Tag Archives: voting rights

Alabama county argues part of Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional

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Alabama county argues part of Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional

Frank Ellis Jr., is the attorney for Shelby County, Ala. By Khara Persad/News21

The attorney for Shelby County, Ala., has filed a lawsuit that contests the constitutionality of Voting Rights Act sections that require federal oversight of any changes in election laws in all or portions of 17 states.

Attorney Frank Ellis Jr., argues in the lawsuit, which could reach the Supreme Court, that the requirements of sections 4(b) and 5 are a burden based upon voting discrimination practices that have disappeared since Congress passed the law in 1965.

“To require governments to spend tens of millions of dollars — local governments that need that money for other purposes, for education, for police protection, for facilities and infrastructure — it’s archaic and out of date,” Ellis said.

By Jack Fitzpatrick and Khara Persad, News21

Alabama NAACP leader talks about struggle to motivate voters

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Alabama NAACP leader talks about struggle to motivate voters

Steve Branch is the Alabama state chair for voter registration. Photo by Khara Persad/News21

Steve Branch, the NAACP voter registration chairman for Alabama, is committed to getting voters out of their homes and into polling places, he said, but the challenge for the civil rights organization is convincing people that their votes can make a difference.

 

“We’re trying to get our people to vote not only in general elections, but in primaries and in anything else that comes up,” Branch said. “We’re trying to get into an election habit.”
It’s an uphill battle, Branch said, because many voters are apathetic and don’t believe that voting matters.

 

“I have to say to people, ‘Listen, you have to look at the vote as far as what’s happening in your community. You can change the county commissioner. You can change the circuit court judge. You may be able to change your county sheriff – people who are oppressing you. You can change this to work in your favor,’” Branch said.

By Jack Fitzpatrick and Khara Persad, News21

Wisconsin voter law could limit student vote

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Ellie Ganz, a 19-year-old student at the University of Wisconsin, said she’s not very political, but protests and commotion near the school’s Madison campus last fall were hard to ignore.

Ganz and other students had a front-row seat to the state capital protests against Gov. Scott Walker’s effort to limit collective bargaining rights for public employees. Some students, however, might not be able to participate in the election Tuesday.

Wisconsin’s voter ID provision is on hold, but not all of the law. A judge has suspended the requirement that voters show ID at the polls, but a 28-day residency requirement — an increase from the previous 10-day rule — remains in effect.

Voters must reside in an “election ward for at least 28 consecutive days and have no present intent to move,” according to the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board (GAB). The board released a memorandum May 17 informing students of the changes to the election law residency requirement.

The requirement might keep students away from the polls, said Mike Browne, the deputy director of the liberal-leaning non-profit One Wisconsin Now.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how that younger vote turns out,” Browne said. “Because they’re not massed in the same kind of densities like they are in a normal November election, and there’s been the change in law that is going to make it more difficult for them to vote in this election.”

By Tasha Khan and AJ Vicens, News21

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

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This has been a busy day following a busy weekend in Voting Rights news.

As the recall election in Wisconsin inches closer, the Department of Justice announced this morning that it will send monitors to Milwaukee. On Twitter, progressive supporters have been reminding voters that the state’s voter ID bill is stalled in the courts, so ID is not yet required at the polls.

Florida attracted national attention this weekend for court-ordered holds on its voter registration laws, with press mentions including The New York Times, NPR and The Wall Street Journal.

Here are some stories we’ve been reading in the News21 newsroom.

What We’ve Been Reading

“Justice Department to Monitor Elections in California, New Mexico, South Dakota and Wisconsin,” (Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs, 06/04, Justice.gov)

“Voter ID Opponents Shift Focus to Education, Rallying Democrat Voters,” (Andrea Zelinski, 06/04, TNReporter)

“Insight: From Alabama, en epic challenge to voting rights,” (Joan Biskupic, 06/04, Reuters)

“Heritage Foundation ‘Expert’ Cannot Cite Any Examples of Actual Voter Fraud,” (Josh Israel, 06/04, ThinkProgressJustice)

“Watch Out for Voter Registration Cancellations,” (Lise Olsen, 06/04, Houston Chronicle)

Twitter Trends

On the social media search engine Topsy.com, mentions of voting rights, voter ID and voter fraud are tied up with mentions of the Wisconsin recall election.

In particular, a tweet from progressive voting rights group EPWIsco has seen dozens of retweets this morning:

You DO NOT NEED ID to vote in WI tmrw. If you get asked, give us a call immediately @866OURVOTE#wirecall#wivote#voterid#votingrights

We’ll have our own tweets from the Wisconsin election Tuesday from reporters @AJVicens and @khantasha. Follow them and @WhoCanVote for more from the field.

 

Coffee Break Ballot, June 1: Trends and Topics in Voting Rights News

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News21’s investigation of national voting rights is ongoing, and the rest of the country is contributing to the dialogue.

Voting Rights, voter ID and the messy politics of redistricting likely will be major issues in the November election, and other media outlets and the Twittersphere seem to agree.

So every weekday at about this time — noon PDT, 3 p.m. EDT — News21 reporters will post links to articles, opinion pieces and trends that catch our eye here in the Phoenix newsroom at ASU’s Cronkite School.

It’s far from an exhaustive survey of current journalism on voting and elections, but it’s our  way of staying current.

For more of what we’re reading, be sure to follow us @WhoCanVote.

What We’ve Been Reading

“Holder’s Racial Incitement,” (editorial, 06/01, Wall Street Journal)

“Florida GOP Takes Voter Suppression to a Brazen New Extreme,” (Ari Berman, 05/30, Rolling Stone)

“Former attorney general: Economic policies will discourage Hispanics, not voter ID laws,” (Alberto R. Gonzales, 05/31, CNN.com)

“League of Women Voters of Florida v. Kurt S. Browning,” (U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinckle, Ruling, 05/31, via Brennan Center for Justice)

Twitter Trends

According to Twitter search engine Topsy.com, mentions of the phrases “Voting Rights” and/or “#VotingRights” peaked for the month on May 31, with more than 1,300 mentions in a 24-hour period.

Among those mentioning voting rights in their tweets were dozens of opponents of the state of Florida’s removal of voters from registration lists, many urging people to sign an online petition.

Looking ahead, Twitter trends for the weekend reflect interest in Tuesday’s recall election in Wisconsin, as supporters and opponents of Gov. Scott Walker and his opponent, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, chatter about the dramatic finale of that state’s year-long political debate. #WIRecall isn’t trending worldwide — it isn’t even trending in Milwaukee — but we’ll have an update as Tuesday’s election nears.

News21 reporters, @AJVicens and @khantasha, will file from Wisconsin Tuesday. Follow them for more updates.