Now that President Obama has won a second term I can breathe a bit better. But I've got to say I'm deeply disturbed by the rampant voter disenfranchisement that continues even as I write this.
Pennsylvania, Ohio, and more glaringly Florida are all accused, rightly so it seems, of trying to skew the vote. Even now, at this late hour, Florida has yet to declare a winner though polls indicate that President Obama has won.
The problem? Florida is one of the few states that are restricted from changing ballot procedures, ninety days before an election, without Justice Department approval. Governor Rick Scott and his team of disruptors ignored the law and the mess we are currently witnessing is the result. I for one want to see him and his cadre of "monkey wrenchers" prosecuted to the full measure of the law.
Sour grapes you say? Not at all! This is a repeat of attempts to deny rights to valid voters in 2008, 2004, and 2000. No, I'm sure not all Republicans were involved or even approve, but that's not the point. No election should be decided by the efforts of criminals over the will of the people.
There were "bad actors" on both sides. I read reports of Repub poll workers being kicked out and replaced by Dems - until a judge ordered that they be allowed back in. One place had an Obama mural, another had an Obama poster. Many FL Repubs got letters saying their voting eligibility was in question. In NC, Romney votes were showing up as Obama votes. One poll worker was wearing an Obama hat.
I know the right is guilty, too. This mess really needs to be cleaned up and revamped before the next election. There is NO reason why people should have to stand in line for 6 or 7 hours to cast a vote!
Do you have a source for that? I've seen numerous sources of voter shenanigans perpetrated by the right. The ballot machine that would only record Romney votes in Pennsylvania. The long lines in Florida and Ohio (both have Republican governors). If there was a Democratic effort to suppress the vote it pales in comparison to what the Republicans pulled.
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national … 20591.html
http://www.cbs42.com/content/localnews/ … meIFQ.cspx
http://now.msn.com/voting-machines-swit … s-to-obama
http://www.politicalnewsnow.com/categor … 12/page/3/
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/11 … officials/
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/11/06/ … obama-hat/
http://m.npr.org/news/Politics/163476799
Of all the links you've posted the most serious is letter warning voters they may be prosecuted. The Obama poster, mural, and cap are wrong, but those three things DO NOT prevent someone from voting.
As to the actuality of the letter and the errant voting machine I see and hear a lot of people talking, but not one single video showing a Romney vote going to Obama or facsimile of the letter.
I have seen video of a machine recording an Obama vote as a Romney vote. Yes, an actual video.
All that aside, these examples are nothing compared to the repeated attempts by Republican governors to outright deny the right to vote by shortening voting hours, the number of days allowed to vote, and limiting the number of polling places in heavily Democratic areas.
All three of these things are a violation of the Voting Rights Act. Additionally they are orders of magnitude more serious that a cap, a poster, or an unsubstantiated letter or unverified changed vote.
Why does she need support for that very reasonable claim she made about how PEOPLE on both sides are bad actors, when you don't need any support for your claims that only the evil republicans are involved in this massive conspiracy?
God I'm going to be glad when we get some distance from this election. I'm so sick of the mindlessness that goes on. I mean, yes, I know that people don't think very hard other times too, but usually they don't make quite as much noise.
Oh I don't know. The relatively long history of Republican operatives lying? That would be my sticking point. After all, when 9.9 out of 10 stories are flat out wrong I tend to be skeptical.
AS to "your claims that only the evil republicans are involved in this massive conspiracy" they are well documented, nationally reported and anyone with the ability to read the law can see that the Voting Rights Act has been violated by at least two Republican governors and their secretaries of state.
Unless you can somehow justify ignoring that act without the weight of the law to back that justification up.
I sincerely hope you are not accusing me of "mindlessness." That would put any future comments of yours at serious risk of being totally disbelieved as well.
Why? You know why, we all know why. Liberals don't need proof, if they said it its fact.
Thats rule #10 in the handbook.
That's right Repairguy47. The law has nothing to do with it.
Of course if there was rampant voter disenfranchisement perpetrated by the left, the right would be screaming bloody murder.
This isn't about Left or Right. It's about a legal right to vote and attempts to destroy those rights.
Because the problem has clearly been much more pervasive in states where the governors and secretaries of state are Republican--Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio, all of which were critical swing states.
It doesn't matter who is running the polls in Florida. It will be screwed up no matter what. I told them this would happen if they let too many Yankees in government.
It sounds like North Carolina needs to update their voting machines. You couldn't wrongly count votes in our state.
Here, here! I am so glad Obama won outright with no question. I am glad that big money did not buy the election as they had planned. I am so proud that we are still a democracy. Billions spent against Obama and other dems and still people voted for there on self interest. Big money thought Americans were really studpid and we proved them wrong.
"I am glad that big money did not buy the election as they had planned."
