GOP Moving the Goal Posts Just in Time For the 2012 Election

[kaz]

Voter fraud that isnt occurring.

Haven't you read TrustMatters documentation? It's only fraud when Republicans do it...

 

[grunt11b]

Ok so, requiring voters to actually prove they are who they say they are is A) voter suppression and B) directed at Democrats.

been asking for a while now, How is this true? Explain it.

Now we have States making routine changes to voting rules and you all claim it suppresses Democrats and Obama supporters. I REPEAT, explain how that is.

People who are marginal economically - people who've lost their homes, for example, who are couch-surfing, staying with friends, or sleeping in shelters or outside - people who are transients, who have legal problems, who have never had a regular job, who work for cash, under the table, or have substance-abuse problems or mental health issues or have been to jail - these are the people who are prevented from voting by government-issued-photo-ID laws.

Republicans think these people are more likely to vote Democratic if they're able to vote; therefore Republicans want to prevent them from voting.

What a farce, noone is stopping them from voting, and they can receive state ID's for free at the DMV. If you're trying to tell me that it takes longer than 1 year or 2 years for someone to make their way to the DMV I dont buy it. There is no excuse for laziness, if they dont get to vote it is their own fault. And besides, groups like Acorn round these people up "Like they did in 2008" and get them out to vote. Remember the "Get out the vote" campaign?
Laws making it mandatory for them to prove who they are will hurt the democrats, but for only one reason, the democrats have been complimented by voter fraud for so long they know that making people provide identification will hurt their turn out numbers, mainly because they dont as big of following as they would like you to think, and they know it.

 

[kaz]

What a farce, noone is stopping them from voting

You don't understand. Liberals aren't mad that they are being stopped from voting, they are mad they are being stopped at voting once...

 

[grunt11b]

Voting is a privelege and civic duty, not a convenience to be extended for political jerimandering by either side.

I wonder what the political makeup of the Florida Legislature was in 2008. It is Republican now. Was it Democrat then? If it was, I would accept your argument.

if it wasn't, one then wonders why a Republican controlled Leglislature would authorize something that would help the other side.

The state legislature is charged under the constitution with setting up voting within there states, as long as they give every citizen the opportunity to cast a vote, it's within the constitution and is what it is. As far as being fair, how fair was it when the Democrats had Acorn busing in vagrants and paying them "Against the law I might add" to vote democrat, and then when that wasn't enough they committed voter fraud by forging multiple absentee ballots, they got caught doing both, but we heard not a peep from anyone on the left about it, now all of a sudden you guys complain about the GOP staying within the constitution on a states voting procedures. Hypocrites.

 

[grunt11b]

Let me get this right..... the rules changes are designed to only effect Democrats? That is your claim right?

Explain to us why these changes would only impact Democrats and Obama supporters.

Not my claim. All I am doing is citing an article and linking y'all up to it. It is not all that clear from the article - but, as I read it, extending the voting times somehow enabled more Blacks and Latinos to come in and vote and, since Blacks and Latinos are predominately Democratic, it increased the vote for the Democratic contender in 2008, Obama.

Restricting the early voting time would, therefore, reduce the number of Blacks and Latinos who would be voting and, therefore, the number of Democratic votes.

Frankly, it is not clear to me from reading the article, exactly how extending the voting times meant that more Blacks and Latinos could come in and vote. Nonetheless, that is the conclusion they draw. It is a statistical fact that Blacks and Latinos vote more Democratic than Republican.

I guess the idea is that there was (is) something about the schedules of Blacks and Latinos that makes them unable to come in and vote in a small window of time, while other voters do not seem to have that problem.

Hell, I don't know, Gunny - read the article yourself.

Edit Note: The new election laws proposed by Republican Legislatures make it more difficult for students to vote. More students vote Demorcratic than Republican.

