Coffee Break Ballot, June 18: Current Trends in Voting Rights

Posted on by

The most notable change in voting rights trends after this weekend is perhaps the very term itself. Friday saw the complete dominance of the term #VotingRights by progressive Twitter users asking where Gov. Mitt Romney stood on Florida’s controversial voter purge, but the hashtag mostly has been passed on to other stories.

But that doesn’t mean that we haven’t been looking for new stories. Happy Monday reading.

What We’ve Been Reading

“Voter Suppression Returns,” (Alexander Keyssar, Harvard Magazine July/August)

“Lawsuit planned over Pennsylvania’s voter ID law,” (Len Barcousky, 06/16, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

“Voter ID bill resisted by town, city clerks,” (Kevin Landrigan, 06/17, Nashua Telegraph)

“Allen West to feds: Let states purge voters,” (MJ Lee, 06/18, Politico)

“Ensuring access to the ballot for American Indians and Alaska Natives,” (Tova Andrea Wang, 06/18, Demos)

Twitter Trends

Besides the aforementioned shift in the #VotingRights hashtag, the most notable trend in our top four Topsy.com search terms (#VoterID, #VoterSuppression, #VoterFraud and #VotingRights) is the back and forth between conservative allegations of fraud and progressive allegations of suppression.

We’ll keep tabs to see whether #VotingRights ever rests at “normal” in the Twittersphere, but for more of the latest trends, be sure to follow us @WhoCanVote.

 

Sam Reed: Monitoring Washington elections

Posted on by
Sam Reed: Monitoring Washington elections

Secretrary of State Sam Reed's responsibilities include overseeing elections is Washington state. Photo provided.

A part of Sam Reed’s job as Washington’s secretary of state, is chief election official.

Reed, who is retiring this year, might best be remembered for overseeing the state’s 2004
gubernatorial election – the closest in U.S. history – and the recount that
followed.

“We made sure that everything we did was in public view,” he said. “If
there were mistakes I was the first one to announce them and here is
what we are going to do about them.”

That chapter in Washington election history exposed weak points in the state’s
voting system. Reed spent the last eight years attempting to
strengthen it, including introducing a vote-by-mail system last year.

By Joe Henke, News21

 

Behind the Scenes: This week in the News21 newsroom

Posted on by

The News21 newsroom is a space for constant collaboration and teams of reporters have been meeting and trading ideas about how to best share our investigations of voting rights and voting in the United States.

Here’s a look at what the News21 team has been up to:

Behind the Scenes: This week in the News21 newsroom

News21 fellows Andrea Rumbaugh, left, Maryann Batlle and Carl Straumsheim collaborate in the Chyron Media Center at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. Photo by Michael Ciaglo/News21.

Behind the Scenes: This week in the News21 newsroom

News21 fellows Jack Fitzpatrick and Ethan Magoc look over documents in the Chyron Media Center in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State Univerity. Photo by Michael Ciaglo/News21

Coffee Break Ballot, June 15: Current Trends in Voting Rights

Posted on by

As if voting rights and voter ID weren’t already contentious and highly partisan issues, the latest readings from Twitterverse tea leaves suggest the issue has the potential to vault into the chaos of election-year politics.

President Obama’s surprise announcement Friday of a revised administration policy on youth deportation and immigrant rights caused U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., to openly wonder — on FOX News and in a statement on his Facebook page — if the policy was a back-door approach to granting voting rights to illegal immigrants in swing states like his.

The #VotingRights hashtag was taken over yesterday by progressive Twitter users questioning GOP candidate Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts with copies of the following tweet:

@MittRomney, where do you stand on the FL voter purge? #p2 #votingrights

The increasing presence of voting rights activists on both sides of the political divide at campaign events and in policy discussions suggests we might see these issues become key electoral questions. Indeed, in potential presidential swing states with contentious tickets for November — states such as North Carolina and Missouri — questions of voter ID laws and the expansion of the franchise have become wedge issues for gubernatorial and secretary of state candidates.

Will this change the digital conversation around voting rights? We’ll be the first to tell you when and if those changes happen.

