Tag Archives: Pennsylvania voter ID

Coffee Break Ballot, July 26: Current Trends In Voting Rights

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We have to admit that it’s a little challenging to report on social trends in voting rights news and conversation when the main platform of that dialogue serves up a great big fail whale.

As our readers probably have noticed, microblogging site Twitter shut down temporarily this morning, rendering our regular trend-tracking efforts mostly moot.

But we have found some great reads on Florida voters affected by the controversial, ongoing voter roll purge, and we’ve been fortunate enough to catch the Pennsylvania ACLU’s series of timely factoid tweets on photo voter ID in that state.

What can we say? We’ve got one more day of updates, one more day of blogging. Stay tuned.

What We’ve Been Reading

“Florida at the forefront as states plan fresh assault on voting rights,” (Ed Pilkington, 07/26, The Guardian)

“Voter suppression: ‘I’m a better citizen than any of them. I’m not going to quit,'” (Ed Pilkington, 07/26, The Guardian)

“In Voter ID Law Court Fight, Expert Says Pennsylvania Is Soft-Pedaling The Impact,” (Cherri Gregg, 07/26, CBSNews)

“Pennsylvania Governor Can’t Recall Requirements of Voter ID Law He Signed,” (Ryan J. Reilly, 07/26, Talking Points Memo)

Twitter Trends

Aside from the obvious, Twitter outage-related decline in all of our Topsy.com search terms this morning, the most notable trend is a slight decline in mentions of ‘voter ID’ on Twitter.

Even though the Pennsylvania photo voter ID state lawsuit continues today and through the rest of the week, the bombshell pretrial admission by the state that it had no credible cases of in-person voter impersonation fraud sparked a momentary Twitter firestorm. It has since died down.

The conclusion of the trial and lingering discomfort on both sides of the voter ID argument over Pennsylvania’s voter fraud admission will probably keep voter ID on the rise later in the week, but we’re deeply fascinated by the changes in conversation as new buzz items distract and distort the fundamental facts at the core of this issue.

As always, remember to follow us @WhoCanVote.

 

Coffee Break Ballot, July 23: Current Trends in Voting Rights

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The regular weekend lull in voting rights news hit in full force, with a pause in online discussion of some of our regular voting rights topics.

The News21 newsroom has hit a bit of a pause as well. More than half of the team has left the building, and the rest will finish stories and leave at the end of the week.

We’ll still be blogging all week, and the tweets won’t stop until well past the mid-August site launch. Until then, stay tuned to what’s going on in voting rights news.

What We’ve Been Reading

“Do We Need a New Voting Rights Act?” (Abby Rapoport, 07/23, The American Prospect)

“Bill Daley Asks: Is Obama Campaign Ready for Recounts?” (James Warren, 07/23, The Daily Beast)

“Public Relations Firm Educating Pennsylvania Minorities On Voter ID Stacked With Republicans,” (Ryan J. Reilly, 07/20, Talking Points Memo)

“The voter ID mess subverts an American birthright,” (Charlie Crist, 07/20, Washington Post)

“GOP trumpets rampant Philly voter fraud in a report that doesn’t show it,” (Issiah Thompson, 07/20, Philadelphia City Paper)

“Rate of Possession of Valid Photo Identification, And Public Knowledge of the Voter ID Law in Philadelphia,” ( Matt A. Barreto and  Gabriel R. Sanchez, 07/16, University of Washington)

Twitter Trends

Well-placed and widely read reports and articles — like those that covered the new lawsuit in Pennsylvania over that state’s strict photo voter ID law — can spur online conversation.

Twitter conversation across four key search terms on social media search engine Topsy.com was considerably quiet this morning. One trend is a concerted push from progressive opponents of voter ID laws in Pennsylvania and other states.

Viral mentions of an upcoming anti-voter ID rally on the steps of the state Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., have spread this morning, as have legal briefs and summaries of the ACLU lawsuit against voter ID requirements there.

Most of our linked articles this morning will direct you toward the Keystone State, and all this digital buzz is why.

For more news and links, remember to follow us @WhoCanVote.

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

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This is a week of numbers.

Granted, we regularly look for numbers in our daily Web searches – reports, data sheets and voter surveys that help News21 reporters. But this week has been significant already.

We talked earlier in the week about The New York Times’ Nate Silver. Yesterday evening, the Brennan Center for Justice – a nonpartisan research institute based at New York University School of Law – released a report detailing the potential difficulties that many voters face when attempting to obtain proper photo identification to vote.

The report is worth a read, but highlights from the report include some pretty staggering numbers.

