Fighting Voter Suppression
"Eugene Sim is living a Catch 22. More than one month ago Sim, 62, applied to renew his Indiana identification card."
“Fortunately, federal courts are seeing these efforts for what they are: a variation on the racist laws that disenfranchised millions before those tactics were outlawed by the Voting Rights Act. … These federal courts were careful to respect state sovereignty. But they were also mindful that state laws that suppress minority votes cannot be allowed to stand.”
Court agrees with League of Women Voters and Department of Justice Voter Photo ID is discriminatory
"Two dissenting justices, Alan Page and Paul Anderson, said the full text of amendments -- not summary descriptions written by lawmakers -- should be on the ballot. ... In his lengthy dissent, Anderson rightly called the [MN] Legislature's voter ID ballot question 'inaccurate, misleading and deceptive.' Even the majority of the court acknowledged that '... it may indeed have been wiser for the Legislature to include the entire amendment on the ballot.'''
“The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Monday that the Legislature’s voter ID ballot question will stay on the ballot as originally written after voter ID opponents [including the League] filed a lawsuit in May claiming the question was misleading and should be struck from the ballot.”
“If Wisconsin had a problem with voter fraud, the action taken by state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen last week would be more understandable. ...But the state doesn't have a problem... Van Hollen asked the state Supreme Court to review rulings by two judges that struck down the state's voter ID law, and he asked the justices to do so before the presidential election on Nov. 6. ... The Supreme Court already has declined once to intervene.”
“The combative tone of the session left Peg Rosenfield, elections specialist of the Ohio League of Women Voters, ‘disturbed and frankly a little frightened.’ ‘This is a terrible indictment of the entire system... The goal – voter integrity, accurate registration records and fair elections – is one we all share. ... But I really question this approach.’”
“A federal trial opening Monday will examine the legality of South Carolina’s new voter ID law and also put on display the state’s history of racial discrimination.”
“Although state officials are quick to point out that early voting increased in the 2012 primaries, it’s unfortunate to see that limiting certain voters’ access to the polls matters more to them than encouraging legitimate turnout.”
“The state Supreme Court agreed Thursday to expedite its handling of a challenge to Pennsylvania's new voter identification law, scheduling arguments for Sept. 13...”