Raymond Rutherford: Midwife’s error creates voting rights uncertainty

Posted on June 13, 2012 by annelise

For years, Raymond Rutherford used for official identification a photo ID card issued in 1979 by a Sumter, S.C., discount liquor store.

When Rutherford recently sought to comply with a new South Carolina law that requires a government-issued ID to register to vote, he found that the state would not accept his store-issued ID. He had to show his Social Security card to get a government-issued ID. The problem is that card carries the birth certificate error made by the midwife who delivered him. It incorrectly identified him as Ramon Croskey. The midwife forgot his mother’s married name, he said.

Rutherford’s birth certificate, errors and all, was used when he applied for a Social Security card.

Rutherford described his situation in stark terms. He compared the issue of voter IDs in South Carolina to that of slaves who were beholden to white masters for their identity.

“[They] couldn’t do anything unless their master signed for it,” he said. “They didn’t have
proof what their name was, so they took whatever name their master gave them. It seems
to me they’re trying to send us years back, where they can control who we vote for.”

Rutherford is still working to obtain an ID so he can vote in the November election if the South Carolina voter ID law is upheld in federal court. A ruling could come in
early September.

By Caitlin O’Donnell, News21

Maine primary showcases race for U.S. Senate seat vacated by Snowe

Posted on June 12, 2012 by annelise

The race for the U.S. Senate highlights Maine’s primary today, but the presumed frontrunner is not even on the ballot.

Voters are choosing among four Democratic candidates and six Republican candidates, all vying to face former Gov. Angus King, an independent who does not face a primary challenge. King is seen by many as the favorite because of the weaknesses of the major parties.

In 2010, Democrats lost both houses of the Maine legislature and the governor’s office, but Republicans suffered defeat in a 2011 special election as voters repealed a GOP-backed law that ended election-day voter registration.

That law was sponsored by Maine Secretary of State Charlie Summers, one of the leading candidates for the seat from which Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe is retiring.

The Waterville Morning Sentinel reported light voting so far, and that officials had predicted less than 20 percent turnout.

By Alex Remington, News21

Coffee Break Ballot, June 12: Current Trends in Voting Rights

Posted on June 12, 2012 by annelise

If today’s post had a subhead, it would be: Current Trends in Florida Voting News.

Yesterday, we tweeted a hypothetical “Florida v. non-Florida” voting rights news day tally, and today fits squarely in the former category. All sides of the political spectrum have been reacting to the legal battle put into play yesterday when Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced his state’s intention to sue the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Justice countered with an announcement of its own suit against the state.

What We’ve Been Reading

“Florida and feds sue each other over noncitizen purge controversy,” (Marc Caputo, 06/12, Miami Herald)

“The ‘Voter Fraud’ Myth Debunked,” (Slideshow, 06/12, Rolling Stone)

“Ramsey County voter ID costs could hit $1.7 million per biennium if passed,” (Frederick Melo, 06/12, St. Paul Pioneer Press)

“AFL-CIO to fight voter ID laws in six battleground states,” (Kevin Bogardus, 06/12, The Hill)

“Rick Scott: Voter Purge Turned Up ‘Over 50’ Non-Citizen Voters — ‘The Debate is Over,'” (Nick Wing, 06/12, Huffington Post)

Twitter Trends

Twitter mentions of any of our main search terms today swirls around the Sunshine State, and a new Rolling Stone voter fraud slideshow.

Twitter search engine Topsy.com shows searches for voting rights, voter ID and voter fraud all are pretty fixed on Florida. That trend will probably continue through the summer, but we’ll be the first to tell you when that changes.

Fight over Florida voter rolls leaves county officials in a lurch

Posted on June 12, 2012 by annelise

The legal wrangle over who should remain on Florida voter rolls has caught counties in the middle of two lawsuits filed this week, said Michael Ertel, Seminole County supervisor of elections.

The Florida Secretary of State has sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for access to data that verifies citizenship. On the heels of that suit, the Justice Department requested a federal injunction Monday to block what it calls voter purging.

“When you have two government entities not working together, this is what causes people to think government is inefficient,” Ertel said. “Politics gets in the way of a lot of this.”

Vicki Davis, Martin County supervisor of elections, said none of the 67 counties will move forward with the purge until the legal disputes are settled.

At the county level, she said, the focus is on conducting a problem-free Aug. 14 primary.

