North Carolina and Republicans' push to the extreme right

[eric82oslo]

NYTimes editorial board wrote an article on North Carolina: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/opinion/the-decline-of-north-carolina.html?_r=0

If the NY Times says something about politics, I can assume the opposite.

Now you sound like Sarah Palin.

[eric82oslo]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/18/opinion/voting-in-north-carolina.html

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One day it will all come back to haunt the Grumpy Old Party.

Luckily the Democratic Senator from North Carolina, Kay Hagan, is a huge favourite to win again in 2014. She's leading her opponent by 11% in the latest poll.

[eric82oslo]

Here's an excellent article on the GOP voting supression efforts that at least 78% of North Carolinian voters oppose: http://www.thenation.com/blog/175395/north-carolina-republicans-push-extreme-voter-suppression-measures#

"This week, the North Carolina legislature will almost certainly pass a strict new voter ID law that could disenfranchise 318,000 registered voters who don’t have the narrow forms of accepted state-issued ID. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the bill has since been amended by Republicans to include a slew of appalling voter suppression measures."

This one is probably the most shocking part of the law in my opinion: "prevents counties from extending poll hours by one hour on election day in extraordinary circumstances (like lengthy lines)"

"The bill even eliminates Citizens Awareness Month to encourage voter registration, notes Brent Laurenz, executive director of the nonpartisan North Carolina Center for Voter Education. Because God forbid we encourage people to vote! The proposed bill eliminates nearly all of the democratic advances that made North Carolina one of the most progressive Southern states when it comes to voting rights and one of the top fifteen states in voter turnout nationally, guaranteeing that there will be longer lines at the polls, less voter participation and much more voter confusion. The legislation is likely to be deeply unpopular. For example, 56 percent of North Carolinians voted early during the 2012 election. Blacks used early voting at a higher rate than whites, comprising a majority of those who voted absentee or early. According to Public Policy Polling, 78 percent of North Carolinians support the current early voting system and 75 percent have used it in the past."

"In addition, over 155,000 voters registered to vote and voted on the same day during the early voting period in 2012. “Voters expressed their satisfaction and gratitude that North Carolina had a process that afforded citizens with more opportunities to register and vote,” said a 2009 report from the state board of elections."

"Recently, Senate Rules Committee Chairman Tom Apodaca boasted that North Carolina would no longer have to go through the legal headache of complying with Section 5 of the VRA. Responded Rev. Barber of the North Carolina NAACP, “If you think you can take away our voting rights, you’ll have a headache.”"

Well answered from mister Barber. You just don't create laws that 4 out of 5 voters oppose, do you? At least not if your hope and intention is to win future elections. This new voter suppression law is in fact just as unpopular (if not more) as the failure to demand background checks for all gun buyers nationwide. That should send a strong message to a party who would do anything in their power to oppress the very people who elected them.

[eric82oslo]

Here comes more food for thought, from another article on the voting suppression law in North Carolina: http://prospect.org/article/republicans-vs-democracy-north-carolina

Quote: "Barber, the leader of the coalition, is confident that between the courtroom and voter outrage, the laws will fail. “The more you try to take people’s liberties, the more people stand up,” he says.

It will help progressives that with such a sweeping bill, they won’t be the only North Carolinians who are outraged by it. Republicans will likely alienate many more than just the Democratic voters they’re targeting, because the things they’re repealing, like early voting days or same-day registration, make elections run better—and conservatives don’t like chaotic elections any better than anyone else.

In fact, many of the “liberal” election measures Republicans want to roll back—in North Carolina and elsewhere—began as bipartisan efforts. Republican attempts to roll back early voting are particularly ironic. It was actually lawmakers in conservative Texas who, in 1985, proposed that voters be allowed to cast ballots before Election Day. The initiative wasn’t controversial, let alone partisan; when it passed by overwhelming margins, newspapers barely considered the bill news. The idea was to make voting easier and, some hoped, increase turnout among those with inflexible work and child-care schedules who have trouble making it to the polls on Election Day.

Since Texas launched its program, 32 states, mostly in the South, Midwest, and West, have adopted similar measures, almost always with bipartisan support. Some states offer nearly a month of early voting, while others offer only a week. The practice has boosted turnout in some states by 2 percent to 4 percent, and it’s proved extremely popular with people who were already voting. Election officials have found that it also offers another benefit: Giving citizens more time to make their way to a polling place not only allows more flexibility, it decreases Election Day chaos."

