Posted on 02/19/2012 2:30:12 PM PST by Libloather
Voting Rights Act under siege
By JOSH GERSTEIN | 2/19/12 7:06 AM EST
In a political system where even the most trivial issues trigger partisan rancor, the Voting Rights Act has stood for several decades as a rare point of bipartisan consensus.
Until now.
An intensifying conservative legal assault on the Voting Rights Act could precipitate what many civil rights advocates regard as the nuclear option: a court ruling striking down one of the core elements of the landmark 1965 law guaranteeing African Americans and other minorities access to the ballot box.
At the same time, the view that states should have free rein to change their election laws even in places with a history of Jim Crow seems to be gaining traction within the Republican Party.
“There certainly has been a major change,” said Rick Hasen, a professor of election law at the University of California at Irvine. “Now, you have a whole bunch of credible mainstream state attorneys general and governors taking this view. … That would have been unheard of even five years ago. You would have been accused of being a racist.”
Some of the shift appears to be driven by resentment of what tea party members and others perceive as an overgrown, out-of-control federal government, as well as by widespread concern among Republicans about claims of voter fraud at the polls. Part of the change could also stem from more vigorous enforcement of voting rights laws by President Barack Obama’s Justice Department.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
Noooooo...
VOTER FRAUD DISINFRANCHISES EVERYONE!
And what the left (intentionally) fails to acknowledge is that it is far more prevalent among Democrats.
Hmmm. Interesting. Politico has launched a pre-emptive strike against those evil Southerners who chafe against this anachronism of Reconstruction.
Read the whole article and you will find Josh Gerstein’s concluding sentence is the racism accusation. So predictable.
A very legitimate argument can be made that the SCOTUS should selectively trim the part of the law that just applies to some of the states, and parts of some states, unless strong evidence that they, and just them, have for any length of time especially violated minority rights.
That there is no legitimate reason to prosecute a law just against *some*, in perpetuity. As reconstruction ended, and the federal law again was applied to everyone equally, so too should this *part* of the Voting Rights Act end.
The Voting Rights Act targeted Democrat states for preclearance. The Democrats, the party of the KKK and Jim Crow, went underground with the disappearance of the Democrats and the emergence of Republican majorities in those states.
In other words, in the Southern states, real Hope and Change succeeded. The keeping of preclearance against those states is an afront to all of us who live here and we continue to pay for the past and present acts of the racist Democrat Party.
Without imagined victims the rat party would disappear. It is essential to their power to continue to divide and conquer.
I checked my online White Guilt Account this morning.
Balance: $0.
There is a difference between guaranteeing access to the ballot box and guaranteeing access to election fraud.
ROTFL! I guess you don't have to be very bright to write crap for Politico.
Oh, me, oh, my! You might actually have to prove you’re a citizen and have a right to cast a vote...
Heavens forfend!
What is the world coming to when Democrats can’t stuff ballot boxes with the votes of the dead and of illegal aliens!!!!
There’s a simple solution to this whole mess and it’s one the Democrats pioneered so they can’t say a thing about it.
Every time a person votes, a 4473 style form should be filled out, a NICS check run and upon approval, the person can vote. This is what is used to exercise RKBA... if it’s good enough for exercising one Civil Right, it’s damn good enough to use for the Civil Right to Vote.
This would guarantee one vote per person, it would allow better tracking for voter fraud investigations, and it would eliminate unknown and questionable ballots. Anyone that doesn’t support such a system cannot in good faith support such a system to purchase a firearm and they obviously support voter fraud.
There.
Fixed it for them.
The Democrats use this subject matter to scare blacks into thinking that if this particular law is repealed, then the right of blacks to vote would be repealed. A few years ago, I worked with a young black woman who firmly believed that. It was an election year and that was what she was told by some Democrats. She was very upset and angry that those terrible Republicans would try to take away the voting rights of blacks. I tried to explain it to her, but not sure I got through.