How does restricting voting time effect blacks,latinos or anyone for that matter? They are given the same amount of time as anyone else. If anything it will help the democrats being that blacks and hispanics have record unemployment right now. You guys should be happy about this. They will have more than enough time, no excuses.

 

[grunt11b]

Ok so, requiring voters to actually prove they are who they say they are is A) voter suppression and B) directed at Democrats.

been asking for a while now, How is this true? Explain it.

Now we have States making routine changes to voting rules and you all claim it suppresses Democrats and Obama supporters. I REPEAT, explain how that is.

People who are marginal economically - people who've lost their homes, for example, who are couch-surfing, staying with friends, or sleeping in shelters or outside - people who are transients, who have legal problems, who have never had a regular job, who work for cash, under the table, or have substance-abuse problems or mental health issues or have been to jail - these are the people who are prevented from voting by government-issued-photo-ID laws.

Republicans think these people are more likely to vote Democratic if they're able to vote; therefore Republicans want to prevent them from voting.

People who have lost home, or who couch surf, or whatever have no ID?? People with legal trouble or warrants are checked?? Or they have a right to hide?? They are checked for working under the table??

This is probably the dumbest shit I have ever heard

I know right? They can sense the ass whooping around the corner in 2012 and cant stand it I guess, that's what happens when you push America closer over the cliff against our will, elections have consequences Obama said, now he will find out for real that they do.

 

[MiddleClass]

Republicans these days will sell their first born to win the White House. Its is disgusting what they are doing to our election process, yet much of their recent unconstitutional election engineering will wind up in the Supreme Court - maybe too late for the 2012 election cycle though.

 

[grunt11b]

No one will explain why Republicans just don't run on their record or their ideas.

Why do they need "voter suppression"?

If they are good for America, they would be a shoe in.

What record could they run on? The democrats controlled the house and senate from 2006 to 2010 "And still control the senate to this day", the white house from 2008 until now. Everytime a Republican puts forth a jobs bill or anything to get the economy going Prince harry in the senate will not allow it up for a vote and blocks it everytime. The Democrats have been the ones blocking everything. So therefore the Republicans are choosing to run on the Democrats records this go around, and I think it's a good strategy being that the Democrats have a record of failure since 2006. Remember 2010? The dems should thank their luck stars they where not all up for re-election, because it would have been worse. After 2012 the GOP should have filibuster control of everything, and then we will begin to see shit getting done to help this country.

 

[Inthemiddle]

Voting is a privelege

What THE FUCK!?!?!?!?

 

[Inthemiddle]

Who needs weeks to vote?

Old people. It takes them hours just to pull out of the driveway. There's alot of them in FL, you know.

 

[grunt11b]

Republicans these days will sell their first born to win the White House. Its is disgusting what they are doing to our election process, yet much of their recent unconstitutional election engineering will wind up in the Supreme Court - maybe too late for the 2012 election cycle though.

The state legislature sets up the election process, it is constitutional as long as everyone has the opportunity to vote, the supreme court wont hear this case because it IS constitutional. I wonder why they never heard the case of Acorn vote buying and the forged absentee ballots? Do you agree that they should have done something about that in 2008-2009? Because that WAS unconstitutional, but it benefited democrats, so I am sure you are just fine with it right?

 

[Defiant1]

Who needs weeks to vote?

Old people. It takes them hours just to pull out of the driveway. There's alot of them in FL, you know.

In Florida, one doesn't have to leave their house to vote. With 1 phone call or 1 email a voter can request an absentee ballot, a.k.a. vote by mail ballot for every election from now through the general election in 2014.

The voter will receive their ballot in the mail 35-28 days before the election and will have until 7:00pm on election day to return it.
They can return it by mail or in person.

Now tell me what can be easier than that.

And yet they still complain.

 

[Inthemiddle]

I have 0 sympathy.

