The Supreme Court made a ruling, and the author is unhappy. So what. Why don't you provide the Court's reasons for the ruling. You won't because it would undermine your opinion. The problem with reporters like you Mr. Berman, is you present only one side of the facts, and your readers are not able to read the entire story. Your bias distorts the facts. You have 'rigged' the news - with your opaqueness and omission of the facts.
How does the GOP expect to win the hearts and minds of Americans if it allows only those voters who are not against it to vote in elections? How does that fit with a government that represents all the people? Do they remember what happens to governments that don't represent enough of their citizens or respect their citizens? There are some recent examples that come to mind: Romania, Russia in the early 20th century, Yugoslavia after Tito's death. Then again they could look at the French Revolution and our own against England.
Revolutions happen for a reason. They don't happen out of thin air. If the GOP feels that the only real Americans are people who vote for them they might consider moving to another country where people are forced to vote for the "right" candidate or have no candidate to vote for. North Korea comes to mind.
Revolutions happen for a reason. They don't happen out of thin air. If the GOP feels that the only real Americans are people who vote for them they might consider moving to another country where people are forced to vote for the "right" candidate or have no candidate to vote for. North Korea comes to mind.
6
If a Trump nominee is the deciding vote to finally realize Roberts' decades long racist dream of destroying the Voting Rights Act it will be the final nail in the legitimacy of the Supreme Court. There will be no way to defend it against charges of partisanship and hackery.
No Trump nominee should be seen as anything but illegitimate and no decision that justice participates in should be allowed to stand for long. Frankly Roberts deserves impeachment over his voting rights decisions, he has a clear conflict of interest, but in the face of timid Democrats and ideological partisan republicans, that won't happen.
No Trump nominee should be seen as anything but illegitimate and no decision that justice participates in should be allowed to stand for long. Frankly Roberts deserves impeachment over his voting rights decisions, he has a clear conflict of interest, but in the face of timid Democrats and ideological partisan republicans, that won't happen.
1
Still with these articles????
It's over. Everyone who wanted to vote, did.
We have the results. Stop crying about it already.
It's over. Everyone who wanted to vote, did.
We have the results. Stop crying about it already.
Now that the GOP is in total control, they can also "rig" the system with more gerrymandering. It will be more and more difficult for a Democrat to win office. This is just un-American. What is the old quote about when Fascism comes it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross? Welcome to the end of our Republic.
3
They don't see it as a moral issue. The Republicans see it as a "tactic" to use to win.
Their objective is to win, not play fair. So we have gerrymandering, voter ID, elimination of voting centers, shorter voting periods, etc.
Doesn't seem to be an issue to their supporters though. Wonder why?
Their objective is to win, not play fair. So we have gerrymandering, voter ID, elimination of voting centers, shorter voting periods, etc.
Doesn't seem to be an issue to their supporters though. Wonder why?
2
Voting rights to Rump means voting Right, for him that is.
With yesterday's dressing down of the media, Rump is already exhibiting the narcissistic traits of the demagogue, thinking his minority popular vote denotes a mandate.
Rump was a dangerous threat as a candidate. All those silly people at the NYTimes and long-established government stalwarts warned the electorate of Rump. The masses ignored them, decided they knew better. What harm can anyone really do to this republic of ours, they figured. How much harm can anyone person do? Anyone who asks that is in for a rude awakening. Don't bother complaining when you finally do awake to this impending disaster. Your moans and groans will fall on deaf ears.
DD
Manhattan
With yesterday's dressing down of the media, Rump is already exhibiting the narcissistic traits of the demagogue, thinking his minority popular vote denotes a mandate.
Rump was a dangerous threat as a candidate. All those silly people at the NYTimes and long-established government stalwarts warned the electorate of Rump. The masses ignored them, decided they knew better. What harm can anyone really do to this republic of ours, they figured. How much harm can anyone person do? Anyone who asks that is in for a rude awakening. Don't bother complaining when you finally do awake to this impending disaster. Your moans and groans will fall on deaf ears.
DD
Manhattan
3
Now we're going to see a rigged election? We just did. Read Greg Palast, Rolling Stone Magazine, or Google Crosscheck voter suppression. Then search for the interview with Trump's head of IT who volunteered they had plans for three types of voter suppression. This came out just before Comey's letter drowned the story. Google Diebold virus fraud on YouTube and you'll get several nice demontrations, including one that makes shocked electoral officials cry. And don't forget ballot dumping and Diebold chicanery in Ohio 2004. For this, I refer you to a Rolling Stone article by Kennedy. And check out Democracy Now! They have been very good about covering stories the Times does not. And once you do your research, demand a full-blown investigation - by Congress, by the Fourth Estate, and by our elected representatives.
Folks, the reason Donald Trump prevailed in this election is because we're not paying attention. The vote has been stolen again and again by corrupt election officials in Republican-governed states. If Congress won't investigate, and the Fourth Estate turns a blind eye, the only recourse is to rally the electorate and vote en masse in such numbers that the outcome cannot be denied.
Folks, the reason Donald Trump prevailed in this election is because we're not paying attention. The vote has been stolen again and again by corrupt election officials in Republican-governed states. If Congress won't investigate, and the Fourth Estate turns a blind eye, the only recourse is to rally the electorate and vote en masse in such numbers that the outcome cannot be denied.
9
Mr. Berman seems to want us to believe that Secretary Clinton's loss was due to voter restrictions. While in some part this may be true, he fails to mention the real reason and that the black voter turn out was much lower for Secretary Clinton than for President Obama. If you listen to interviews of black voters or read post election articles, it's clear that they did not feel that Hillary Clinton was any different that previous politicians. She didn't do an especially strong job in reaching out to the African American voters and although she campaigned basically on Obama's platform she's not President Obama. I believe if he were able to run for a third term the turn out would have been much higher and he would have won a third term. The blame for Trump winning the election can be placed squarely on the Democratic party and Hillary Clinton.
1
It is ironic that the Right is trying to kill democracy while arguing that they are upholding the Constitution.
6
Fifty years after the Voting Rights Act was passed, it has essentially been killed - and it's quite clear that the issues that led to its creation, which were around for an entire century before it was passed, are still in full effect.
3
We never had voting rights, it's all one big scam
From both parties gerrymandering district, to both parties controlling the voting process and rules design for the 1800 and not a modern world. From the Press in a hurry to declare a winner, but how Phoeniz AZ allow had 500,000 un counted for a week, CA had how many millions of uncounted vote and this is just 2 states, but yet every state and the press called a winner for each state.
Our voting process is a national disgrace, how come we can't issue a call with 16-20 number like a credit card where anyone can call or use the internet, go down and standing in line when we have a voting block of 100 million plus and we expect this to happen in a day.
Please the voting process in nothing by a scam control by the corrupt press and 2 morally damage parties that soul their soul to anyone who will give them a dollar.
Both Republican and Democrat have failed this country long enough, its time to line them up against the fire and execute them for treason against the people
From both parties gerrymandering district, to both parties controlling the voting process and rules design for the 1800 and not a modern world. From the Press in a hurry to declare a winner, but how Phoeniz AZ allow had 500,000 un counted for a week, CA had how many millions of uncounted vote and this is just 2 states, but yet every state and the press called a winner for each state.
Our voting process is a national disgrace, how come we can't issue a call with 16-20 number like a credit card where anyone can call or use the internet, go down and standing in line when we have a voting block of 100 million plus and we expect this to happen in a day.
Please the voting process in nothing by a scam control by the corrupt press and 2 morally damage parties that soul their soul to anyone who will give them a dollar.
Both Republican and Democrat have failed this country long enough, its time to line them up against the fire and execute them for treason against the people
1
If you are not a person who voted for Trump, he has no interest in preserving your franchise. Trump has no principles that go against his personal and immediate needs, he is never going to sacrifice anything for anyone outside his actual family. Trump represents that most heroic of figures, the selfish man who by pursuing his own interests serves as the source of prosperity and goodness for everyone else, kind of like Ayn Rand's heroes and Marxist-Leninist' Soviet Man who will bring about the end of history with the perfectly ordered and functioning world without any state or laws or courts, etc -- Marx's workers' paradise. We keep our rights by keeping our country one where laws not men control our government. There will always be people who will try to cheat the system and weaken legal constraints upon them, and everyone else will have to work to keep to the principle of liberty and justice for all.
2
The voting rights laws that were passed were the best that were politically possible at the time.
They were possible then because they targeted the "bad" places, making the "good" places feel superior and supportive. In fact the bad places were openly really bad, the Jim Crow South.
However, the supposedly good places were not really all that good, just better than Jim Crow.
Now the bad places are better, but still not as good as the "good" places that are still bad themselves and just as self righteous about it as ever. In many ways, the good places have gotten worse, as code word campaigning and voter exclusion has been perfected by those who use them, and not just in the bad places.
The problem the Court had with the voting rights laws was discriminatory treatment of some places that are not longer quite as bad as they were.
The answer is to apply the same voting rights laws everywhere.
We can start with widely agreed upon needs, like trustworthy voting machines and methods, and minimum standards for voter registration and "purging," enforced in all places.
They were possible then because they targeted the "bad" places, making the "good" places feel superior and supportive. In fact the bad places were openly really bad, the Jim Crow South.
However, the supposedly good places were not really all that good, just better than Jim Crow.
Now the bad places are better, but still not as good as the "good" places that are still bad themselves and just as self righteous about it as ever. In many ways, the good places have gotten worse, as code word campaigning and voter exclusion has been perfected by those who use them, and not just in the bad places.
The problem the Court had with the voting rights laws was discriminatory treatment of some places that are not longer quite as bad as they were.
The answer is to apply the same voting rights laws everywhere.
We can start with widely agreed upon needs, like trustworthy voting machines and methods, and minimum standards for voter registration and "purging," enforced in all places.
2
every citizen of the US should be allowed to vote, even if you are a felony, that said you must be out of jail. ID should be required. I have to show picture ID to visit a doctor so picture ID should not be a problem to show to vote.
2
Why are you commenting in the "present tense"? There are few, if any "voting rights" left now that the Trump Express has shown it's face. Have you not been reading all the reports of those who were barred, or prevented in other ways? The Republicans are still very skillful at the Game of Politics.
2
Pay attention to what is happening in the NC Governor's race.
2
This column tells us why it'd be beneficial for the USA if President Obama made a recess appointment of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court.
In fact, President Obama has NEVER had all allowable political appointments filled because the Republican Congress has been unrelenting in opposition. Its evident that President-Elect Donald Trump may not be ready to fill some of those openings until 2018. President Obama can help President-Elect Trump by making recess appointments for every single vacant office during the Christmas Break. If he does so, then the Obama administration will have all had all offices filled for just three weeks -- out of 415 weeks served as our President. Moreover, recess appointment for the 103 District Court vacancies will help our federal judiciary to serve us all in the future.
http://www.uscourts.gov/judges-judgeships/judicial-vacancies/current-jud...
In fact, President Obama has NEVER had all allowable political appointments filled because the Republican Congress has been unrelenting in opposition. Its evident that President-Elect Donald Trump may not be ready to fill some of those openings until 2018. President Obama can help President-Elect Trump by making recess appointments for every single vacant office during the Christmas Break. If he does so, then the Obama administration will have all had all offices filled for just three weeks -- out of 415 weeks served as our President. Moreover, recess appointment for the 103 District Court vacancies will help our federal judiciary to serve us all in the future.
http://www.uscourts.gov/judges-judgeships/judicial-vacancies/current-jud...
4
The Court over ruled Obamas recess appointments before because the Senate has refused to recess- they leave a few members to gavel in and out every three days.
Expect over the next 2\4 years everything that can be done, will be.
SO;
~ if it takes travelling huge distances to get to a polling station to vote
~ If it takes, taking off work for the day to vote
~ If it takes waiting in line all day
~ If it takes checking, rechecking and checking again to be on the roll
~ if it takes paying for all of the new ID
~ If it takes voting for a candidate that is not perfect, but close to you
THEN DO IT !
SO;
~ if it takes travelling huge distances to get to a polling station to vote
~ If it takes, taking off work for the day to vote
~ If it takes waiting in line all day
~ If it takes checking, rechecking and checking again to be on the roll
~ if it takes paying for all of the new ID
~ If it takes voting for a candidate that is not perfect, but close to you
THEN DO IT !
4
Free speech, the right to vote, will both be under severe pressure. Gun rights? be ready for basic registration laws to evaporate.
1
This is what it always has been - an effort to maintain power regardless of democratic principles. Gerrymandering obviously isn't enough - the vote of the "others" must be suppressed. And this will be done in the name of "democracy" and preserving the integrity of our Republic. The dictator will come wrapped in the flag, singing hymns and offering to keep us safe from "evil-doers".
Perhaps, however, this is where well meaning billionaires can do some real good - put together a fund that will provide transportation nationally for voting, and if a for-cost ID is required, then the can cover that as well. If our billionaires are really interested in leaving their monies for a lasting legacy, what would be a better place than preserving a viable democracy in the face of encroaching fascism.
Perhaps, however, this is where well meaning billionaires can do some real good - put together a fund that will provide transportation nationally for voting, and if a for-cost ID is required, then the can cover that as well. If our billionaires are really interested in leaving their monies for a lasting legacy, what would be a better place than preserving a viable democracy in the face of encroaching fascism.
1
The Republicans have a very effective propaganda machine that allows them to control government in spite of the fact that they have no agenda relating to the welfare of the people, just the opposite. Most of what Trump had to say was falsehoods or outright lies. During all this, the Democrats remain more or less mute. They need to be far more vocal in calling out the Republicans for their deviousness. Something is amiss when they can continue to lose the popular vote and still win the elections.
2
US voting percentage this year was c. 58%. Australia's is c. 94%. We should not be satisfied with our non-system until we devise something that makes it easy for our citizens to register and participate at a rate like Australia's.
4
http://projects.aljazeera.com/2014/double-voters/index.html
New York Times please reveal the scam that is Crosscheck, which was designed by Kris Kobach, and implemented after the gutting of the Voting Rights Act. Crosscheck threw away ballots of people who appeared on a list as voting twice, just for having similar names. This is beyond vote suppression. This election was stolen.
New York Times please reveal the scam that is Crosscheck, which was designed by Kris Kobach, and implemented after the gutting of the Voting Rights Act. Crosscheck threw away ballots of people who appeared on a list as voting twice, just for having similar names. This is beyond vote suppression. This election was stolen.
6
Colpow speaks the truth here!
2
Did vote suppression cost Clinton the election given how close the vote was in WI, MI and PA? Who is studying this?
3
The question of voter suppression in NC and FL and OH, too. How many people were purged from rolls because they hadn't voted "recently" enough? How many people were discouraged from voting because polling places had been moved some distance away or because there were long lines?
These things may be difficult to measure, but the country needs some nonpartisan attempt to make the best measurements possible.
These things may be difficult to measure, but the country needs some nonpartisan attempt to make the best measurements possible.
4
"After this year, the party that claimed the election was rigged will be the one doing the real rigging." Unfortunately, true. The age of Trump is the age of domination of all branches of the federal government by the GOP and domination of a majority of the states by the same people. Their devotion to the constitution and to law and justice are shown to be hollow and hypocritical. Where are the thoughtful, rational Republicans of yesteryear? Dead or Rino-ed? Save American Democracy? SAD!
2
Just the next step in taking us back to 1938. We will all have papers and be required to show them to the brown shirts
1
Republicans began the BIG CHEAT years ago, as they moved to "adjust" the voting lows in red states, with the help of the Supreme Court. Those who failed to vote, or voted third party, helped this effort along, and Repubs are very grateful. It indicates that those folks will not complain when they find their rights diminished, as time goes on. I mentioned, a couple of times, pre-election, that people should get out there and cast their informed votes, just in case it would be the last time they had the opportunity. I stand by that comment.
2
ChesBay--"...voting LAWS..."
1
Every one is railing against liberalism, identity politics etc. And yet, when voting rights are denied to citizens of a certain 'identity' the GOP is down with that. So how can we NOT identify those citizens who are being denied their civil right and help them while being called a 'liberal'?
Everyone needs to get a grip. It is time to stop pointing fingers - It's YOUR fault - and stop with studying the polls. None of that matters.
All citizens whatever you want to call yourself need to come together to fight Trump and his presidency at every turn. We can unite under the simple and clear ideal of fighting for American democracy defined as equality and justice for all.
At this point we don't need infighting about who (blacks, women, gays, the poor, white lower class) because when we fight for those common core decent values all will be elevated. We need to unite against white supremacy and racism under Trump.
Everyone needs to get a grip. It is time to stop pointing fingers - It's YOUR fault - and stop with studying the polls. None of that matters.
All citizens whatever you want to call yourself need to come together to fight Trump and his presidency at every turn. We can unite under the simple and clear ideal of fighting for American democracy defined as equality and justice for all.
At this point we don't need infighting about who (blacks, women, gays, the poor, white lower class) because when we fight for those common core decent values all will be elevated. We need to unite against white supremacy and racism under Trump.
Without universal promotion and protection of voting rights in your country you do not have a country - more a chaotic assembly of banana republics and decent states, now overseen by a chief banana, Donald J Trump.
2
Ari Berman closes this article with the observation that, "After this year, the party that claimed the election was rigged will be the one doing the real rigging." As he has well-documented in The Nation over the past couple of years, however, the Republicans were busy rigging elections immediately following the Shelby decision.
And while I am glad to see the NYT publishing this article, I note two things: why wasn't the mainstream news media covering this more vigorously *before* the election? And why, when one of the news outlets finally *does* publish something about it, is it still a non-mainstream writer (Berman) who authors the piece? Does the NYT not feel the need to have one of its own writers on the story, still?
And while I am glad to see the NYT publishing this article, I note two things: why wasn't the mainstream news media covering this more vigorously *before* the election? And why, when one of the news outlets finally *does* publish something about it, is it still a non-mainstream writer (Berman) who authors the piece? Does the NYT not feel the need to have one of its own writers on the story, still?
1
Always astonished that Democrats want people to vote without showing any ID, or anything at all. With no ID check, anyone who is here in the USA can vote, as long as they show up at the polls. Anyone with one iota of common sense understands why this is a problem, and it's obvious why the dems want this, so illegal aliens, non citizens, travelers, etc can vote. Ridiculous non-rules like this and sanctuary cities create a backlash of common sense, and this is exactly why Trump won. When will the left learn?
4
Conflate, conflate, conflate. You still have to register and your name still has to be listed on the voter rolls if you want to vote. Some states will allow you to cast a provisional ballot if your name is not listed, but election officials still check to see if the provisional ballot was cast by an eligible voter before it is counted. The fact is that cases of impersonation voter fraud are almost non-existent. If the right was interested in furthering the aims of our participatory democracy, they would be making voting easier instead of harder. However, the right has learned that voter suppression works for them; democracy be damned.
1
Study after study has shown that in person voter fraud is as rare as hens teeth. Viral email after viral email swamp right wing Facebook groups with lurid claims of rampant voter fraud, which any clown can compose and many clowns do just that. Our courts should require states making voting harder to prove there is a need for government photo I.D.s before approving the changes.
I have been a volunteer registering voters in Virginia since 2004, the claim that non citizens, visitors to the country are lining up to vote is bull pucky. Line one on a voter registration form requires affirming your citizenship under pain of deportation or arrest. Actual humans take that seriously and do not fill out the form, the insidious pretend humans of viral emails line up in droves to break the law. In practice, non citizens openly tell us they are not yet citizens. I know people like you quantumtangles won't believe that, but we Democrats have actual proof of that and all you have are viral emails and fake news articles.
PS, In Virginia we have always required voter I.D., what had changed is what is accepted as I.Ds and many do not possess the newly required form of photo identifications.
I have been a volunteer registering voters in Virginia since 2004, the claim that non citizens, visitors to the country are lining up to vote is bull pucky. Line one on a voter registration form requires affirming your citizenship under pain of deportation or arrest. Actual humans take that seriously and do not fill out the form, the insidious pretend humans of viral emails line up in droves to break the law. In practice, non citizens openly tell us they are not yet citizens. I know people like you quantumtangles won't believe that, but we Democrats have actual proof of that and all you have are viral emails and fake news articles.
PS, In Virginia we have always required voter I.D., what had changed is what is accepted as I.Ds and many do not possess the newly required form of photo identifications.
1
Question: Which states are the fourteen with new voter restriction statutes, and did any of them give a majority vote to Clinton?
1
Two possible countermeasures:
A federal constitutional right to vote; there is none now, although states have the constitutional right to prevent their citizens from voting. Amending the Constitution might be impossible in such a polarized time. Why doesn’t the Supreme Court infer such a right? It once inferred a constitutional right to privacy, setting the stage for Roe v. Wade.
National ID cards. They could actually integrate and simplify parallel systems for licensing drivers, registering men for selective service, and others. Citizens could choose whether to carry them other than when voting. They should not specify religion, political affiliation, or medical conditions.
A federal constitutional right to vote; there is none now, although states have the constitutional right to prevent their citizens from voting. Amending the Constitution might be impossible in such a polarized time. Why doesn’t the Supreme Court infer such a right? It once inferred a constitutional right to privacy, setting the stage for Roe v. Wade.
National ID cards. They could actually integrate and simplify parallel systems for licensing drivers, registering men for selective service, and others. Citizens could choose whether to carry them other than when voting. They should not specify religion, political affiliation, or medical conditions.
1
Anyone in the U.S. can vote with minimal effort.
Claiming that requiring a voter ID is oppressive is nonsense.
Most Americans were unaware that any early voting existed and planned to vote on Election Day.
Claiming that requiring a voter ID is oppressive is nonsense.
Most Americans were unaware that any early voting existed and planned to vote on Election Day.
3
What makes me even more angry than the vote-suppressing tactics of the Republicans is that they are effective, that people in the targeted groups don't say "like hell you're going to keep me from voting" and do what it takes to qualify and exercise their voting rights in greater numbers than they would have if they hadn't been targeted.
1
Democrats should push for a government issued voting id card for every eligible citizen.
1
Won't matter: Trump now president-for-life. 23rd amendment to be overturned, and, if his popularity dips, Marshal Law - with the full support of GOP (soon to be officially renamed Trump Party). Backed military, FBI and all police departments across the country. Amerika the proud.
4
Voting rights (and civil rights) assurances and advancements will come to a [backside] screeching halt under 3 branch Republican control...just as they have under every Republican dominated government since U.S. Grant.
7
It would seem the Republican establishment is so scared of losing power that they even scrap vital parts of that which Americans in general are proud of, namely democracy.
Who would have thought that adults would to such an extent act as children in the playground? I would say it's time they started acting with the dignity and decency they claim to be a part of the American Way.
