Posted on 01/28/2020 9:12:05 AM PST by yesthatjallen
A federal court has ruled Arizona Republicans’ ban on mail-in ballots is illegal and unconstitutional, calling it intentionally discriminatory toward people of color, who already face increased barriers to voting.
The ruling is a major victory for the Democratic party, which filed the suit, and will likely make it easier for minorities to get their ballots counted in the largely red state.
Four years ago, Arizona Republicans made it a felony, punishable by prison time, for third-party groups to collect mail-in ballots during elections – a process often called “ballot harvesting.”
Marginalized communities in the state may rely more on ballot harvesting, the court noted. Native Americans, for example, benefit significantly from third-party ballot collection efforts because just 18% of registered voters have mail service at home, and reservations can be far from polling stations. Some minority communities also have widespread distrust in the mailing system: in San Luis, a city that is 98% Hispanic, a major highway separates 13,000 residents from the nearest post office.
“The adverse impact on minority communities is substantial. Without ‘access to reliable and secure mail services,’ and without reliable transportation, many minority voters ‘prefer instead to give their ballots to a volunteer’,” the court said. And Hispanics and Native Americans make up nearly 37% of the state’s population – promising to be a key demographic in this year’s presidential election.
The ruling noted that the Republican effort to restrict third-party ballot collection appeared to be part of a longstanding effort to suppress black, Hispanic and Native American votes. Republicans passed a similar law in 2011, but abandoned the effort after a state election official admitted that the measure was designed to target voting activity in Hispanic areas.
SNIP
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
Remember that in one state, a republican did ballot harvesting, and the democrats had the entire election thrown out, requiring a special election (which a republican won anyway).
Ho-hum. They think brown people are incompetent boobs.
More vote fraud being facilitated.
“””””’calling it intentionally discriminatory toward people of color, who already face increased barriers to voting.””””””””
Gee, no bias there.
Ballot harvesting is fraud waiting to happen, in the absense of very good fraud detection schemes, which are mostly unused in our elections.
For example, we could inspect the ballots of all harvesters, and verify that each ballot has different handwriting, and a reasonable mix of votes.
We could also require harvesters to turn in ballots a month early, and mail the ballot information to the people who supposedly voted, and ask them to return the ballot with their signature, to prove they actually wanted to vote that way.
What this ruling says: Everybody knows that Latino and Hispanics can’t show up to vote in person like normal..............
What nonsense.
If you have to cross under or over a highway to reach a post office, you are disenfranchised? By what definition? Other than those who are informed with no direct home service, what justification can you possible come up with for ballot harvesting?
If Native American’s don’t have mail service, who’s fault is that? Are not their reservations their “sovereign land”? Seems to me that if I were an elder, this would be kind of a priority to make happen in some capacity? Especially since the vast majority of them are over 100 years old...
How CA Dems wiped out Republicans in 2018. Ballot harvesters. Massive voter fraud. Keep counting until you win.
This decision is a dire threat to AZ Republicans.
so, the Federal court concluded that “people of color” are so handicapped that they are unable to mail a letter without help ...
“A federal court has ruled...”
Federal courts don’t have jurisdiction over state elections. Just tell them to **** off already.
Mail-in ballots are a mechanism for vote fraud. Therefore, any efforts to oppose the practice is “unconstitutional.”
Infirmed, not informed.
“They think brown people are incompetent boobs.”
Well, had Warren been more than 1/64th Indian...she would fit the stereotype.
As it is she is just a honky ding dong.
A question about mail-in ballots: Are the ballots not verified to correspond to a particular legal voter? If not, how could any court rule that mail-ins are legal?
We must fight this.
It makes a laughingstock of integrity of the vote.
Playing by the rules within the law is not voter suppression of any honest minority people.
Are they asking for special, illegal extra votes to make up for past injustices in voting, as the guilty OJ Simpson being declared not guilty? That doesn’t work. It is cheating.
Dems are out to declare the 2020 victory of Trump and GOP House and Senate illegitimate. Then call for violent overthrow of what they call the illegitimate election of a cheater. That should horrify most Americans.
The left is the cheater group. They are projecting.
May tagline is more meaningful than ever.
What is the name of the Obama judge that made this farce of a decision?
What is the name of the Obama judge that made this farce of a decision?
They’ve been ballot harvesting all along even though it was illegal. There’s nobody investigating people to see if they’re breaking that law.
[[A federal court has ruled Arizona Republicans’ ban on mail-in ballots is illegal and unconstitutional,]]
How about a federal judge soemwhere rule that the impeachment was illegal and unconstitutional like Patrick Philbin pointed out distinctly in his senate trial speech yesterday?
Ah, thats’ right- the law only applies to republicans
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