By Ethan Magoc, News21

True the Vote, Judicial Watch sue Indiana over voter registration list

Posted on June 11, 2012 by annelise

Judicial Watch, a conservative government watchdog group, and True the Vote, a tea party-backed group that trains poll watchers, filed a lawsuit against Indiana June 11, alleging that the state violated federal law by failing to maintain an accurate voter registration list and to provide records of those efforts.

“Indiana’s election officials are shirking their responsibility to maintain clean voter registration lists,” Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, said in a statement. “This is our first lawsuit. We plan to sue other states who failed to take reasonable steps to remove dead and ineligible voters from the rolls.”

Indiana elections officials, including Secretary of State Connie Lawson, were traveling and couldn’t be reached for comment June 11, communications director Valerie Kroeger said.

Catherine Engelbrecht, president of True the Vote, said in a statement that the lawsuit was about “restoring integrity” to American elections.

States such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, California and several others can expect lawsuits as well, Fitton told News21. This is Judicial Watch’s second voter issues-related lawsuit in two weeks.

Judicial Watch has been working with True the Vote and the Election Law Center since at least February, when the three announced the 2012 Election Integrity Project.

That effort was to “pressure states and localities, through Judicial Watch lawsuits if necessary, to clean up voter registration rolls pursuant to Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act.” The group claimed that voter rolls in nearly a dozen states contained ineligible voters. Judicial Watch sent letters to election officials in Indiana and Ohio, warning of lawsuits.

By AJ Vicens and Tasha Khan, News21

Lydia Camarillo: Misconceptions about the undocumented voter

Posted on June 11, 2012 by annelise

One argument for requiring a government-issued photo ID at the polls is to prevent illegal immigrants from voting. But Lydia Camarillo, vice president of the San Antonio, Texas-based Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, said the issue is largely irrelevant. The organization aims to increase the participation of Latinos and other minorities in the democratic process.

“Latinos who are undocumented, clearly understand that if they sign anything that is an affidavit, and they are lying to the government, they not only are at risk of being separated and deported but also in the future … they want to be able to come out of the shadows without any other marks than they came to this country trying to feed their families,” Camarillo said.

Undocumented workers are not going to put a family in jeopardy just to change the political game in Texas, Camarillo said, so the presumption that undocumented Latinos are registering en masse is wrong.

By Annelise Russell, News21

Coffee Break Ballot, June 11: Current Trends in Voting Rights

Posted on June 11, 2012 by annelise

Welcome back to the work week! As the controversy over Florida’s voter roll clean up/ voter purge grows, media attention also seems to be heating. You’ll find an update below from one our News21 reporters on how voting registration organizations reacted to the judicial hold on Florida’s 48-hour registration reporting requirement.

Other curious developments this morning include a new lawsuit brought against the state of Indiana by the policy action groups Judicial Watch and True the Vote, requesting that the state perform a purge to verify voter rolls.

More on that later, but first a look at what we’ve been reading over the weekend and this morning.

What We’ve Been Reading

“Texas bracing for legal battle against feds over voter ID law,” (Gary Martin, 06/11, Houston Chronicle)

“Interfering with voting rights,” (Editorial Board, 06/10, Washington Post)

“Commentary: If anyone is committing voter fraud in Michigan, it is Republicans,” (Mark Brewer, 06/09, Detroit News)

“Scott accuses Obama administration of ‘stalling’ on database to check voters,” (George Bennett, 06/11, Palm Beach Post)

“Breaking: Judicial Watch and True the Vote Sue Indiana on Voter Roll Cleanup,” (Election Law Center, 06/11, ElectionLawCenter.com)

Twitter Trends

The weekend is usually a quiet time for social media interaction on voting rights. Over the weekend, progressive activists had a bit more to talk about, as the 2012 Netroots Nation conference in Providence, R.I., presented a panel on what it called a “War on Voting.” Panelists included Nation reporter Ari Berman, Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., Rep. Keith Ellison, D.-Minn., and Keesha Gaskins, Brennan Center for Justice senior counsel.

Mentions of this panel bounced around Twitter Saturday, Sunday and this morning, as users react to and interact on issues raised in the panel.

We’ve also seen Twitter commentary on a panel discussion from NPR’s Diane Rehm Show this morning featuring the Brennan Center’s Wendy Weiser, the Heritage Foundation’s Hans von Spakovsky and ElectionLine.org’s Doug Chapin.

For more on what we’re reading and reporting, follow @WhoCanVote on Twitter.

