Every four years we go through the same thing....debate, fighting and controversy over voting. I can't for the life of me understand why these things don't get cleared up once and for all. We are smart enough to send a man to the moon and we can't figure out a fair, clear way to vote and have our vote count?
Out of our 50 states thirty-one states presently have laws in place that will require all voters to show ID at the polls this November. That number could rise; a total of thirty-three states have passed voter ID laws but are being held up by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The following 20 states did not have laws requiring voter ID at the polls at the beginning of 2011, but saw legislation proposing it during the year. Three state legislatures enacted new voter ID requirements--Kansas, Rhode Island and Wisconsin. Governors in Minnesota, New Hampshire and North Carolina vetoed voter ID bills in 2011. In Minnesota, supporters have vowed to pass a new bill in the 2012 session that would bypass the governor and go to the voters for approval instead. This strategy is similar to what the Oklahoma legislature did in 2009 and 2010. Mississippi voters approved a citizen initiative proposing voter ID in November 2011; that constitutional amendment will require the passage of implementing legislation before it can take effect.
- California--AB 663 and 945: failed
- Illinois--HB 3058 and SB 2035: adjourned; carried over to 2012 session
- Iowa--HF 8, HF 95, SF 142: adjourned; carried over to 2012 session
- Kansas--HB 2067: enacted
- Maine--LD 199: adjourned; carried over to 2012 session
- Maryland--HB 288 and 701: failed
- Massachusetts--adjourned; carried over to 2012 session
- Minnesota--SB 509: vetoed
- Mississippi--multiple bills: all failed; however, voters approved a citizen initiative on the Nov. 8 ballot
- Nebraska--LB 239 and 605: adjourned; carried over to 2012 session
- Nevada--SB 373 failed
- New Hampshire--SB 129: vetoed
- New Jersey--A 1725: failed
- New Mexico--HB 308, HB 577, SB 363: failed
- New York--multiple bills: carried over to 2012 session
- North Carolina--HB 351: vetoed
- Pennsylvania--HB 934: adjourned; carried over to 2012 session (passed the House in 2011)
- Rhode Island--SB 400/HB 5680: enacted
- West Virginia--HB 3219: failed
- Wisconsin--AB 7: enacted
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The DOJ has blocked implementation of voter ID in Texas and South Carolina—states that, because of their histories of voter suppression, are listed in Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act and therefore must get preclearance from the DOJ before they can change their election laws.
Minister King Samir Shabazz and Jerry Jackson, two members of the New Black Panther Party, standing outside a Philadelphia polling station on Election Day in November 2008
The DOJ did not consider this act voter suppression in 2008.
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now | |
---|---|
Abbreviation | ACORN |
Formation | 1970 |
Extinction | 2010 |
Type | Non-governmental organization |
Legal status | Defunct |
Headquarters | New Orleans |
Region served | United States, Peru, Argentina, Mexico, India, Canada |
CEO | Bertha Lewis (2008–2010)[1] |
Budget | US$25 Million, 10% federal funding[2] |
54 ACORN employees and individuals associated with ACORN have been convicted of voter fraud. Voter fraud is a blanket term coined by lawyers. It refers to fraud in the forms of identification that may be used by a voter who appears at a polling place to vote on an Election Day include: identity fraud, perjury, voter registration fraud, forgery, and a variety of crimes related to the electoral process. ACORN itself was convicted of the crime of “compensation” in Nevada for its role in a conspiracy that gave voter registration canvassers cash for exceeding daily quotas
Let's get down to the bottom line....
If you cast your vote and a person votes under a dead persons name, a person here illegally votes, or a person who was paid to vote a certain way or a person who has cast their vote several times and votes opposite your choice.......Your vote does NOT count.
That is why there is a fight over the "right" to vote. First off it is not just a simple right to vote but a privilege that was died for and shouldn't be taken lightly.
There are some who declare "Voter ID laws, tougher voter registration requirements, and efforts by state officials to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls could intimidate or deter many Latinos from exercising their right to vote".
The study, produced by the civil rights group Advancement Project (another acorn?), says there are more than 10 million eligible Latino voters “who could be deterred or prevented from voting in the 2012 elections” because of new voting laws enacted or proposed in 23 states. Now note this first says "noncitizens" and then declares "10 million eligible voters". Here is a news flash!!!!!!!!! If you are a noncitizen you are not a eligible voter.
Other reports declare it would put a hardship on people to have to provide some sort of documentation that you are indeed a citizen. Here are some of the accepted documents:
- A current and valid photo identification card issued by the State or the United States government; or
- A military identification ("military ID"); or
- An original or copy of a current utility bill; or
- An original or copy of a current bank statement; or
- An original or copy of a current government check; or
- An original or copy of a current paycheck; or
- An original or copy of a current other government document, other than a voter registration acknowledgement notification mailed by the board of elections, that shows the voter’s name and current address.
- A birth certificate (this might cost you $25.00)
I have the answer!!!
We need to adopt the Mexico voter policy...
Mexican officials unveiled the voting ID two decades ago to properly identify electors in a country with a history of voters casting multiple ballots and curious vote counts resulting in charges of fraud — most notoriously in 1988 when a computer crash wiped out early results favoring the opposition.
The credential proved so good at guaranteeing the identification of electors that it became the country's preferred credential, one now possessed by just about every adult Mexican. Its widespread acceptance deepened democracy, too, by giving credibility to the Federal Electoral Institute, analysts say. The agency was created as an independent agency to oversee federal elections.
Mexico's voter ID has some key elements that make them acceptable to the public, say officials here. They cost nothing to obtain and the issuing agency operates hundreds of service centers nationwide, making requests easy. (Maybe we could have done this instead of the 25 million we gave to ACORN)
The statistics in Mexico state that since creating voting ID requirements, voting turn out has double now that their citizens feel their vote will not be corrupted.
I don't proclaim to be the sharpest pencil in the box, do not have any college degrees but how hard is this to figure out?
The answer is proper identification for ALL and if you are a citizen you should be proud to prove it.
Though some U.S. states allow people to vote without IDs, Mexico makes no exceptions for individuals lacking the proper documents. The Federal Electoral Institute also refused to extend the registration period or grant an amnesty for those applying late, leaving more than a million people ineligible to vote.
"It is a matter that has to do with a culture of respect for the law," Francisco Guerrero, one of the nine commissioners on the institute, told the newspaper Reforma
I don't proclaim to be the sharpest pencil in the box, do not have any college degrees but how hard is this to figure out?
The answer is proper identification for ALL and if you are a citizen you should be proud to prove it.