Tag Archives: department of justice

Coffee Break Ballot, June 28: Current Trends in Voting Rights

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The way that Twitter behaved today might leave readers to think there was some kind of ground-breaking, presidential-election related piece of news that broke this morning.

(We kid; we’re well aware of the Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.)

Because of that news today, our usual sources for breaking voting rights news are relatively calm. Politicos and political reporters everywhere appear fixated on reactions and press conferences surrounding the 5-4 decision upholding the the landmark health care law.

In a way, this is convenient because we are busy drafting and editing our main stories – not to mention that yesterday was a considerable day in voting rights updates.

What We’ve Been Reading

“Ruling on provisional ballots issue expected by August,” (Laura A. Bischoff, 06/27, Dayton Daily News)

“Florida voter purge may restart after ruling,” (Gary Fineout, 06/27, Associated Press)

“Blood in the Water: Mike Turzai’s Voter ID Remarks,” (Stephen Colbert, 06/27, The Colbert Report)

“The Roberts Court is Born,” (Adam Winkler, 06/28, Huffington Post)

“AALDEF and APABA-PA Hold Press Conference to Explain new PA Voter ID Law’s Impact on Asian-Americans,” (Press Release, 06/28, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund)

Twitter Trends

The most noticeable shift among our four key search terms on social media search engine Topsy.com is that dozens of Twitter users have started to “ask” Florida Gov. Rick Scott to stop removing voters from state rolls.

Those tweets were very popular late last month when the controversial vote removal made headlines, but they died after the U.S. Department of Justice halted implementing the law. Yesterday, after District Judge Robert Hinkle ruled that the purge could continue under federal law, the tweets resurfaced.

Does social media activism make a difference?

Plenty of users have tried to spread political and social issues across Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and other widely used sites. Because individual social media participation serves a largely self-selected audience, it is highly possible that most social activism tweets only get bounced among friends and acquaintances who already agree and have little political clout.

For more voting rights news and updates, follow us @WhoCanVote.

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

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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.

Follow us @WhoCanVote for the latest stories in voting rights news.

Coffee Break Ballot, June 7: Current Trends in Voting Rights

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We’d like to say the holdover in Wisconsin election buzz has died, but the contentious recall has tremendous staying power in certain fringes of the blogosphere.

In other news, Florida continues to punch its way upward in the national conversation of voting rights, rejecting the U.S. Department of Justice call to halt a controversial voter purge and setting the stage for a new front in the growing number of federal challenges to state voting regulations.

We dug a bit deeper today, finding columnists on both sides and a few lists of legal changes to voting rights across the many states.

What We’ve Been Reading

“No easy answer for issues of voting integrity,” (Editorial, 06/06, Iowa City Press Citizen)

“Photo ID, the Left, and Voter Fraud,” (Edward White, 06/07, Townhall Magazine)

“Frequently Asked Questions About Protecting Citizen Voter Rights in Florida,” (Gov. Rick Scott’s Office, 06/06,  FLGov.com)

“Restrictive voting laws tied up in court,” (Krissah Thompson, 06/06, Washington Post)

“Election Law Changes — June 2012 Update,” (The Atlas Project, 06/07, AtlasProject.net)

Twitter Trends

No matter your stance on contested voting rights issues — photo ID, voter fraud, voter suppression, et. al. — there’s definitely a few ‘hot links’ that bounce around the Twittersphere. Today, those links include a claim of ‘liberal hypocrisy’ for the federal government contesting voter ID laws while requiring photo ID at First Lady Michelle Obama’s book signings.

And Attorney General Eric Holder’s appearance on Capitol Hill spurred the usual flurry of anti- and pro-Holder tweets around #VoterID, #VoterFraud and other Department of Justice-related anger.

These and other links on allegations of voter suppression in Tuesday’s recall election in Wisconsin dominate searches for the terms “Voting Rights,” “Voter ID,” “Voter Fraud” and “Voter Suppression,” according to Twitter search engine Topsy.com. We’ll be the first to let you know about any change in those trends.

And remember to follow us @WhoCanVote for the latest links and updates in voting rights news.