Almost 500,000 eligible voters without ID live more than 10 miles from an identification-issuing office and lack access to a vehicle, while more than 10 million voters are more than 10 miles from their identification-issuing office.

 

Many of those offices have reduced or limited hours, especially in rural areas with high concentrations of the poor and minorities.

 

The states affected by these laws will deliver 127 electoral college votes in the presidential election this fall — almost half of the total needed to win.

We’ve had a lot to read this week in the News21 newsroom.

What We’ve Been Reading

“The Challenge of Obtaining Voter Identification,” (Keesha Gashkins and Sundeep Iyer, 07/17, Brennan Center for Justice)

“Millions of Felons Barred From Voting Booth,” (Rosa Ramirez, 0718, National Journal)

“Election Officials Respond to Illegal Voter Study,” (Cori Coffin, 07/18, KREX News [CO] )

“Woman cut twice from voter rolls is dead certain she’s alive,” (Scott Powers, 07/17, Orlando Sentinel)

“Study: 500,000 face major challenges with voter-ID laws,” (Aamer Madhani, 07/18, USAToday)

“Wash. to unveil voter registration on Facebook,” (Rachel La Corte, 07/17, Associated Press)

“Analysis: Philly voters over 80 would be most inconvenienced by new ID law,” (Bob Warner, 07/18, Philadelphia Inquirer)

“Dems call for Bolger to step down as speaker over candidate switch,” (Paul Egan, 07/18, Battle Creek Enquirer)

Twitter Trends

The most significant movement among our regular search words this morning isn’t terribly surprising. ‘Voter ID’ is gaining a noticeable uptick, most likely because of stories repackaging the Brennan Center report on voter ID. NPR, Politico, USA Today and other national news outlets detailed findings from the report.

A Philadelphia Inquirer story assessing the effects of Pennsylvania’s new voter ID law on the elderly also is making the Twitter rounds.

These stories are keeping voter ID mentions moving, although the continued tweets and retweets of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s petition against ‘voter suppression’ in Pennsylvania are also showing some movement on social media search engine Topsy.com.

For news and updates, follow us @WhoCanVote.

Coffee Break Ballot, July 16: Current Trends in Voting Rights

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We’re already big fans of the New York Times‘ Nate SIlver, whose Five Thirty Eight blog has gained a following for its statistical election predictions.

So when Silver tweeted a post, offering his numbers-heavy analysis measuring predictable effects of photo voter ID laws on voter turnout, we were intrigued.

His post is making the rounds around the Twitterverse, with some regular followers in the News21 newsroom tweeting, retweeting and commenting on the post.

It points out that much of the rhetoric on both sides is moot when statistics and raw data are taken into account. That’s one of several numbers-heavy pieces we’ve been looking at this morning.

What We’ve Been Reading

“Measuring the Effects of Voter Identification Laws,” (Nate Silver, 07/15, The New York Times)

“Will Voter ID Laws Cost Obama Reelection?” (Nate Cohn, 07/16, The New Republic)

“Voter ID is a hot topic, but will Alabama’s ID law stop election fraud?” (Tim Lockette, 07/15, Anniston Star)

“Rick Scott: Other states can purge voter rolls,” (Kevin Robillard, 07/16, Politico)

“HUSKEY: Showing ID is common, effective,” (Stan Huksey, 07/15, The Times Herald)

“Ballot fraud retrial gets into details,” (Kenneth C. Crowe II, 07/11, Rochester Times-Union)

“Photo IDs may be inconvenient, but they help prevent voter fraud,” (Robert Bennett, 07/16, The Deseret News)

“Florida Decides Poll: Gov. Rock Scott’s low approval ratings,” (Mason-Dixon Polling and Research, 07/15, Florida13 News)

Twitter Trends

After the Pennsylvania Department of Motor Vehicles released data suggesting more than 700,000 registered voters could lack required photo voter ID under the state’s new law, we’ve been waiting for the conservative pushback. That commentary came today.

One of the most buzzed about items today came from the Daily Caller, which has repackaged a story from the Rochester (N.Y.) Times-Union about a local election fraud trial in which a Democratic city council candidate testified that voter fraud was a “reality of both parties” in the state.

The fraud in question is ballot fraud – not voter impersonation –  which photo voter ID laws would not solve. But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t provided ammunition for supporters of photo voter ID legislation.

It’s definitely buzz-worthy, and it meets the criteria for popular tweets — it features a member of the Democratic party admitting that fraud happens, regularly, giving supporters something talk about.

It’s also the kind of detail-orientated story that could prompt real conversation about election administration, but that’s not how Twitter is generally used.