What We’ve Been Reading

“Florida’s voting standoff deja vu?” (Halimah Abdullah, 06/13, CNN)

“Gov. Scott says he ‘feels your pain,’ will continue purge anyway,” (The Ed Show, 06/14, MSNBC.com)

“Rep. Allen West Alleges New Obama Policy On DREAMers Is Voter Fraud Conspiracy For 2012 Election,” (Adam Peck, 06/15, ThinkProgressJustice)

“On the Administration’s announcement today to grant certain citizenship rights to young illegal immigrants,” (Rep. Allen West, 06/15, Facebook)

“Indianapolis Meeting Compares Voting Machine Standards,” (Network Indiana, 06/15, Indiana Public Media)

“NOTES FROM NARBERTH: Don’t believe the rhetoric: Voter ID law is fair to all,” (Rosemary McDonough, 06/14, Mainline Times)

“The Missing Right To Vote,” (Heather Gerken, 06/13, Slate)

Twitter Trends

As we mentioned earlier, the #VotingRights hashtag has been largely dominated by progressive opponents of Florida’s controversial voter removal. Liberal political action committee MoveOn.org posted a digital call to action yesterday, asking readers to tweet and post Facebook comments inquiring where Romney stands on the voting rights controversy in Florida.

Social media search engine Topsy.com suggests the hashtag dominance hasn’t been enough to produce a major spike in the term when compared to recent high points — the June 5 Wisconsin recall election and the eruption of election lawsuits in Florida June 12 — but it has increased mentions and taken over our Tweet Deck column.

There may not be another contentious election or primary before November for us to test the admittedly elementary theory that ballot access only receives widespread attention when everyone is actively voting (or not voting), but we’ll keep our eyes open for better ways to chart the mention trends of #VotingRights, #VoterID, #VoterFraud and #VoterSuppression.

Be sure to follow us @WhoCanVote, and stay tuned for more from our team next week!

Rosey Ruiz: Exercising the right to vote after time served

Posted on by
Rosey Ruiz: Exercising the right to vote after time served

Rosey Ruiz of Houston, Texas, is the founder of a nonprofit organization that helps men who have been in prison. Photo by Lizzie Chen/News21

Rosey Ruiz of Houston, Texas, is the founder of Aspire to Win, a nonprofit that helps men who have been in prison for 10 years or more.

Ruiz draws from her own experience; she was sent to prison on felony convictions in 1985 and released in 1994. Ruiz said she is fortunate to live in a state where voting rights are restored to those who complete parole.

“Voting is very, very important, of course you lose your right to vote once you get a felony, but our right to vote is so important,” Ruiz said. “As soon as I got off paper, immediately, on the first day, I went down and registered to vote so that my voice can be heard. I feel like I have a choice today and that means a lot to me, and I have a say so on who can be put in office.”

By Lizzie Chen, News21

Arizona appeal to Supreme Court
to continue citizenship requirement

Posted on by

Arizona asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday for permission to continue requiring proof of citizenship from those who seek to register to vote. State officials asked this as Arizona prepares to appeal an April ruling that eliminated the requirement from the state’s voter-ID law.

Solicitor General Dave Cole said that the proof-of-citizenship requirement should stay in place for the November election.

Arizona law directed county officials to reject any registration document not accompanied by proof of citizenship. But a 1993 federal law requires only a sworn statement of citizenship on federal registration forms. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in April found that Arizona’s law conflicted with federal law, and struck the citizenship requirement. The state plans to appeal to the Supreme Court by its July 16 deadline.

“The basic issue is the extent to which the federal and state forms conflict, and the extent to which the federal government can say, ‘Look, we have full authority to do this and the states can’t do anything,’” Cole said.

By Jack Fitzpatrick, News21

Coffee Break Ballot, June 14: Current Trends in Voting Rights

Posted on by

At least in digital terms, Florida calmed down today.

Allegations of fraud in the city of Racine during the June 5 Wisconsin recall election have been bubbling up among conservative Twitter users, while most of the political Twittersphere has been consumed with the campaign collision that finds both President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaking on the economy in the battlefield formerly known as Ohio.