Hold on Florida’s 48-hour registration deadline draws measured reactions

Posted on June 11, 2012 by annelise

More than 300 Southwest Miami High School students register to vote on May 30 in the school auditorium. Photo by Ethan Magoc/News21

Two South Florida groups targeting student voter registration are giving reserved reviews to a May 31 decision by a federal judge to place a hold on a 48-hour deadline for turning in registration forms.

Jacquie Ayala, left, of Southern Energy Network, a third-party voter registrant, talks with Christina Jean, 19, of Lake Worth, Fla., on the campus of Florida Atlantic University on May 30. Photo by Ethan Magoc/News21.

John Doyle is an administrative director for Miami-Dade Public Schools, where the 2011 registration regulations were taken one step further.

“We had a self-imposed 24-hour turnaround, just to avoid any problems,” he said. “As an individual person, citizen and voter, I definitely have opinions about the 48-hour rule. But the court’s decision moving forward doesn’t matter to us administratively.”

At the college level, Southern Energy Network organizer Jacquie Ayala said she was thrilled with last week’s ruling.

“It’s huge for us. We’re a really small organization,” said Ayala, whose group has registered 547 new voters, nearly all of them college students. “Working hard to register people then meeting a 5 o’clock deadline every other day or face a fine was just too much sometimes.”

The school district and the energy network are just two of 146 registration groups that accounted for 287,481 new registrations, about three percent of the state’s registered voters, according to the Florida Division of Elections.

By Ethan Magoc, News21

Behind the Scenes: This week in the News21 newsroom

Posted on June 8, 2012 by annelise

The News21 newsroom is in full swing, and this week teams of reporters and editors gathered for four days of meetings with consulting editor Leonard Downie Jr., to organize, update and discuss ongoing investigations of voting rights and voting culture in the United States.

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

Behind the Scenes: This week in the News21 newsroom

Executive editor Sharon Rosenhause and assistant editor Gerald Jordan listen as News21 fellow Corbin Carson presents a portion of his project. Photo by Michael Ciaglo/News21

Multimedia coordinator Brandon Quester smiles while News21 fellows present their story to the top editors. Photo by Michael Ciaglo/News21

Consulting editor Leonard Downie Jr. reviews the budget for the News21 project. Photo by Michael Ciaglo/News21

Interactives editor Andrew Long talks about website and graphic ideas. Photo by Michael Ciaglo/News21

Coffee Break Ballot, June 8: Current Trends in Voting Rights

Posted on June 8, 2012 by annelise

We promised that this day would come — and it has. All signs seem to indicate that the digital uproar over the gubernatorial recall election Tuesday in Wisconsin has slowed down. That isn’t to say that all of the allegations and investigations in the election have been resolved. A recount in one of the Wisconsin Senate races still is possible.

But largely, comments and criticisms of that election largely have faded.

More on that after our latest reading list.

What We’ve Been Reading

“TN felons seek to have voting rights restored as election nears,” (Brian Haas, 06/08, The Tennessean)

“What’s the Deal With All These Voting Restrictions?” (Clare Malone, 06/08, The American Prospect)

“Reflections from a Poll Observer,” (Jeanette Senecal, 06/08, the League of Women Voters)

“Republicans clash with Attorney General Holder over voter ID laws, gun sting,” (Sari Horwitz, 06/07, Washington Post)

“Rep. Rooney to DOJ: Why are you allowing potential voter fraud?” (Marc Caputo, 06/07, Miami Herald)

Twitter Trends

Even though we’ve said the digital buzz from the Wisconsin recall is fading, some relevant tweets still are bouncing around the Twittersphere. In particular, a tweet from former GOP Representative / Presidential candidate / actor Fred Thompson seems to have real legs:

@FredThompson: Despite the blowout, some WI Democrats crying voter fraud. Apparently some Republicans had been going around locking cemetery gates.

It’s been tweeted and retweeted almost 500 times. (And while we’re on the subject on retweets, we should direct you toward this fascinating article in the New York Times last weekend on the staggering Twitter cachet of leaders in the Christian community.)

But another state seems to be dominating the digital conversation on voting rights — Florida. An admittedly non-scientific analysis of social media search engine Topsy.com‘s pages for voting rights, voter ID, voter fraud and voter suppression centers on the Sunshine State’s recent high-stakes battle with the U.S. Department of Justice.

That attention likely won’t end until November. Be sure to follow us @WhoCanVote for more voting rights news.