Who would have thought that adults would to such an extent act as children in the playground? I would say it's time they started acting with the dignity and decency they claim to be a part of the American Way.
3
The true issue here is not how much voter ID laws and other impediments to voting will effect an election but the simple fact that NO American should be faced with the necessity to deal with barriers put in place to hamper their right to vote. That so many people flip this off with statements that it might shift an election "only" a tiny percent (which could in fact be the determining percentage) or insist that "everyone" has photo ID or that people should volunteer to drive people to the polls is outrageous. The right to vote is sacred to our democracy. At the beginning of our country, only about 6% of the population could vote (almost exclusively white male property owners), but we have worked long and hard to recognize that all of us--of US--should have the right to vote. And yet their are those who do not care that we are now in the process of making it more difficult at best for some people to vote and impossible for others, all in the interest of partisan advantage. How is it possible that so many Americans have become blind to the ideals that, even when imperfectly realized, were an inspiration to a large part of the world. What is WRONG with this country that we now believe it is fine to hold others down in order to gain advantages for ourselves?
33
It's time for a genuinely democratic revolution against the blatantly anti-democratic forces in this country.
1
Another sky is falling piece which contains a number of the writers conclusions based on nothing but his pre-existing bias.
Making the ballot secure and available only to citizens doesn't kill turnout, it enhances the validity of the resulting election so that non-citizens and other unqualified do not influence an election. Why the Democrat-Socialists left have no concern for such matters is obvious, they want power and really do not care in what manner it might be granted. The only rigging going on here is sponsored by the Democrats.
Looking forward to a conservative Supreme Court and maybe over the next four years President Trump can fill another couple of seats there after the Scalia replacement, if the Country could be so fortunate! Jurisprudence might be back on the right track for the next 25-50 years.
Making the ballot secure and available only to citizens doesn't kill turnout, it enhances the validity of the resulting election so that non-citizens and other unqualified do not influence an election. Why the Democrat-Socialists left have no concern for such matters is obvious, they want power and really do not care in what manner it might be granted. The only rigging going on here is sponsored by the Democrats.
Looking forward to a conservative Supreme Court and maybe over the next four years President Trump can fill another couple of seats there after the Scalia replacement, if the Country could be so fortunate! Jurisprudence might be back on the right track for the next 25-50 years.
2
Jurisprudence might be set back 50 years. There, fixed it for ya
4
Wake me up when the Times editorial board comes out clearly and forcefully against the electoral college.
1
This was always the GOP plan. They are not going to let Americans get a shot at ever voting them out. Republicans have got the bit between their teeth, and they intend to run this race until there is not a penny left in the lower economic 90%. After 40 years of elites conspiring to move the country to the right, starting wit the Powell Memorandum, they pulled ou all the stops on this one last election. If they didn't win this, the next Supreme Court Justice would have established a country poised to turn back the clock on economic inequality and supporting the rights on all classes of non-white wealthy males. Trump had to run on what used to be a traditional Democratic platform - more jobs, more infrastructure, affordable healthcare - in order to win.
Now that Trump has conned his way into the Presidency, and Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan control the Congress, the hammer comes down on the American public. What little wealth they have left will be systematically stripped from them and delivered to the top 10% through tax cuts. Medicare and Social Security will be privatized and shrunk to nothing. Americans will be earning starvation wages, as unions are dismantled and the minimum wage is abolished. Huge family fortunes will be made into inherited dynasties. We are about to become the feudal, monarchical nation that our forefathers strove to abolish.
Without a free press or education, all Americans will have left is fake news, alcohol and militarism. Just like Russians.
Now that Trump has conned his way into the Presidency, and Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan control the Congress, the hammer comes down on the American public. What little wealth they have left will be systematically stripped from them and delivered to the top 10% through tax cuts. Medicare and Social Security will be privatized and shrunk to nothing. Americans will be earning starvation wages, as unions are dismantled and the minimum wage is abolished. Huge family fortunes will be made into inherited dynasties. We are about to become the feudal, monarchical nation that our forefathers strove to abolish.
Without a free press or education, all Americans will have left is fake news, alcohol and militarism. Just like Russians.
5
There was an analysis on Meet The Press today of how many counties in Michigan and Wisconsin that voted for Obama in '08 and '12 switched to Trump & how many of these Bernie Sanders won in the Democratic primaries: most of them.
Worry first about the political parties rigging their nominations. The RNC couldn't do it this time. But the DNC did - and thus lost the election instead of going with the stronger candidate. Party elites and rich donors must not be allowed to determine the Democratic nominee next time - or we will lose another election.
If the rank and file cannot wrest control of the Democratic Party back to reflect the needs of the working people, the Democrats will not elect another president - maybe for decades.
Worry first about the political parties rigging their nominations. The RNC couldn't do it this time. But the DNC did - and thus lost the election instead of going with the stronger candidate. Party elites and rich donors must not be allowed to determine the Democratic nominee next time - or we will lose another election.
If the rank and file cannot wrest control of the Democratic Party back to reflect the needs of the working people, the Democrats will not elect another president - maybe for decades.
2
Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by almost two million votes. This is an attempt to make Republicans the winners no matter what. There are many words for this - cheating is one. Rigged is another. Un-American. Discriminatory. Unfair. Undemocratic. Wrong.
4
Good going mid west.
STAND UP! FIGHT BACK!
Join the movement to urge ( Moderate) Republican and independent Electors to cast their Electoral College votes for Clinton.
Join the movement to urge ( Moderate) Republican and independent Electors to cast their Electoral College votes for Clinton.
1
Our country is becoming more embarrassing everyday and it's only going to get worse.
Was hoping Governor Scott Walker would have been dissuaded to run again. But now Wisconsin has given him the green light. Between Voter ID, Right to Work, not accepting Medicaid funding, he'll just keep digger our holes deeper.
Was hoping Governor Scott Walker would have been dissuaded to run again. But now Wisconsin has given him the green light. Between Voter ID, Right to Work, not accepting Medicaid funding, he'll just keep digger our holes deeper.
2
Reporting this now? Why not before the election? This has been a concern for over a year. Oh that's right, because the NY Times was so caught up in the Hillary "email" scandal. What a disservice this newspaper has done to this country. It's nothing short of criminal that this wasn't making headlines all Fall. Shame on the NY Times!
7
Oh, those poor put-upon people who have to acquire an ID. The horrors!
3
Check out the number of DMV closures in states that instituted ID laws.
Check out the closing of polling stations.
Check out the closing of early voting days.
Check out the number of voters wrongly kicked off the voting rolls.
Check out the states that have no paper trail for their notoriously easy to hack electronic voting machines.
Democracy is being killed by a thousand cuts, while you choose to remain ignorant.
Check out the closing of polling stations.
Check out the closing of early voting days.
Check out the number of voters wrongly kicked off the voting rolls.
Check out the states that have no paper trail for their notoriously easy to hack electronic voting machines.
Democracy is being killed by a thousand cuts, while you choose to remain ignorant.
"If the Supreme Court were to adopt Mr. Roberts’s 1981 position today, the country’s most important civil rights law would be effectively dead."
This is not a defect of the Republican's plan, it's a feature. The 2016 election showed Republicans how effective suppression of votes by groups that tend to vote Democratic can be. Expect A LOT more in the future.
This is not a defect of the Republican's plan, it's a feature. The 2016 election showed Republicans how effective suppression of votes by groups that tend to vote Democratic can be. Expect A LOT more in the future.
4
Voting is a right. The most fundamental right. Period. It should be a requirement, like income taxes or auto insurance. Registration should be mandatory, like paying taxes. Do it on line, do it to get a drivers' license, do it by mail. Make it easy to do. There are no valid reasons to restrict registration. Then make voting mandatory. Everyone has to vote. No need for photo IDs if everyone has to vote. Your voting receipt number has to be reported on your tax returns. Lastly, elections for Federal offices have to be supervised by Federal election commissions, and not be subject to state or local rules and whims.
3
These voting rights articles always point out that the documented cases of voter fraud are virtually non-existent. This is almost certainly true. On the flip side, though, why aren't there pages and pages of documented disenfranchised voter stories? Disenfranchisement is described in aggregate impact and not even using numbers, just assumptions of impact on particular groups. It would seem with so many purported disenfranchised people that these stories should be abundant. Does the lack of such stories point more toward lack of motivation than discrimination?
2
I just walked by a bar, today, on my daily walk; the sign said, "NO entry without a Valid ID."
But Oh, anyone can vote with no Valid ID.
Nobody can live in our current society without a Valid ID. I don't understand this. Who is Ari Berman talking about?
But Oh, anyone can vote with no Valid ID.
Nobody can live in our current society without a Valid ID. I don't understand this. Who is Ari Berman talking about?
2
I dunno, but the words "When in the course of human events...Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness." are sounding pretty apt these days.
1
Republicans have increasingly depended on anti-democratic means to win national and state elections, including voter suppression, voter purging and gerrymandering.
The last two Republican presidents have been elected while losing the national popular vote.
Narrow win(s) in pivotal states provided the margin of error.
W. Bush lost the popular vote in 2000 by about half a million votes and was awarded a victory of Florida by the Supreme Court with a margin a 537 votes out of 6 million cast.
George W.'s brother, Jeb, was governor of Florida during the election. He made sure to purge the voter rolls of some 60,000 overwhelmingly African-American voters prior to the election.
This had a direct impact on his brother's election.
One of the attorneys who represent the Bush campaign was John Roberts, later appointed Supreme Court Justice by George W.
He promptly helped gut the Voting Rights Act using a bizarre theory of "racial entitlements" to overturn the express will of Congress.
Secretary Hillary Clinton so far has won 63.5 million votes, surpassing Trump's votes by 1.67 million.
Secretary Clinton is expected to receive nearly as many votes as President Obama did in 2012, but with a 2 million margin of popular vote victory.
The President wasn't elected by the will of the people, and speaks of deporting millions of non-white people, adopting torture and alliances with autocratic nations over longstanding democratic partners.
American democracy is under attack.
The last two Republican presidents have been elected while losing the national popular vote.
Narrow win(s) in pivotal states provided the margin of error.
W. Bush lost the popular vote in 2000 by about half a million votes and was awarded a victory of Florida by the Supreme Court with a margin a 537 votes out of 6 million cast.
George W.'s brother, Jeb, was governor of Florida during the election. He made sure to purge the voter rolls of some 60,000 overwhelmingly African-American voters prior to the election.
This had a direct impact on his brother's election.
One of the attorneys who represent the Bush campaign was John Roberts, later appointed Supreme Court Justice by George W.
He promptly helped gut the Voting Rights Act using a bizarre theory of "racial entitlements" to overturn the express will of Congress.
Secretary Hillary Clinton so far has won 63.5 million votes, surpassing Trump's votes by 1.67 million.
Secretary Clinton is expected to receive nearly as many votes as President Obama did in 2012, but with a 2 million margin of popular vote victory.
The President wasn't elected by the will of the people, and speaks of deporting millions of non-white people, adopting torture and alliances with autocratic nations over longstanding democratic partners.
American democracy is under attack.
4
it's called The Electoral College
The Republicans supporting voter suppression efforts of course know full well that voter ID fraud is virtually nonexistent.
Whatever their other policies, their eagerness to deny the franchise to citizens who might vote the wrong way to my mind disqualifies them from even having a seat at the table of our body politic.
Instead of course they are now in firm control, under a President-elect who displays every evidence of being a clinical sociopath.
God help the United States.
Whatever their other policies, their eagerness to deny the franchise to citizens who might vote the wrong way to my mind disqualifies them from even having a seat at the table of our body politic.
Instead of course they are now in firm control, under a President-elect who displays every evidence of being a clinical sociopath.
God help the United States.
2
There is no Constitutional right to vote. America is a tripartite divided limited power republic. America is not a democracy by dual legislative executive party nor isolated individual.
The Founding Fathers fears regarding the peasant masses democratically voting for their elected representatives was reflected in creation of a republic, the creation of an Electoral College, creation of an undemocratic judicial power, creation of an undemocratic U.S. Senate, denying voters the right to directly elect their Senators and defining persons as people like themselves.
The Age of Trump augurs the return of the Founding Father's socioeconomic political educational elite misogynistic xenophobic white supremacist intent.
The Founding Fathers fears regarding the peasant masses democratically voting for their elected representatives was reflected in creation of a republic, the creation of an Electoral College, creation of an undemocratic judicial power, creation of an undemocratic U.S. Senate, denying voters the right to directly elect their Senators and defining persons as people like themselves.
The Age of Trump augurs the return of the Founding Father's socioeconomic political educational elite misogynistic xenophobic white supremacist intent.
2
Vote-by-mail is the only system that does not allow the deliberate suppression of votes by reducing the number of polling places in minority areas.IT is also impervious to hacking, leaves a written record, and costs less. We have it here n Washington, and it works very well. I want to know the excuses that states give for not allowing it.
4
I never quite understand the purpose of voter ID, to prove citizenship or to prevent someone from voting for someone else? Why some states require voter ID (mostly Republican controlled states) some other states don't? Voting is such important civil right, why don't we have uniform law regarding the right to vote? If voter ID is required, then it should be free. If a state charges a fee for it, it is apparent to deter some voters, especially poor people. If a state requires voter ID then it also needs to make sure that it can be obtained easily, however, it is not so in the states controlled by Republicans. Thus it stands to reason that the voter ID law passed by those states aims at voter suppression. If Jeff Session were to be the Attorney General, we can expect that he would not supporting voting rights, on the contrary, he would cook up all sorts of scheme to further impede the rights in the name of rampant voting fraud. Facts and truths are not important to Trump or Republicans, power and control are.
17
Why is this called "Voting Rights in the Age of Trump" vs. perhaps "Voting Rights At Risk"? Why do I see "Undocumented in Trump's America" (elsewhere today) vs. "Undocumented in America"? You also have "Climate Change in Trump's Age of Ignorance" when "Climate Change in an Age of Ignorance" would be fine.
My point is: This is not "Trump's America" or "Trump's Age" as if, godlike, he owned the continent and the era. Why does the NYTimes aggrandize him? Why do you weary and confuse your readers with making everything Trump, Trump, and more Trump? He doesn't pull all strings; and we who are not Trump are not powerless.
My point is: This is not "Trump's America" or "Trump's Age" as if, godlike, he owned the continent and the era. Why does the NYTimes aggrandize him? Why do you weary and confuse your readers with making everything Trump, Trump, and more Trump? He doesn't pull all strings; and we who are not Trump are not powerless.
1
The way to combat voter suppression is to organize. If a state requires voter ID, we help those who do not have the proper ID to acquire one, make sure they register to vote, bus them if necessary to vote. We also need to fight as hard as we can to prevent laws which aim at voter suppression. Let us turn our anger, and fear into action to safeguard the most fundamental right of every citizen.
23
Many thanks, Mr. Berman, for your coverage of the New Jim Crow-style assault on voting rights. As a lawyer poll observer for many years--some in Ohio and most recently, here in NC, I have seen just about everything designed to keep folks from voting: interminably long lines of two-plus hours, insufficient numbers of voting machines in black and brown communities, and, this past Election day, an unidentified and inexplicable "computer glitch" prohibiting access to electronic polling lists here in Durham county, which is heavily Democratic.
Now I watch in awe as the defeated Republican governor refuses to concede. The rabidly right wing legislature [sic] is considering just declaring him the winner. In addition, these thugs are considering adding two more judges to the state supreme court because a black jurist removed a segregationist who blessed a redistricting plan struck down by federal courts.
God help us all.
Now I watch in awe as the defeated Republican governor refuses to concede. The rabidly right wing legislature [sic] is considering just declaring him the winner. In addition, these thugs are considering adding two more judges to the state supreme court because a black jurist removed a segregationist who blessed a redistricting plan struck down by federal courts.
God help us all.
34
U.S. Citizens of all races and ethnic groups should be able to vote.
But the right to vote is the right to grab America's steering wheel as we drive into the dimly lit, rapidly changing, dangerous, road into the future -- a future of multi-polar global powers, nuclear proliferation, web surveillance, and machine superintelligence. If people don't care enough about the importance of voting to take an hour or two to register -- would any intelligent democracy really want their vote, their grabbing of democracy's collective steering wheel,
If liberals really want a better life for America's under-educated, low IQ voters -- it is necessary that our democracy vote intelligently. One way to do this would be to require each voter to pass an interactive web video course containing a collectively moderated debates about each individual item to be voted on. People who didn't pass the course on a particular ballot item could not vote on that issue. No more than a 6th grade understanding of the presentation would be required, so a vast majority of the underclass could vote if motivated.
This would help enlighten voters and increase their chance of voting in their own true interests.
After the bad joke that was the 2016 presidential race it's time we focuson how to make our democracy intelligent -- and that starts with encouraging responsibility by voters.
But the right to vote is the right to grab America's steering wheel as we drive into the dimly lit, rapidly changing, dangerous, road into the future -- a future of multi-polar global powers, nuclear proliferation, web surveillance, and machine superintelligence. If people don't care enough about the importance of voting to take an hour or two to register -- would any intelligent democracy really want their vote, their grabbing of democracy's collective steering wheel,
If liberals really want a better life for America's under-educated, low IQ voters -- it is necessary that our democracy vote intelligently. One way to do this would be to require each voter to pass an interactive web video course containing a collectively moderated debates about each individual item to be voted on. People who didn't pass the course on a particular ballot item could not vote on that issue. No more than a 6th grade understanding of the presentation would be required, so a vast majority of the underclass could vote if motivated.
This would help enlighten voters and increase their chance of voting in their own true interests.
After the bad joke that was the 2016 presidential race it's time we focuson how to make our democracy intelligent -- and that starts with encouraging responsibility by voters.
3
Yes of course, the Republicans are going to make it harder for people to vote.
Democrats will need to grit their teeth, go and re-register if they are "stripped" from the registry, get an ID if the state enacts such statutes ... etc.
The only way to fight this is to get people registered and to the polls. As annoying as this may be, it's a faint echo of the denial of black voting rights in the south, before the Civil Rights Act.
The Selma Marches of 1965 were instrumental in achieving voting rights for blacks in the south, see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selma_to_Montgomery_marches
Those marches took great courage, but they did overcome. It's not going to take courage on that level to get people registered and to the polls -- it only requires some stubbornness, persistence and organization ... if people want to vote.
Democrats will need to grit their teeth, go and re-register if they are "stripped" from the registry, get an ID if the state enacts such statutes ... etc.
The only way to fight this is to get people registered and to the polls. As annoying as this may be, it's a faint echo of the denial of black voting rights in the south, before the Civil Rights Act.
The Selma Marches of 1965 were instrumental in achieving voting rights for blacks in the south, see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selma_to_Montgomery_marches
Those marches took great courage, but they did overcome. It's not going to take courage on that level to get people registered and to the polls -- it only requires some stubbornness, persistence and organization ... if people want to vote.
1
We are still waiting for the NC Governor's election to be called. Yes candidate Roy Cooper won by almost 7000 votes but Governor McCrory and the Republicans are claiming voter fraud even though they can't prove it, a demand for recounts even though it just adds more votes to Roy Cooper's lead and threats of taking the election results to the NC Republican courts. Voters have no rights in NC and elections don't count.
1
Encourage the recounts- chances are you will find more votes for Cooper and Hillary. I would also encourage you to push for an investigation into the problems with the memory cards for tabulating votes. Have some computer programmers see what they were attempting to do.
Think about this for a moment people. Despite all the real concern about voting rights, civil liberties and other rights the Republicans wish to trash, they could do even further horrendous damage. In addition to the current number of Republican controlled states, according to the constitution, if the Republicans were to gain power in one more state, they would then technically have the power to open up the constitution and make changes.
America, get ready.
America, get ready.
1
It is written - That it takes two-thirds of the state legislatures (equaling 34 currently) to "call for a convention to propose constitutional amendments." Once proposed, it takes three-fourths of the state legislatures (equaling 37 currently) to ratify the purposed amendment, making it part of our federal constitution - as Article V of The Constitution of The United States of America.
If the GOP were to gain one more state legislature, they would be in a position to unilaterally call for a convention to purpose amendments, but still be short of the position to unilaterally ratify constitutional amendments. But if the Republicans should ever gain 37 state legislatures...oy vey.
If the GOP were to gain one more state legislature, they would be in a position to unilaterally call for a convention to purpose amendments, but still be short of the position to unilaterally ratify constitutional amendments. But if the Republicans should ever gain 37 state legislatures...oy vey.
1
We should be concerned with conservative control of our government. Here is why.
* The Destruction of Reason
Conservatism has opposed rational thought for thousands of years. What most people know nowadays as conservatism is basically a public relations campaign aimed at persuading them to lay down their capacity for rational thought.
Conservatism frequently attempts to destroy rational thought, for example, by using language in ways that stand just out of reach of rational debate or rebuttal.
Conservatism has used a wide variety of methods to destroy reason throughout history. Fortunately, many of these methods, such as the suppression of popular literacy, are incompatible with a modern economy. Once the common people started becoming educated, more sophisticated methods of domination were required. Thus the invention of public relations, which is a kind of rationalized irrationality. The great innovation of conservatism in recent decades has been the systematic reinvention of politics using the technology of public relations.
* The Destruction of Reason
Conservatism has opposed rational thought for thousands of years. What most people know nowadays as conservatism is basically a public relations campaign aimed at persuading them to lay down their capacity for rational thought.
Conservatism frequently attempts to destroy rational thought, for example, by using language in ways that stand just out of reach of rational debate or rebuttal.
Conservatism has used a wide variety of methods to destroy reason throughout history. Fortunately, many of these methods, such as the suppression of popular literacy, are incompatible with a modern economy. Once the common people started becoming educated, more sophisticated methods of domination were required. Thus the invention of public relations, which is a kind of rationalized irrationality. The great innovation of conservatism in recent decades has been the systematic reinvention of politics using the technology of public relations.
2
Most Republican solutions to the current issues facing the electorate at large are not very popular. It's always about handing cash to the wealthy in the form of tax reductions. Then telling the rest of us how wonderful our lives will be once we are free from the slavery of Social Security, Medicare and other largely successful programs. In other words it's all about trickle down economics. It didn't work then and it still won't work now. So since they can't get enough people to vote for their candidates, they just try to stop those voters who would vote for progressive candidates. That's how Republicans serve their corporate masters.
Watch the Trump Family's wealth grow exponentially in the next 4 to 8 years,
and those of us left behind, powerless to do anything about it.
Watch the Trump Family's wealth grow exponentially in the next 4 to 8 years,
and those of us left behind, powerless to do anything about it.