We have some gems today in the digital divide — charts and graphs from the Pew Center on the States, anyone? — and we’ll have more on Twitter trends at the close.

What We’ve Been Reading

“Voters Without ID In Wisconsin,” (Report, 06/14, Pew Center on the States)

“Rubio: Florida voter purge not about Hispanics,” (Maggie Haberman, 06/13, Politico)

“Pennsylvania Voter ID Law Places Expiration Date on Democracy,” (Brentin Mock, 06/14, The Nation)

“W&W hired to defend State in Voter ID challenge,” (Patrick Thornton, 06/14, MinnLawyer Blog)

“Dred Scott 2.0 — The Voting Edition,” (Marcus Bright, 06/14, Huffington Post BlackVoices)

“New Hampshire Governor Faces Stark Choice on Student Voting Rights,” (Dan Vicuna, 06/14, CampusVote Project)

“Curious Election Documents Found in Dumpster in Racine, Sheriff’s Department Investigating,” (MacIver News Service, 06/14, MacIver Institute)

Twitter Trends

The most notable trend on Twitter as of late is the circulation of a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee petition against what Democrats call Republican voter suppression tactics.

It’s one of many petitions — on both sides of the proverbial political aisle — that seem to circulate every few days. Our regular inputs on social media search engine Topsy.com always generate one of many digital petitions to support or stop Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s voter purge, which makes us wonder — do the politicians and public figures at the heart of these petitions ever even read them? Or is Twitter activism just a new form of political inaction?

Most of our regular trend-setters are focused on the Obama-Romney economic rumble in Ohio, so we’ll be sure to let you know when the digerati are angry about voting rights again.

For more of the latest voting rights, remember to follow @WhoCanVote.

Tom Horne: Arizona attorney general says DOJ oversteps in elections

Posted on by
Tom Horne: Arizona attorney general says DOJ oversteps in elections

Tom Horne is the attorney general for Arizona. Photo by Khara Persad/News21

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne says that federal oversight of the state’s elections under the Voting Rights Act was never necessary in Arizona and now calls it unconstitutional in any state.

“It’s totally unjustified,” Horne said. “I don’t think anybody is trying to prevent anyone else from voting in 2012. They probably did in 1950 in the South, but in Arizona in 2012, no one is trying to prevent anyone else from voting. And the federal government has no business trying to micromanage what we do.”

Horne filed a lawsuit last August challenging Section 5 of the federal law that requires states with a history of discrimination to be cleared before they can change local election laws.

By Jack Fitzpatrick and Khara Persad, News21

Poll watchers deployed for Arizona special election Tuesday

Posted on by
Poll watchers deployed for Arizona special election Tuesday

Grady Rhodes (background left), a first-time poll watcher with the Pima County Voter Integrity Project, observes the voter check-in table at the polling place inside the Chinese Cultural Center, Tuesday in Tucson, Ariz. Photo by Jeremy Knop/News21

Newly trained poll watchers were deployed to 34 Arizona precincts Tuesday to keep an eye out for potential voter fraud in the special election to fill the vacancy left by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D., Ariz. Giffords retired from Congress to focus on her recovery from a critical gunshot head wound that she suffered in a January 2011 assassination attempt.

Giffords’ former aide Ron Barber, who was shot in the leg and cheek in that same attack, won the special election and will serve the remaining months of her term.

Grady Rhodes was among more approximately 60 volunteers who were trained to monitor voting.

“A lot of people think there could be a lot of fraud going on and they’re not sure whether their vote counts or not.” said Rhodes, a first-time poll watcher. “I wanted to be a part of helping the people and making sure their vote does count and to ensure fraud isn’t going on.”

Rhodes identified himself as a Republican and a member of the tea party, having received his training through the Pima County Voter Integrity Project on Saturday. Jennifer Wright, a tea party member who recently ran for mayor of Phoenix, trained Rhodes, he said.

Of those who went through poll watcher training Saturday, 34 were available Tuesday for the special election, said Karen Schutte, Pima County Voter Integrity Project coordinator.

By Jeremy Knop, News21

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

Posted on by

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.