilled, through no fault of their own,” said Hedy Weinberg, executive director of the ACLU in Tennessee, “and they’re being labeled as apathetic.”

Many potential clients have been able ultimately to acquire the necessary ID, said attorney George Barrett.

Tennessee is not subject to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, so officials there do not need federal approval to change state and local election law. States with voter ID challenges such as South Carolina and Texas, which need Section 5 pre-clearance, have lawsuits pending and building a case in these states is easier than in Tennessee, Barrett said, because of the federal requirement.

By Kassondra Cloos, News21

Behind the Scenes: This week in the News21 newsroom

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Today in the News21 newsroom, reporters and editors gathered for a student-led brown bag discussion on investigative journalism.

News21 sent a team of reporters and editors to the Investigative Reporters and Editors conference last week in Boston, and those who attended shared with the newsroom helpful tools for more efficient, in-depth investigative reports.

Here’s a look at what the News21 team was up to today:

Behind the Scenes: This week in the News21 newsroom

A.J. Vicens gives a presentation to the newsroom on how use data for better storytelling. Vicens and several other News21 fellows traveled June 13-17 to Boston to attend seminars at the Investigative Reporters and Editors conference. Photo by Michael Ciaglo/News21

Behind the Scenes: This week in the News21 newsroom

News21 fellow Emily Nohr presents a lesson on Google Fusion Tables to the newsroom after returning from five days at the Investigative Reporters and Editors conference in Boston. Photo by Michael Ciaglo/News21

Coffee Break Ballot, June 22: Current Trends in Voting Rights

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We suggested earlier this month that the Florida voter list chaos had the potential to move voting rights issues to the forefront of major news media.

That moment might have arrived, judging by the reaction to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s statement yesterday that House Republicans are investigating Attorney General Eric Holder to distract from his legal pursuit of state laws that  suppress voting.

If Politico says the time has come, we are inclined to agree. It’s also highly possible that the anger — on both sides of the proverbial aisle — could fade just as quickly. Attention spans on complicated issues like these tend to be short, especially during the constantly changing landscape of an election year.

For now, our four key search terms are raging on the Twitters, and points and counterpoints are bouncing around the web. We’re excited about the implications.

Stay with us — these issues are important, and we’ve got big things on the way soon.

What We’ve Been Reading

“Voter ID Bill Still On Table, Thanks to Procedural Rule,” (Aaron Keck and Anne Brenner, 06/21, WCHL)

“Another Look at Voter Photo ID Myths and F.A.Q.’s,” (Alex Rector, 06/22, Civitas Institute)

“PA to launch $5 million voter ID campaign with robocalls,” (James McGinnis, 06/22, PhillyBurbs.com)

“Election Fraud: California Union Official Voted in WI Recall,” (Brian Sikma, 06/22, BigGovernment)

“Rep. Gowdy on Pelosi claim: ‘Stupid’,” (Kevin Robillard, 06/22, Politico)

“Republicans’ Voter Suppression Project Grinds On,” (Jonathan Alter, 06/21, BloombergView)

Twitter Trends

Twitter mentions of voter suppression have skyrocketed in the last 24 hours, and you can tell from this helpful chart from social media search engine Topsy.com.

After the contentious recall election in Wisconsin earlier this month, we remarked how  charged terms like “voter suppression” and “voter fraud” are usually only active during elections, when people discussed the process.

But Pelosi’s unexpected comments on voting — and the media explosion covering them — have boosted mentions of voter suppression more than we’ve seen in a while. Sure, Pelosi isn’t especially popular among conservative circles of the electorate, but the manner in which her unexpected comments on the U.S. Department of Justice’s voting rights preservation efforts have been torn apart is surprising.

We imagine the season leading up to the early voting and general election this fall will see similar spikes in our key search terms.

For more, be sure to follow us @WhoCanVote.

Ballots abroad streamline election process

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U.S. troops serving overseas and Americans abroad should have an easier time voting in November.

“If you’re a voter today in the military or overseas, you’re in such a better position to vote successfully than ever in history before” said Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat, president and CEO of the Overseas Vote Foundation.

The federal Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act of 2009 requires ballots to be sent 45 days before elections, allows for blank ballots to be sent electronically, eliminates notary requirements and makes an emergency ballot easily available.

A January 2009 Pew Center report found that only about a third of military and overseas ballots counted because these groups received ballots too late to return them in time.

Despite the changes, the voting process isn’t perfect for military and overseas voters, Dzieduszycka-Suinat said.

People in remote locations, especially without computer access, might have trouble, she said. Plus, the act does not apply to state and local elections.

“We’re taking baby steps,” Dzieduszycka-Suinat said. “We’re not at the endpoint for any of this.”

By Sarah Jane Capper, News21

Note: This item corrects an error. In some instances witnesses are required for U.S. voters abroad.  A notary is no longer needed, but some states still require a witness, according to @WeVoteAbroad, a project of the the Union of Overseas Voters.

Florida officials will not release list of non-citizens on voter rolls

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In early May, Florida officials suggested that as many as 180,000 potential non-citizens could be on the state’s voter rolls.

The estimate gained publicity for Gov. Rick Scott’s effort to eliminate illegally registered voters, but the list was thereafter slimmed to 2,700 and made public.

The list of 2,700 later turned up many false positives, with frustrated voters wondering why they were targeted. More than 100 on the list were, however, non-citizens, according to Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner.

But with the list’s accuracy questioned, the larger list of 180,000 has not been released, despite repeated public records requests from news organizations.

Courtney Heidelberg, communications director at the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV), said in an email that the Department of State submitted to them a list of voters, her agency provided the citizenship status for each and sent the matched list of 180,000 back to the Department of State.

But the department will not release it, and the state attorney general’s office does not have a copy, nor does the governor’s office. And the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the original custodian of records, will not release it.

“Please be advised that DHSMV is not authorized to release information protected by the Driver Privacy Protection Act,” Heidelberg said.

Chris Cate, spokesman for Detzner, said his agency is still reviewing the 180,000 names and will make them available if he and other officials deem it a public record.

By Ethan Magoc, News21