2
No Way, No How will the Democrats put up someone as unpalatable as Clinton in 2020 so the small-handed one has at most four years of wheeling 'n dealing under his new title...assuming he doesn't get convicted and booted out of office by the Senate after being impeached by the House.
this farce masquerades as democracy!
The solution can be simple by (1) building a national ID system to verify citizenships; (2) automatic registration; (3) mail-in ballot only. Indeed, Oregon is far ahead! BTW, this is kind of funny to say the least. The rich liberals worry so much about the restrictions but many minorities don't really care to vote. If people don't even care about the consequences, then so be it!
3
While restrictions suppressing voter turnout in key states is clearly a grave problem, the much larger problem is not with people being kept from voting - it's with people being allowed to vote. Allowed to vote, that is, having had their choices culled down to two ultra-rich candidates whose billion dollar campaigns harass us 15 seconds or 140 characters at a time - as long as our attention spans allow - with polarizing rhetoric, sound bytes and lies. This applies to both Clinton and (obviously) Trump.
What's occurring in our country and our political system right now is awful, but we have ourselves to blame. Over decades, we allowed our polarized red-and-blue two party system to dominate more nuanced views. "In or out" and "with or against" carry the day emphatically. Yet I read poll data somewhere recently that something like 70% of voters are 'disgusted with the political process.' This is a logical fallacy - the political process IS THE WAY IT IS because of the electorate's tremendous collective ability to overcome cognitive dissonance, reinforcing its own beliefs instead of challenging them and succumbing to the infotainment that rules our airwaves and social media accounts.
What's occurring in our country and our political system right now is awful, but we have ourselves to blame. Over decades, we allowed our polarized red-and-blue two party system to dominate more nuanced views. "In or out" and "with or against" carry the day emphatically. Yet I read poll data somewhere recently that something like 70% of voters are 'disgusted with the political process.' This is a logical fallacy - the political process IS THE WAY IT IS because of the electorate's tremendous collective ability to overcome cognitive dissonance, reinforcing its own beliefs instead of challenging them and succumbing to the infotainment that rules our airwaves and social media accounts.
2
See the truthdig.org interview with Greg Pallast -- enormous ballot count issues in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina and Florida being ignored by mainstream media. How many ballots were rejected in these states on dubious grounds? In Michigan alone, over 400,000! Needs to be pursued immediately.
1
Name one official act where a citizen does not need identification. The argument that getting such id is too difficult is bogus.
And fraud does occur and no one knows how bad it is.
And fraud does occur and no one knows how bad it is.
1
Many people do not get passports because they are too poor to travel abroad. Once you have registered to vote there is no need for ID. This is a discriminatory practice that hurts the poor and minorities in response to a non existence of voter fraud. The only fraud being perpetrated is by the current republican party that has worked hard to disenfranchise us of our most basic right: the vote
If Hillary Clinton [steward of a charitable trust worth hundreds of millions] and actor George Clooney can arrange $300,000 a plate dinners for an election fundraiser- Certainly they can return to the playing field and organize a massive voter registration effort for 2020. Let them raise money to fund potentially thousands to get their paperwork in order [Birth Certificate, Passport] so they will be able to vote in the next presidential election.
1
So much for democracy! So much for "one man, one vote" (we never even came close.)
Between the electoral college and the FBI, Democratic votes have been rendered worthless. Now minority Democrats will be suppressed from voting. What is the end result when a majority of eligible citizens are denied their right to vote?
Between the electoral college and the FBI, Democratic votes have been rendered worthless. Now minority Democrats will be suppressed from voting. What is the end result when a majority of eligible citizens are denied their right to vote?
1
Why should the identity of the voter even matter? We should protect every American's right to vote. There is an incentive for Democrats to suppress the vote in Republican districts too. Those voters' rights should be protected as well. Obstruction of voting rights should face the same constitutional scrutiny as freedom of religion and contraception.
Perhaps this video from Paul Weyrich will explain things for the right wingers who think photo ID is a good idea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GBAsFwPglw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GBAsFwPglw
If Republican require a photo ID to vote then the US government should all citizens a passport free of charge. That should cover voter rights and the ability to travel.
Two birds with one stone.
Two birds with one stone.
2
Show me your papers please. We are taking giant steps backwards.
With Trump and the Republican Brotherhood in charge what makes you think you'll ever have to vote again?
If people who voted for Trump didn't realize his election would be a repudiation of everything built after World War 2, including advances in civil rights, then they're in for a rude awakening. On the other hand, if that's what they way, well...
Trump and his followers and surrogates are constantly saying NOT TO TAKE TRUMP LITERALLY. Because--WHY?? What kind of President is that who shouldn't be taken literally. Is Trump going to constantly lie, lie, lie and continue to flip-flop and mislead us? Or IMPROVISE the USA into a new Trumpland? We couldn't afford the membership dues!
If we are constantly told NOT to take Trump literally, then how should we
interpret him? Any-way-at-all? Interpretation: Trump is an irresponsible ignoramus, rogue, chronic abuser, incompetent, cheat, liar and flim-flammer who cannot be trusted, cannot be taken literally and should voted down by the Electoral College and run out of this country that he has so flagrantly abused.
If we are constantly told NOT to take Trump literally, then how should we
interpret him? Any-way-at-all? Interpretation: Trump is an irresponsible ignoramus, rogue, chronic abuser, incompetent, cheat, liar and flim-flammer who cannot be trusted, cannot be taken literally and should voted down by the Electoral College and run out of this country that he has so flagrantly abused.
1
Every elector should be required to have a photo ID, regardless, it is an important right, not to be denied without reason or allowed to any non-citizen; convicted felons and illegal aliens should never be permitted to vote. I would be in favor of a surcharge assessed to anyone who failed to vote, without a (to be determined) valid excuse, laziness being no excuse and death always a valid one. Never, in over 75 years, have I seen such a sorry and embarrassing, whining and gnashing of teeth by brain dead, adult juveniles over the losing of an election, even after 8 years of craven fecklessness by the losing Party. The Left-Wing, Big Brother, PC crowd, with open arms and open borders as the main mantra of these effete intellectuals, LOST, which saved our America from certain death.
1
I'm guessing that a fair number of us who did not vote for Donald Trump and his agenda would be more than willing to spend considerable time over the next four years doing whatever is necessary to register voters in states with voting restrictions.
Between now and 2020, we can register a LOT of voters.
As for election day itself, those of us in states that allow early voting could cast our ballots in advance, then travel to a nearby "voter-retstriced" state-- and stand in line for a fellow American who cannot.
Young people could stand in line for the elderly, the strong could stand in line for the weak. Those with flexible schedules could stand in line for those who can't take off half the day in order to vote.
Where there's a will, there's a way.
Between now and 2020, we can register a LOT of voters.
As for election day itself, those of us in states that allow early voting could cast our ballots in advance, then travel to a nearby "voter-retstriced" state-- and stand in line for a fellow American who cannot.
Young people could stand in line for the elderly, the strong could stand in line for the weak. Those with flexible schedules could stand in line for those who can't take off half the day in order to vote.
Where there's a will, there's a way.
1
There are millions of votes that Obama got - twice - that Hillary didn't. If you can prove that disparity is due to voting discrimination and restriction, I'm with you. But I don't see it.
What's urking everyone - myself included - is that Trump won, fair and square. It's not due to voter fraud, or voter restriction, or some other abnormality. Lots of people just went out and voted for him and we who have been voting for decades can't believe it. Given sensitivity in the past to the slightest unpresidential gaffe - how can a guy who clearly came across as a racist weirdo get elected to the most sacred office in American culture?
We keep dredging the bottom for answers but the truth is he did it himself - simply by promising appealing to the sense of dread and insecurity felt by the majority of voters. It wasn't voter suppression. It wasn't an edge from Breitbart or a backlash against the NYT/WP.
He did it himself. Soul search all you want. He won. People I know who voted for him have lost patience with me saying: "At least give him a chance...you're being unfair."
Well, if I gave a 4-year-old the keys to my car and said, "Have at it, son," would I expect a good outcome?
That's the way this feels to me.
Soul search and look for racism as the cause. Blame misogynists.
This is democracy and we got what we asked for.
Some of us aren't going to sleep for four years now. I hope you're happy.
What's urking everyone - myself included - is that Trump won, fair and square. It's not due to voter fraud, or voter restriction, or some other abnormality. Lots of people just went out and voted for him and we who have been voting for decades can't believe it. Given sensitivity in the past to the slightest unpresidential gaffe - how can a guy who clearly came across as a racist weirdo get elected to the most sacred office in American culture?
We keep dredging the bottom for answers but the truth is he did it himself - simply by promising appealing to the sense of dread and insecurity felt by the majority of voters. It wasn't voter suppression. It wasn't an edge from Breitbart or a backlash against the NYT/WP.
He did it himself. Soul search all you want. He won. People I know who voted for him have lost patience with me saying: "At least give him a chance...you're being unfair."
Well, if I gave a 4-year-old the keys to my car and said, "Have at it, son," would I expect a good outcome?
That's the way this feels to me.
Soul search and look for racism as the cause. Blame misogynists.
This is democracy and we got what we asked for.
Some of us aren't going to sleep for four years now. I hope you're happy.
2
The Roberts Court will go down in History alongside the Taney Court. One dealt lightly with Human Liberty while the other deals lightly with Democracy.
1
Oh heck. I think the mostly-male, mostly-white GOP leadership, wit the help of their corporate masters, should just roll the rug back completely-- make it so only white male property owners can vote. Like when America was great-- you know, back in 1787. That will please the originalists among their party. And, that will shut up all the uppity minorities and the nasty women. Why horse around with this incremental stuff? Go YUUUUGE. And BIGLEY.
1
"Recent elections illustrate that when more people vote, Democrats tend to do better, which is why Republicans want to restrict access to the ballot."
How about when more people -- not illegal residents, but only legal citizens -- vote ? I don't think that will favor the democrats or invite republican opposition.
Hopefully the recent appointments by Trump will restore law and order in our country, that has strayed far off what is right and just to its own citizens.
How about when more people -- not illegal residents, but only legal citizens -- vote ? I don't think that will favor the democrats or invite republican opposition.
Hopefully the recent appointments by Trump will restore law and order in our country, that has strayed far off what is right and just to its own citizens.
2
As a liberal, I really don't understand you guys stance on voting requirements.
Instead of constantly complaining about the strict voter ID laws (which BTW, every reasonable person including democrats should not object to - in principle), why not just spend the energy & effort & resources on just getting these people voting cards.
Why is it so difficult to get a government-issued photo ID for so many people - when the same people do get so many others cards for licences, medicare, SS, library cards, credit cards etc etc.
If the law was issued just before an election, one can assume bad intent and complain about it. But not year after year for decades. Sounds as if you guys are interested more in just braying about it and keeping it alive more than actually solving it once and for all.
Instead of constantly complaining about the strict voter ID laws (which BTW, every reasonable person including democrats should not object to - in principle), why not just spend the energy & effort & resources on just getting these people voting cards.
Why is it so difficult to get a government-issued photo ID for so many people - when the same people do get so many others cards for licences, medicare, SS, library cards, credit cards etc etc.
If the law was issued just before an election, one can assume bad intent and complain about it. But not year after year for decades. Sounds as if you guys are interested more in just braying about it and keeping it alive more than actually solving it once and for all.
2
The effect of voter id laws is to unfairly reduce black turnout. But studies indicate that the effect is not big. The consensus is that blacks are harmed between 1%- 4%. Looking at spending state by state, tens of millions have been spent fighting this dispute. A lot of this money has come out of voter-turnout efforts. The spending on Hispanic turnout by La Raza, for example, decreased from $7 million in 2012 to $1.5 million this year. This deep cut to voter turnout initiatives is believed to have reduced the Hispanic vote by as much as 10%.
The moral: we'd rather spend our money fighting the other side than getting the job done.
The moral: we'd rather spend our money fighting the other side than getting the job done.
Here is a thought. Instead of fighting against 'voter id' laws, why not focus on legal ID outreach. Legal ID's will do more than allow people to vote. It will allow them access to many other private and government sponsored programs. No one should be refused a legal ID that can be used for voting and identification. Instead of spending millions (billions) on fighting voter ID, why not mobilize legal and para legal rights facilities to locate and aid individuals in need of a legal ID? Just a thought.
There seems to be an Editorial decision by the New York Times to refuse consideration of the idea that it maybe was rigged this time. That the biggest authoritarian trick of all was to shout "it's rigged" by the team doing the rigging. The end of this article is about watching moves by Trump and the voting rights disenfranchisement folks he will be assembling around him in the future. I have seen Ari Berman on the Joy Reid show and his warning was about things that were done leading up to THIS election. I am afraid that these decisions are lulling us to sleep. How can we "reinvent" the Democratic Party, or prevent injustice in the "future" if we are unable to stand our post now? Being in uncharted territory without precedent is no excuse for refusing to cover, or to diminish and marginalize anyone bringing attention to the subject of a possible RIG this time - as if they are "blaming" or failing to take responsibility for having let down the 100,000 or so working class voters who threw their "Molotov Cocktail" on the American Experiment. Greg Palast's investigations show how hundreds of thousands were purged from voting eligibility via the Kris Kobach Crosscheck Program. The exit poll percentages and digital systems are way off, see "A Truly Fancy Bear" on Medium. Paul Manafort, Jared Kushner's setting up of databases, Russia's cyber war on the DNC, the FBI anti-Clinton strain, the exit polls and the shocking gap of the prediction polls etc. It's not denial to connect dots.
1
Author writes: "These restrictions depressed turnout in key states like Wisconsin, particularly among black voters."
That is a complete fabrication. Hillary Clinton depressed voter turnout in those states.
Note to author: The reader is not inclined to be sympathetic to your argument when you open with a fabrication.
That is a complete fabrication. Hillary Clinton depressed voter turnout in those states.
Note to author: The reader is not inclined to be sympathetic to your argument when you open with a fabrication.
1
Rigged elections?
The Democratic candidate wins the popular vote by 1% but due to a quaint anachronism, the majority of Americans do not get their choice for President.
Rigged Elections?
The Senate is even better. Democrats received almost 6 million votes for the Senate than Republicans but Republicans retain the majority.
Rigged Elections?
Republicans have so gerrymandered the states that House Republicans hold eternal majorities.
Rolling back the voting rights act, creating new voter ID laws under the guise of defending the ballot box from phantom voter fraud and a Supreme Court that has proven itself all too willing to provide a helpful nudge to the home team, unlimited money from anywhere and everywhere due to Citizen's United.
This is not about rigged elections, this is about systemic failure.
Those who dismiss these concerns with "Well, it is the system we have" need to think long and hard about whether they are true beleivers in democracy. If citizens no longer find they system credible, the system loses legitimacy. Without legitimacy, the system falls apart.
The coastal states like California will not continue to bank roll a nation that does not represent them decade after decade. Eventually, unless there is change, states that will clearly be better off on their own, will go off on their own.
The Democratic candidate wins the popular vote by 1% but due to a quaint anachronism, the majority of Americans do not get their choice for President.
Rigged Elections?
The Senate is even better. Democrats received almost 6 million votes for the Senate than Republicans but Republicans retain the majority.
Rigged Elections?
Republicans have so gerrymandered the states that House Republicans hold eternal majorities.
Rolling back the voting rights act, creating new voter ID laws under the guise of defending the ballot box from phantom voter fraud and a Supreme Court that has proven itself all too willing to provide a helpful nudge to the home team, unlimited money from anywhere and everywhere due to Citizen's United.
This is not about rigged elections, this is about systemic failure.
Those who dismiss these concerns with "Well, it is the system we have" need to think long and hard about whether they are true beleivers in democracy. If citizens no longer find they system credible, the system loses legitimacy. Without legitimacy, the system falls apart.
The coastal states like California will not continue to bank roll a nation that does not represent them decade after decade. Eventually, unless there is change, states that will clearly be better off on their own, will go off on their own.
2
Can a successful suit be mounted on the basis that our voting rights are being impinged?
If we are being taxed by reps that don't reflect the voting publics mandate then....yes,sometimes that which should happen does happen.
File a class action suit !
If we are being taxed by reps that don't reflect the voting publics mandate then....yes,sometimes that which should happen does happen.
File a class action suit !
1
The NYTimes could do us all a favor with a bit of calculating, with the results published:
a. % vote for Republican and Democatic House members (total) in each state, compared to the % of seats won. (with a total) Were there more votes for Democrats or Republican House members in this election? Results of Gerrymandering should be visible in this test.
b. Total votes for senators from Republicans and from Democrats. (This one is of course biased by the Constitution since Senators represent states, large or small.)
c. Similar values for each state, to see the impact of state level Gerrymandering.
Voter suppression is a thing, but reducing the power of some votes compared to others by gerrymandering is also an easily measured thing.
Getting voting districts right is hard where right means getting about the same number of voters as each party got in recent elections in each district while respecting local geography and clustering. Thanks to Schwarzenegger, of all people, California attempts to do this with a non-partisan team. Democracy benefits when seats are made as "unsafe" as possible.
We seem to be forgetting as a nation that we want to profit from "the wisdom of crowds" without becoming overwhelmed by "the tyranny of the majority", and certainly not becoming overwhelmed by "the tyranny of the minority".
a. % vote for Republican and Democatic House members (total) in each state, compared to the % of seats won. (with a total) Were there more votes for Democrats or Republican House members in this election? Results of Gerrymandering should be visible in this test.
b. Total votes for senators from Republicans and from Democrats. (This one is of course biased by the Constitution since Senators represent states, large or small.)
c. Similar values for each state, to see the impact of state level Gerrymandering.
Voter suppression is a thing, but reducing the power of some votes compared to others by gerrymandering is also an easily measured thing.
Getting voting districts right is hard where right means getting about the same number of voters as each party got in recent elections in each district while respecting local geography and clustering. Thanks to Schwarzenegger, of all people, California attempts to do this with a non-partisan team. Democracy benefits when seats are made as "unsafe" as possible.
We seem to be forgetting as a nation that we want to profit from "the wisdom of crowds" without becoming overwhelmed by "the tyranny of the majority", and certainly not becoming overwhelmed by "the tyranny of the minority".
1
its not about I.D cards for those of you who insist on carrying that mantra. its about the republicans favouring one constituent over the next, usually (white males) and make it easy for them to vote by having more voting booth in that area and changing the time to cast a ballot in another that would favour one demographic (white males) than the next.
its never been about id its always been about the ability to create a moving target to make it harder for people to vote. for instance republican have been known to put few voting Booths in area that will likely vote against them. what you get isna long line and people not being able to vote.
its never been about id its always been about the ability to create a moving target to make it harder for people to vote. for instance republican have been known to put few voting Booths in area that will likely vote against them. what you get isna long line and people not being able to vote.
1
Hey, America, you keep the Republican Party in power, an evil party that wants, among other things, to suppress minorities from voting, and now you chose a man with no conscience to be your president. Are you aware that he is opening the floodgates for Republican deplorables to poison our government? Are you concerned? Do you care? Is there anyone with a functioning brain out there?
1
Republicans have already "rigged" the elections, as they did this one, through "gerrymandering" and voter intimidation and shortened hours and no early voting (my state, Pennsylvania plays this game) and misinformation.
Mr. Trump's sleight of hand about the election being "rigged" (by liberals) was a smokescreen.
He knew darn well that the fix was in.
Mr. Trump's sleight of hand about the election being "rigged" (by liberals) was a smokescreen.
He knew darn well that the fix was in.
1
Now the votes are in, and Trump got greater support from minorities than Romney or McCain before him. You can read the Washington Post article or look at the raw data.
Trump made gains among blacks. He made gains among Latinos. He made gains among Asians. The only major racial group where he didn’t get a gain of greater than 5% was white people. I want to repeat that: the group where Trump’s message resonated least over what we would predict from a generic Republican was the white population.
And the media are still yelling "racist". No wonder all polling results tell the same story. The news media are considered by 90% of Americans to have been biased in this last voting cycle. Even Dem respondents admitted that the press was hoping for a Hillary victory. Journalists: just Dem party political operatives, except with bylines
Trump made gains among blacks. He made gains among Latinos. He made gains among Asians. The only major racial group where he didn’t get a gain of greater than 5% was white people. I want to repeat that: the group where Trump’s message resonated least over what we would predict from a generic Republican was the white population.
And the media are still yelling "racist". No wonder all polling results tell the same story. The news media are considered by 90% of Americans to have been biased in this last voting cycle. Even Dem respondents admitted that the press was hoping for a Hillary victory. Journalists: just Dem party political operatives, except with bylines
2
Voter suppression in the age of Trump. We just saw what voter suppression leads to. I want to know why there isn't a headline every day noting the number of days that the GOP has obstructed President Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court. This is a big story. This is unprecedented. By refusing to vote on the nominee Congress has ensured that voting rights will be restricted for generations to come. Unconscionable.
3
This is a perfect example of left wing propoganda.
It is rediculous to state that photo ID requirement is racist or dicriminatiory. The law applies to every citizen equally, but if you are poor and on welfare, then free ID is supplied to you. The liberals can't rebut that, so they argue on the basis of outcome. If a law is fair as written, but the outcomes aren't fairly distributed, then according to them it is a bad law. No, it is isn't. Judgement on the basis of outcomes is not the way asses fairness.
And as exmaple, the author states something interesting. Referring to "states with a long history of racial discrimination", and how the restriction were changed, NYT gives Wisonsin as an example of unfairness to black voters. Wisconsin? Did that state also have a long history of racial discrimination?
Insistence that voter ID laws, fewer dates for early voting, and fewer polling places are rigged against blacks is a clear example of selecting special groups for special treatment. This election clearly said the people had enough of that.
It is rediculous to state that photo ID requirement is racist or dicriminatiory. The law applies to every citizen equally, but if you are poor and on welfare, then free ID is supplied to you. The liberals can't rebut that, so they argue on the basis of outcome. If a law is fair as written, but the outcomes aren't fairly distributed, then according to them it is a bad law. No, it is isn't. Judgement on the basis of outcomes is not the way asses fairness.
And as exmaple, the author states something interesting. Referring to "states with a long history of racial discrimination", and how the restriction were changed, NYT gives Wisonsin as an example of unfairness to black voters. Wisconsin? Did that state also have a long history of racial discrimination?
Insistence that voter ID laws, fewer dates for early voting, and fewer polling places are rigged against blacks is a clear example of selecting special groups for special treatment. This election clearly said the people had enough of that.
2
Well, you have four years to figure out to get an ID so don't get all teary eyed a week before elections in 2020.
