Voter ID Archives - Page 124 of 147 - Voting Integrity Institute

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|

Alabama Gave Out 2,300 Free Photo IDs Before Primary

MONTGOMERY-- Over 2,300 free photo voter ID cards have been produced in Alabama leading up to Tuesday's primary elections, Secretary of State Jim Bennett announced. Photo voter identification cards can be obtained by a voter up to, on and even after the day of the election. There is no cut-off date to receive a free photo voter ID. Bennett said he hoped to see many voters at the polls on June 3 and predicted that 25- 27% of registered voters will show up to vote. In the last gubernatorial election for Alabama in 2010, there was 32% turnout in that primary.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:36:59+00:00June 3rd, 2014|News, Voter ID|

Mississippi Using New Voter ID Law in Primaries

JACKSON, Miss. -- Mississippi will use its new voter-identification law for the first time Tuesday, culminating a long political fight in a state with a troubled past of voting rights suppression. People will be required to show a driver's license or other government-issued photo identification at the polls during the Republican and Democratic primaries for U.S. House and Senate.

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

Report Uncovers Double Voting in Florida, North Carolina

RALEIGH, NC -- Double voting among Florida and North Carolina (or FLANC) voters appears to be a crime committed equally by both political parties, according to a technical report produced by Voter Integrity Project and released May 21 to Legislators and election officials. "This report is a brief but dense description of the research led by our Research Director and a team of 22 volunteer researchers spread throughout the state," said Jay DeLancy, Executive Director of VIP. "It took 16 months and three iterations to achieve the level of quality we needed and the results were outstanding." Of the 149 double votes the group reported last month to election officials, there were 38 Republicans, 34 Democrats, 27 Unaffiliated and one Libertarian. Several of whom had voted in multiple elections. "We need to remind everyone: this research points to vote fraud," said DeLancy, "but cannot determine who actually cast the second vote. Some will be the same person voting twice, but others will involve identity theft, which is easily committed against voters who moved away without notifying their Election Boards."

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:36:59+00:00May 28th, 2014|ACRU Commentary, Vote Fraud, Voter ID|

308,000 Virginia Voters Registered in Other States, Report Shows

Some 308,000 Virginia voters are also registered elsewhere, according to an analysis of 22 states' election records. The finding follows Watchdog.org's report of 44,000 people who appear to be registered in both Virginia and Maryland. The latest survey found the 308,000 double registrations by matching names, birth dates and the last four digits of Social Security numbers. The Virginia Voters Alliance, which reported the results, identified "big gaps" in the voter-registration process.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:36:59+00:00May 27th, 2014|News, Voter ID|

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