Oh my goodness
The republicans have made a joke of Florida. Rick Scott is the biggest joke. I would laugh but I live in Florida and it is not funny to me. We will get rid of Scott in 2014.
Why do you think Charlie Crist went independent. He pulled in a lot of votes as one, too. Rick Scott is right off of an episode of the X-Files.
Rick Scott is a perfect example of why it's important to show up at the polls informed before filling in the oval circle. He spent 73 million of his own money and was backed by the Koch brothers to fill an important political governorship. Citizens need to be informed rather than mindlessly voting along party lines. Florida has had modest economic gain with businesses hiring, but he has also sent prospective business away.
But he along with other wealthy businessmen are nothing more than puppets. They get put into important positions for strategic reasons. His attempts at voter suppression didn't work.
Yes citizens need to be informed...
What do you think about this:
http://news.yahoo.com/rep-jesse-jackson … 15429.html
He "coasted" to victory according to the article.
Unfortunate that he has bi-polar disorder. If he seriously and intentionally violated the campaign laws he should be kicked out of the House of Representatives.
Charlie Crist is a good man. That is why he does not fit into the Repbublican party these days. Anyone who is a statesman is out. Only mindless idotes are in -- bow to the maggot Rush limbouhgh or you are out. I say shut him down and you are in -- in to the real world. We need good republicans. Who amoung you are brave enough not to serve the maggot.
Rush likes Florida. It is the easiest place to get oxies. Don't forget the other agitated agitators, Hannity and Glen Beck. If the Republicans in Florida get their way, they will be drilling for oil right off of Lido Beach and grilling Manatee at the next GOP BBQ rally.
We should not forget that Charlie Crist is the guy who sold Florida out to the Indian Casinos, thus denying us huge amounts of future revenues...and he did it on his own without consulting anybody in the Florida legislature. Even so, I'd rather have him in office than Scott..he's much less dangerous to Floridians.
You must be from up north. Floridians only want the Native Americans to have casinos. There are enough already.
Charlie toed the line against oil.
GNelson: I am in total agreement with you. Rick Scott (aside from Jeb Bush) is the worst thing that has ever happened to Florida. His party affiliation does not matter to me, but his actions sure do. Why he isn't sitting in jail right now is a mystery to me, but one thing is certain...he won't be sitting in the Governor's chair next time around. He has the lowest approval rating of any Governor in the nation, and that's exactly what he deserves for all the harm he has caused here. He makes me sick.
I worked for Ron Paul. If Romney had not cheated and rigged so many primaries and alienated Ron Paul and other supporters he would have won. As much as I dislike Obama he is a ziliionth less of a slime than Romney....not much but a tiny bit.
Washington State is all-absentee.
I think that's the best way to do it. They mail your ballot and the pamphlet to you ~3 weeks before the election, you have time to read the pamphlet and take as much time as you want filling out the ballot. The ballot is pen and paper; impervious to 'malfunctions,' and you sign your ballot then seal it in three envelopes. You have the choice of dropping it off in a secure drop box, or mailing it in yourself.
It may take longer to count the ballots, but trust me, it is very difficult to tamper with them as they are opened and scanned by a machine (though I suppose that machine could have errors, however, you mark on a certain location on a piece of paper, and it's pretty obvious what your vote is for).
Some of these are minor infractions. Not defensible for either side.
However, any deliberate attempt to scare voters away from voting, or make voting conditions so onerous that people give up without exercising their right...is flat out EVIL.
Between now and 2014 -- when we will have another major Congressional election -- the country needs to get these irregularities handled.
If Americans are to present ID in order to prove their identity at the voting place, get that initiative going NOW.
Whatever changes need to be made to reduce the waiting time to vote (8 hours is obscene; 2 hours is still excessive), get those plans laid NOW.
We are not a third-world country. We are upposed to be a model of democracy for the rest of the world. We are so much better than this.
Why not have all states do what Washington State is doing...I think that's a great idea. No lines, no ID required on voting day, people having time to research the candidates, etc...wonderful idea every state should think about...and no Rick Scott and his ilk trying to sway the elections!
I think Bernie Sanders of Vermont has the best answer. Make November 6th a national holiday.
So people in retail jobs can't go vote because every employee will have to be scheduled to support the influx of massive amounts of customers due to everyone else having the day off?
Voting by mail is the best solution for long lines.
Good point. I do think that there will always be some sub-set of the staff that do exactly that and can work while other employees go out and vote.
But how about this idea; make sure there enough poling places with enough supplies to handle the load in the first place?
Bernie Sanders doesn't even have the best question!
That would work great if election day was always on the 6th...the general public, for the most part, has failed to acknowledge early voting. It makes smile when I see the long lines knowing that my voting is already complete.