2
Mr. Berman has focused upon the issue of transcendent importance facing those who believe in American democracy. Almost certainly, the Trump regime will make a major effort to suppress voting by people of color. If the Trumpists are allowed to succeed in this effort, many thousands, if not millions, of progressive people will be effectively denied their right to vote. Racism and bigotry will become permanently entrenched in our national government. And, so long as these people are denied their vote, there can be little hope that the American people will be able to choose through democratic means a national government whose policies are free of racism and bigotry. If the Alt–Right is allowed to disenfranchise these voters, it will have effectively seized power in the United States and it is unlikely that it will willingly relinquish that power. Consequently, all people who believe in American democracy – – liberals, moderates and conservatives – – must work with absolute determination to protect the voting rights of all Americans. If we fail in this, American democracy will truly be in jeopardy.
2
It is inconceivable that this conversation is taking place in the world’s foremost democracy. Shame on you. Maybe a UN "peacekeeping" mission should be named to sort you out.
1
will you come back and write a column with this column below it if you are wrong? you wont.
Everything the Trump/GOP claimed others were doing was the usual tactic used in trying to hide the fact that those things are exactly what they were doing. The stupid claim that there is rampant voter fraud seems to have produced sufficient smoke to let Comey get way with his last minute defamation of Clinton. His retraction didn't matter. The damage was already done. Very insulting. But I must ask, why the silence on this? Really! I don't get it. The reverse in the polls coincided with it. Anybody?
1
Every voter concerned about the nation's future and the likely increased suppression of minority and young voters needs to do four things: 1), find out what documentation is needed in your local area in order to register to vote, 2) use whatever help is available and GET the needed documentation, 3) register to vote as soon as possible, 3) vote by mailing in your ballot.
Mailing in an absentee ballot is critical, since one of the methods used by Republicans to suppress voting is to reduce the number of polling places in areas likely to vote for Democrats.
Mailing in an absentee ballot is critical, since one of the methods used by Republicans to suppress voting is to reduce the number of polling places in areas likely to vote for Democrats.
1
Blarney. We all have equal protection under the law.
1
While important, the courts are not the only place this battle is fought.
If technology can drive gerrymandering it can also drive registration and turnout, particularly among the young who embrace it.
I would challenge our youth to seize that advantage while these old men re-fight the last war's battle.
If technology can drive gerrymandering it can also drive registration and turnout, particularly among the young who embrace it.
I would challenge our youth to seize that advantage while these old men re-fight the last war's battle.
1
THE REAL ISSUE IS "CAGING"! WHY IS NO ONE REPORTING ON THIS?According to BBC reporter Greg Palast:
Before a single vote was cast, the election was fixed by GOP and Trump operatives.
Starting in 2013 – just as the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act – a coterie of Trump operatives, under the direction of Kris Kobach, Kansas Secretary of State, created a system to purge 1.1 million Americans of color from the voter rolls of GOP–controlled states.
The system, called Crosscheck, is detailed in my Rolling Stone report,
“The GOP’s Stealth War on Voters,” 8/24/2016.
Crosscheck in action:
Trump victory margin in Michigan: 13,107
Michigan Crosscheck purge list: 449,922
Trump victory margin in Arizona: 85,257
Arizona Crosscheck purge list: 270,824
Trump victory margin in North Carolina: 177,008
North Carolina Crosscheck purge list: 589,393
On Tuesday, we saw Crosscheck elect a Republican Senate and as President, Donald Trump.
The electoral putsch was aided by nine other methods of attacking the right to vote of Black, Latino and Asian-American voters, methods detailed in Palast's book and film, including “Caging,” “purging,” blocking legitimate registrations, and wrongly shunting millions to “provisional” ballots that will never be counted.
read more...
http://www.gregpalast.com
Before a single vote was cast, the election was fixed by GOP and Trump operatives.
Starting in 2013 – just as the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act – a coterie of Trump operatives, under the direction of Kris Kobach, Kansas Secretary of State, created a system to purge 1.1 million Americans of color from the voter rolls of GOP–controlled states.
The system, called Crosscheck, is detailed in my Rolling Stone report,
“The GOP’s Stealth War on Voters,” 8/24/2016.
Crosscheck in action:
Trump victory margin in Michigan: 13,107
Michigan Crosscheck purge list: 449,922
Trump victory margin in Arizona: 85,257
Arizona Crosscheck purge list: 270,824
Trump victory margin in North Carolina: 177,008
North Carolina Crosscheck purge list: 589,393
On Tuesday, we saw Crosscheck elect a Republican Senate and as President, Donald Trump.
The electoral putsch was aided by nine other methods of attacking the right to vote of Black, Latino and Asian-American voters, methods detailed in Palast's book and film, including “Caging,” “purging,” blocking legitimate registrations, and wrongly shunting millions to “provisional” ballots that will never be counted.
read more...
http://www.gregpalast.com
2
It is going to get harder to vote and harder to get health care. Then there will be all kinds of other surprises: it will be harder to find good public schools, but public money will go more easily to religious schools. The War on Drugs will rev up. It is not just the next four years, but more like the next 40 that look really bad. I hope all my white friends enjoy losing their Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security because they will all be gone in a a short time. And Trump lost by over a million votes!! Wow!!
The election just held on November 8 was already rigged in a different way, in favor of Trump. Comey's interventions helped, from all the evidence, to move undecided candidates in the last days, while the margin of victory was only 110,000 votes in three states where tens of millions were cast. Russia also intervened, in favor of Trump. See the announcement on November 15, a week after the election:
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/11/nsa-chief-wikileaks-democrat...
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/11/nsa-chief-wikileaks-democrat...
1
If this article doesn't make your blood boil, something's wrong with you. Ted Cruz wants people to have either a birth certificate or a passport to vote? How many low-income voters have passports? And how many have a clue where their birth certificate is? I'm a "liberal elite" and I have no idea where mine is. The idea that people should have to jump through hoops to vote is sickening. My outrage and disgust are maxed out at this point.
2
Donald Trump will be the law and order president of this nation. People will not be able to do dishonest things nor will they get away with it. We will require voter id whether that be a U.S. id or whatever so we know who is here and that the person is not illegal. No more will the dead, felons, and illegals be voting. You cannot get your xrays out of a hospital without proper id, and voting will require such in the future; we will push for it. And that is why we could never have a popular vote: both NY and California would always win due to the population. How wise our forefathers were. People on Medicare could use their card as id or whatever the gov't healthcare program should be.
2
The fact that groups are pressuring electors to change their vote to Clinton tells all we need to know about the despicable leftists. It shows that democrats really are arrogant Elites that care more about their agenda than the people of this country... then the working and middle classes. Is the left trying to steal the election?
2
Berman's logic is specious. His claim that stricter voter ID laws, fewer opportunities for early voting and reductions in the number of polling places will be favorable to Republicans and detrimental to Democrats falls in the face of critical thinking, at which Democrats excel.
It is universally acknowledged by liberals that conservative voters are uninformed and poorly educated - in short, stupid. It stands to reason that stupid people would find it harder, or impossible, to navigate a maze of voting requirements that require at least minimal cognitive skills. Advantage Democrats.
Obviously, Democrats should push for the most restrictive voting laws possible, because that would crush the deplorable vote that can't even figure out how to make positive life decisions to take advantage of the global economy.
In addition, the Democrat Party would easily be able to assist the very few progressive voters who might have some difficulty getting to the polls (of course, those difficulties would be from externalities beyond the control of those few progressive voters). On the other hand, the Republican Party would be hamstrung by the stupid leading the stupid.
The end result of restrictive voting laws is epic landslide victories for liberals and the cause of democracy. Fly over country would still be full of hapless hicks, but the US election map would be All Blue.
It is universally acknowledged by liberals that conservative voters are uninformed and poorly educated - in short, stupid. It stands to reason that stupid people would find it harder, or impossible, to navigate a maze of voting requirements that require at least minimal cognitive skills. Advantage Democrats.
Obviously, Democrats should push for the most restrictive voting laws possible, because that would crush the deplorable vote that can't even figure out how to make positive life decisions to take advantage of the global economy.
In addition, the Democrat Party would easily be able to assist the very few progressive voters who might have some difficulty getting to the polls (of course, those difficulties would be from externalities beyond the control of those few progressive voters). On the other hand, the Republican Party would be hamstrung by the stupid leading the stupid.
The end result of restrictive voting laws is epic landslide victories for liberals and the cause of democracy. Fly over country would still be full of hapless hicks, but the US election map would be All Blue.
1
I suggest that Americans read - those that do - "The Painted Bird" by Jerzy Kosinski and see a portrait of what our country will be like under Republicans in a few years. There are already pockets of the warped society he depicts in America today where willful ignorance and superstition rule. It made my hair stand on end and will do the same to all fair minded people of conscience. To quote another great writer, Joseph Conrad, "The horror, the horror." Actually, also read Conrad's "The Heart of Darkness," a depiction of what lies in the psyche of our present Republican Party in the character of Kurtz.
If you think I'm being overly dramatic, both sets of my my grandparents and and other family members were killed in the Holocaust. Wake up, America from your sleep of denial, it can happen here.
If you think I'm being overly dramatic, both sets of my my grandparents and and other family members were killed in the Holocaust. Wake up, America from your sleep of denial, it can happen here.
1
We haven't had early voting for all that long and it hasn't increased turnout by all that much. Why don't we just get rid of early voting entirely? I seems to have caused more problems than it has solved. This way, there would be less to complain about and fewer disparities between jurisdictions.
We just saw what a rigged election looks like and we're doing nothing. We need to dissolve the USA. The west coast blue states should immediately secede and the NE blue states should follow. Let the red states starve.
1
Here's the explanation of what really happened during the last elections, summarized rather succinctly:
Hillary and Trump go into a bakery. Hillary tells Trump: "Watch this", as she slips 3 cookies into her pocket.
Trump is shocked. "Why Hillary!" he says. "This is stealing!! Horrible!! Now watch this!" He says.
Trump turns to the seller behind the counter and say, "Wanna see a magic trick?" The seller says "Sure!"
Trump says "Give me a cookie". The shopkeeper gives him a cookie which Trump eats.
"Now give me another one". The shopkeeper gives him and Trump eats it too.
"And another one". Trumps gets a third cookie and eats it as well.
"Where's the magic?" asks the shopkeeper.
Trump says: "Check Hillary's pocket".
Hillary and Trump go into a bakery. Hillary tells Trump: "Watch this", as she slips 3 cookies into her pocket.
Trump is shocked. "Why Hillary!" he says. "This is stealing!! Horrible!! Now watch this!" He says.
Trump turns to the seller behind the counter and say, "Wanna see a magic trick?" The seller says "Sure!"
Trump says "Give me a cookie". The shopkeeper gives him a cookie which Trump eats.
"Now give me another one". The shopkeeper gives him and Trump eats it too.
"And another one". Trumps gets a third cookie and eats it as well.
"Where's the magic?" asks the shopkeeper.
Trump says: "Check Hillary's pocket".
1
I need an ID to get on an airplane, to open a bank account, to cash a check, often to use a credit card, to get a passport, to qualify for public assistance, to drive a car. (In Europe I am required - everyone is required - to carry picture ID at all times.)
So who exactly are all these poor helpless defeated voters, who are alleged to be black, who cannot manage to produce the ID the rest of us use all the time? Yes, there might be a few hopelessly isolated people hundreds of miles from a paved road, disabled by age (but not receiving public disability), who have no access to buses, who cannot get an ID. (How do they shop for groceries?) But that has to be pretty rare.
If ID is somewhat difficult to get, activists should do what we all did back in the 60's in Mississippi - mobilize! Get out there and help these people to get whatever ID it is everyone else has! If the entire white population can manage it, surely most blacks can too! I do not personally believe that our black citizens are less intelligent and resourceful than our white citizens.
So who exactly are all these poor helpless defeated voters, who are alleged to be black, who cannot manage to produce the ID the rest of us use all the time? Yes, there might be a few hopelessly isolated people hundreds of miles from a paved road, disabled by age (but not receiving public disability), who have no access to buses, who cannot get an ID. (How do they shop for groceries?) But that has to be pretty rare.
If ID is somewhat difficult to get, activists should do what we all did back in the 60's in Mississippi - mobilize! Get out there and help these people to get whatever ID it is everyone else has! If the entire white population can manage it, surely most blacks can too! I do not personally believe that our black citizens are less intelligent and resourceful than our white citizens.
2
"After this year, the party that claimed the election was rigged will be the one doing the real rigging." They've actually been doing it for years. They've admitted it at various points
Chris Christie said (October, 2014) that Republicans need to win gubernatorial races this year so that they’re the ones controlling ‘voting mechanisms’ going into the next presidential election. — http://tinyurl.com/kvt3pc2
Franklin Party (Columbus) Ohio GOP chair, Doug Preis, said (in 2012) about limiting early voting. “I guess I really actually feel we shouldn’t contort the voting process to accommodate the urban — read African-American — voter-turnout machine.” (And yes, he actually said “read African-American,” that wasn’t inserted.) — http://tinyurl.com/nvpllfp
Don Yelton, a GOP precinct chair in Buncombe County, North Carolina, defended the state’s new voter ID law on the Daily Show in 2013, saying so many offensive things, he was asked to resign the day after it aired. The interview correspondent, Aasif Mandvi, asked of the numbers show “there’s enough voter fraud to sway zero elections,” and then Yelton replied, “Mmmm…that’s not the point.... If it hurts a bunch of lazy blacks that want the government to give them everything, so be it.” — http://tinyurl.com/pbln9ml
Jim DeMint said in April 2016, “... in the states where they do have voter ID laws you’ve seen, actually, elections begin to change towards more conservative candidates.” — http://tinyurl.com/j7ekbz4
Chris Christie said (October, 2014) that Republicans need to win gubernatorial races this year so that they’re the ones controlling ‘voting mechanisms’ going into the next presidential election. — http://tinyurl.com/kvt3pc2
Franklin Party (Columbus) Ohio GOP chair, Doug Preis, said (in 2012) about limiting early voting. “I guess I really actually feel we shouldn’t contort the voting process to accommodate the urban — read African-American — voter-turnout machine.” (And yes, he actually said “read African-American,” that wasn’t inserted.) — http://tinyurl.com/nvpllfp
Don Yelton, a GOP precinct chair in Buncombe County, North Carolina, defended the state’s new voter ID law on the Daily Show in 2013, saying so many offensive things, he was asked to resign the day after it aired. The interview correspondent, Aasif Mandvi, asked of the numbers show “there’s enough voter fraud to sway zero elections,” and then Yelton replied, “Mmmm…that’s not the point.... If it hurts a bunch of lazy blacks that want the government to give them everything, so be it.” — http://tinyurl.com/pbln9ml
Jim DeMint said in April 2016, “... in the states where they do have voter ID laws you’ve seen, actually, elections begin to change towards more conservative candidates.” — http://tinyurl.com/j7ekbz4
2
Trump tweeted the evening of the 2012 election that the electoral college was bad for democracy - all the votes weren't in and he thought Obama was going to lose the popular vote. Anyways, I've only seen this past week reference to one tweet by Trump. There were, in fact, several...he was even calling for a "march on Washington" and "revolution". All but the one tweet were deleted but here they are in all their hypocritical glory. Rumor is he's going to get that march on Washington, just not the one he wanted.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2229109/Election-2012-Donald-Tru...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2229109/Election-2012-Donald-Tru...
1
Hey come on now, the rich white minority has to maintain their control over the country somehow. Give 'em a break,
There were 26 states which were controlled by Republican governors and legislatures and each one gerrymandered their electoral districts to make the Republican domination of state office impregnable. We saw the results of this in a big way beginning in the mid-term elections in 2010 and again in 2014. With their voters packed into strangely-shaped districts, the Democrats didn't have a prayer no matter what percentage of the overall state vote they received.
This is voter suppression, rigging the system so that one political party - the Republicans - would always win.
Another key tactic the Republicans used was based on the lie, repeated over and over ad nauseum, that there was rampant voter fraud. Independent analysts proved that voter fraud was virtually nonexistent, yet the voter fraud lie was used to justify stringent voter ID laws. Old people, the poor, the immobile and those at a great distance from government offices were thus discouraged from gaining the often-elaborate documentation of citizenship and residency required. More voter suppression.
The Republicans are experts at rigging elections - and the DNC did virtually nothing to stop it.
This is voter suppression, rigging the system so that one political party - the Republicans - would always win.
Another key tactic the Republicans used was based on the lie, repeated over and over ad nauseum, that there was rampant voter fraud. Independent analysts proved that voter fraud was virtually nonexistent, yet the voter fraud lie was used to justify stringent voter ID laws. Old people, the poor, the immobile and those at a great distance from government offices were thus discouraged from gaining the often-elaborate documentation of citizenship and residency required. More voter suppression.
The Republicans are experts at rigging elections - and the DNC did virtually nothing to stop it.
2
Those good people who sit back and claim that Black people don't vote -- Or, Black people don't vote if a Black candidate (presidential, or otherwise) isn't involved, should really sit up and take note about the concerted effort to suppress the Black vote, that is only going to get worse under the incoming Trump administration.
Of course, it dosn't help matters that the new Attorney General is proven to be is a bona fide racist, who in the past has proclaimed the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as "unAmerican" -- And that Republicans, now in charge of the House, Senate, Supreme Court nominations, as well as the presidency, have been chipping away at the Voting Rights and Civil Rights Bill for years at a time.
For those seeking to validate or defend this apparent abrogation of justice, no amount of explanation will help.
For all others, the truth shall set you free.
Of course, it dosn't help matters that the new Attorney General is proven to be is a bona fide racist, who in the past has proclaimed the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as "unAmerican" -- And that Republicans, now in charge of the House, Senate, Supreme Court nominations, as well as the presidency, have been chipping away at the Voting Rights and Civil Rights Bill for years at a time.
For those seeking to validate or defend this apparent abrogation of justice, no amount of explanation will help.
For all others, the truth shall set you free.
2
How can this possibly happen in America? We've devolved to the point we can no longer trust the Supreme Court to insure voting rights. The court has become as politically divided as Congress but, unfortunately these 'politicians are appointed for life. That the people of this nation gave Donald Trump the right to appoint justices that may further limit the rights of citizens to vote will result in many unintended consequences. There is good reason to be fearful but don't forget that half of American voters opposed the Trump Republicans and gave the popular vote to Clinton...we must not give up.
2
We have already witnessed a rigged election on Nov 8, 2016. It is time, dear God, for all people who have served their time for felonies to be restored to the voter rolls. The law prohibiting voting by felons was never meant to follow the incarcerated after thy served their time and earned release.
Many are productive members of society and are as free as you and I are to own homes. obtain passports and leave the country, as well as vote-- yes?
Many are productive members of society and are as free as you and I are to own homes. obtain passports and leave the country, as well as vote-- yes?
2
These voting rights articles are long on rhetoric and short on facts For example, "These restrictions depressed turnout in key states like Wisconsin, particularly among black voters." By how much was voting repressed? How is this measured? Why are black voters affected more than white, Asian, or Hispanic voters? And how many people are there who do not have an ID yet would still be inclined to vote?
The right decries voter fraud while none seems to exist, and the left decries voter suppression while none seems to exist.
The right decries voter fraud while none seems to exist, and the left decries voter suppression while none seems to exist.
Donald Trump has no interest in preserving voting rights, and I doubt it's a high priority for him and his transition team.
We can see how Trump views the right to free expression expecting that the cast of 'Hamilton' apologize to Mike Pense who Trump believes was unfairly treated.
Duterte or Erdogan would pursue this form of suppression, though perhaps not via Twitter. Trump is surely following their approach to governing but as a novice despot for now.
We can see how Trump views the right to free expression expecting that the cast of 'Hamilton' apologize to Mike Pense who Trump believes was unfairly treated.
Duterte or Erdogan would pursue this form of suppression, though perhaps not via Twitter. Trump is surely following their approach to governing but as a novice despot for now.
1
To the extent this article suggests the SCOTUS can undo the "disparate impact" liability standard in Section 2 of the 1982 Amendment to the Voting Rights Act, it is inaccurate. However the new Congress and Trump certainly can, and may very well go after all "disparate impact" liability standards in civil rights laws, such as the Fair Housing Act. This is a liability standard which has rankled conservatives for a long time as evidenced by Roberts' memo.
When a southern state goes from 12 to days of early voting it is racist and an attack on voting rights. But NY and Pennsylvania have no early voting but no one is claiming that is racist or suppresses the vote.
2
In the end, the fundamental belief that our democracy is one that promotes inclusion and a voice of all citizens in the form of their vote has been severely compromised purely for partisan gain. That is a disgrace and an insult, not only to all of those who came before us and sacrificed for our country's core ideals, but to everyone who still believes in and fights them. We don't have to worry about or fear outside forces. The enemy of our republic lies within.
1
During the campaign, Trump asked minority voters "What have you got to lose?" Now we know the answer: Your voting rights!
2
The question pending is: Will the majority of Americans quietly acquiesce in the suppression of votes through these (or any other) mechanisms? What with parking and travel costs, it can cost several hundred dollars to obtain a passport. Multiply that by the number of family members requiring such ID, and what you get, effectively, is a Poll Tax. The time to organize and mobilize voters for the next race is right now. It is not too late to prevent the bleak scenario Ari Berman describes -- but you have to make that a personal priority for lots and lots of Americans, or else we are all lost, because our sovereignty winds up stolen.
1
Wisconsin and North Carolina, were the biggest violators ,
even though, they knew it goin" in.
even though, they knew it goin" in.
1
Despite all the talk is there evidence that voter ID laws were more important this year than an uninspiring candidate? The Democrats have dropped the ball, with Obama they have ended up continuing a useless series of wars. Would the world have been any different if we left Iraq in 2009 or 2010?
Shouldn't the ACA been setup with price controls at that start? Instead it has become a very expensive program for so many people. When I had a car accident in 2009 (I hit a deer), I knew exactly how much I had to fork over to fix the car. Does anyone know how much their healthcare will cost, if they use it? The Democrats didn't listen to anything. They became cheerleaders for a weak ACA program instead of working immediately to fix it.
Trump had very simply message and it worked, even if he cannot perform he won the election. You cannot govern if you lose and the Democrats have played a losing game for too long. They've ignored the states, they've given the South to the GOP. The Republicans spend years figuring out how to win control of congress through redistricting, while the Democrats did nothing. So, they have now control of the Federal government along with control of the mechanism to redraw districts.
Shouldn't the ACA been setup with price controls at that start? Instead it has become a very expensive program for so many people. When I had a car accident in 2009 (I hit a deer), I knew exactly how much I had to fork over to fix the car. Does anyone know how much their healthcare will cost, if they use it? The Democrats didn't listen to anything. They became cheerleaders for a weak ACA program instead of working immediately to fix it.