And that's exactly your damned problem, and the GOP's problem. There are too many wing-nuts like you who don't give a damn about the American people or their problems or anything of concern that faces the nation. All you care about is your own self and your delusion that nothing bad can possibly happen to you because you're too damn good to let it happen. You outright despise the majority if the American people and you want the government to do the same, and you want the GOP to compose that government.

In 2000 Bush billed himself as a "compassionate conservative" but what he and the rest of you idiots long failed to realize is that compassion and conservatism are already supposed to be going hand-in-hand! It's idiots like you and the majority of the modern day GOP that are REALLY destroying our country, because this kind of blind hatred for the American citizen is exactly what's given us with the horrendous Nancy Pelosi and Barak Obama. So next time you want to bitch about how bad the Democrats are, you can thank yourself and your wing-nut cohorts because even as bad as Pelosi and Obama may be, YOU'RE MAKING YOURSELVES OUT TO BE EVEN WORSE!!!!

 

[Liability]

In 2008, Obama may have won the state of Florida on the Sunday before election day when "Souls to the Polls" brought large number of Black and Latino voters to the polls to cast ballots after church. Florida had opened the polls two weeks early and in spite of that, there were long lines at all of the polling places, prompting the governor to issue an emergency order extending the hours for early voting. When it was all over, Obama had eked out a 51% win in the State of Florida.

If the Republican-controlled legislature of the good state of Florida has its way, there will be no more of THAT. According to a front-page article in today's L.A. Times:

Early voting was reduced from two weeks to one week. Voting on the Sunday before election day was eliminated. College students face new hurdles if they want to vote away from home. And those who register new voters face the threat of fines for procedural errors, prompting the nonpartisan League of Women Voters to suspend voter registration drives and accuse the Legislature of "reverting to Jim Crow-like tactics."

Election laws tightening in Republican-run states - latimes.com

What is this really all about? Election rules are being changed in Republican-controlled states in a way that will make it more difficult for demographic groups perceived to be Democatic, to get the polls to vote.

Slimy? You bet. But, then, this is politics . . . .

Outwage!

There is no defense to the notion that voting should take place ON Election DAY.

 

[Inthemiddle]

These "young people, old people and minorities" must not travel on airplanes or get access into most building in New York City either, right?

There are many people who don't travel on airplanes. And I would consider it a safe bet that most FL residents aren't making a regular habit of trying to access buildings in NYC.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

These "young people, old people and minorities" must not travel on airplanes or get access into most building in New York City either, right?

There are many people who don't travel on airplanes. And I would consider it a safe bet that most FL residents aren't making a regular habit of trying to access buildings in NYC.

I don't know what life is like in your refrigerator box, but I'm sure you have to show photo ID to access a lot of buildings in FL.

No ID= no access = no vote.

And it's just too fucking bad

 

[Inthemiddle]

I'm wondering how many people have actually read the article, and why everyone is focusing in on the ID issue. In my mind, it's the least of issues. I, personally, don't really have an issue with requiring photo ID at the polling location.

What I find problematic is that the new rules FL created to reduce the early voting period, and especially elimination of voting on the Sunday before election day. What is the rational basis for this? It is obviously an attempt to thwart any effort by Obama to repeat his Souls to the Polls tactic which worked so well for him. And THAT is shameful, to create new voting laws specifically in an attempt to preempt a particular candidate's political prowess. Clearly, the Florida GOP is abusing its role in an attempt to eliminate votes for Obama.

I agree that the nationwide trends that we're seeing do indicate that the GOP is trying to manipulate the voting process when state legislatures should be concentrating on the real issues their respective states face. It reminds me of the 2002 gerrymandering that took place in Texas. There as no need to redistrict again, but they did it anyway. Why? The sole reason was to manipulate the system in favor of the GOP. Politics is one thing, but this kind of stuff is disgraceful. It's no wonder so many people say that the GOP is party before country. While that's true for the Democrats also, it seems like the GOP outpaces the Dems on that issue leaps and bounds.