An interview with a lead reporter for Voting Rights Watch 2012. http://www.democracynow.org/2012/11/6/i … _tea_party
"True the Vote" should be called "Screw the Vote."
Just like "Citizen's United" the name has nothing to do with the real intent.
How about Grover Norquists' "Americans For Tax Reform"...sounds so innocent but is SO evil...it has locked the Reps into a pledge that makes then promise to NEVER raise taxes under any condition...which is exactly why Boehner is already publicly announcing that no concessions will be made about dropping the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy while keeping them for everybody else. ATR is backed by BIG money, you know, the people who get all those nice tax breaks and loopholes! Yeecchh!
It's poverty and the recession. In my opinion. The a crime wave that seems to be sweeping more parts of the world. And lots of distrust among people.
Two seven-year-olds ran against one another in this election.
They are both jerks and liars.
Ha ha ha ha ha! Nothing new about incompetent governmet in Florida! Don't read too much into it.
Growing very tired of when someone says Republicans do something, their immediate response is: both sides do it. It is not the same. Not by any measure. Republican Gov. Rick Scott and Ohio Sec of State Husted used their official position to make it harder for people to vote. And they did it without fear and without tact. They stated that was their intention. A mural in a school is not the same.
That being said, those long lines may have had a detrimental effect on republicans trying to vote as well. No polling place votes 100 percent left or right. The point is voting should not be something that can be frustrated so easily without consequences. Neither side should be denied to voice their opinion. Gov Scott and Husted must be held accountable.
The best power: as powerful as the attempts at voter suppression were, the fact that people waited is more powerful.
Like I said. It is now time to hold these two, and others like, them to accounts. They were in clear violation of the voting rights act and acted like it didn't even exist. They need to be shown that the VRA had a purpose and to thwart that purpose has consequences.
Well said!
I don't how these people get away with it.
These people made us a laughing stock throughout the world. We, the American people the example of demacracy using tactics worthy of the worst dictactors. Shame, shame, shame on those that tried to stop people from voting. I am all for bringing them to trail but it won't happen. But we can vote Rick Scot and others out of office. Thank god they didn't mess up the election. Rick Scott and others should be procuted, Pennsevania too.
Write your Senators. Write your Congressmen. Email your friends and colleagues. Let everybody know citizens will not stand for this type of behavior and will not vote for anybody who supports it. THAT is how you stop it.
That won't stop incompetence in Florida.
Just today Rick Scott was asked by the press if his limiting voting hours was an attempt to limit Democratic votes. His only answer was "we did the right thing."
That's what he said about his medical clinic empire and his housing development in the Everglades.
Do you think Florida would support a recall vote?
Do you think Alex Sink should be called in to fill the job she rightfully should have had (ok, that's my opinion) since 2010?
Usually a recall requires a petition signed by some percentage of the population. I don't know if this is true of Florida, but it is certainly true here in California. The way it works is 5% of the registered voters sign a petition supporting recall. Party affiliation does not matter. Then two separate "measures" are put on the ballot. One supporting or denying the recall, the other selecting the replacement. The replacement only survives the vote if a majority supports a recall.
I don't know enough about Alex Sink to offer an opinion, but the way it works here is that the five top vote receivers (in a primary style run-up) get the ballot positions. Last time, when Grey Davis was recalled, the field include Arnold Schwartzeneger (winner), Jerry Brown (current governor), Angeline, Gary Coleman, and a raft of others. Surprisingly Gary Coleman actually had a well reasoned and compelling platform.
Florida requires an automatic machine recount if the final margin is less than one half of 1%, unless the trailing candidate requests in writing that it not be done. I doubt if a recount is going to be necessary.
Florida has some GOP related issues that need to be thrown on the table and addressed. The Republican controlled legislature had 11 state constitutional amendments on the ballot. They were lengthy and difficult to read and understand. All but 3 of them were voted down. This was a clear motive to assume that many would vote yes, simply because of the way they were worded. They are out of touch with their electorate.
The number of precincts was dropped by 851, mostly for liability reasons. So this left a significantly lower number of polling stations in the state, making for longer lines. The number of days for early voting was dropped from 14 to 8. These were all changes instituted by a Republican controlled legislature. A state government should be making it equally accessible for as many citizens as possible to vote, (not to mention Scott's voter purge).
What the Florida GOP did not anticipate was a very strong turnout (70%), due in large part to the Florida OFA organization. Since he was elected in 2008, OFA never stopped working. There was a strong effort in voter registration and maintaining supportive grass roots efforts in communities across the state. They were very organized and have clear goals to mark progress. I volunteered to help in both elections and it was an exciting, rewarding experience. The large, major metro areas in Florida are now blue.
Romney also simply did not reach the diverse demographics that make up Florida, and the country. Not only did he fail to reach the minorities, but there was obvious class distinctions, none of which is acceptable in our country in 2012 forward.
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