Trump had very simply message and it worked, even if he cannot perform he won the election. You cannot govern if you lose and the Democrats have played a losing game for too long. They've ignored the states, they've given the South to the GOP. The Republicans spend years figuring out how to win control of congress through redistricting, while the Democrats did nothing. So, they have now control of the Federal government along with control of the mechanism to redraw districts.
1
A large number of Americans are scared. It may be that enough voters were disenfranchised to turn the presidency over to Trump and maybe also the senate.
We sit back and think that there is nothing to be done now. This is just the way things are in America. Democrats have to win with overwhelming majorities in order to win political races. And we may not know how much the vote was disenfranchised, crossed checked, hacked or rigged. No this not the representative democracy we thought we had.
We sit back and think that there is nothing to be done now. This is just the way things are in America. Democrats have to win with overwhelming majorities in order to win political races. And we may not know how much the vote was disenfranchised, crossed checked, hacked or rigged. No this not the representative democracy we thought we had.
15
You may want to review the scholarly accounts of the effects of voter restrictions. When states pass such restrictions, turnout is analyzed and, consistently, the new laws don't change things much. I found it particularly helpful when I learned that blacks were 12% of the electorate in 2012 and only a little less in 2016. There were reports that minority voting had gone down substantially among early voters. But, in the end, that wasn't the case. Potentially, this could be a travesty. But studies indicate it doen't have a major effect.
1
Justice Sonia Sotomayor was a guest on a C-SPAN program last night talking about how she arose to become one of our U.S. Supreme Court Justices. As a child her family was quite low on the economic ladder but she was very smart, very involved and very active in school activities at a time when Affirmative Action was helping women and minorities get ahead. She and an Asian boy were the only minority students in their high school, were great friends and both planned to go to college. He called her one day and said, "Sonia, we have to apply to Ivy League Universities." She said, "What are Ivy League Universities?"
Thanks to Affirmative Action they were both accepted at Princeton, where she graduated with high honors, and she went on to Yale Law School.
Most people simply do not understand what it means to be marginalized, poor and poorly educated in America. Many minority and poor students are concerned with getting through the day with enough food and staying alive. They are not bad people - they just have not been taught how "the system", which was designed by wealthy white men for wealthy men and their chattel, works. Affirmative Action, along with other social programs, helped change that.
The hate-anger-fear-lies-violence-war cabal wants to do away with those programs because they think they only have "power" if they control everyone else. It must not stand.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonia_Sotomayor
Thanks to Affirmative Action they were both accepted at Princeton, where she graduated with high honors, and she went on to Yale Law School.
Most people simply do not understand what it means to be marginalized, poor and poorly educated in America. Many minority and poor students are concerned with getting through the day with enough food and staying alive. They are not bad people - they just have not been taught how "the system", which was designed by wealthy white men for wealthy men and their chattel, works. Affirmative Action, along with other social programs, helped change that.
The hate-anger-fear-lies-violence-war cabal wants to do away with those programs because they think they only have "power" if they control everyone else. It must not stand.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonia_Sotomayor
35
There's a difference between unintentional, intentional, and blatant! And, we all know the difference when we see it.
14
Then Democrats need to change their game and in a grass roots effort get thousands of volunteers to drive people to get the ID they need. Create groups that help others go through the necessary process to get the proper identification needed to vote. Mass driving people to the polls when it is time and from the ground up make sure every person votes. The game has changed. Let's talk about what we do next and take action.
29
And do it NOW!
And exactly what good would that do?
Hillary won the popular vote. Remember?
It's a rigged election. Period. And for a number of reasons.
Hillary won the popular vote. Remember?
It's a rigged election. Period. And for a number of reasons.
1
Absolutely right on, jaamhaynes. Perfecto!
While onerous voter ID laws are indeed an area to be addressed, I think of equal or greater importance is the reduction in polling places in minority areas and a reduction in early voting time periods, which disparately impacts minority and lower income voters. And yes, something can and should be done about it!
27
I just returned from Australia, where voting in all elections is compulsory. I had to explain our system of registering to vote and the electoral collage system to many befuddled Aussies who did not understand why in a democracy people don't vote and the popular vote does not determine the election outcome.
29
And what is their policy on illegal immegration? Fact is that they are befuddled at more than our electoral collge (which a course in civics would have allowed you to explain). Tell hem about sactuary cities if you want to see them laugh at you.
1
If you explained that the US is a democracy, then you failed. We are a Representative Republic, not a democracy.
We are not a democracy; we are a constitutional oligarchy, and with an oligarch in charge that is going to be even more true going forward.
To steal this nation this con artist had to exploit the system that makes his neighbor's votes worthless.
Neighbors from Hell are above the law in the US.
Neighbors from Hell are above the law in the US.
15
Do not discount Trump’s Russian assistance in throwing the election.
1
Fact is, voter "fraud" is almost non-existent. According to the non-partisan Brennan Center, you can literally count the number of voter fraud cases on two hands out of billions of ballots cast.
In this particular presidential election, there were two cases of fraud that involved Trump supporters in Iowa and Texas who tried to vote twice under the excuse of "testing the system". Apparently, the system works because they were caught and arrested immediately, LOL.
In seriousness, strict ID laws were designed by GOP admission to disenfranchise demographic groups that lean democratic by allowing only certain types of ID that are either burdensome to obtain or not publicized as being available. In the case of absentee ballots that are typically cast by older, conservative voters, no ID is required.
But you really have to wonder about conservative claims that this is a "center right" nation because if that were true, the GOP would be tripping over themselves to get as many people to the polls as possible instead of creating burdens and barriers to make voting as hard as possible for people whose issues don't concern them.
In this particular presidential election, there were two cases of fraud that involved Trump supporters in Iowa and Texas who tried to vote twice under the excuse of "testing the system". Apparently, the system works because they were caught and arrested immediately, LOL.
In seriousness, strict ID laws were designed by GOP admission to disenfranchise demographic groups that lean democratic by allowing only certain types of ID that are either burdensome to obtain or not publicized as being available. In the case of absentee ballots that are typically cast by older, conservative voters, no ID is required.
But you really have to wonder about conservative claims that this is a "center right" nation because if that were true, the GOP would be tripping over themselves to get as many people to the polls as possible instead of creating burdens and barriers to make voting as hard as possible for people whose issues don't concern them.
74
Not true. Fraud is endemic. See the video of tge commissioner of elections in ny. People are literally bussed in.
Guess you missed the WA Gubernatorial race which was a nationally covered debacle, only a few dogs voted, etc.
We should go back to the old system where only land owners were permitted to vote.
4
With a comment like this, you are now qualified to join the other White Nationalists who are currently celebrating Trump's election.
2
Should they be white and male, as well? That's where we are heading, apparently.
1
First of all there should be an audit in all the states where the vote difference is < 100K. With all the news about Russian hacking - and they'd only have to hack a few districts in swing states I want to know that everything was on the up and up. Second, I'd sign up for a NYT subscription as soon as it stops whitewashing absolutely horrifying news about Trump. The appointments so far, the massive conflicts of interest, the Trump U scandal. Nothing was held back on the Clintons, but Trump gets the kid-glove treatment. If the NYT is scared of Trump, then it isn't scared enough.
16
I could not agree with you more, and just to demonstrate how bad it already is: My wife and I belong to a synagogue in Brooklyn Heights, one of the wealthiest and most charming neighborhoods in NYC. A playground in this neighborhood was just vandalized with swastikas and the message "Go Trump."
1
There are no records to properly audit in some of these states - absolutely ridiculous but the majority of people don't seem concerned about it.
Why only go after the republicans on this? In California (the bluest state ever), we've never had early voting, only same day, unless mail-ballots are considered "early" . And those, it turns out, they don't even bother to count Don't ask me why, but both sides do it.
2
Funny the NYT goes after Ohio for trying to reduce the # of days of early voting when Ohio has much more extensive early voting that in NY
They ARE counting mail-in votes in CA- that's why we don't have a final total almost two weeks later.
1
We do count all the ballots. That's why Hillary's lead keeps increasing. They're still counting!
1
I feel terrible for our country and what is about to happen.
Perhaps it will lead to a push back as what happened after Prop. 187 passed in California in 94. Voters were so disgusted with the law they've since voted in a majority of Democrats.
The sad thing is, we could have avoided the upcoming crisis had voters with the most to lose actually voted!
Perhaps it will lead to a push back as what happened after Prop. 187 passed in California in 94. Voters were so disgusted with the law they've since voted in a majority of Democrats.
The sad thing is, we could have avoided the upcoming crisis had voters with the most to lose actually voted!
16
It's not about the popular votes (Trump trailed by almost 2 million of them!)-- it all comes down to the Electoral College.
2
It's hard to escape the fact that conservatives in high office want their agenda to prevail even if it requires anti-democratic action to do so. They do not consider the right to vote absolute. And because of the strong allegiance of the conservative citizens and pundits, a significant portion portion of the population agrees.
I think the best course for the Democrats is to adopt Mr Trump's left behind, angry white constituency by adopting Mr Trump's campaign promises to help that constituency, namely creation of good jobs, and improved economics. Democratic populism, if strong and clear can erode conservative notions like controlling voting rights for political reasons.
Mr Trump is surrounded by powerful conservatives, especially Mike Pence (a strong ally of the Koch group), who will not permit wealth redistribution to help those in need. First, cut taxes for the rich, then caution that the a big infrastructure program is a budget buster. I think the Democrats are ready to step in.
I think the best course for the Democrats is to adopt Mr Trump's left behind, angry white constituency by adopting Mr Trump's campaign promises to help that constituency, namely creation of good jobs, and improved economics. Democratic populism, if strong and clear can erode conservative notions like controlling voting rights for political reasons.
Mr Trump is surrounded by powerful conservatives, especially Mike Pence (a strong ally of the Koch group), who will not permit wealth redistribution to help those in need. First, cut taxes for the rich, then caution that the a big infrastructure program is a budget buster. I think the Democrats are ready to step in.
6
Mr. Berman makes a large number of allegations.
However, he fails to provide substantial proof of them.
Every state should make it as easy to vote as necessary provided the person
can demonstrate they are a citizen of the United States and the State in question.
The selective use of the Voting Rights Act is, in itself, unconstitutional.
It either has to be applied to all the States or none of the States.
As for the Supreme Court - why is it wonderful if there are 5 "Liberals"
on the Court but a disaster if there are "5 Conservatives".
There is something fundamentally wrong with our Federal Courts if Justices
cannot see through to the correct interpretation of the Constitution and thus
agree the vast majority of the time.
However, he fails to provide substantial proof of them.
Every state should make it as easy to vote as necessary provided the person
can demonstrate they are a citizen of the United States and the State in question.
The selective use of the Voting Rights Act is, in itself, unconstitutional.
It either has to be applied to all the States or none of the States.
As for the Supreme Court - why is it wonderful if there are 5 "Liberals"
on the Court but a disaster if there are "5 Conservatives".
There is something fundamentally wrong with our Federal Courts if Justices
cannot see through to the correct interpretation of the Constitution and thus
agree the vast majority of the time.
6
The constitutionality of the Voting Right Act is not up to you. It's up to the Supreme Court which has held that it IS constitutional.
1
How does repealing a law about southern states affect Wisconsin?
1
Some readers seem unable to understand that there are two issues: one is registration and the other, identification. Registration to vote should be automatic (when you apply for a driver's license, for instance) and accessible (online for those who do not have driver licenses) because you cannot vote unless you are registered. Doing otherwise, restricts your ability to vote. As far as identification, it can be a problem for certain groups of people (such as the elderly, the poor, people living in isolated areas, etc.) You cannot travel without a passport, true, but you can get a passport with a birth certificate (which has no picture.) In the same way, social security cards have no pictures. Given that there were over 100 million eligible voters who did not vote in our past election, it is clearly a symptom of dysfunction that needs to be addressed. I am sure that in the twenty first century we are able to come up with a voter system that allows for easy voting for all Americans and is tamper proof. The question is, do Republicans really want such a system? I doubt it.
11
President Obama to Republicans in 2009 " Elections have consequences"..."I won". Many people have no problem with people proving who they are when they go to vote.
4
Good thing you read the article and understood all the ways voting rights could be limited.
Sure. The same people who don't want African Americans and Hispanics to vote.
"Kevin D. Williamson of National Review has called on Congress to repeal the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, which allows voters to register at the Department of Motor Vehicles and other public agencies."
I don't get the above repeal quest. What's wrong with registering at the DMV? You have to have the always lauded "photo ID." Are they seriously saying, the voter restrictions crowd, that you need a valid ID, but God help you if you try to obtain one?
What's next? Passing a law that only white Americans can secure a passport, the other form of "ID" that many states stipulate on the theory minorities don't travel as much?
I don't get the above repeal quest. What's wrong with registering at the DMV? You have to have the always lauded "photo ID." Are they seriously saying, the voter restrictions crowd, that you need a valid ID, but God help you if you try to obtain one?
What's next? Passing a law that only white Americans can secure a passport, the other form of "ID" that many states stipulate on the theory minorities don't travel as much?
52
It makes it too easy for the people the hard-right are trying to prevent from voting, Christine McM.
8
Republicans no not want voting encouraged ANYWHERE, ANYTIME, for ANYONE.
Get it? They're the ones rigging elections every time, while having their media shout that "others" are doing the rigging. It's been absurd to watch GULLIBLE PEOPLE who believe Repub. rightwing media lies. Constant lies and deceptions.
Get it? They're the ones rigging elections every time, while having their media shout that "others" are doing the rigging. It's been absurd to watch GULLIBLE PEOPLE who believe Repub. rightwing media lies. Constant lies and deceptions.
Please explain to me how the process of being able register at the DMV proves you are a citizen? You only have to have a utility bill with your name on it!
Just what is it about these so-called "restrictions" that makes it difficult for black voters to vote? Sounds condescending and racist to think blacks can't follow the same voting rules whites must follow.
33
Hi, Michael S -
Yours is a reasonable question, so here is an answer. First, for some background, I suggest you watch the first five or ten minutes of the film "Selma".
The restrictions of which you speak target poor people, many of whom happen to be people of color, in the following ways: First, many poor people don't onw or drive cars, so they have don't have a driver's license, which is the most common form of identification to have; second, many poor people work two, or event three, part-time jobs for minimum wage just to survive and literally can't afford the time it takes to first find out how to get a picture identification card that isn't a driver's license; third, most poor people in America aren't international travelers and don't have a passport. That's for starters.
If a poor person is black, and lives in a state in which discrimination is common, when that person goes to get a picture identification card, you'd be amazed at how often the computer goes down, or the person who performs that function called in sick.
All of this could be avoided if every single citizen was automatically registered to vote on his/her eighteenth birthday, a process that could automatically issue a voter-identification card good for life.
But that won't happen because the party now in power has openly stated that it wants as few people to vote as possible. This column is spot on.
Yours is a reasonable question, so here is an answer. First, for some background, I suggest you watch the first five or ten minutes of the film "Selma".
The restrictions of which you speak target poor people, many of whom happen to be people of color, in the following ways: First, many poor people don't onw or drive cars, so they have don't have a driver's license, which is the most common form of identification to have; second, many poor people work two, or event three, part-time jobs for minimum wage just to survive and literally can't afford the time it takes to first find out how to get a picture identification card that isn't a driver's license; third, most poor people in America aren't international travelers and don't have a passport. That's for starters.
If a poor person is black, and lives in a state in which discrimination is common, when that person goes to get a picture identification card, you'd be amazed at how often the computer goes down, or the person who performs that function called in sick.
All of this could be avoided if every single citizen was automatically registered to vote on his/her eighteenth birthday, a process that could automatically issue a voter-identification card good for life.
But that won't happen because the party now in power has openly stated that it wants as few people to vote as possible. This column is spot on.
2
People are afraid to go to the polls because they hear rumors alluding to some kind of trouble or opposition related to ID. Compound that with rumors about elections being "rigged," "my vote doesn't count," etc. Such rumors are more easily spread in low-income, minority neighborhoods where there's not a high level of trust with government and public institutions.
Many low-wage workers with long commutes who would have to take time off work to vote figure it's not worth it if they're not going to be allowed to vote once they get there, or if they will have to wait in a long line.
Many low-wage workers with long commutes who would have to take time off work to vote figure it's not worth it if they're not going to be allowed to vote once they get there, or if they will have to wait in a long line.
2
Like closing down polling places in predominately black districts (over 800 in Mississippi)? Like forcing obtaining a birth certificate where none have been recorded for black births? Like making identification likely already held by whites (driver's licenses) than blacks required?
Whites have more money, on average, so financial burdens are felt far less than by blacks.
Please read: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/30/us/federal-appeals-court-strikes-down-...
"A federal appeals court decisively struck down North Carolina’s voter identification law on Friday, saying its provisions deliberately “target African-Americans with almost surgical precision” in an effort to depress black turnout at the polls.
The sweeping 83-page decision by a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upended voting procedures in a battleground state about three months before Election Day. That ruling and a second wide-ranging decision on Friday, in Wisconsin, continued a string of recent court opinions against restrictive voting laws that critics say were created solely to keep minority and other traditionally Democratic voters away from the polls."
Then write an informed opinion.
Thanks
Whites have more money, on average, so financial burdens are felt far less than by blacks.
Please read: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/30/us/federal-appeals-court-strikes-down-...
"A federal appeals court decisively struck down North Carolina’s voter identification law on Friday, saying its provisions deliberately “target African-Americans with almost surgical precision” in an effort to depress black turnout at the polls.
The sweeping 83-page decision by a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upended voting procedures in a battleground state about three months before Election Day. That ruling and a second wide-ranging decision on Friday, in Wisconsin, continued a string of recent court opinions against restrictive voting laws that critics say were created solely to keep minority and other traditionally Democratic voters away from the polls."
Then write an informed opinion.
Thanks
2
Of course it is rigged. Just look at the Gerrymandered results of the last election. How is it possible that the losers got most of the votes, yet the Republicans now have control of all the branches of power and government they so hate?
Given all the conspiracies and lies Trump & the GOP spouted to win the election, maybe we can add this one to the list - How could they possibly have won in spite of all the polls showing a different result? There's got to be something there, no? It can't be a bunch of silent angry white men, can it? I'm sure had the polls shown Trump winning but then lost the election, he would be contesting the election to no end.
Given all the conspiracies and lies Trump & the GOP spouted to win the election, maybe we can add this one to the list - How could they possibly have won in spite of all the polls showing a different result? There's got to be something there, no? It can't be a bunch of silent angry white men, can it? I'm sure had the polls shown Trump winning but then lost the election, he would be contesting the election to no end.
85
I don't trust the results either.
Only two parts of government can be gerrymandered. The state and local representatives. President, governor and senator can't be manipulated.
Pan-- I share your concern. I think the democrats should demand a physical recount of votes in every state where the polls were so far off. (IE no need to recount CA, because the polls were accurate.) Al Gore decided not to fight SCOTUS in part because his 2000 loss was such an anomaly. Now that this has happened twice in 16 years, after two times in the previous 213 years, we have a dangerous trend, not a one-off. I keep thinking that the Dems are waiting till after the EC votes, as they may be hoping that the electors will do what they are constitutionally able to do, and turn back this terrible outcome and elect the woman that We the People elected.
It is very clear that the republicans will only be able to hold on to power by restricting voting rights and access. This is because the depth and breadth of the hurt their policies will inflict.
Republicans are moving aggressively to consolidate that power.
If too much is done to disenfranchise the voter, there will be consequences. As they say, the name "Custer" mean anything to you? Hillary won the popular vote, that means there are more people in line with Democratic thinking in this country than republican thinking. If it were not for Gerrymandering, we would have a much more representative government, a different president and vastly different political discussions.
So that is the crux of the biscuit, the minority have the power and are moving aggressively to squelch the majority.
That never works out well for anybody in the end.
Republicans are moving aggressively to consolidate that power.
If too much is done to disenfranchise the voter, there will be consequences. As they say, the name "Custer" mean anything to you? Hillary won the popular vote, that means there are more people in line with Democratic thinking in this country than republican thinking. If it were not for Gerrymandering, we would have a much more representative government, a different president and vastly different political discussions.
So that is the crux of the biscuit, the minority have the power and are moving aggressively to squelch the majority.
That never works out well for anybody in the end.
107
"Hillary won the popular vote, that means there are more people in line with Democratic thinking in this country than republican thinking.
You can't say that. It is only a measure of who actually voted. Until you get 100% turnout you are only guessing.
You can't say that. It is only a measure of who actually voted. Until you get 100% turnout you are only guessing.
@Trebor Flow:
Yes, the Republicans will consolidate their power, and it is very likely that in 2020 there will be a landslide in their favor. Why? Because the dam party is now toast, a dysfunctional group of people not knowing which way to turn. How come? Well, in large part, because Obama didn't care about the party. Did you notice that in 8 years almost everyone he campaigned for years lost?
Yes, the Republicans will consolidate their power, and it is very likely that in 2020 there will be a landslide in their favor. Why? Because the dam party is now toast, a dysfunctional group of people not knowing which way to turn. How come? Well, in large part, because Obama didn't care about the party. Did you notice that in 8 years almost everyone he campaigned for years lost?
1
With the voting rights act in place, I already feel disenfranchised. In the last seven presidential elections, in six I have voted with the majority. Yet twice, the candidate with fewer votes became president. Four times, Republicans, often representing minorities, have blocked popularly elected presidents, even when the action proposed was what Republicans had advocated. When only 40 senators representing only 10% of the population can block action, one can doubt whether we have democracy.
200
JR,
We don't have a Democracy, we have a Republic.
That is what the writers of the Constitution wanted and demand
of every State - that they have a Republican form of Government.
If anyone is to blame it is the Democrats who failed to turn out for Clinton
and the Democrats for running Clinton - Bernie or Biden probably would
have won, Michelle Obama could have won.
Instead the DNC put forth Clinton and actively worked against Bernie.
The fault is wholly the Democrats, it would be nice if they grew up and
accepted the responsibility for their failures and stop blaming those
'deplorables' who got out and voted.
We don't have a Democracy, we have a Republic.
That is what the writers of the Constitution wanted and demand
of every State - that they have a Republican form of Government.
If anyone is to blame it is the Democrats who failed to turn out for Clinton
and the Democrats for running Clinton - Bernie or Biden probably would
have won, Michelle Obama could have won.
Instead the DNC put forth Clinton and actively worked against Bernie.
The fault is wholly the Democrats, it would be nice if they grew up and
accepted the responsibility for their failures and stop blaming those
'deplorables' who got out and voted.
5
JR Bronxville NY: America has never had a democracy. We have always had a pluto-oligarchy with a veneer of democracy. Nobody should be surprised that the Republicans are going to twist the Constitution in their favor and inaugurate bias as the rule of law. If they had their way, their model would be the Nuremberg Laws - all legal as the old Sunday Blue Laws once were.
