Voter ID
Panel educates about voter ID – The Bemidji Pioneer. Nov. 11, 2011.
Redistricting and Partisanship
DFLers decry redistricting plan of…DFL – The Star Tribune. Nov. 18, 2011.
Campaign Finance and Transparency
Law firms dominating campaign contributions to Obama – The Washington Post. Nov. 20, 2011.
There has been a lot of talk in the past couple of weeks about how money moves in and out of Washington. Below I have posted a few links to interesting stories about the influence of money in Washington and our political system. I think it’s clear from all of these stories that money is too big of an influence in Washington and a major overhaul is in order.
Former federal lobbyist and recently released convicted felon Jack Abramoff, has been making the media rounds touting his new book saying he could “easily do it all again.” You may remember that he went to jail for three years after pleading guilty to corruption, tax evasion, fraud and conspiracy charges. He openly admits to giving illegal gifts to members of Congress and their staff in exchange for political favors. He is now supportive of major restrictions on the relationships between lobbyists and Congress.
Additionally, American Public Media’s On the Media aired a segment on SuperPACs’ influence on the 2012 presidential campaign. It’s a quick listen, a little over five minutes. You can find it here.
Lastly, National Public Radio’s Planet Money team went to Washington attempting to infiltrate a few of the many political fundraisers that occur on a regular basis when Congress is in session. Their report is here.
This past Wednesday, Rep. Keith Ellison (MN-5) introduced two new bills in Congress – H.R. 3316 Voter Access Protection Act and H.R. 3317 Same Day Registration Act. After months of legislation and mis-information campaigns aimed at restricting the votes of Americans, we’re finally seeing a ray of democracy in our political climate.
The first bill, known as the Voter Access Protection Act, would amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002. It would prohibit state or local election officials from requiring a photo ID for Federal elections either to cast a ballot (in-person or by mail) or to register to vote. The Voter Access Protection Act would also prohibit state and local election officials from requiring individuals to vote through a provisional ballot based solely on the condition of not presenting a photo ID.
The second bill, known as the Same Day Registration Act, would also amend the Help America Vote Act by requiring that all States implement same day registration for eligible voters on Federal election days including early voting days. What these two bills effectively do is protect the democracy for which we stand by reinforcing voter access for all eligible Americans.
It is very encouraging to see this level of action taken by opponents of voter photo ID and registration restrictions.
Recently in Florida, civics teacher Jill Cicciarelli found out she could be fined $1,000 for helping her class of high school seniors preregister to vote–something she’s done for several years.Thanks to legislation passed while she was on maternity leave in the spring of 2011, her standard civics lesson is now a punishable crime.
Florida’s legislation now requires that third-party voter registration advocates register with the state and that registration forms collected “…shall be promptly delivered to the division or the supervisor of elections (SOE) within 48 hours after the applicant completes it or the next business day if the SOE office is closed for that 48-hour period.” Because Cicciarelli was not registered as a third-party registration organization and submitted the preregistration forms after the 48-hour period, she faces steep fines.
What is most disheartening about this story is the disappointment and concern among her students. “It’s going to have a strong effect on the youth….If we’re the future of our country, it’s going to hurt us in the long run,” one student said. In a country that prides itself on its foundation of democracy, young people like Cicciarelli’s students are facing a harsh lesson that democracy is in fact something that can be extinguished at the convenience of legislators.
The 2011 General Election is here! For complete election information, visit www.lwvmn.org/voting. Also check out what candidates in your area have to say about issues affecting your life by visiting our 2011 online voters’ guide at www.vote411.org. As always, you can call us at (651) 224-5445 if you have any questions. Happy voting!
Voter ID
DFLers urge secretaries of state to oppose new voting laws across the country – The Minnesota Independent. Nov. 7, 2011.
Ellison rolls out bills to take on new state voter ID laws – Minnesota Public Radio. Nov. 2, 2011.
Redistricting and Partisanship
Some tell panel: Don’t mix Duluth, St. Cloud in redistricting – St. Cloud Times. Nov. 6, 2011.
Parties make their case to court on redistricting – Minnesota Public Radio. Oct. 26, 2011.
Judges consider maps as parties weigh in on redistricting – St. Cloud Times. Oct. 26, 2011.
Campaign Finance and Transparency
Rules of the Game: Campaign Finance Rules Too Lax, Some Say – Roll Call. Nov. 7, 2011.
