Elections Archives - Page 172 of 201 - Voting Integrity Institute

Citizenship Rule Takes Effect in Arizona, Kansas Primaries

Election rules in Kansas and Arizona that require proof of U.S. citizenship are set to take effect in coming weeks in state primaries. Some people will be barred from voting in state races, even as the federal government allows some of them to vote in congressional races. The split system is the result of a growing battle between federal officials and a handful of states over the necessity of verifying that a newly registered voter is a U.S. citizen. Kansas and Arizona say the federal registration process doesn't rigorously check citizenship. They have established their own verification systems and are barring people who register using the federal system from voting this month for such offices as governor and local posts. In recent years, mostly Republican-controlled states have tightened voting rules, including requiring voters to produce picture identification at the polls, arguing it prevents fraud. "There is a very real problem with aliens being registered to vote," said Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who said about a dozen states are likely to pass such measures in coming years.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:38:06+00:00August 4th, 2014|News, Proof of Citizenship, Vote Fraud, Voter ID|

Wisconsin Supreme Court Upholds Voter ID Law

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has upheld a 2011 law backed by Republicans requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls. The rulings in two separate voter ID cases were released Thursday morning among several major decisions issued simultaneously. The law already was ruled unconstitutional by a federal court judge in Milwaukee this spring, meaning that Thursday's rulings have no immediate effect. That federal court decision is under appeal. For the law to take effect, both the state Supreme Court and the federal courts would have to find it to be constitutional. In April, U.S. District Judge Lynn struck down the law, saying it violates the federal Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution. Gov. Scott Walker praised Thursday's rulings and said he was confident voter ID would ultimately be upheld in federal court. "Voter ID is a common-sense reform that protects the integrity of our elections," Walker said. "People need to have confidence in our electoral process and to know their vote has been properly counted. We look forward to the same result from the federal court of appeals."

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:34:46+00:00July 31st, 2014|In the Courts, News, Voter ID|

Setting the Record Straight on Jim Crow

Even as the nation celebrates the passage of the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, some liberals are using the occasion to bash Republicans as inheriting the legacy of Jim Crow -- ignoring the fact that a higher percentage of Republicans in Congress voted for the Civil Rights Act than did Democrats. President Obama recently accused the GOP of waging an all-out assault on voting rights. Speaking to a group founded by Al Sharpton, that non-paragon of racial healing, Obama claimed: "The stark simple truth is this: the right to vote is threatened today. . . . This recent effort to restrict the vote has not been led by both parties. It's been led by the Republican party." Leaving aside the fact that clear majorities of both African Americans and Hispanics support voter integrity measures such as showing voter ID at the polls, Obama is using incendiary rhetoric in an area where reasonable people can disagree. The , a conservative group that has filed suit in favor of voter-integrity measures, has had enough of such tactics. Its leaders include former attorney general Ed Meese and former Ohio secretary of state Ken Blackwell. ACRU has just published a booklet on the real history of Jim Crow. Available for free at thetruthaboutjimcrow.org, it sets the record straight on a hidden racial past that many Democrats would rather see swept under the carpet.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:37:09+00:00July 22nd, 2014|ACRU Commentary, Voter ID|

Court to Hear Texas Voter ID Case

In early September, a court in Corpus Christi begins a trial that should decide whether the current law requiring Texas voters to show government-issued photo identification before casting a ballot is constitutional. As it has happened with cases over redistricting, the Texas voter ID fight is expected to get national attention because two years ago a three-judge federal court in Washington ruled the 2011 legislation unconstitutional.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:34:46+00:00July 16th, 2014|In the Courts, News, Redistricting, Voter ID|

Justice Department to Intervene in Ohio, Wisconsin Voting Law Cases

The Obama administration plans to join lawsuits against Republican-backed voting restrictions in Ohio and Wisconsin -- two major swing states, Attorney General Eric Holder has said. The moves would represent the first time that Holder's Justice Department has intervened against statewide voting laws outside the areas that the Supreme Court freed from federal oversight in last year's Shelby County v. Holder ruling. They underline the administration's intention to aggressively protect voting rights across the country, not only in the mostly southern jurisdictions directly affected by Shelby. Earlier this year, Ohio's Republican legislature passed laws that cut six days from the early voting period and ended same-day registration, among other restrictions. Secretary of State Jon Husted then announced that there would be no early voting on Sundays or on week-day evenings. A federal judge recently restored early voting on the last three days before the election, but the other cuts remain in force. They're being challenged by the ACLU and other civil rights groups, which allege that they disproportionately affect non-white voters. A brief filed recently by the laws' challengers uses detailed voting records to establish that blacks are far likelier than whites to take advantage of early voting. In 2012, 20% of blacks did so, compared to just 6% of whites. Wisconsin's strict voter ID law was recently struck down by a federal judge, who ruled that it discriminated against black voters. But the state has appealed the ruling, and the litigation is ongoing.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:37:09+00:00July 16th, 2014|Early Voting, News, Same-Day Registration, Voter ID|