1
That's exactly how legislators feel about the systems in New York and Illinois where a few counties or even one county can control the whole legislative system.
Trump was right! The presidential election was rigged! In his favor!!
Clinton got more popular votes and Trump was elected by an outdated system of elrctoral votes which automatically is rigged by States to favor Republican candidates.
Clinton got more popular votes and Trump was elected by an outdated system of elrctoral votes which automatically is rigged by States to favor Republican candidates.
185
YS,
Not quite clear how it is the case that the Electoral College and it Votes
are automatically rigged by the States to favour Republican candidates.
Nothing in the Constitution mentions the Republican Party.
Not quite clear how it is the case that the Electoral College and it Votes
are automatically rigged by the States to favour Republican candidates.
Nothing in the Constitution mentions the Republican Party.
4
It is not within the power of a state government to affect the electoral college outcome beyond determining how to allocate the electoral votes it is assigned based on the popular vote outcome in the state. If the electoral votes for a state went to the Republican (or Democratic) candidate, it resulted from the expressed preferences of the voters of that state.
At present, all states except Maine assign all electoral votes to the winner of a plurality or majority of the popular vote. One obvious alternative is Maine's practice of allocating two based on the state vote as a whole and the remainder based on individual congressional districts; it is not likely that use of that procedure in the remaining states and DC would have changed the outcome in this election, although it might have been a bit closer.
The most commonly advocated electoral college workaround is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, under which states would require electors to vote for the candidate who obtained a plurality of the national popular vote. That could well be contrary to the preferences of a majority of the voters in a majority of the states, as it certainly would have been in 2016. It might also be contrary to the preferences of a majority of the voters in some of the Compact's member states. That would have altered the outcome in 2016 (and 2000), but the procedure constitutes "rigging" as much as or more than the electoral college.
At present, all states except Maine assign all electoral votes to the winner of a plurality or majority of the popular vote. One obvious alternative is Maine's practice of allocating two based on the state vote as a whole and the remainder based on individual congressional districts; it is not likely that use of that procedure in the remaining states and DC would have changed the outcome in this election, although it might have been a bit closer.
The most commonly advocated electoral college workaround is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, under which states would require electors to vote for the candidate who obtained a plurality of the national popular vote. That could well be contrary to the preferences of a majority of the voters in a majority of the states, as it certainly would have been in 2016. It might also be contrary to the preferences of a majority of the voters in some of the Compact's member states. That would have altered the outcome in 2016 (and 2000), but the procedure constitutes "rigging" as much as or more than the electoral college.
Unintended consequences. Laws are fraught with them- that's why we have amendment and legislative processes.
We should all give Trump the benefit of the doubt as he has not even started yet. If he moderates to a divided country, everything should turn out ok.
With that said, his words and actions make that unlikely. More like scenario is civil unrest for the first time in decades (1960/70s) from invasive immigration policies into liberal cities/states. Republicans may control all branches of the government but they wont be able to stop the protests, which will turn the moderates back to the democrats in the next election cycles.
The most important figure here is Obama. Although he will go back to being a private citizen, will he become professorial/paid talker or an organizer like MLK? He is widely followed by many of the newest generation. He can turn the sentiment on a far right government through his words and actions, even if he will no longer be an elected official. Would Trump have Obama arrested in a march? His greatest accomplishments in america may be yet to come.
With that said, his words and actions make that unlikely. More like scenario is civil unrest for the first time in decades (1960/70s) from invasive immigration policies into liberal cities/states. Republicans may control all branches of the government but they wont be able to stop the protests, which will turn the moderates back to the democrats in the next election cycles.
The most important figure here is Obama. Although he will go back to being a private citizen, will he become professorial/paid talker or an organizer like MLK? He is widely followed by many of the newest generation. He can turn the sentiment on a far right government through his words and actions, even if he will no longer be an elected official. Would Trump have Obama arrested in a march? His greatest accomplishments in america may be yet to come.
59
I fail to understand the logic of "giving him the benefit of the doubt". He has left no room for doubt. And history has shown over and over again that the hope that power would moderate troubled and autocratic personalities has always turned out to be a chimera. It was true in the first part of the 20th century, it was true of Putin, true of Erdogan, and it is 100% certain to be true of Trump.
Deluding ourselves in the name of being good sports is just silly.
Deluding ourselves in the name of being good sports is just silly.
17
Sorry. But Trump has forgone all benefits of the doubt in my book, judging by his inner-circle (Steve Bannon, Rudy Giuliani, Chris Christie, New Gingrich) and his choice of filling cabinet positions.
Starting with the appointment for Attorney General, Jeff Sessions: Racist par excellence -- who called the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) & the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), "unAmerican".
It's bad enough Republicans control the House, Senate, Supreme Court nominations, and the presidency, but we've already seen that Trump can't (or won't) change from his campaign alter-ego.
You can fool yourself if you want to.
I'm not buying it.
Starting with the appointment for Attorney General, Jeff Sessions: Racist par excellence -- who called the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) & the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), "unAmerican".
It's bad enough Republicans control the House, Senate, Supreme Court nominations, and the presidency, but we've already seen that Trump can't (or won't) change from his campaign alter-ego.
You can fool yourself if you want to.
I'm not buying it.
1
satishk-- that is my fantasy too. But I fear Obama and Michelle want to follow the Clintons to a path of excessive wealth and hobnobbing with the rich and famous. In fact, our nation is at a crisis point, and I think the Clintons and The Obamas together could take this cause to the people. Let's hope they hear the siren call from their inner angels to work hard to save this country.
Between the threats to the Voting Rights Act, the absurd Electoral College that has produced results opposite to the popular vote twice in sixteen years, and the distortions produced by gerrymandering, we hardly have a representative democracy any more. It's all about which party can most effectively, deliberately, calculatingly, corrupt the popular will.
On gerrymandering in particular, an NYT op-ed of December 2015 demonstrated that, over three elections, Republicans in Pennsylvania won 72% of seats with 49.5% of the vote, compared to 28% of seats for Democrats with 50.5% of the vote, with similar outcomes, for example, in NC.
On gerrymandering in particular, an NYT op-ed of December 2015 demonstrated that, over three elections, Republicans in Pennsylvania won 72% of seats with 49.5% of the vote, compared to 28% of seats for Democrats with 50.5% of the vote, with similar outcomes, for example, in NC.
294
The Electoral College has not voted yet. Each state decides the deadline for EC voters to finalize their votes. 38 are needed to make the people's choice -
Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton - the EC choice. The current U.S. Supreme Court could name her President even if the U.S. House tries to undo it.
Is democracy in America dead? We will know on January 6 when the EC vote goes to the U.S. House. If the current situation stands we have to fight like hell between now and 2018 to get these charlatans out of OUR U.S. government.
Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton - the EC choice. The current U.S. Supreme Court could name her President even if the U.S. House tries to undo it.
Is democracy in America dead? We will know on January 6 when the EC vote goes to the U.S. House. If the current situation stands we have to fight like hell between now and 2018 to get these charlatans out of OUR U.S. government.
56
Natalie,
The Electoral College is anything but absurd.
The wisdom of the founders of the nation shines forth in the Electoral College
which is the glue that keeps us the United States of America.
The Electoral College is anything but absurd.
The wisdom of the founders of the nation shines forth in the Electoral College
which is the glue that keeps us the United States of America.
5
You are missing the affect of demographics. Democratic districts tend to be more partisan then the Republican ones. Urban density is part of it and so is the so-called majority minority districts created under the voting rights act.
3
We didn't get out and vote. Doesn't matter what the reason. We still have the right, and we didn't use it. If they make it harder, we still have to do it. And if we do... we can change the world.
85
It very much matters the reason...or, didn't you read this article???
If you did, you'd understand there is a lot more going on that doesn't even get reported when it comes to voter suppression -- which by the way, comes in many forms.
If you did, you'd understand there is a lot more going on that doesn't even get reported when it comes to voter suppression -- which by the way, comes in many forms.
Did you miss that Clinton is winning the popular vote by well north of 1,000,000 votes and headed to 2,000,000? This may have been the election where "We still have the right, and we didn't use it. If they make it harder, we still have to do it" might have still been true (but again, we won). Republicans will remove practical access to voting in red states wherever minority and progressive voters are prevalent, that is if we even HAVE elections. There is no one to prevent them from doing ANYTHING at this point.
I see that the editors changed the title of this opinion from an earlier version which basically stated that the system would be rigged in the future.
While I believe that the republican party cause is wrong, I find it equally disturbing that the editors should presume that Trump's administration will rig the voting system and attempt to use legislation and the courts to deny the vote to minorities.
As a people, we are fast losing our ability to have intelligent conversations about important matters. The NYT editors have adapted the worst traits of the WSJ editors as both formerly responsible information outlets have embraced the tactics of Breitbart and The Daily Beast in their efforts to fan the partisan flames. Much heat and very little light results from their efforts.
While I believe that the republican party cause is wrong, I find it equally disturbing that the editors should presume that Trump's administration will rig the voting system and attempt to use legislation and the courts to deny the vote to minorities.
As a people, we are fast losing our ability to have intelligent conversations about important matters. The NYT editors have adapted the worst traits of the WSJ editors as both formerly responsible information outlets have embraced the tactics of Breitbart and The Daily Beast in their efforts to fan the partisan flames. Much heat and very little light results from their efforts.
28
Oh, poor little Donny and his poor little white men, fox so-called news and hate radio are the only ones who can say what they like, TDurk?
You all are about to see a REAL backlash from Progressive America led by nasty women.
You all are about to see a REAL backlash from Progressive America led by nasty women.
11
It's an opinion piece, and it is biased by design. Republicans have made restricting the vote a priority so that they can win elections. Now they are reaping the rewards of limiting minority turnout. Something needs to be done.
3
Please, what evidence do you see that Trump (or the Republican Party) will not continue to restrict the rights of "undesirables"? Please.
1
Ahh, the weekly screed about the "gutting" of the Voting Rights Act. It's Jim Crow 2.0 in America. Please. The fact that a good number of states are requiring ID to register and/or vote - something which most other otherwise admired nations do, including Canada where all of our outraged celebrities want to flee to, require - does not keep people from voting. Yes, states should (and most do) provide free identification to all who need it, but the idea that the only proof you need of citizenship is your word on a federal form is ridiculous.
Our beloved federal government doesn't take your word that way when signing up for a passport, nope you have to prove you're a citizen just to take a trip overseas. But for the most important exercise of citizenship? Meh, anyone's word is just fine right? You have to show ID in order to enter the Justice Department building in DC or board a plane. But to vote, outrageous! Uh huh.
Our beloved federal government doesn't take your word that way when signing up for a passport, nope you have to prove you're a citizen just to take a trip overseas. But for the most important exercise of citizenship? Meh, anyone's word is just fine right? You have to show ID in order to enter the Justice Department building in DC or board a plane. But to vote, outrageous! Uh huh.
13
Voting is a right, not a privilege. And if these ID requirements were fair they might have some argument. But often you have to pay for them...should you have to pay for your right to vote? Often the list of what is acceptable seems pretty random...why is a college ID card not acceptable for example...is that because it is the most common ID available to mostly democratic young people?
I suppose if the state offered a free ID card to people for the purposes of voting that was easy to obtain..maybe.
I suppose if the state offered a free ID card to people for the purposes of voting that was easy to obtain..maybe.
103
And why was a gun license okay but not a student ID in some states? And why didn't they mail free IDs to seniors too old to drive of accept their SS and/or Medicare cards? Very good questions but much too late.
19
(Not Mark) College IDs do not require proof of citizenship. Illegal aliens matriculate. Also, many young people are in a college far away from their legal residence. The idea that showing ID to vote is disenfranchising minorities is ridiculous.
3
Yes. Resist anyway you can.
23
Way to go, America. You now voted so that the Supreme Court discards the Constitution and considers Republican dicta - and the Bible - as the law of the land. Are you aware of this? Do you even care? Sad. No, tragic.
140
"Aware"? Of all of the words you could use to describe Trump supporters, that is not one of them.
73
A majority of voters did not vote for Trump's america.
2
No evidence of voter fraud ? Take a look at the current North Carolina Governor's race... a clear example of blatant ballot box stuffing by Democrats... hundreds of absentee ballots.. all in the exact same handwriting... Lo.. all the whining .. Elections have consequences.... and Thank God they do..
11
Where do you people get these "truths"? Is there some kind of reputable journal you can link us to to prove this wild eyed ballot stuffing claim or is it something you read on the interenet?
153
Elections do have consequences. Just not when Democrats win. Then you stonewall. Obama named Merrick Garland almost a year ago.
223
Got that off of Facebook ...did you?
97
I need an ID to buy beer, board a plane, or enter many office buildings. I see no reason why it should not be required to vote. If you are so dysfunctional that you don't have some form of government issued ID, you probably shouldn't be voting anyway.
16
Common sense is just not very common, unfortunately.
1
If you actually ever voted in New York, you'd know that you DON'T need an ID, if you are a registered voter.
QED NYC: when your government puts obstacles in the way of getting an ID you have a dysfunctional government. QED
1
Scary, very very scary.
28
We are hurtling back to the 19th century.
36
Trump and the repubs will no doubt keep pressing their collective thumb on society. Keep pressing the blister, boys. Don't complain when it bursts and splatters all over you. Remember what happens to the party in power in the midterms.
8
Sessions' state, Alabama closed 31 DMV offices in majority black counties to make it harder to get drivers licences for voting ID. That's a lot of offices in 1 state. I think it was Ari Berman who said that on MSNBC.
The country once called the greatest democracy allows its states to make it as hard as possible to vote. Many people give up, and won't stand in long lines for hours. It's abusive.
Other countries try to make it easy to vote---if they do require ID, they use many forms of ID that people might easily have. They schedule voting on holidays or make it a holiday so it's not a work day for millions. They have higher voter turnout, of course.
The Times should do a table of countries with facts about the ease or difficulty of voting, and % turnout, and how they finance elections--to compare with what's going on in the US that undermines our democracy.
The country once called the greatest democracy allows its states to make it as hard as possible to vote. Many people give up, and won't stand in long lines for hours. It's abusive.
Other countries try to make it easy to vote---if they do require ID, they use many forms of ID that people might easily have. They schedule voting on holidays or make it a holiday so it's not a work day for millions. They have higher voter turnout, of course.
The Times should do a table of countries with facts about the ease or difficulty of voting, and % turnout, and how they finance elections--to compare with what's going on in the US that undermines our democracy.
28
I guarantee you that anyone with a work conflict also has an acceptable form of ID.
1
Alabama later re-opened those offices -- one day a month.
with apologies to sir Winston Churchill, never in the course of history have so few worked so hard to deny so many.
this is just disgusting. these deniers of the single most important franchise as citizens we receive. the right to vote. i am so tired of the right and their backward thinking. what a bunch of charlatans they are .
this is just disgusting. these deniers of the single most important franchise as citizens we receive. the right to vote. i am so tired of the right and their backward thinking. what a bunch of charlatans they are .
15
Richard Luttegen is clearly deluding himself that racism does not exist at the intensities of 1965.
No Richard, it went underground adopting coded language and dog whistles that is now being discarded as Trump has demonstrated you no longer need fear backlash from using racist, misogynistic hateful speech. Trump's ugly language during the campaign with no reproach demonstrated there is no censure for climbing out from under the rocks and darkness of hatred to feel free to give voice to racist views as they drag the country back to the days of Jim Crow and creating a more entrenched second class status for non-whites who will soon be the majority.
When you have the support of David Duke, the white supremacist White House strategist and Jeff Sessions poised to be US Attorney General you have to be either naive or a deluded racist to believe that this administration is going to strike down or fight against laws enacted to further racism and marginalizing huge swaths of the American public when they continue dismantling what remains of our gutted voting rights protections.
No Richard, it went underground adopting coded language and dog whistles that is now being discarded as Trump has demonstrated you no longer need fear backlash from using racist, misogynistic hateful speech. Trump's ugly language during the campaign with no reproach demonstrated there is no censure for climbing out from under the rocks and darkness of hatred to feel free to give voice to racist views as they drag the country back to the days of Jim Crow and creating a more entrenched second class status for non-whites who will soon be the majority.
When you have the support of David Duke, the white supremacist White House strategist and Jeff Sessions poised to be US Attorney General you have to be either naive or a deluded racist to believe that this administration is going to strike down or fight against laws enacted to further racism and marginalizing huge swaths of the American public when they continue dismantling what remains of our gutted voting rights protections.
19
Ben,
We do have Free Speech in this country thought the
PC crowd and evidently you are against it.
At 72 % of the Population, "Whites" as you call them are not going
anywhere soon and as their rule over the country becomes threatened
they will fight all the harder to retain it.
Though the government list people as minorities via their country of
origin, Hispanics who have been in America for three generations do
not see themselves as "Hispanics", likewise Asians who feel no guilt
over slavery or Jim Crow. They will not automatically join your
minority coalition but will vote their pocketbook.
Anyone can vote if they just go an register. It is not that difficult.
We do have Free Speech in this country thought the
PC crowd and evidently you are against it.
At 72 % of the Population, "Whites" as you call them are not going
anywhere soon and as their rule over the country becomes threatened
they will fight all the harder to retain it.
Though the government list people as minorities via their country of
origin, Hispanics who have been in America for three generations do
not see themselves as "Hispanics", likewise Asians who feel no guilt
over slavery or Jim Crow. They will not automatically join your
minority coalition but will vote their pocketbook.
Anyone can vote if they just go an register. It is not that difficult.
4
By the end of Donald Trump's first term, I believe that Attorney General Sessions and a Scalia-clone confirmation to the Supreme Court will so hamper minority access to the polls it will make it virtually impossible for a Democrat to win the White House in the foreseeable future.
17
When encumbrances are put on the right to vote, the ability of citizens to decide to change the course of government is neutered. We have seen this happen before in the period after the demise of Reconstruction.
21
"...ability of citizens to decide to change the course of government is neutered." Not so much, the ability to change the government might start to use different channels - maybe not as nice or peaceful, but the will of the people will be expressed.
Proverbs 29:18King James Version (KJV)
"Where there is no vision, the people perish . . . ." I seem to remember Barack Obama repeating this biblical quote a lot in one of his campaigns.
Hillary Clinton was the most visionless candidate the Democrats could have possibly put forward, and the DNC actually helped rig the game to put her forward over the Democratic candidate whose "vision" for our country was bold, well articulated, but would have threatened the oligarchy of which Mrs. Clinton is clearly a part.
Like it or not, Trump had a vision for America. I suspect it was all lies, and now "the people" will start to perish. I'm so angry I could spit. The Democrats can't do much about the appointments Trump has made so far, but anyone he puts up for the Supreme Court needs to be subjected to what Trump himself calls "extreme vetting". This incoming administration will call for the political fight of our lives.
Mrs. Clinton - you are nobody's standard bearer, so please have the goodness to stay out of it.
"Where there is no vision, the people perish . . . ." I seem to remember Barack Obama repeating this biblical quote a lot in one of his campaigns.
Hillary Clinton was the most visionless candidate the Democrats could have possibly put forward, and the DNC actually helped rig the game to put her forward over the Democratic candidate whose "vision" for our country was bold, well articulated, but would have threatened the oligarchy of which Mrs. Clinton is clearly a part.
Like it or not, Trump had a vision for America. I suspect it was all lies, and now "the people" will start to perish. I'm so angry I could spit. The Democrats can't do much about the appointments Trump has made so far, but anyone he puts up for the Supreme Court needs to be subjected to what Trump himself calls "extreme vetting". This incoming administration will call for the political fight of our lives.
Mrs. Clinton - you are nobody's standard bearer, so please have the goodness to stay out of it.
4
@Vesuvio,
See:
[quote] Dave Wasserman @Redistrict 4h4 hours ago
CA: 419k new Clinton votes, 199k Trump. Clinton's popular vote lead surpasses 1.67 million (1.3%) w/ millions left. [....] [end quote]
https://twitter.com/Redistrict/status/799991454030561280
But, just keep deluding yourself.
See:
[quote] Dave Wasserman @Redistrict 4h4 hours ago
CA: 419k new Clinton votes, 199k Trump. Clinton's popular vote lead surpasses 1.67 million (1.3%) w/ millions left. [....] [end quote]
https://twitter.com/Redistrict/status/799991454030561280
But, just keep deluding yourself.
Just for the record. And just to be clear.
I don't like the vision that Trump has for America.
And neither do all of the people who realize what that is -- and didn't vote for him.
Why??? Because his vision isn't for ALL Americans, and without that, there is NO way to make America great again.
I don't like the vision that Trump has for America.
And neither do all of the people who realize what that is -- and didn't vote for him.
Why??? Because his vision isn't for ALL Americans, and without that, there is NO way to make America great again.
Your narrow views are those of yours and yours alone! Hate is a terrible waste of energy!
The Shelby County v. Holder ruling merely established that the Voting Rights Act has to be applied equally in all states. For example, if the Justice Department sues North Carolina for reducing the number of early voting days, it should also sue New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri, Michigan, and Minnesota, which disallow early voting altogether. How can providing only 10 days of early voting be consider a violation of the Voting Rights when providing no early voting days is not a violation?
9
I have no idea if legions of Trump voters had any idea how much their support would damage the democratic American underpinning of one person/one vote. If they did, shame on them. If they didn't, shame on them. If they simply didn't care, shame on them. Trump made no secret of his contempt for the long-accepted norms of democracy.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
www.endthemadnessnow.org
16
Why is it that poor and minority populations can not get an ID or have a birth certificate. They seem to have no trouble getting to the Social Security office or obtaining the latest pair of Jordan's.
13
"They seem to have no trouble getting to the Social Security Office or obtaining the latest pair of Jordan's".
Just what kind of false equivalency are you attempting to put forth here?
If you have no empirical evidence to support this statement, it just comes across as pure ignorance...and racist too.
Just what kind of false equivalency are you attempting to put forth here?
If you have no empirical evidence to support this statement, it just comes across as pure ignorance...and racist too.
That was a cheap shot. Lots of poor people have trouble buying any shoe, let alone a jordan. But on to your point that getting ID is easy-- you are just flat wrong. Several years ago I had to help my brother obtain his birth certificate from Michigan. It was a 3 week nightmare and quite costly. Many among us do not have the resources or the ability to make a plan like I did. That does not mean they should be prevented from voting, they too have a stake in our country.
1
Wow what a hateful response.
And racist . Hope you're happy when Trump guts your Medicare and social security. You'll be standing in the same line.
