News Clips

“The Republican-crafted ballot language for state Issue 2 would be ‘fatal’ to the proposal and must be rewritten, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled yesterday. ... The high court sided with Voters First, the coalition that includes the League of Women Voters, Democrats and unions. The Republican-dominated high court ruled 6-1 that the Ballot Board’s effort to trim the extensive proposal for redrawing legislative and congressional districts down to five paragraphs contained ‘material omissions and factual inaccuracies.’”

“On Wednesday, in the heat of another pitched American battle over voting rights, one that is playing out in courthouses and state capitals all across the nation, the Senate Judiciary Committee met yet again to remind us of how tenuous the right to vote still is in this country. ... The hearing was called "The Citizens United Court and the Continuing Importance of the Voting Rights Act" and, as the title suggests, it was an attempt by the Democratic leadership on the Committee to connect together on Capitol Hill two legal trends of recent vintage, each beginning in 2010.”

“The League of Women's Voters of Greater Tucson is preparing its voters guide for the November election to educate voters on issues, propositions and candidates.”

“The sixth time was the charm. ... Eugene Sim, 62, a recently homeless man who tried in vain five times to obtain an Indiana identification card, finally succeeded on his last visit.”

“Cynthia Houston, 84, had a flash of grumpiness when she went to vote yesterday in Boscawen: Her husband reminded her that she was supposed to bring a photo ID after they'd already gotten in line in the basement of the Congregational church.”

“On Thursday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments about the state’s strict new photo ID law, which is allegedly intended to prevent voter fraud. ... The law will result in disproportionate harm to minorities, people with low incomes and senior citizens. The court should enter an injunction against it before the November elections.”

“Western Michigan University students will Rock the Vote Wednesday, Sept. 19, at the Campus Flagpoles and in front of the Bernhard Center. ... 2 to 6 p.m.—Student volunteers and members of the Kalamazoo Area League of Women Voters will staff voter registration tables at the Bernhard Center and Campus Flagpoles.”

“Betty Lockett had one wish for her 103rd birthday Monday. ‘For my birthday present I asked to have 103 people register to vote,’ said Lockett, a widowed Hammond centenarian, retired nurse and Mississippi native. ... ‘I want people to have that freedom to vote and be counted on Election Day,’ said Lockett... ‘The young people especially need that. Voting gives them a boost and wakes them up to see what’s going on.’  ... So Monday...the League of Women Voters of the Calumet Area [IN] registered voters.”

“The November elections are less than two months away, and Pennsylvania has a new voter identification law... That worries the League of Women Voters of the Lewisburg Area. ... “I have a concern that a lot of people aren’t aware of what they need to vote,” said Sue Travis, who’s in charge of the group’s voter ID project. “That’s part of the reason we’re doing this.” ... What the league is doing is its “Got Your Photo ID?” campaign...”