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OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 12/27/11

Voting Conspiracy vs. Voting Democracy

By       (Page 1 of 2 pages)   2 comments
Message Barbara Stakes

There is widespread evidence that Democracy is again being threatened across this country. With the lessons of the stolen 2000 presidency thieves learned; if you can't win fairly, cheat.

Using baseless scare tactics of all sorts and secret monies because of Citizens United, the election of 2010 put power into the hands of Republican governors and state legislators that control voting laws.

The stage was set.

First, attack the unions -- a huge support system of the Democratic Party.

In October, The New York Times published "The Myth of Voter Fraud". A study by Brennan Center for Justice determined that more than 5M eligible voters will have a harder time participating in the 2012 election.

" It's been a record year for new legislation designed to make it harder for Democrats to vote."

Today, in 14 states dominated by Republicans, 25 new laws have been enacted which negatively impact voting by those most likely to support Democrats: the young,   poor, elderly, minorities.

The argument that there is rampant voter fraud is a lie! "Illegal aliens stealing elections'? Really? Does it make sense? Does anyone honestly think there are enough who would impact elections while risking deportation? Come on.

The Rose Institute of State and Local Government/Claremont McKenna College has brought together reports from Bloomberg, AP, The Hill, Augusta (GA) Chronicle, LA Times, and others on states' new redistricting laws.

Six states use independent commissions to oversee redistricting: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, New Jersey, Washington State.

In November, the majority-Republican Arizona State Senate voted to impeach the chair of the state's Independent Redistricting Commission. Republicans accused Independent-registered Mathis of being "overly partisan and too secretive about the Commission's business" even though the map drawn by the Commission has four strongly Republican districts, two strongly Democratic districts, and three fairly competitive districts.

California 's Independent Citizens Commission, comprised of five Republicans, five Democrats, and four independents is enacting redistricting in several cities across the state.  

In Ohio, Governor Kasich signed into law Ohio's new congressional redistricting plan. Passed by Republican-controlled Assembly and Senate and passed on September 26, 2011, it will secure Republican gains in the 2010 election.

NPR covered a story, July 2011 about redistricting in Texas. " The landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act has been the law of the land for nearly half a century, removing barriers for generations of black voters in the South. But one of its key provisions still sparks controversy. The law requires the Justice Department to pre-approve changes made to election procedures in states with a history of racial discrimination. Many conservatives say that any need for the law has long since passed. A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. allowed a constitutional challenge to the preapproval language to move forward."

One of the plaintiffs - the Mexican American Legislative Caucus - called the AG's filing disappointing. "MALC's sole focus is to allow Latinos the opportunity to vote for the candidate of their choice.'"

In Florida, 54% of African Americans used early voting in the 2008 election. This is now changed from 14 days to 8 days.  

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Barbara Stakes Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

BarbAnn I am: Married 34 years with two great sons. A forcibly retired by corporate takeovers and subsequent closing of companies Archivist and Information Research Library Assistant. A political activist in my community grassroots endeavour to (more...)
 
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