And racist . Hope you're happy when Trump guts your Medicare and social security. You'll be standing in the same line.
1
There is endless election rigging going on, most likely on both sides, but certainly worse on the Republican side, with their dark vision for the USA. But rather than admit this, the NY Times posted cheer leader articles about mistaken exit polls, ignores the work of Greg Palast and Bev Harris among others. Had the NY Times not been so busy trying to make us all feel good that everything is right in America (if you are white in America) (sorry, that West Side Story tune just popped in) maybe we not be reading all your hair-raising editorials about Trump's administration choices.
By the way, if the Times were showing videos of the violence against water protectors in Standing Rock ND, the situation might have turned by now. Instead the National Guard is calling in more troops to protect a lawless company.
By the way, if the Times were showing videos of the violence against water protectors in Standing Rock ND, the situation might have turned by now. Instead the National Guard is calling in more troops to protect a lawless company.
13
Thank you for this important comment. Greg Palast revealed how the 2000 election was stolen for Bush by then Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, and now claims that by a method called Crosscheck 7 million voters in the 2016 Presidential election supposedly tried to vote twice, and that a number of them, although the number of them is currently unknown, were denied their vote.
A number of articles can be found simply by checking the internet; for a example, a recent one appeared in Rolling Stone.
Also, news about what is occurring down in Standing Rock is front page news. Why is this not in this newspaper on a daily basis?
A number of articles can be found simply by checking the internet; for a example, a recent one appeared in Rolling Stone.
Also, news about what is occurring down in Standing Rock is front page news. Why is this not in this newspaper on a daily basis?
About twenty states do not have laws or other requirements mandating how their electors vote in the Electoral College. In our history 157 electors have switched or withheld votes for various reasons, most recently in 2004. Given that Hillary Clinton is ahead by more than million popular votes (and counting) what would be the consequences if some red states electors switched or withheld their vote? Are they morally bound to vote for their party's candidate or to honor the wishes of the majority of the American people?
5
Hillary and the Democrats can make their appeal to the Electors.
If Michigan goes for Hillary, it is possible.
If Michigan goes for Hillary, it is possible.
3
Here's the Change.org petition urging the Electors to do just that.
https://www.change.org/p/electoral-college-electors-electoral-college-ma...
https://www.change.org/p/electoral-college-electors-electoral-college-ma...
1
They are morally bound to vote for the winner of their state's voters.
Why do we have to lower the bar for people who simply can't be bothered to acquire a simple ID, especially when we have millions of undocumented people with their own agenda and reason to vote fraudulently?
14
Explain how an undocumented person can obtain the documentation to vote when you require documentation to register?
You've missed a very valid point -- sometimes it's not so "simple".
@M. Seattle
Wake up, M! Or are you just preaching from a seat of white privilege in a libera l state with no history of voter suppression? Alabama closed 31 DMV offices prior to this election. Working people simply gave up -- they didn't have the time to stand in line for many hours. And closing polling places in minority neighborhoods is another common practice.
We don't have to "lower the bar" for "them" . . . all we need to do is level the playing field.
As for those " millions of undocumented people with their own agenda and reason to vote fraudulently . . ." Any one who believes that is welcome to buy this lovely bridge I have for sale.
Wake up, M! Or are you just preaching from a seat of white privilege in a libera l state with no history of voter suppression? Alabama closed 31 DMV offices prior to this election. Working people simply gave up -- they didn't have the time to stand in line for many hours. And closing polling places in minority neighborhoods is another common practice.
We don't have to "lower the bar" for "them" . . . all we need to do is level the playing field.
As for those " millions of undocumented people with their own agenda and reason to vote fraudulently . . ." Any one who believes that is welcome to buy this lovely bridge I have for sale.
1
I hope many of those who did not bother to vote will find that they still have the right to do so, in 2 years. I have my doubts. Those who fail to defend democracy, don't deserve its rights and privileges.
18
Department of Injustice, here we come.
18
Voting rights curtailment is upon us, courtesy of a discriminatory republican party, as it is concerned by an increase in diversity (read, 'non-white') favoring democrats. And a partisan Supreme Court, contrary to its intended purpose of imparting justice, may become just a lap dog to demagogue Trump's capricious abuse of power...in detriment of minorities, especially Latinos, Muslims and Blacks. Who said "racism" is dead? Given all the evidence at hand, with 'racist' discrimination in power, racism is "alive and well", a most shameful process in this XXI century, a dark chapter in our still violent past of abuse of 'the other', in the name of white supremacy masked as entitled concern for protecting 'our ancestry', an enlightened nonsense of a poisoned heart.
21
MM.
You say 'Diversity' should be read as 'non-white'.
And so you make a firm distinction between those you call
"white " and "non-white".
Are you not then being a 'racist' by making such a distinction
and claiming that such a distinction is of the utmost importance ?
You say 'Diversity' should be read as 'non-white'.
And so you make a firm distinction between those you call
"white " and "non-white".
Are you not then being a 'racist' by making such a distinction
and claiming that such a distinction is of the utmost importance ?
2
John Brown, you are shouting into the wind, much as your namesake. The fact that you are correct in your comments regarding the notions of "white," "non-white," and racism is lost upon the fanatics. Come to think of it, your namesake was something of a fanatic, so it may be what goes around comes around.
The unfortunate reality of our times, like other turbulent eras of emotional righteousness, is that rational discussion is not welcomed by either extreme. This of course means that anyone in the middle who demands that conversation and discussion of these matters prevail over propaganda, whatever its source, and jingoism is denounced by both sides. The compounding effect is that the middle of the bell curve becomes drawn to the extreme that is least onerous to them.
During the 1850s and 1860s, the middle was drawn to the cause of ending slavery in the US; first by stopping its expansion, then with the outright ban. Those were white people who ended slavery, not that the diversity demagogues will honor that fact.
During the 1930s, the middle was drawn to the cause of Hitler in Germany. Yep, those were white people too, but their whiteness only matters to those who blame whites for all the evil in the world. The "good" Germans were looking for someone who purported to support them.
My worry is that the "good" Americans who elected Trump may take us down the road of Germany. What's worse, the diversity demagogues will aid his cause through their own race baiting.
The unfortunate reality of our times, like other turbulent eras of emotional righteousness, is that rational discussion is not welcomed by either extreme. This of course means that anyone in the middle who demands that conversation and discussion of these matters prevail over propaganda, whatever its source, and jingoism is denounced by both sides. The compounding effect is that the middle of the bell curve becomes drawn to the extreme that is least onerous to them.
During the 1850s and 1860s, the middle was drawn to the cause of ending slavery in the US; first by stopping its expansion, then with the outright ban. Those were white people who ended slavery, not that the diversity demagogues will honor that fact.
During the 1930s, the middle was drawn to the cause of Hitler in Germany. Yep, those were white people too, but their whiteness only matters to those who blame whites for all the evil in the world. The "good" Germans were looking for someone who purported to support them.
My worry is that the "good" Americans who elected Trump may take us down the road of Germany. What's worse, the diversity demagogues will aid his cause through their own race baiting.
My first reaction to this column was anger, anger at the injustice of it all. But then I realized that much of this voter suppression is not racism, but rather one group of voters trying to suppress another through their control of local governments. We need a ground swell of support by all voters to reaffirm our support for voting rights for everyone. Playing politics with this right should not be an option for anyone Whether they claim to be Republican or Democrat, independent or whatever their skin color. The Supreme Court if they do not reaffirm this will fall into a political trap and forfeit their right to speak for the constitution or any of us. This issue is beyond conservative or liberal bit at heart of our rights as Americans.
29
but first....check the governors of those states..........Republicans?.....
All Republicans? would you care for a moment to re-think?
All Republicans? would you care for a moment to re-think?
21
Not just Republican governors. 33 states are controlled with Republican governors and legislature and only four for the Democrats.
The mixed party states have five Republican governors.
Haven't Democrats been paying attention the last 8 years?
The mixed party states have five Republican governors.
Haven't Democrats been paying attention the last 8 years?
1
I fear that we are long past rigging and onto the more mammon centered stage of historical conservative governance, that is, the enslavement of the many to fuel the antebellum comfort and glory of the few.
45
My goodness! Sounds too much like apartheid South Africa! We couldn't be headed down that road, could we?
If only Lincoln had let the Confederacy secede
153
(Not Mark) So you are fine with slavery continuing?
We'd still have a problem as they'd be a 3rd world country and we'd be sending them foreign aid.....
It's never too late. Make us an offer?
The right to vote should not be based on states rights. We need consistent rules that apply every where for every voter otherwise one part of the country can hold another hostage through their draconian voter suppression laws. Conservatives often support states rights, the same ideas that led to our civil war. If a conservative Supreme Court does not support the universal right to vote, but rather a limiting view of states rights to control voting the whole nation will have lost.
56
Determination of voter qualifications for national elections is written into the Constitution in is Article I, modified by the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments. In general, that leaves the matter to the states, with specific and limitations of their basis for imposing voting eligibility restrictions on citizens. Federal law prohibits voting by non-citizens.
States can allow non-citizens to vote in non-federal contests, and at times in the past some of them did so.
States can allow non-citizens to vote in non-federal contests, and at times in the past some of them did so.
Unfortunately the Constitution (one of it's many flaws) gives states nearly all of the power in managing voting, in both federal and other elections.
While I am against all the anti-voter actions of the Republicans, I am embarrassed by the lack of action by Liberals. The solution to the anti-voter laws is for us liberals to create organizations that assist people in getting the required IDs, registering to vote and getting them to the polls.The way to destroy the anti-voter laws is to render them moot. If I lived in one of the voter suppression states, I'd be donating my time and money assisting people to get registered and to vote.
118
I agree with this wholeheartedly actually.
The voter ID thing can be rendered more toothless. The shutting down of available polling places causing long lines...thats more of a problem...not sure how to fight that except in the courts..
The voter ID thing can be rendered more toothless. The shutting down of available polling places causing long lines...thats more of a problem...not sure how to fight that except in the courts..
50
Do you mean volunteering to help voters like ACORN? Look what happened to them ... falsified videos made, Limbaugh and FOX put that organization out of existence. Very sad
2
Jeff, that was my instinctive reaction too. And it's still a good and patriotic idea to assist people to exercise their right to vote. However, some voter suppression efforts involve purging voter rolls (without any voter notification). It is lengthy, expensive, and time-consuming to obtain or gather all of the supporting documents in order to obtain the required ID to register voters and get them to the polls when all the authorities have to do is press a delete key.
1
It is inconceivable to me that in this day and age any adult does not have a valid ID. Beyond voting it serves many useful purposes.
States are required to issue birth certificates, they should also be required to issue ID to all residents on their 18th birthday. At a cost not to exceed the hourly minimum wage in that State.
And let the States contract out this to the US Selective Service (aka the Draft Board). That would give them something to do.
States are required to issue birth certificates, they should also be required to issue ID to all residents on their 18th birthday. At a cost not to exceed the hourly minimum wage in that State.
And let the States contract out this to the US Selective Service (aka the Draft Board). That would give them something to do.
2
Required by whom? States manage voting according to the Constitution and the federal government has no right to make them issue anything.
People who want to put an end to discrimination don't waste their time on voting rights matters. Study after study -- as indicated by Nate Silver -- show that id laws have a tiny effect on voter turnout at best. The belief that there are a lot of poor black people who can't produce sufficient id is almost entirely refuted by the evidence. It is possible that somewhere less than 1% of blacks are affected, but nobody knows.
None of the states in the Trump-Clinton election were remotely close enough to be affected by id laws. Theoretically, of course, such laws could change an election. But playing the odds, you're more likely to help black people at the polls by spending election day running a free taxi service.
None of the states in the Trump-Clinton election were remotely close enough to be affected by id laws. Theoretically, of course, such laws could change an election. But playing the odds, you're more likely to help black people at the polls by spending election day running a free taxi service.
6
I just hope that those disgruntled "middle class voters" who voted in large numbers for Trump in hopes of "making America great again" and getting those industrial belt jobs back from the '60s and '70s are satisfied. They will soon feel, (if they don't already), like those Trump University students who finally got some measure of satisfaction -- the $25 million dollar settlement. Trump knew that his Trump University was a scam. He knew he was cheating people out of their life savings at the time and he, apparently, could have cared less. The only reason the settlement went forward was because he won the "scam of scams" and fooled enough people into believing that he would bring back those industrial belt jobs. Well, I hope your happy with the result because everything he is doing now is translating to a reversal of fortunes for what was once the envy of the world --- the American middle class. Unfortunately, it has now become an endangered species and we can blame all of you clueless "middle class" voters who were stupid enough to believe Donald Trump could be trusted with his word.
11
Voting Riggs in America has a long tortured history. Despite Justice Roberts' belief that racism no longer exists in America, the election of Trump proves otherwise.
Republicans are at the heart of a long list of voter repression measures; "surgically" trimming the voter rolls
Closing polling places with large minority turnout
Difficult Voter identification measures
Voter intimidation
We are seeing firsthand how a society normalize hatred, with rhetoric during a presidential campaign.
Racism rules in America and until we face it head on, which includes rightfully de-legitimizing the president elect, we are in for a bumpy ride.
Republicans are at the heart of a long list of voter repression measures; "surgically" trimming the voter rolls
Closing polling places with large minority turnout
Difficult Voter identification measures
Voter intimidation
We are seeing firsthand how a society normalize hatred, with rhetoric during a presidential campaign.
Racism rules in America and until we face it head on, which includes rightfully de-legitimizing the president elect, we are in for a bumpy ride.
6
If we were "seeing it firsthand", why did the author not include an interview with someone who feels his or her vote was suppressed. Or was prevented somehow from voting?
If it was that widespread, why do we not read "first hand" accounts in the media? Not from commenters who make assumptions based on what they read on the Huffington Post, but from people who were intimidated, or were unable to obtain a proper form of ID, or found the rules surrounding registration too onerous?
If it was that widespread, why do we not read "first hand" accounts in the media? Not from commenters who make assumptions based on what they read on the Huffington Post, but from people who were intimidated, or were unable to obtain a proper form of ID, or found the rules surrounding registration too onerous?
1
Somehow every one of those revered Euro-utopias requires a photo ID to cast a ballot. Every one of them. Shall it be necessary to say that again for the hard of head? Call it what they do - an identity card. Worries over some police state policy is silly since driver licenses, social security cards and now, facial recognition software being used surreptitiously and becoming widespread, renders these concerns quaint. We have already surrendered privacy, lazy idiots that we are, so one more form of identification, and one that has a legitimate purpose, only upsets those who know they cannot win elections by the power of their arguments; they may only win when the pliable, fearful new and illegal arrival is winked at when handed the ballot. Time's up for you fools.
5
The UK doesn't...although its debatable whether to include them in your Euro-utopias after Brexit
No illegals vote! Why would they when breaking a law would put them on the fast track to deportation?
One tool to fight voter suppression is vote by mail, something Oregon has had for years. One gets the ballot weeks prior to the election and can vote from the safety and privacy of one's dwelling. Senator Ron Wyden and others will be trying to get it passed.
Sure, it most likely won't pass, as the Senate and the House are run by those cheering on the destruction of democracy and clean air, also knows as the Republican Party, but still, if one is inevitably heading for living in a Blade Runner type future, it is better for one's mental health to cheer on the good guys.
America...what you get when you let kindergarten kids try total independence and democracy. Lots of candy, and then disaster.
Trump is a living nightmare. Those who voted for him have it on their souls, if they have any such thing.
Hugh Massengill, Eugene
Sure, it most likely won't pass, as the Senate and the House are run by those cheering on the destruction of democracy and clean air, also knows as the Republican Party, but still, if one is inevitably heading for living in a Blade Runner type future, it is better for one's mental health to cheer on the good guys.
America...what you get when you let kindergarten kids try total independence and democracy. Lots of candy, and then disaster.
Trump is a living nightmare. Those who voted for him have it on their souls, if they have any such thing.
Hugh Massengill, Eugene
6
Absentee voting is allowed in every single state.
1
It's difficult to see how equal protections under the law can advance in America for the next 30 years. (8 years of Trump, continued gerrymandering for control of the US House, Right wing media and Supreme Court nominations to come...),
Republicans hold the keys to power and power gives more power. If they can restrict voting rights and reduce the number of immigrants to our nation they may succeed in the creation of the alt-right's ethno-state concept.
I feel as if my multicultural pluralistic America is being usurped in real time by ethnocentric bigotry.
It is sad especially having experienced throughout my lifetime the many benefits of our diverse nation.
Republicans hold the keys to power and power gives more power. If they can restrict voting rights and reduce the number of immigrants to our nation they may succeed in the creation of the alt-right's ethno-state concept.
I feel as if my multicultural pluralistic America is being usurped in real time by ethnocentric bigotry.
It is sad especially having experienced throughout my lifetime the many benefits of our diverse nation.
7
While 8 years of Trump is the max, I wouldn't bet on it. He is 70, and wears rich food around his middle. Time will tell.
In any case, Democrats need to cultivate younger legislators, mayors, governors, congresspersons, and senators. This is the time to concentrate on the farm team. The first chance will be in 2 years, and while the odds aren't great for that cycle, Democrats can improve the odds starting now, and we could surprise the prognosticators. 2020 and 2022 are when we move to big leagues.
Start local. Vote. Make voting a habit, even if the election is for dog catcher! Don't get mad (leave temper tantrums to Trump). Get even!
Let's keep our cool, get organized, and keep our chins up. Laugh. No fear if we are together. Help others.
Celebrate love, don't let the fear mongers do our thinking. Make them nervous that we are happy, in spite of their fear mongering -- we are the Cindy Lou Who's of this era. Let the thunder sound of our footsteps be our strength.
In any case, Democrats need to cultivate younger legislators, mayors, governors, congresspersons, and senators. This is the time to concentrate on the farm team. The first chance will be in 2 years, and while the odds aren't great for that cycle, Democrats can improve the odds starting now, and we could surprise the prognosticators. 2020 and 2022 are when we move to big leagues.
Start local. Vote. Make voting a habit, even if the election is for dog catcher! Don't get mad (leave temper tantrums to Trump). Get even!
Let's keep our cool, get organized, and keep our chins up. Laugh. No fear if we are together. Help others.
Celebrate love, don't let the fear mongers do our thinking. Make them nervous that we are happy, in spite of their fear mongering -- we are the Cindy Lou Who's of this era. Let the thunder sound of our footsteps be our strength.
1
While its very clear that the republican party brokers hope to constrain voting among democratic electorate strongholds in minority communities via Voter ID requirements, that isn't the real issue at stake.
The real issue is the low rate of informed voter turnout in this country.
First, the turnout for the election was ~56% of eligible voters, which represents a 20 year low in terms of both actuals and percentages. The turnout was especially disappointing in the democratic urban strongholds which historically had dominated the results of the key rust belt states that moved from democratic to republican outcomes.
So that raises the second point, why was turnout so low?
It wasn't because of Voter ID laws or voter qualification tests, or restricted voting times. In today's world of internet communications and blanket news coverage, such issues would have dominated the evening's reporting. It would be too hard to cover up.
The real issue is the lack of informed voters who care enough to vote. The majority of our eligible electorate is not comprised of people who are knowledgeable about how government works and laws passed, let alone how the economy functions. The majority are primarily interested in whether or not their daily quality of life satisfies their needs for safety, harmony or cultural identity. The bell curve at work.
Clearly not enough eligible democratic voters cared enough about their quality of life to vote either to sustain it or to change it.
The real issue is the low rate of informed voter turnout in this country.
First, the turnout for the election was ~56% of eligible voters, which represents a 20 year low in terms of both actuals and percentages. The turnout was especially disappointing in the democratic urban strongholds which historically had dominated the results of the key rust belt states that moved from democratic to republican outcomes.
So that raises the second point, why was turnout so low?
It wasn't because of Voter ID laws or voter qualification tests, or restricted voting times. In today's world of internet communications and blanket news coverage, such issues would have dominated the evening's reporting. It would be too hard to cover up.
The real issue is the lack of informed voters who care enough to vote. The majority of our eligible electorate is not comprised of people who are knowledgeable about how government works and laws passed, let alone how the economy functions. The majority are primarily interested in whether or not their daily quality of life satisfies their needs for safety, harmony or cultural identity. The bell curve at work.
Clearly not enough eligible democratic voters cared enough about their quality of life to vote either to sustain it or to change it.
37
Agreed. This is what happens when you don't invest in education. The people who are educated are hell bent on keeping their power. We need to decide we do want to make America great (it's kind of great already) and invest in EDUCATION! Civics especially.
TDurk, I agree with you for the most part. But, how do you explain that Democrats cast over a million more votes for Hillary than others did for Trumpolini. The Electoral College no longer works. Hillary should be moving back into the WH - not the orange one, who thinks he now has a new acquisition rather than the heavy responsibilities he now has to carry and has no clue.
I recently learned that in MA, the testing requirements and the need to teach to the tests have meant that civics is no longer part of the curriculum. And this is a blue state with good public schools. Back when I was in school. we had a year-long course in civics: state and federal governments, the branches of government, what their powers and duties are. I thought it was boring, but now I realize it was essential. Let's insist that civics be brought back. How can we have a democracy when the people have no idea how it works, or who has which powers?
1
We have adopted the narrative that protections are no longer needed because we are a post-racial society. That the narrative will result in the potential marginalization of voters who historically vote against the House, Senate and soon-to-be-once-again Court majority is not the main point, according to the majority.
The only solution is a return to the 60s with full out efforts to get voters who are being disenfranchised by how the laws are implemented the help they need to get ID, to get registered and to get to the polls.
The only solution is a return to the 60s with full out efforts to get voters who are being disenfranchised by how the laws are implemented the help they need to get ID, to get registered and to get to the polls.
5
I find it mind-boggling that voting laws in the U.S. are still subject to manipulation by politicians. Of course they are going to feather their own nests. The fact that a party in power can rig elections through voter I.D. Laws and gerrymandering to ensure its continued success is an insult to democracy. The fact that these machinations suppress the political voice of the descendants of slaves is an insult to human descency. Institutional racism lives on.
9
Every white, property owning, natural born, Christian American male who is a registered Republican with a government issued photo ID will be able to vote. That is the goal. We will have a one party system.
Voting. Use it or lose it. That was made clear before the election. Too many did not listen. The result is proving to be an Authoritarian coup d' etat, where 100 years of progress shall be reversed. There are no patriots in the wrecking crew taking absolute power, they believe, and if we want our country back patriots are going to have to fight for it, insist on the rule of law and due process and prepare to rebuilt our liberties starting with standing up for the rights of our fellow citizens.