 

[Inthemiddle]

These "young people, old people and minorities" must not travel on airplanes or get access into most building in New York City either, right?

There are many people who don't travel on airplanes. And I would consider it a safe bet that most FL residents aren't making a regular habit of trying to access buildings in NYC.

I don't know what life is like in your refrigerator box, but I'm sure you have to show photo ID to access a lot of buildings in FL.

No ID= no access = no vote.

And it's just too fucking bad

Then why did you bring up NYC?

 

[kwc57]

Voting is a privelege

What THE FUCK!?!?!?!?

When you go to your 8th grade Civics class after lunch today, have a talk with your teacher. Educating yourself to reality rather than ideology will serve you well in life. Here is some light reading to get your schooling started. Consider it a gift.

FairVote - The Right to Vote Amendment

"The right to vote is the foundation of any democracy. Yet most Americans do not realize that we do not have a constitutionally protected right to vote. While there are amendments to the U.S. Constitution that prohibit discrimination based on race (15th), sex (19th) and age (26th), no affirmative right to vote exists.

The 2000 Presidential Election was the first time many Americans realized the necessity of a constitutional right to vote. The majority of the U.S. Supreme Court, in Bush v. Gore (2000), wrote, "The individual citizen has no federal constitutional right to vote for electors for the President of the United States." The U.S. is one of only 11 other democracies in the world with no affirmative right to vote enshrined in its constitution.........."

Things That Are Not In the U.S. Constitution - The U.S. Constitution Online - USConstitution.net

"The Constitution contains many phrases, clauses, and amendments detailing ways people cannot be denied the right to vote. You cannot deny the right to vote because of race or gender. Citizens of Washington DC can vote for President; 18-year-olds can vote; you can vote even if you fail to pay a poll tax. The Constitution also requires that anyone who can vote for the "most numerous branch" of their state legislature can vote for House members and Senate members.

Note that in all of this, though, the Constitution never explicitly ensures the right to vote, as it does the right to speech, for example. It does require that Representatives be chosen and Senators be elected by "the People," and who comprises "the People" has been expanded by the aforementioned amendments several times. Aside from these requirements, though, the qualifications for voters are left to the states. And as long as the qualifications do not conflict with anything in the Constitution, that right can be withheld. For example, in Texas, persons declared mentally incompetent and felons currently in prison or on probation are denied the right to vote. It is interesting to note that though the 26th Amendment requires that 18-year-olds must be able to vote, states can allow persons younger than 18 to vote, if they chose to."

A Right to Vote Amazingly, the Constitution fails to guarantee the most basic of Democratic rights

 

[CrusaderFrank]

I'm wondering how many people have actually read the article, and why everyone is focusing in on the ID issue. In my mind, it's the least of issues. I, personally, don't really have an issue with requiring photo ID at the polling location.

What I find problematic is that the new rules FL created to reduce the early voting period, and especially elimination of voting on the Sunday before election day. What is the rational basis for this? It is obviously an attempt to thwart any effort by Obama to repeat his Souls to the Polls tactic which worked so well for him. And THAT is shameful, to create new voting laws specifically in an attempt to preempt a particular candidate's political prowess. Clearly, the Florida GOP is abusing its role in an attempt to eliminate votes for Obama.

I agree that the nationwide trends that we're seeing do indicate that the GOP is trying to manipulate the voting process when state legislatures should be concentrating on the real issues their respective states face. It reminds me of the 2002 gerrymandering that took place in Texas. There as no need to redistrict again, but they did it anyway. Why? The sole reason was to manipulate the system in favor of the GOP. Politics is one thing, but this kind of stuff is disgraceful. It's no wonder so many people say that the GOP is party before country. While that's true for the Democrats also, it seems like the GOP outpaces the Dems on that issue leaps and bounds.

Election DAY

Not Election Week

Election DAY.

It's once every 4 years and if you can't get yourself to the poll, that's too fucking bad