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Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Turns Out Gutting the Voting Rights Act Hurts Voting Rights!

     Talk about who would have thunk it! Ok this report from the Center for American Progress doesn't focus on the VRA but most of the states that have poor voting rights are in the South which is where the states that had the restrictions in the VRA reside.

     "One interesting factoid from the report is that the states that rate worst on ballot accessibility — with an “F” rating — are overwhelmingly concentrated in the south."

    "The “ballot accessibility” ratings were determined by looking at a range of factors, such as the impact of voter ID laws, voter wait time, and the availability of easy voter registration and early voting. And this category really matters, because, as the report puts it: “states that rank better on accessibility of the ballot have significantly higher voter turnout.”

    "As you can see, some of the states that are rated the worst in terms of ballot accessibility — with “F” ratings — will also be key in 2016: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina. Other swing states, such as Wisconsin, Nevada, and New Mexico, get “C” ratings."

    "Hillary Clinton has called for major reforms designed to maximize voter participation nationally, and there will be court battles over state-level voting measures that could impact turnout in key battleground states. One of the major arguments for reform is that the lack of uniform standards has led to deep geographic disparities when it comes to basic assess to the franchise. The new report appears to illustrate the continued prevalence of this problem rather vividly."

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/07/07/morning-plum-voting-access-sucks-throughout-the-south-new-report-finds/

    This is why it's so important that Hillary is elected in 2016 and something is done about the rollback in voting rights. This is just about the voter ID  laws and other voter restrictions.

   Then there is the fact of gerrymandering.

   If any inroads are to be made here it will require liberals to retake the SJC-hopefully Hilary will be able to do that.

   Note: I don't  give a hoot about Bernie Sanders who is basically supported by the same white liberals who have spent 6 and a half years throwing out the most bitter invective and calumny against President Obama. He has virtually no minority support-his black support is nil. I have no interest in like Paul Waldman giving his campaign the respect it doesn't deserve.

  http://diaryofarepublicanhater.blogspot.com/2015/07/paul-waldman-vs-harry-enten-on-hillarys.html

  I''m for Hillary, Period.

  After she wins, though, she hopefully will be able to turn the SJC because that is vital to deal with the assault on voting rights. As is rightly said, Courts Matter. 

  "No matter the issue—health care, immigration, marriage equality, offshore oil drilling, privacy, corporate influence—the federal courts will have an enormous impact on our lives and the future of the law. It’s time progressives start making who sits on these courts a part of their advocacy efforts."

   https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/civil-liberties/news/2013/06/27/68180/why-courts-matter/

   http://whycourtsmatter.org/

 

     

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