Tag Archives: Wisconsin

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.

What to watch for as Wisconsin numbers roll out

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Here is a quick guide to filter through the recall election rough and tumble:

1) Dane County.   The University of Wisconsin-Madison and the state government call Dane County home, and a win for Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is improbable without a far-above-average showing.  Early reports from Madison indicated turnout could rise beyond the 100 percent of registered voters and include those who registered Tuesday.

2) Unions.  Gov. Scott Walker’s effort to limit union workers’ collective bargaining rights has been the focal point of the recall, and Twitter was flooded Tuesday with reports of union workers heading to the polls.  If the union vote is the highest that it has been in eight years, as the Washington Post projects is possible, the race gets even tighter.

3) Overall Turnout.  The state Government Accountability Board has projected turnout around 65 percent, which would be higher than in 2010 and lower than in 2008.  If turnout trends mimic 2010, when Walker was elected governor, then Democrats’ recall hopes might be dashed.

4) Tea Party Vote. If Tea Party voters flock to the polls as they did nationwide in 2010, then Barrett might again be disappointed in his race for the governor’s seat. Exit polls Tuesday show deep divisions among voters and dissatisfaction with both political parties, but Walker’s campaign will rely on those who strongly approve of his time in office.

By Annelise Russell, News21