Follow our reporters @DoubleOChen and @JoeHenke as they report from the National Association of Secretaries of State Convention this week in Puerto Rico, and as always, follow us @WhoCanVote for the latest updates on voting rights news and trends.

Coffee Break Ballot, July 10: Current Trends in Voting Rights

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This is definitely the week of #VoterID.

The high profile federal court hearing on the Texas voter ID law this week in Washington, D.C., Federal Appeals Court has spurred incessant Twitter conversation.

It also helps that the annual NAACP conference is in full swing this week in Houston, where political and civil rights leaders – including Attorney General Eric Holder, Vice President Joe Biden and likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney – are gathering to address a slew of political points, including voting rights and poll access.

More on numbers and mentions after the reading list, but we’re starting to wonder whether we’ve reached a real election-year tipping point. Momentum is on the side of the mention and voting rights news is only going to pick up as November approaches.

What We’ve Been Reading

 “List of 180,000 suspect Florida voters to be made public,” (Steve Bousquet, 07/10, Miami  Herald)

“Scott Brown Will Not Have His Valor Stolen, Damnit,” (Charles Pierce, 07/10, Esquire)

“Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the NAACP Annual Convention,” (Eric Holder, 07/10, DOJ)

“Florida’s System Failure,” (David Weigel, 07/09, Slate)

“The GOP’s crime against voters,” (Eugene Robinson, 07/09, Washington Post)

“Misleading stats driving Pennsylvania voter ID criticism,” (David Almasi, 07/10, Daily Caller)

“Rep. John Lewis, Civil Rights Icon, on the Struggle to Win — and Now Protect — Voting Rights in U.S.,” (Amy Goodman, 07/10, DemocracyNOW!)

Twitter Trends

9,828.

That’s the number of mentions of #VoterID in the last 24 hours on Twitter, according to social media search engine Topsy.com. Those are numbers not seen since June 25, when Pennsylvania state Rep. Mike Turzai’s unguarded comments on the state’s new voter ID law set the Twittersphere scurrying for comment.

In contrast to millions of Twitter users, that isn’t much. In the broad scope of voting rights trends, this is the kind of movement that indicates considerable conversation and controversy. At the annual NAACP conference, Holder compared voter ID requirements to poll taxes. That likely will ignite Twitter mentions.

For more coverage of the Texas voter ID law, remember to follow News21 reporters @AnneliseRussell and @LindseyRuta. And, as always, follow us @WhoCanVote.

 

Coffee Break Ballot, July 9: Current Trends in Voting Rights

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Sometimes in the News21 newsroom, we pledge to not talk about News21 on the weekend.

But when we get hit with a series of big news items on Saturday and Sunday — a Nation blog post on gender and alleged voter suppression, a comprehensive study from the Associated Press on voter ID in Georgia, Indiana and Tennessee, the rapidly approaching Texas voter ID law hearing in Washington, D.C.  — we sometimes have to renege and spend Sundays reading, talking and drafting instead of brunching.

Today, a slew of new stories and data landed on the docket. We also have two reporters in Washington, D.C., for the voter ID federal court hearing.

First – the stories.

What We’ve Been Reading

“Q&A: Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott on the Voter ID Law,” (Priya Anand, 07/08, Houston Chronicle)

“Meet the hanging chad of 2012,” (Nathaniel Persily, 07/08, New York Daily News)

“Gov. Corbett contracts with Romney fundraiser for PA Voter ID ad campaign,” (Daniel Denvir, 07/08, The Naked City)

“Voter ID Laws Could Block Thousands From Voting,” (Mike Baker, 07/08, Associated Press)

“Limbaugh Wants to Extend Vote Suppression to Women,” (Ben Adler, 07/08, The Nation)

“State’s voter ID law could shut out over half-million citizens,” (Editorial Board, 07/09, Philadelphia Daily News)

“NAACP pledges to overcome voter ID law,” (Joe Holley, 07/09, Houston Chronicle)

Twitter Trends

This week is going to be all about Texas.

If last week was Pennsylvania’s time in the Twitter voter ID spotlight, this week just boosts mentions of the term. Social media search engine Topsy.com indicates a real surge in mentions of #VoterID since a report last week that showed at least 700,000 registered Pennsylvania voters lacked valid photo ID.

Texas’ trial, which starts today and continues through Friday, meets several criteria for a Twitter surge: news from a large state, controversial U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, and a legal hearing that could change the national conversation on voting rights.

Reporters @AnneliseRussell and @LindseyRuta will update the trial all week. Be sure to follow them for more live updates, and remember to follow us @WhoCanVote.

