Today in voter suppression

[Madsci]

Get a room!

[DCB]

But I'm not pretending, Roy. It's a shame that your party is so afraid of fair elections that they have to cheat. They don't believe in the American ideal. A tragic loss to us all.

There is no way to be polite about this. They are literally rigging the election process - with voter suppression, gerrymandering, and who knows what else.

Appeals to "voter integrity" are a joke. All the moreso given the the R's curious lack of concern over the Russian hacking attempts.

In a sane world the courts would hold these cheaters accountable. But they've rigged that too.

There is no reason for Dems to take a "we agree to disagree" approach. This is cheating. The Dems need to call them out on it. ( I don't think they will).

[Roy]

The left is insane morons. Why I bother coming here is starting to sink in.

[Bland]

Why I bother coming here is starting to sink in.

Just curious...... do you think this makes sense?
Just so you know..... it does not make sense.
#URDUM

[jonnygothispen]

...folks like you rarely feel any qualms about the stinky shit they leave behind in their wake.

That's a rather harsh assessment considering who Bland left behind, don't you think?

[The One]

This is a serious question. I'm not baiting, trolling, or anything.

In this WPR article, it says that 23,000 people didn't vote because of Voter I.D.

The survey was sent to 2,400 people in Dane and Milwaukee county who didn't vote. Of that, 293 responded. Of that number, 7% (or 21 people) said they didn't vote because of complications or confusion related to Voter I.D.

How does 21 people turn into 23,000?

[Cadfael]

Here. First, give this a read and then come back for clarification.

[Bland]

I'm not bating

I think you probably mean "baiting"
You probably don't want anyone to get confused.

[The One]

I'm not bating

I think you probably mean "baiting"
You probably don't want anyone to get confused.

Thanks. Correction made....or is it?

[DCB]

This is a serious question. I'm not baiting, trolling, or anything.

Seriously? you have no idea how sampling works?

[DCB]

Typical Republican response: vengeful and petty.

Republican State Treasurer Matt Adamczyk on Wednesday called on the Legislature to penalize Dane County for funding a UW-Madison study on the effects of the state’s voter ID

"How dare you question our policies by confronting us with facts!".

[penquin]

"The new technology available to redistricters provides those in the majority with a very tempting means of discriminating against any minority, political or otherwise...the vitality of America’s political parties, and the integrity of our representational government, are at stake.”

click on this article to see who said that....it might surprise you.

I did mention earlier how both of the major parties engage in voter suppression type of shenanigans, and that is still true, but the Wisconsin GOP has taken it to a whole new level by hiring lawyers to draw the maps (using custom made computer programs) and then claiming any communication with them is "privileged". Hopefully the Supreme Court will uphold the lower court's ruling, and allow our state to have correct & proper representation in the State Assembly.

[DCB]

"The new technology available to redistricters provides those in the majority with a very tempting means of discriminating against any minority, political or otherwise...the vitality of America’s political parties, and the integrity of our representational government, are at stake.”

click on this article to see who said that....it might surprise you.

I did mention earlier how both of the major parties engage in voter suppression type of shenanigans, and that is still true, but the Wisconsin GOP has taken it to a whole new level by hiring lawyers to draw the maps (using custom made computer programs) and then claiming any communication with them is "privileged". Hopefully the Supreme Court will uphold the lower court's ruling, and allow our state to have correct & proper representation in the State Assembly.

The key in this case is that they came up with a metric for measuring "unfairness", which might be enough to sway Justice Kennedy.

If they win the case on those grounds, maybe SCOTUS will come up with an objective standard for all future gerrymandering cases. That would be nice.

I'd also like to see them go after the process used by WI GOP - hiring a private law firm, keeping all the documents confidential. But I don't think that's on the table.

On the other hand, if they throw out the case altogether, 'partisanship' is going into overdrive.

[penquin]

The key in this case is that they came up with a metric for measuring "unfairness", which might be enough to sway Justice Kennedy.

Exactly. This is the best chance we have with this.

I'd also like to see them go after the process used by WI GOP - hiring a private law firm, keeping all the documents confidential.

That is what blows me away the most about this situation. How the heck can anyone find that to be an acceptable means of governing? Right-wing media would be going absolutely crazy if the roles were reversed, and the silence from the left on it continues to amaze me.

On the other hand, if they throw out the case altogether, 'partisanship' is going into overdrive.

Which will likely lead to civil war. Let's see if the Supreme Court is wise enough to help hold the country together or not..

[penquin]

good news and bad news coming out of Alabama...

In May, Gov. Kay Ivey signed a law called the Definition of Moral Turpitude Act that advocates hoped would lead to large numbers of felons across the state becoming eligible to restore their right to vote. The law, which went into effect in August, created a list of "crimes of moral turpitude" - felonies that result in the automatic disenfranchisement of anyone who is convicted of one.

Before the law was passed, determinations of what crimes were considered "of moral turpitude" were made on a case-by-case basis by individual counties' boards of registrars. That approach resulted in wide disparities in who lost the vote between different counties.

The Definition of Moral Turpitude Act eliminated that slapdash system, and consequently, many felons who had previously lost the right to vote were deemed to have committed crimes minor enough that they should not result in that consequence.

But the policy requiring them to first pay off any fees, fines and restitution has resulted in a sizeable population of Alabama felons who have not committed crimes that would have resulted in them losing the franchise under the new law, yet they remain unable to restore their voting rights solely because of their financial situation.

Tari Williams, organizing director at Greater Birmingham Ministries, works with felons from across the state to try to help them restore their voting rights. She said that she has encountered "a number of people" who have only ever been convicted of crimes not considered "of moral turpitude" under the new law, but who are barred from regaining the right to vote because they have outstanding legal financial obligations.

"They are saying your rights shouldn't have been taken in the first place, but now in order to get your right to vote back you first have to pay your fees and fines off," she said.

http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2017/1 ... bamas.html

Kudos to them for pruning down the list which results in people losing their vote. And while I can understand that there may be reasonable intentions in trying to collect money owed, that part needs to be changed.