Study on North Carolina Voter ID Law Shows Increase in Minority Turnout

If there was a hidden agenda behind North Carolina's voter ID law to suppress minority turnout - as the law's opponents claim - it hasn't worked, based on a study showing not only more voters overall, but an increase in black voter turnout especially, after the law's implementation. The findings came before a scheduled hearing next week where the U.S. Justice Department will ask a U.S. District Court for an injunction against the law going into the November midterms. The Obama administration has argued that such a law will make it more difficult for minorities to vote. Comparing May 4, 2010 North Carolina primary election data with the May 14, 2014 primary data, the study found that voter turnout increased across the board, but particularly among black voters, where it increased by 29.5 percent, compared to an increase of white voter turnout of 13.7 percent. The findings were based on Census Bureau data and public names who signed the voter rolls. Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, commissioned the study and included the findings in an amicus brief for the July 7 hearing. Judicial Watch was joined in its legal brief by the Allied Educational Foundation and by former Buncombe County commissioner candidate Christina Kelley Gallegos-Merrill.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:34:46+00:00July 3rd, 2014|News, Voter ID|

Mississippi Election Rolls Under Scrutiny in Primary

According to a pair of advocacy organizations for free and fair elections, Tuesday's U.S. Senate GOP runoff in Mississippi might not meet that ideal. The has sent warning letters to five Mississippi counties -- Clarke, Humphreys, LeFlore, Madison and Noxubee -- to purge their voter rolls of ineligible voters or face federal court action. The ACRU found, using state voter data and the most current U.S. Census numbers, that all five had more registered voters than voting-age eligible residents. This is a violation of both state and federal law. The counties have 90 days to comply with the order. Christian Adams, the ACRU attorney who is monitoring Tuesday's election results, said the findings are a serious threat to free and fair elections in the state. "When you've got more people than you've got people alive, there's a problem with the rolls and they need to get them cleaned up," Adams said. "Unfortunately, year after year, there's a failure to keep the rolls maintained correctly. Federal law and frankly, Mississippi law, requires they purge their rolls. It's not an option."

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:38:06+00:00June 24th, 2014|News, Voter ID|

Wisconsin Man Charged with Multiple Counts of Vote Fraud

In one of the biggest cases of voter fraud ever in Wisconsin, a Milwaukee area health insurance executive has been charged with casting multiple votes for Republican candidates -- including Gov. Scott Walker in the 2012 recall election. Robert Monroe of Shorewood was charged Friday with 13 felonies related to his voting a dozen times in five elections between 2011 and 2012, using his own name along with his son's and his girlfriend's son. https://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/writers/mike_ivey/voter-fraud-case-targets-scott-walker-backer/article_7afa077e-faf2-11e3-b655-0019bb2963f4.html

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:38:07+00:00June 24th, 2014|News, Vote Fraud, Voter ID|

Mississippi Sails Through Voter ID Test in Primary

Mississippi's new voter ID law caused few problems on June 3 in the first election since its controversial passage, with only one report of a voter turned away for lack of identification. A Pike County poll worker mistakenly told a person he couldn't cast a ballot without an ID, said county Election Commissioner Trudy Berger. "It was a misunderstanding," Berger said. "We trained on it that nobody is ever told they can't vote, period. As soon as we heard that had happened, we sent an election commissioner down there to solve the problem." According to the new law, voters must present a driver's license or other government-issued ID to cast a ballot through the normal process. Those without ID can vote by affidavit ballot, after which they have five business days to show an acceptable form of photo ID, or apply for a Mississippi voter ID card, at the circuit clerk's office. The Secretary of State's Office was notified of the incident, Berger said. But beyond that, the agency had few calls about voter ID issues.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:34:46+00:00June 13th, 2014|News, Voter ID|

Battleground Texas: Inside the Fight to Turn the State Blue

McAllen, Texas (MSNBC) -- Battleground Texas, a Democratic group working to turn the Lone Star State blue, gathered a group of 20 or so young volunteers in a college classroom here last weekend just a few miles from the Mexican border. They came to be trained in the nuts and bolts of political organizing--how to register new voters, set up phone banks and door-to-door canvasses on behalf of Wendy Davis, the Democratic candidate for governor. But, over a lunch of tamales and salsa, an organizer asked participants, nearly all Hispanic, to share the personal stories that had led them to get involved.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:36:59+00:00June 5th, 2014|ACRU Commentary, Voter ID|

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