It has been interesting to watch the Middle East, and now Russia, protesting rigged votes and/or lack of access to the polls or the ability to vote for someone to truly represent the interests of the people. While that is going on in the rest of the world, Americans can’t seem to find any passion about voting, as evidenced by their failure to vote. Since 1960 in non-presidential election years, slightly less than 40% of registered voters actually vote. The result is slightly higher in presidential election years with a little more than 50% of registered voters turn out.
Given that background, it is probably no surprise that most of America is blissfully unaware of the frontal attack on voting rights that has been waged in 2011 by ALEC, GOP controlled state legislators and GOP governors. A couple of weeks ago, Erich Holder finally decided to lead a counter attack. It is interesting that his opening attack occurred in Austin, Texas—a state noted for playing fast and loose with voting rights.
In that speech, Holder made these comments (The entire speech is linked below, bold added by this blogger):
In 1965, when President Johnson signed the landmark Voting Rights Act into law, he proclaimed that, “the right to vote is the basic right, without which all others are meaningless.”
…despite our nation’s long tradition of extending voting rights - to non-property owners and women, to people of color and Native Americans, and to younger Americans - today, a growing number of our fellow citizens are worried about the same disparities, divisions, and problems that - nearly five decades ago - LBJ devoted his Presidency to addressing.
As Congressman John Lewis described it, in a speech on the House floor this summer, the voting rights that he worked throughout his life - and nearly gave his life - to ensure are, “under attack… [by] a deliberate and systematic attempt to prevent millions of elderly voters, young voters, students, [and] minority and low-income voters from exercising their constitutional right to engage in the democratic process.”
Since January, more than a dozen states have advanced new voting measures. Some of these new laws are currently under review by the Justice Department, based on our obligations under the Voting Rights Act.
…in October, the Justice Department objected to a redistricting plan in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, where the map-drawer began the process by meeting exclusively with white officeholders - and never consulted black officeholders.
…in Texas, just two months ago, the Department argued in court filings that proposed redistricting plans for both the State House and the Texas Congressional delegation are impermissible, because the state has failed to show the absence of discrimination.
We need election systems that are free from fraud, discrimination, and partisan influence - and that are more, not less, accessible to the citizens of this country.
…we filed two statewide lawsuits to enforce the requirement that voter registration opportunities be made available at a wider variety of government offices - beyond just the local department of motor vehicles.
We’re also working to ensure that the protections for language minorities included in the Voting Rights Act are aggressively enforced. These protections now apply to more than 19 million voting-age citizens.
I’d like to highlight three areas where public support will be crucial in driving progress - and advancing much-needed reforms. The first involves deceptive election practices - and dishonest efforts to prevent certain voters from casting their ballots.
…we’ve seen all sorts of attempts to gain partisan advantage by keeping people away from the polls - from literacy tests and poll taxes, to misinformation campaigns telling people that Election Day has been moved, or that only one adult per household can cast a ballot.
…during his first year in the U.S. Senate, President Obama introduced legislation that would establish tough criminal penalties for those who engage in fraudulent voting practices - and would help to ensure that citizens have complete and accurate information about where and when to vote… Senators Charles Schumer and Ben Cardin will re-introduce this legislation…
The second area for reform is the need for neutrality in redistricting efforts.
One final area for reform that merits our strongest support … All eligible citizens can and should be automatically registered to vote. … modern technology provides a straightforward fix for these problems … It should be the government’s responsibility to automatically register citizens to vote, by compiling - from databases that already exist - a list of all eligible residents in each jurisdiction.
…Election officials should work together to establish a program of permanent, portable registration - so that voters who move can vote at their new polling place on Election Day.
Let me be clear: voter fraud is not acceptable … making voter registration easier is simply not likely, by itself, to make our elections more susceptible to fraud. Indeed, those on all sides of this debate have acknowledged that in-person voting fraud is uncommon …
Homework
Voter Turn Out from 1960 thru 2010
Eric Holder's Speech on Voting Rights
Voting Rights Act of 1965
ALEC Exposed
ACLU on Voting Rights
Given that background, it is probably no surprise that most of America is blissfully unaware of the frontal attack on voting rights that has been waged in 2011 by ALEC, GOP controlled state legislators and GOP governors. A couple of weeks ago, Erich Holder finally decided to lead a counter attack. It is interesting that his opening attack occurred in Austin, Texas—a state noted for playing fast and loose with voting rights.
In that speech, Holder made these comments (The entire speech is linked below, bold added by this blogger):
In 1965, when President Johnson signed the landmark Voting Rights Act into law, he proclaimed that, “the right to vote is the basic right, without which all others are meaningless.”
…despite our nation’s long tradition of extending voting rights - to non-property owners and women, to people of color and Native Americans, and to younger Americans - today, a growing number of our fellow citizens are worried about the same disparities, divisions, and problems that - nearly five decades ago - LBJ devoted his Presidency to addressing.
As Congressman John Lewis described it, in a speech on the House floor this summer, the voting rights that he worked throughout his life - and nearly gave his life - to ensure are, “under attack… [by] a deliberate and systematic attempt to prevent millions of elderly voters, young voters, students, [and] minority and low-income voters from exercising their constitutional right to engage in the democratic process.”
Since January, more than a dozen states have advanced new voting measures. Some of these new laws are currently under review by the Justice Department, based on our obligations under the Voting Rights Act.
…in October, the Justice Department objected to a redistricting plan in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, where the map-drawer began the process by meeting exclusively with white officeholders - and never consulted black officeholders.
…in Texas, just two months ago, the Department argued in court filings that proposed redistricting plans for both the State House and the Texas Congressional delegation are impermissible, because the state has failed to show the absence of discrimination.
We need election systems that are free from fraud, discrimination, and partisan influence - and that are more, not less, accessible to the citizens of this country.
…we filed two statewide lawsuits to enforce the requirement that voter registration opportunities be made available at a wider variety of government offices - beyond just the local department of motor vehicles.
We’re also working to ensure that the protections for language minorities included in the Voting Rights Act are aggressively enforced. These protections now apply to more than 19 million voting-age citizens.
I’d like to highlight three areas where public support will be crucial in driving progress - and advancing much-needed reforms. The first involves deceptive election practices - and dishonest efforts to prevent certain voters from casting their ballots.
…we’ve seen all sorts of attempts to gain partisan advantage by keeping people away from the polls - from literacy tests and poll taxes, to misinformation campaigns telling people that Election Day has been moved, or that only one adult per household can cast a ballot.
…during his first year in the U.S. Senate, President Obama introduced legislation that would establish tough criminal penalties for those who engage in fraudulent voting practices - and would help to ensure that citizens have complete and accurate information about where and when to vote… Senators Charles Schumer and Ben Cardin will re-introduce this legislation…
The second area for reform is the need for neutrality in redistricting efforts.
One final area for reform that merits our strongest support … All eligible citizens can and should be automatically registered to vote. … modern technology provides a straightforward fix for these problems … It should be the government’s responsibility to automatically register citizens to vote, by compiling - from databases that already exist - a list of all eligible residents in each jurisdiction.
…Election officials should work together to establish a program of permanent, portable registration - so that voters who move can vote at their new polling place on Election Day.
Let me be clear: voter fraud is not acceptable … making voter registration easier is simply not likely, by itself, to make our elections more susceptible to fraud. Indeed, those on all sides of this debate have acknowledged that in-person voting fraud is uncommon …
Homework
Voter Turn Out from 1960 thru 2010
Eric Holder's Speech on Voting Rights
Voting Rights Act of 1965
ALEC Exposed
ACLU on Voting Rights
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