Voting. Use it or lose it. That was made clear before the election. Too many did not listen. The result is proving to be an Authoritarian coup d' etat, where 100 years of progress shall be reversed. There are no patriots in the wrecking crew taking absolute power, they believe, and if we want our country back patriots are going to have to fight for it, insist on the rule of law and due process and prepare to rebuilt our liberties starting with standing up for the rights of our fellow citizens.
6
I made a comment that we should expect two things right up front, one of which was a continuing attack on "voting rights?" All citizens should be able to vote without overt or covert attempts to impede their ability to do so. Race, ethnicity, and religion should not be factors. Only two factors should impede a person's ability to vote -- citizenship and legal age. It stands to reason that a minority party would want to suppress voting rights among those voting blocks that help create the majority. The republican party is a minority party in sheer numbers. Despite considerable flaws, Clinton won the popular vote. Quirks in the electoral process, however, gave the minority candidate a win. Assuming we have another meaningful election, to consolidate power, the R's will continue to further rig the process in their favor, because in some ways the process has already been "rigged" to favor the minority party. (See Daley's Ratf**ked: The True Story Behind the Secret Plan to Steal America's Democracy.) Although Obama's re-election gave hope, the current election has drained it away. The majority of state governments, the House, the Senate, and now the executive branch are controlled by republicans. Increasingly, we are living in a single-party country. It remains a minority party, unreflective of the majority of Americans, but much more successful at seizing and retaining power, voting rights being just one such way. Have the scale been tipped past the point of return?
5
Pro-Democracy advocates have a unique opportunity now to reform the U.S. voting laws state-by-state and encourage previous non-voters to participate in our elections. In 2018, they can turn Congress from Republican to Democratic control. And, in 2020, they can select a new President -- one who believes in democracy and acts to advance it in the United States.
The present climate of voter suppression should be seen as an environment that makes clear the need for pro-democracy reforms at the state level.
The present climate of voter suppression should be seen as an environment that makes clear the need for pro-democracy reforms at the state level.
4
In law school I learned the constitutional difference between discriminatory intent and discriminatory impact. It seems to me that if a state legislature knowingly allows a law that has a discriminatory impact to remain in place, that state is acting with discriminatory intent. Democrats in those states that are implementing ever more draconian voter registration laws and the like need to get out grass roots efforts to go door to door if necessary to make registration and voting accessible to all people.
41
Would it not be a heck of a lot more practical to prevent such draconian laws being put into place to begin with? People have the RIGHT to vote. It is not acceptable to put barriers in their way. And that is true whether the intent or the impact is discriminatory in any way.
The intent of those who do not act to change something once its impact becomes apparent can different from the intent of those who passed it.
In most cases, I don't think they were so good hearted but naive, but we can't prove it.
We might be able to prove that it is now well known, and nothing is done. Negative "action", failure to act, has not been well developed in the law of civil rights. I think it could be. It is a promising theory.
This comment suggests a good idea.
In most cases, I don't think they were so good hearted but naive, but we can't prove it.
We might be able to prove that it is now well known, and nothing is done. Negative "action", failure to act, has not been well developed in the law of civil rights. I think it could be. It is a promising theory.
This comment suggests a good idea.
A court action based on failure to act on a known problem would imply a duty to act.
That is a duty to govern responsibly.
That is a useful extension of the power of courts to enforce the Constitution.
It is very timely after eight years of the Party of No. We can see we need some way to deal with refusal to govern.
It could also interpret a refusal to act once the issue is raised as itself an action, and that an un-Constitutional action. In that case, the predicate is not a duty to act, but proof that something was done adequate to raise the issue, and then the "action" was to refuse. That would mean that some things just can't be refused, a la The Godfather, an offer you can't refuse.
I think a Constitutional duty of good governance is a better approach, but I'd take it either way.
That is a duty to govern responsibly.
That is a useful extension of the power of courts to enforce the Constitution.
It is very timely after eight years of the Party of No. We can see we need some way to deal with refusal to govern.
It could also interpret a refusal to act once the issue is raised as itself an action, and that an un-Constitutional action. In that case, the predicate is not a duty to act, but proof that something was done adequate to raise the issue, and then the "action" was to refuse. That would mean that some things just can't be refused, a la The Godfather, an offer you can't refuse.
I think a Constitutional duty of good governance is a better approach, but I'd take it either way.
Donald Trump confirmed that voters’ ignorance is one of the main problems facing our democracy, and that so is their indiscriminate rejection of the “establishment” exploited by him. Democracy's perils have been evident since Ancient Athens. Socrates was contemptuous of its not requiring proof of knowledge of the issues by politicians, and its treating the opinions of all citizens as equal in value. Plato, too, was convinced of democracy's sinister nature. His views are still thought provoking. Could it be true that our leaders are the bullies and political tyrants Plato describes? Does democracy inexorably lead to one-sided benefits for the ruling class, such as the horrendous income inequality facing us today?
Voter turnout in the 2016 presidential elections was only 57.9%, which is about the same as in 2012 (57.4%) and lower than in 2008 (62.3%). But far more worrisome is the quality of voting. According to Michigan U., Americans fall into three categories in their knowledge of political issues: less than 1% being well informed, roughly 50% capable of answering only very simple questions, and the rest knowing next to nothing. This problem of voter apathy and ignorance has been facing us perennially. The US is not “the greatest democracy on earth”, as many of us claim. Perhaps we will make it so in the distant future. In the interim, we should put the blame mainly on ourselves, the voters, not on the politicians whom we select and elect.
Voter turnout in the 2016 presidential elections was only 57.9%, which is about the same as in 2012 (57.4%) and lower than in 2008 (62.3%). But far more worrisome is the quality of voting. According to Michigan U., Americans fall into three categories in their knowledge of political issues: less than 1% being well informed, roughly 50% capable of answering only very simple questions, and the rest knowing next to nothing. This problem of voter apathy and ignorance has been facing us perennially. The US is not “the greatest democracy on earth”, as many of us claim. Perhaps we will make it so in the distant future. In the interim, we should put the blame mainly on ourselves, the voters, not on the politicians whom we select and elect.
31
GM,
I have come to the conclusion that there should be a simple Civics Test
that any 8th grader should be able to score 70% on.
Those who earn 90 % or higher should get 3 votes,
those who score between 90 - 70 % should get 2 votes
and those who score below 70 % one vote.
As Plato noted long ago, we go to experts to heal and shod our horses,
generals to lead our armies, why do we assume that everyone
knows what is best for the City-State when so many know so little ?
I have come to the conclusion that there should be a simple Civics Test
that any 8th grader should be able to score 70% on.
Those who earn 90 % or higher should get 3 votes,
those who score between 90 - 70 % should get 2 votes
and those who score below 70 % one vote.
As Plato noted long ago, we go to experts to heal and shod our horses,
generals to lead our armies, why do we assume that everyone
knows what is best for the City-State when so many know so little ?
2
The horrendous income inequality we see in our country today does not exist in a number of European democracies. Denmark, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands come to mind. Most of the other European countries lie in between the rate of inequality in those mostly Northern lands, and ours. So no, its not inevitable.
"According to Michigan U."
Where/ what is that, in this discussion of lo-fo?
I went to U Michigan, (Ann Arbor) , PhD in Social Science, there is NO 'Michigan U'
oops
there is Michigan State U (in Lansing, Mich)
=
Well, maybe we could upgrade voters by rolling back the franchise, to 1789, when the Federalist Papers were the OpEds, I doubt anyone would / could read them these days, nor do I seek the twitter version
and roll back office holding also, to landed white gentry
(oops )
Where/ what is that, in this discussion of lo-fo?
I went to U Michigan, (Ann Arbor) , PhD in Social Science, there is NO 'Michigan U'
oops
there is Michigan State U (in Lansing, Mich)
=
Well, maybe we could upgrade voters by rolling back the franchise, to 1789, when the Federalist Papers were the OpEds, I doubt anyone would / could read them these days, nor do I seek the twitter version
and roll back office holding also, to landed white gentry
(oops )
The forces that would dismantle the Voting Rights Act are, of course, doing simple electoral math. The fewer non-whites who vote, the greater the chance to maintain Republican electoral victories despite the party’s declining numbers.
No state is going to get away with de jure discrimination these days. But the de facto discrimination that comes with efforts to discourage large segments of non-white voters from reaching the ballot box are every bit as pernicious.
The more onerous the voter ID laws, the less likely economically disadvantaged non-Caucasians, the elderly, or the bedridden will be able to vote. Since large numbers of those people would cast ballots for Democrats, better that they should just stay home on Election Day. And don’t dare give them a mail-in ballot.
It’s cheap and easy to argue that the most current efforts to drown the Voting Rights Act are race neutral and nondiscriminatory. But they are not. And since section 2 is the next target—having been so since Chief Justice Roberts’s days as an attorney in the Justice Department—it is a solid bet that it too will likely be found unconstitutional, as Mr. Berman portends.
You can argue that efforts to make voting more difficult are race neutral. But that simply isn’t true. A rigged system? I'm afraid so.
No state is going to get away with de jure discrimination these days. But the de facto discrimination that comes with efforts to discourage large segments of non-white voters from reaching the ballot box are every bit as pernicious.
The more onerous the voter ID laws, the less likely economically disadvantaged non-Caucasians, the elderly, or the bedridden will be able to vote. Since large numbers of those people would cast ballots for Democrats, better that they should just stay home on Election Day. And don’t dare give them a mail-in ballot.
It’s cheap and easy to argue that the most current efforts to drown the Voting Rights Act are race neutral and nondiscriminatory. But they are not. And since section 2 is the next target—having been so since Chief Justice Roberts’s days as an attorney in the Justice Department—it is a solid bet that it too will likely be found unconstitutional, as Mr. Berman portends.
You can argue that efforts to make voting more difficult are race neutral. But that simply isn’t true. A rigged system? I'm afraid so.
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Richard, you speak truth to power -- powerfully.
As it has been pointed out, during the election when Trump's motto was Make America Great Again, nobody really tried to pin him down about what he meant by that.
But actions speak louder than words. The motive and measurement for greatness to those who seized power during this election is control and power over our lives with minimal interference any of those pesky voters who might disagree.
But actions speak louder than words. The motive and measurement for greatness to those who seized power during this election is control and power over our lives with minimal interference any of those pesky voters who might disagree.
5
No offense, but you might want to change whatever station you're listening to, because Trump was asked several times (but obviously, not enough) about what he meant, and all he came up with was the same drivel: "Build the Wall" etc.
As for his actions speaking louder than words, they do.
Starting with Steve Bannon, Jeff Sessions and the rest of his racist, bigoted inner-circle who will have MAXIMUM interference on "those pesky voters who might disagree".
As for his actions speaking louder than words, they do.
Starting with Steve Bannon, Jeff Sessions and the rest of his racist, bigoted inner-circle who will have MAXIMUM interference on "those pesky voters who might disagree".
Wisconsin wasn't covered under Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act (requiring preclearance for changes in voting procedures in particular jurisdictions), so I'm not sure why that's the example being invoked about the inimical effects of the demise of that section of the Voting Rights Act. (Alaska was the only northern State that was fully covered. In other northern States, specific jurisdictions in NY, Michigan, and South Dakota were also covered.) I agree with the author that we are in a bad way on the voting rights front, just not the author's example, which is misleading about the operation of the VRA.
4
The pre-clearance portion of the Voting Rights Act was, in itself, a violation of the Equal Protection clause and as such, needed to be struck down. As it stood, a citizen of Boston could vote in a change to election law and it would be assumed to be valid until and unless successfully challenged in the court system. If this same citizen moved to Selma and proposed the exact same change, his decision would be presumed invalid until upheld by government review. This is not, at least to me, Equal Protection.
If the law had said that all changes to election law needed pre-clearance, I would have had no problem with it. Had it said, as is now the case, that no changes need it, but can be challenged in court when it is believe that they are discriminatory, I have no problem with it. To set up citizens of the United States as second class, either by race or geographic location, is on the face of it discriminatory and I will have no part of that.
If the law had said that all changes to election law needed pre-clearance, I would have had no problem with it. Had it said, as is now the case, that no changes need it, but can be challenged in court when it is believe that they are discriminatory, I have no problem with it. To set up citizens of the United States as second class, either by race or geographic location, is on the face of it discriminatory and I will have no part of that.
4
MC,
Well said and well put.
Thank you.
Well said and well put.
Thank you.
1
I think there has been not enough press on the fact this is the FIRST Presidential election to happen after the Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act and after many voter restriction laws were enforced at a statewide level like in states like Wisconsin, Ohio, etc. The numbers seems to suggest there was less turnout which prompted Hillary's loss, but it is hard to figure out how much of that turnout was because people had to literally fight to vote. Forget race, I heard stories of white women being turned away from voting, after bringing multiple forms of ID, including a driver's license. People who think this Presidential election is not about suppression of racial minorities and women are complicit with the ideology that won Trump this election.
8
You "heard stories"?! Well then it MUST be true.
The election of Trump and his Despicables represents the end of the Progressive era and the beginning of the Regressive Period.
We must remember that the US Constitution is a contract written on a piece of parchment. President-Elect Trump has little regard for contracts (unless, of course, the contract benefits him).
Sadly, history repeats itself - from the secession of South Carolina to the downfall of Democracy during the Weimar Republic.
Thoughtful and considerate Americans, it now time to protect the Constitution and the rights granted therein. Our forefathers fought and died for these unalienable rights. Sadly this is a time when we may have to do the same the rights and freedoms that protect ALL Americans and free people of the World.
We must remember that the US Constitution is a contract written on a piece of parchment. President-Elect Trump has little regard for contracts (unless, of course, the contract benefits him).
Sadly, history repeats itself - from the secession of South Carolina to the downfall of Democracy during the Weimar Republic.
Thoughtful and considerate Americans, it now time to protect the Constitution and the rights granted therein. Our forefathers fought and died for these unalienable rights. Sadly this is a time when we may have to do the same the rights and freedoms that protect ALL Americans and free people of the World.
8
The Voting Rights Act passed with Republican support over the racist and violent southern Democrat party was never intended to put the Justice Department permanently in charge of voting throughout most of the country. The South is a much different place and minorities are free to exercise their voting rights. The left wing of the Democrat party has been using the act as a club to ride rough-shod over the states. I had to produce my ID since the first time I voted in a little almost all white upstate New York hamlet. No racial discrimination, no selective rules, just reasonable action to make sure only citizens voted.
Similarly, the South is a much different place than the 1960s. Black police chiefs, govt workers and politicians hold important positions and political offices. Blacks have such economic power that discrimination would be foolhardy for any company.
It was time for the domination of the Justice Department to cease its preapproval action requirement for voting. The Justice Department of course still has the ability to enforce actual instances of discriminatory practices in voting that may occur.
Similarly, the South is a much different place than the 1960s. Black police chiefs, govt workers and politicians hold important positions and political offices. Blacks have such economic power that discrimination would be foolhardy for any company.
It was time for the domination of the Justice Department to cease its preapproval action requirement for voting. The Justice Department of course still has the ability to enforce actual instances of discriminatory practices in voting that may occur.
5
No offense, but it sounds like you should go visit the South again...as a Black man.
And if you can't manage that, check out the recent statistics of racial injustices documented by The Southern Poverty Law Center (www.splc.org)
You're in for a very rude awakening.
And if you can't manage that, check out the recent statistics of racial injustices documented by The Southern Poverty Law Center (www.splc.org)
You're in for a very rude awakening.
who are you fooling as soon as they gutted one aspect of the voting right acts states were tripping over themselves to pass more restrictive laws.
I'll bet you didn't have to wait in line for three to five hours either, in your white, rural district; a situation Republican Secretaries
of State have been able to create in urban, Democratic leaning districts.
of State have been able to create in urban, Democratic leaning districts.
We now live in fox nation with a hefty side of hate radio and internet propaganda meant to keep the hate going and even ratchet it up as the financial elite attempt a world takeover.
How did it happen? Readers are advised to watch this video from mediamatters.org for a brief summary of the con job that was done on America. The video concentrates on the propaganda fox so-called news spreads but the website covers hate radio and internet engineered hate as well.
I was particularly interested in seeing the hate propaganda that made so many people say they hate Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton and that she should be jailed or executed. Obviously, she and her supporters were a horrendous threat to radical right money masters' taking over OUR democracy.
They are now trying to convince Americans that The Con Don and his hate regime aren't at all like Hitler. Do not believe it and pay less attention to him than those around him. They are the real danger to every single American and every person in the world who is not at the top of the Top 1% Global Financial Elite democracy/government-destroying machine.
Hate, aided by sexism, won this sham called an election. It was actually a financial coup. They do not need to win again if we wake up and turn off the hate-machine.
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2016/11/18/video-trump-and-power-fear/214528
How did it happen? Readers are advised to watch this video from mediamatters.org for a brief summary of the con job that was done on America. The video concentrates on the propaganda fox so-called news spreads but the website covers hate radio and internet engineered hate as well.
I was particularly interested in seeing the hate propaganda that made so many people say they hate Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton and that she should be jailed or executed. Obviously, she and her supporters were a horrendous threat to radical right money masters' taking over OUR democracy.
They are now trying to convince Americans that The Con Don and his hate regime aren't at all like Hitler. Do not believe it and pay less attention to him than those around him. They are the real danger to every single American and every person in the world who is not at the top of the Top 1% Global Financial Elite democracy/government-destroying machine.
Hate, aided by sexism, won this sham called an election. It was actually a financial coup. They do not need to win again if we wake up and turn off the hate-machine.
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2016/11/18/video-trump-and-power-fear/214528
116
Thanks for the link ...excellent video analysis.
Ironic that the side which frequently claims to be the "real Americans" hold such un-American positions. If they truly believed in America and in democracy, they would be turning themselves inside out to be sure every eligible voter has a chance to express their opinion in every election. They are not pro-American; they are pro-ideology.
426
Just like they're not pro-life but anti-abortion.
1
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag, and carrying a cross." (attributed to Sinclair Lewis)
2
Marilyn--Anti-woman, and anti-life for those who are already here.
1
Why didn't those who care about voting rights vote for HRC? Many Blacks I know who will most adversely affected, did not.
121
On the whole. voter id laws are way down on the list of priorities for blacks. Experts on the subject and thoughtful statistics experts, like Nate Silver. estimate that their turnout effect is very small. Silver indicates that it is less than 1%.
Anybody who cares about black turnout is getting them registered, driving them to the polls, and helping them file early ballots. Why worry about 1/2% when neighborhood activism can have a large, positive effect.
I think voting rights is a white cause that wastes a lot of time and money and doesn't do much. Besides it's based on stereotype thinking, assuming that large numbers of poor black people, unlike poor whites. don't have ids. White people could better spend their time getting involved in the voting process in the local black community.
Anybody who cares about black turnout is getting them registered, driving them to the polls, and helping them file early ballots. Why worry about 1/2% when neighborhood activism can have a large, positive effect.
I think voting rights is a white cause that wastes a lot of time and money and doesn't do much. Besides it's based on stereotype thinking, assuming that large numbers of poor black people, unlike poor whites. don't have ids. White people could better spend their time getting involved in the voting process in the local black community.
1
Simply because the Republican applied lessons from Goebbels to exploit the cracks in her personae; not that any of their accusations or denigration was real, just that it works to instill doubt and uncertainty in the minds of the uninformed.
Of course, that also requires a disciplined regime to insure that there are plenty of uninformed voters. Republicans have carefully woven the web of misinformation, disinformation, and inability to get to the bottom of information over the last 60 years. Conservatives, of course, have been doing that for centuries, if not millenia.
The history of conservative governance is a road map of the deepest and darkest cul-de-sacs of human civilization.
Of course, that also requires a disciplined regime to insure that there are plenty of uninformed voters. Republicans have carefully woven the web of misinformation, disinformation, and inability to get to the bottom of information over the last 60 years. Conservatives, of course, have been doing that for centuries, if not millenia.
The history of conservative governance is a road map of the deepest and darkest cul-de-sacs of human civilization.
18
They did vote. And more than 1.4 million of them voted for Clinton instead of for Trump.
9
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Shelby County v. Holder was overdue. The extraordinary conditions that obtained in the 1960s that conspired to prevent people of color from voting primarily in our southern states compelled a draconian response aimed at the guilty parties. And certain parts of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, in particular the pre-clearance requirements that the Dept. of Justice approve state voting legislation to assure that it not contain provisions that would re-animate such preventions, had the effect of creating first-class and second-class states. For heaven’s sake, following our civil war it was REPUBLICANS who insisted on imposing second-class status on some of our states: today it’s DEMOCRATS. These guys can’t win for losing.
Racism clearly remains alive and well in America, although nobody reasonable can suggest that it exists at the intensities it existed in 1965. What’s more, Shelby found that the extent of racism in the south no longer was so dramatically more intense than anywhere else in America – which was the whole justification for imposing second-class status on some status in the first place.
The Shelby ruling removed the stigma of second-class status from some of our states and specific counties. It was a good ruling, and overdue. We need to battle remaining racism in America by other means – such as a U.S. Supreme Court striking down a NC voting rights law that clearly was motivated by racism.
Racism clearly remains alive and well in America, although nobody reasonable can suggest that it exists at the intensities it existed in 1965. What’s more, Shelby found that the extent of racism in the south no longer was so dramatically more intense than anywhere else in America – which was the whole justification for imposing second-class status on some status in the first place.
The Shelby ruling removed the stigma of second-class status from some of our states and specific counties. It was a good ruling, and overdue. We need to battle remaining racism in America by other means – such as a U.S. Supreme Court striking down a NC voting rights law that clearly was motivated by racism.
15
On one point I agree with you, Richard. The Voting Rights Act should not discriminate between states. Congress should enact a new law setting uniform standards for all federal elections. Early voting rules, requirements for the number and distribution of polling places, based on the size of population, and standards for voter ids, should be the same across the country. If a state wants to require a voter id, the government should be required to assume the cost and the responsibility for distributing that id to every eligible voter.
Too many states, in different parts of the country, have demonstrated a determination to curtail democracy for partisan reasons to permit them to continue to control the electoral process for federal elections.
Too many states, in different parts of the country, have demonstrated a determination to curtail democracy for partisan reasons to permit them to continue to control the electoral process for federal elections.
29
The only resemblance between the parties of the Civil War era and today is in name only; their roles in society have reversed since the Civil Rights Act. You can likely forget about further court protections now that the con artist you have championed for months will be taking office. Like him, you give logic-twisting and decency-challenged lip service to what is right while you work your cons. Maybe you are just a naive partisan; Donald Trump isn't.
27
The difference between the Voting Rights Act pre-clearance requirements, and your suggested remedy of finding intentional discrimination afterward, Richard, is by then (now) the election has occurred, and the damage is done.
31