Those of us who wish to get rid of that section of the Voting Rights Act should argue that any party claiming that a state election change is racially or ethnically discriminatory would have every right to bring such a challenge in federal court under the Fourteenth Amendment's "equal protection" clause, which in this instance is the more just alternative to mandatory review of every relevant state statute by the DOJ.
the current issue of “Jet” magazine is trying to scare Black voters by posting this article. The issue is illegal voting, not suppression of minority votes. But to reactionary types this must be an assault on Black. They are unable to realize that illegal votes take away their legitimate votes.
Critical thinking should be taught and honed.
the current issue of “Jet” magazine is trying to scare Black voters by posting this article. The issue is illegal voting, not suppression of minority votes. But to reactionary types this must be an assault on Black. They are unable to realize that illegal votes take away their legitimate votes.
Critical thinking should be taught and honed.
Brought out quite a heated discussion on when does a law become or does it become extinct.
We actually called the mayors office threatened to drive a few pigs down town with news people following. Made our point and the community had some good laughs.
“Injustice,Exposing the Racial Agenda of the Obama Justice Department” by J Christian Adams, Rgenery 2011
In response, we Republicans should get out our pocket-size copies of the Constitution and read them the Fifteenth Amendment, Section 1: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. And we can add that it was a heavily Republican Congress that passed that Amendment with the required super-majorities and sent it on to the states for ratification.
Furthermore, anyone who thinks he or she is denied the right to vote by a state simply because of skin color has every right to file suit in federal court on the basis of the Fifteenth Amendment as well as the "equal protection" clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
I was just thinking about that local law you mentioned: wasn't it discriminatory because pigs got a raw deal compared to other animals? Real pork-barrel legislation!
I like your thinking.
The VRA has outlived its usefulness.
What we need is an act that prevents states from leaving dead and illegal voters on the rolls. Voter registration lists need to be renewed as often as every 4 years. I would prefer that a person have to register for each and every election separately and in person.
Jeepers. Thanks for the ping!
Our DL now has a picture that can be used for facial recognition. No glasses and no smiles.
Good news is there are no more buses coming from Chicago and traveling to numerous stops. (Which is why they've created a new way to beat the system: Our university students.) College Republican groups are working hard to stop that loophole this election.
Thanks justiceseeker93.
Thanks for your help.
I'm guessing that's because the Chicago people can't get the photo voter ID card?
I've been under the strong impression that voting fraud made the difference for Obama to win Indiana in a close race (<1% difference vs. McCain) in 2008. Similar for North Carolina.
...they've created a new way to beat the system: Our university students.
I presume that would be out-of-state university students for the most part, who would vote both in Indiana and in their home state by absentee ballot? Or could in-state students beat the system and vote both in their college towns and their home residences with different ID cards?
A 4473 is the form that is filled out by a buyer who wishes to purchase a firearm through a Federal Firearms Licensee. The form is used to positively identify the purchaser and allow the FFL (seller) to give the appropriate information to the FBI for...
The NICS check... (National Instant Check System) is a result of the Brady law that allows the Government to assess the status of the buyer of the firearm. If the person is prohibited, they are denied the purchase. this system could easily be used to verify status for voting and to verify if the person has voted already or not. It would also be able to be used to assess the status of life of the person... Or keep the dead from voting.
RKBA is Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Since it has been deemed acceptable for a background check and form for purchasing a firearm which is a Fundamental Civil Right, there should be absolutely no issue with it being used for the Civil Right of Voting.
Anyone who has a problem with it for voting must support voter fraud. If they don’t like it, then they need to get rid of it for purchasing a firearm.
Out of State students voting...If you look at the election map of Indiana the areas BO won were the state college towns where students could use their university IDs as their photo ID. SInce ID had to have current address, it was techinically legal. Our state Universities are not building housing. Students live off campus in apartment or rental properties. We have many students coming from the coasts as our out-of-state fees are cheaper than their local colleges at home. My answer raise the fees.
Actually, the VRA is unconstitutional on its face.
The only constitutional basis for acting against a State on voting laws is the 14th Amendment, which supplies only one remedy and spells out what it is -- there is no language in 14A enabling Congress to "roll your own".
I like your "sauce for the gander is sauce for the goose" reasoning and brio, but it may be that the Brady checks, on inspection, might fail the 2A smell test: "shall not be infringed".
