Tag Archives: Barack Obama

Latinos represent millions
of untapped voters

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Amid elections and voter ID legislation in states such as Texas and Arizona, “the Latino vote” has become a hot topic — and for good reason.

About 50,000 Latinos reach voting age every month, according to a
study by the Pew Research Center. That’s 600,000 voting eligible Latinos a year — a trend that is expected to continue for the next two decades.

By July 2050, the Hispanic population will represent 30 percent of the nation’s population, according to Census projections.

Texas has the second highest Latino population in the nation after California,
according to Census data. The Lone Stare State also is preparing to defend its voter ID in federal court next week against opponents who argue the law disproportionately affects Hispanic voters.

In Texas, the number of unregistered Latinos — 2,154,600 — exceeds the margin that John McCain had over Barack Obama in the state — 950,695,
according to the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank.

And this base of untapped voters would largely vote Democratic.

A study by the conservative public opinion group Resurgent Republic, indicates that 51 percent of Latinos are registered Democrats, 31 percent are registered Independents and 18 percent are Republican.

By Lindsey Ruta, News21

Thursday Throwback: Obama supports felon voting rights

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Felon disenfranchisement briefly landed in the spotlight two years ago when an adviser for President Barack Obama spoke on his behalf after the 2010 State of the Union.

Heather Higgenbottom, then deputy director of the Domestic Policy Council, urged full support of voting rights for former felons and said the president’s position is that when a person completes a sentence, voting rights should be restored.

View the video here, about 16 minutes into the discussion.

Thursday Throwback: Obama supports felon voting rights

By Maryann Batlle, News21

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

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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!

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

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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.