And more:

"If the bill goes into effect for the 2014 mid-terms, conservatives and liberals alike will find themselves waiting in longer lines, with more administrative debacles. People are bound to get upset about it. In North Carolina, 57 percent of all voters cast ballots early in 2012. Polling shows only 23 percent of state residents support shortening the voting period."

There seems to be light in the end of the tunnel as well :

"Even if the North Carolina law (or parts of it) can withstand lawsuits, public outcry has forced Republicans to back down in other states when they’ve suppressed votes and made the process messier. Just ask Florida. Republican lawmakers in 2012 were determined to make voting more difficult and passed a slew of measures, including a decrease in early-voting days. The November election was a mess of long lines and addled officials. Obama still won, but Republican legislators and Governor Rick Scott—who staunchly supported the decrease and refused to extend early-voting hours in the face of extraordinary lines—had to face public outrage over their ill-conceived changes. When they reconvened in January, lawmakers immediately started restoring the reforms they’d taken away. Early-voting days are mostly back in place in Florida, and new, more convenient polling places will be opened. Not exactly the outcome Republicans had in mind."

[eric82oslo]

Btw greenforest, why don't Oregon and Washington have any polling stations? Why are you only allowed to mail in your vote?

I think it's great and natural that all the Western states have early voting btw, since otherwise many voters would already know the winner of the election and thus see no point in turning out to vote at all. But yeah, very strange that so many northeastern and New England states still haven't introduced early voting. Especially states like New York and New Jersey should consider that now after the devastation and mess that hurricane Sany led to.

[eric82oslo]

Btw greenforest, why don't Oregon and Washington have any polling stations? Why are you only allowed to mail in your vote?

It ended up that way as the state incrementally expanded early voting and no-excuse absentee (mail) ballots: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vote-by-mail_in_Oregon#History_of_postal_voting_in_Oregon

It wasn't long until the vast supermajority of votes were cast by mail and then things were slowly switched over to 100%-by-mail with the switch being billed as both more convenient for voters and less expensive for the state and local governments. The same thing happened in Washington state: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/politics/2011/04/05/washington-to-shift-to-all-vote-by-mail-elections/

It is good to know that the primary reasoning for institute vote by mail was to increase voter participation. And that survey's show that 30% of respondents say they now vote more frequently thanks to vote by mail.

[eric82oslo]

E. J. Dionne on North Carolina:

"To get a sense of how bad these laws are, consider the bill Republicans rushed through both houses of North Carolina's Legislature that should be called the Omnibus Voter Suppression Act of 2013. It reads like a parody written for Stephen Colbert's show with its cornucopia of provisions that would make it as hard as possible for African-Americans, Latinos and young people to vote.

As the Charlotte Observer reported, it shortens the early-voting period, eliminates the opportunity to register and vote on the same day during that time, and ends pre-registration for teenagers 16 to 17. The bill also prevents counties from extending voting hours when lines are long -- which they will be with the cutback on early voting days. It not only requires photo identification, but also narrows the list of what's acceptable, eliminating college IDs, for example."

Source: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/07/29/fighting_back_on_voting_rights_119398.html

A North Carolinian cornucopia of voter suppression:

[eric82oslo]

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That does not exist. I tried to do it in 2002 while attending North Carolina State University and was told no.

It wasn't in effect as early as 2002.

[eric82oslo]

I find it deeply troubling that youth younger than me will be unable to enjoy the same ease of access to exercising their right to vote when the time comes.

Me too. I was 100% ready to vote when I was 15. Although, from a political view, I knew where I stood already from being about 11 years old, but only because my parents [dad] had told me so. Which in other words would have been a horrible choice, until I matured at the age of 15.

[eric82oslo]

A very great article on the voting rights assault all across the US (with particular emphasis on Texas, and North Carolina to a lesser degree): http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/02/voting-rights-act-civil-war-rematch

As noted in the article, it's pretty incredible to think about the fact that only 30% of Texas children under 5 are white (non-Hispanic). That could mean that in about 50 years or so, 70% of the entire Texas population could be minorities.