Tag Archives: Florida

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.

Lawsuit claims Florida voter removal violates federal law

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A coalition of voting rights groups has sued Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner, arguing that state efforts to remove voters from rolls violates the National Voter Registration Act.

The suit — filed June 19 by the Advancement Project, Fair Elections Legal Network, LatinoJustice PRLDEF and Project Vote — is one of several that have emerged since Florida Gov. Rick Scott launched an effort to remove non-citizens from voting rolls earlier this year.

Kathy Culliton-Gonzalez of the Advancement Project traces the voter purge, she said, to the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch.

Judicial Watch and True the Vote, which trains volunteers to watch polls, sued Indiana elections officials June 11, alleging that the state is not maintaining accurate voter rolls. Judicial Watch maintains a list of up to a dozen states, including Florida, that the organization plans to sue for the same reasons, president Tom Fitton said.

Florida is taking “reasonable steps” to do things right, Fitton said, and emphasized that any eligible voter who gets accidentally removed can vote provisionally. Any suggestion that Judicial Watch or True the Vote is participating in a nationwide effort to suppress minority or Democratic votes is ridiculous, Fitton said.

By AJ Vicens, News21

Coffee Break Ballot, June 19: Current Trends in Voting Rights

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We’ve noticed in the News21 newsroom how certain stories in our search fields stay hot. Part of this is probably the naturally viral nature of Internet news, but we’ve enjoyed seeing which stories pop up and keep buzzing.

Today, that story is a minor item from the Roanoke, Va., NBC affilate, WSLS. It’s a story about voter registration and dead dogs. Or, more specifically, one particular dead dog whose owner received forms inviting the pet to register to vote.

The story went viral for a variety of reasons, and it was picked up by such diverse sources as conservative blog RedAlert Politics and political news site, Politico. It also is a story about supposed voter fraud — even though this actually is an example of registration fraud, and not voter fraud — which gets a wide segment of the conservative Twittersphere riled.

It is also a story about a cute dog with a cute name, and nothing goes viral like stories about small animals, especially when those animals are given anthropomorphic qualities and get all mixed up in human activities like voting.

A coalition of civil rights organizations also filed a lawsuit against Florida this afternoon, alleging that the state’s removing voters from rolls violates section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, but wouldn’t you rather read about the cute dog who would have been eligible to vote in Virginia if he was a human and hadn’t died two years ago?

What We’ve Been Reading

“Citizenship mandate challenged,” (Lyle Denniston, 06/19, SCOTUSBlog)

“Voter Purges,” (Myrna Pérez, 09/30/08, Brennan Center for Justice)

“Civil Rights Groups Sue Florida Over Voter Purging Lists,” (Brentin Mock, 06/19, The Nation / Colorlines)

“E-Voting: Trust but Verify,” (Steve Schneider and Alan Woodward, 06/19, Scientific American)

“St. Paul jumps in to VoterID fray,” (Patrick Thornton, 06/19, MinnLawyerBlog)

“JW Sues Obama Justice Department for Records Regarding South Carolina’s Voter ID Law,” (Tom Fitton, 06/19, Breitbart.com / BigGovernment)

“Punch-Card Voting in Idaho,” (Pew Center on the States, 06/19)

“Joe Walsh, GOP Congressman, Introduces New Federal Voter ID Bill,” (Nick Wing, 06/19, The Huffington Post)

Twitter Trends

As mentioned above, that story about the voting-age eligible dog in Virginia bounced around Twitter this morning, particularly after Politico picked it up. At that point, several journalists released a collective Twitter yell complaining about the item’s lack of news value.

(While we wrote this post, North Carolina’s conservative Civitas Institute wrote a blog post warning about the dangers of pet voting. The story has legs, apparently.)

There are still some latecomers to the Mitt Romney/#VotingRights party, as users continue to ask the GOP presidential candidate what he thinks about the Florida voter roll removal.

The #voterID hashtag also has spiked on social media search engine Topsy.com, as users mention a recently introduced federal voter ID bill by U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh, R-Ill., and the aforementioned voting-eligble dog.

We’ll be sure to tell you if Mitt Romney replies to all these tweets, and if the dog is ever enfranchised. Follow us at @WhoCanVote.

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

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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.

 

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.

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.

Fight over Florida voter rolls leaves county officials in a lurch

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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

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

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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.

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

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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.

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.