Actually, RKBA is more protected and fundamental than the exercise of suffrage, since the latter was only gradually extended to outgroups. It's quite possible, as it was in the past, to be said to enjoy the full BoR without being given the franchise. Children and incompetent persons are modern examples of such persons.
This has already happened in Texas. Faculty of Prairie View A&M University, a "traditionally black university", have encouraged resident students to register to vote in Waller County, Texas, and turn the "excessively white" government officeholders out of office and take over the county. Waller being a small county, this is feasible.
Even if they did not have an actual majority, by voting as a coherent bloc (as per a 1994 study by three Michigan State academic poli-sci professors published in the peer-reviewed journal of their discipline) they can "capture" 100% of the officeholders and compel them to gee and haw to the students' (faculty's) political leanings.
This threshold is usually reached when a bloc-voting minority reaches 20% of the electorate. When that level is reached by any bloc, all elective officeholders become the bloc's playthings -- unless the rest of the electorate openly began to vote as if they were all in the Klan, just to knock down the minoritarian bullies.
We had the same situation in VA in ‘08. And similar circumstances to IN.
In our case, students from NY/NJ and all of New England who attend VA colleges were encouraged to register and vote here. Their votes aren’t needed to carry the electoral votes at home, but certainly help to sway ‘purple’ states in the D direction. I imagine students from IL attending IN schools did the same thing.
That’s exactly why I bring it up. See, if the Dems scream about it over voting, they have to agree to get rid of it over the 2nd. If they can’t do that, then we push to have it passed for voting. Then one way or another, it’ll end up in front of SCOTUS and we begin the deconstruction of the 1968 Gun Control Act. It’s a win/win for us all around.
Certainly, the Obama DOJ would use the Voting Rights Act to reject as "racist" any attempt by the Texas legislature to encourage the Prairie View students to vote in their home towns.
Actually ours were from the same area NY,NJ and the states around that area. Some thought they were organized and registered while they were still at home.
Over state voter fraud?
Their grandparents (snow birds) vote twice, why shouldn’t they.
Very true, and the 'Rats strategized to take advantage of those demographics.
Now that the GOP controls the Virginia legislature and the state executive, does it have any plans to counteract that strategy with appropriate legislation? Or does the state GOP presume that the college students will be much less enthusiastic about voting for Zero this time around?
Maybe a few hundred flyers should be posted at state universities stating the penalties of voter fraud.
“IF YOU ARE NOT A RESIDENT, THIS IS WHAT YOU’LL FACE!”
We would all have to contact the SOS of our states to see what state laws are.
I know the students’ registrations were challenged by some local registrars in VA back in ‘08. IIRC, state law requires voters to be, or intend to be, permanent residents. The then-Dem leadership in the state allowed a broader, more liberal interpretation of ‘permanent resident.’ Surprise! Surprise!
What the current Republican legislature/administration in Richmond is doing, I have no idea, but it’s safe to assume nothing. I contacted folks going back to late ‘08 and heard back nada. So I assume it’s not important to them.
You are ABSOLUTELY right!
Great post!
BINGO!
Well said!
Absolutely! Now tell me why our state attorneys general have not challenged the thing in court?
The Law was extended another 25 years with this signature.
27 July 2006
Of course. And since Texas has no authority to police the students in their home States, then therefore under Obama they are entitled to vote as many times as they can invent or counterfeit voting credentials in multiple States.
But Williams, the Fox news analyst and author of books on the civil rights movement, said some Republicans seem almost eager to go after the Voting Rights Act.
“When you have hard evidence of a past practice and you say you still don’t buy into it, then there does come a point where you say: ‘What is this really about? Repressing the minority vote?’” Williams said in an interview.
Williams said he thinks the current round of doubts about the law is also fueled by a perception that voter fraud is rampant, particularly in inner cities and areas with larger concentrations of minorities.
“There’s a racial element to this,” he said.
Same old same-old. Williams knows the score; he just wanted to sound more thoughtful and perceptive when he stood up and yelled, "Cracka cracka cracka!!!"
Guess what. You're all racists for ever, no matter what.
Well, thank you, sir!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