Coffee Break Ballot, July 6: Current Trends in Voting Rights

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It’s slightly amusing to look at the gap in news consciousness that a one-day, midweek holiday like July 4 can create.

What does that mean for voting rights? Well, from our perch over the Twittersphere, it seems the already limited attention spans of many users divided over questions of voting rights, voter ID, voter fraud and voter suppression have been reduced even more than usual.

It’s unfortunate, because there were some interesting stories this week — an expansive Mother Jones package on the history of voting rights legislation since the 1990s, a set of data from the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth suggesting that up to 10 percent of registered voters lack the required photo ID and fraud allegations in Mexico.

No one issue rocketed this week, but next week could be another doozy. A hearing examining the constitutionality of the Texas voter ID opens Monday in Washington, D.C., and the Pennsylvania numbers will probably be passed around and parsed.

We’ll have more on all that next week.

What We’ve Been Reading

“Election integrity,” (Editorial Board, 07/05, Battle Creek Enquirer)

“Pennsylvania Voter ID Law May Bar 9% From Presidential Election,” (Romy Varghese, 07/05, Bloomberg)

“Reps. Moore, Ellison: Voter Suppression Issue is Behind Focus on Eric Holder,” (Khalil Abdullah, 07/04,  New American Media)

“Vetoing Voter ID is the (Historically) Republican Thing to Do,” (John Nichols, 07/06, The Nation)

“Stringent voter ID law in Pa. could prevent 750,000 from voting,” (Lucy Madison, 07/05, CBSNews)

Twitter Trends

Maybe it’s just Friday, but we’ve enjoyed seeing the (fictional) President Josiah Bartlet of “West Wing” fame offer his own opinion on the voter ID debate.

One of ‘his’ tweets from this morning already has received 84 retweets as of this post, and users on both sides of the voter ID debate have replied to him asking for clarification or pointing out the fallacy of his tweet.

Remember, Josiah Bartlet is a fictional character, and the Twitter account set up in his name perhaps has little or nothing to do with actual debate, politics or Aaron Sorkin.

But users are engaging him, retweeting and replying and even mocking his views. It’s a great example of how Twitter can be both a useful search tool and also a silly adventure into a blackhole of digital dithering.

Additionally, our routine use of social media search engine Topsy.com shows a dramatic uptick in mentions of #VoterID, which we can assume is directly related to the Pennsylvania voter ID numbers released this week.

We’ll keep tabs on those mentions, which will likely receive a bigger boost from the opening salvo in the Texas court case next week.

Our reporters, @AnneliseRussell and @LindseyRuta, will cover that hearing next week, so be sure to follow them for live updates. And as always, follow us @WhoCanVote for the latest links, tweets and trends from the News21 team.

 

Coffee Break Ballot, July 4: Current Trends in Voting Rights

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Welcome back to the work week!

We, like many of you, enjoyed the tease of a midweek faux-weekend. We also enjoyed the onslaught of Independence Day-themed voting rights columns, blogs and articles (some of which we’ll sample here today).

Nothing like a national holiday to encourage talk of freedom, unity and fundamental rights.

What We’ve Been Reading

“Celebrate Our Independence By Committing to the Right to Vote,” (Eva. M. Clayton, 07/04, Huffington Post)

“Graduating from the Electoral College,” (Jaime Fuller, 07/05, the American Prospect)

“Roberts Faces Shot at Republican Redemption in Race Cases,” (Greg Stohr, 07/04, Bloomberg)

“9.2 Percent of Pennsylvania Voters Lack Valid ID,” (David Weigel, 07/05, Slate)

“8 things the U.S. election system could learn from Mexico’s,” (Robert. A. Pastor, 07/02, CNN)

Twitter Trends

If we’ve tracked anything of note this past week on social media search engine Topsy.com, it’s been the considerable bounce that progressive voting rights Twitter users have provided to a few news items.

Tuesday’s Mother Jones package on voter suppression and election administration continues to buzz, as does a telling report from Slate on what the more than nine percent of registered Pennsylvania voters lacking photo ID could mean for the November election.

Despite a series of broadcast news network pieces on possible election fraud in the federal election Sunday in Mexico, we haven’t seen as many mentions of that country’s voter ID system as we originally expected. As seems to be the case for many international stories, the American Twitter audience has moved on to other flash points, accepting that the election is largely finished there and no longer worth 140-character debate points.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on the diverse threads of progressive commentary in the coming days and weeks, with a special focus on the conservative reaction that has yet to arrive.

For more of the latest voting rights trends and links, be sure to follow us @WhoCanVote.