The Tuesday Podcast: Inside Washington’s Money Machine – National Public Radio. Nov. 1, 2011.
Support for Photo ID Wanes
At this year’s state fair, the Minnesota State Senate conducted a survey on recent policy issues including: Should Minnesota voters be required by constitutional amendment to present photo ID in order to cast a ballot? The results show a slight majority of participants opposed to such an amendment. Read more>>
The Minnesota State House of Representatives conducted a similar survey and found that support for voter ID legislation has significantly decreased since last year’s poll. The percentage of those in favor of the proposed constitutional amendment has dropped by almost one third in the past year. Watch the YouTube video of the House results by clicking here or read more>>
Flawed Statistical Analysis
Evidence used to support implementing voter photo-ID is often flawed or simply non-existent. During a recent U.S. Senate hearing, Hans von Spakovsky of The Heritage Foundation claimed that voter ID legislation in Georgia could not have suppressed the African American vote because the percentage of African Americans voters had grown more in Georgia than in the neighboring state of Mississippi, which does not have a voter photo-ID law.
Minnesota Senator Al Franken questioned von Spakovsky, pointing out that the black population in Georgia had grown at more than three times the rate of the black population in Mississipp. von Spakovsky admitted that he hadn’t considered that factor in his study. Read more>>
A Poll Tax by Any Other Name. . .
Shortly after Wisconsin enacted its voter photo-ID law, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation issued a memo forbidding employees from telling customers about the free ID option unless the customer asked first. A state employee was fired for leaking the news. Read more>>
There is a much greater chance of serious and widespread fraud in our voting system at the level of election administration than at the level of individual voting. Wisconsin is a recent example.
Two days after an April election day, the Waukesha County Clerk announced that she had found 7,582 votes, shifting the win in a contentious statewide election to a different candidate. The clerk stated that the lost votes were simple human error, but allegations of fraud abounded. Perhaps we will never know the truth.
Then in this month’s recall elections, a conservative political action committee sent inaccurate absentee ballot applications to voters in Democratic districts. The letter told voters to return the mailing two days after the election. This event received comical – and disturbing–treatment on a recent Colbert Report.
Since Minnesota does not provide the names of absentee voters to anyone prior to the election, we will not experience the type of offensive conduct that Wisconsin did in the recent recall election. But one way Minnesota could improve its voting laws would be to heighten the penalty for giving false information about voting to a prospective voter.
It is a misdemeanor to deceive another person or even a number of people about the time, place or manner of conducting an election or the qualifications for voting. Making that crime a felony would be appropriate. Then the perpetrator would not be able to vote in an election until his or her sentence was completed.
Minnesota must vigilantly protect and improve administrative tracking and auditing systems. Let’s make sure adequate funds are allocated to maintain and improve our Statewide Voter Registration System and election administration at every level of government.
Transparency
Minnesota failing to make grade on transparency – Duluth News Tribune. August 8, 2011
Redistricting
Minn. group aims to bypass politics while redrawing political maps, plans meetings statewide – Star Tribune. August 4, 2011
Campaign Finance
Appeals court upholds campaign finance ban on foreign donations – The Washington Post. August 8, 2011
Partisanship
Moody’s lowers outlook for state – Star Tribune. August 6, 2011
Civic Education
House leaders end page program – The Hill. August 8, 2011
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) represents a serious threat to American democracy. In a series of articles, The Nation explores how ALEC, an organization made up of lawmakers and corporate representatives, crafts model legislation for passage in the many states of our union. Corporate representatives sit on the task forces, together with lawmakers, to draw up the model bills.
Until now, The Nation reports, the details of ALEC’s model legislation have been available only to its legislative and corporate members. But a leak led to the exposure of documents representing decades of ALEC’s efforts. The full archive of ALEC documents is available at a new website, alecexposed.org, operated by the Center for Media and Democracy.
The website lists 20 members of the Minnesota legislature with ties to ALEC. The Minnesota Independent reports that U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen of Minnesota is a member of ALEC.
While it is evident that much of ALEC’s model legislation is pro-business, another of its model laws would require a photo ID of registered voters at the polls. Voter ID laws were introduced in 33 states, including Minnesota, this year. Voter ID laws suppress the vote of low-income voters, among others.
When big money has a role in shaping public policy behind the scenes, our democracy is at risk. Let’s hold our elected leaders accountable.