Civil & Human Rights

7th Circuit Court of Appeals lifts stay of Wisconsin voter ID law

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gavelThe 7th Circuit Court of Appeals today reinstated Wisconsin’s voter photo identification law struck down earlier this year by the U.S. District Court for Wisconsin. You can read the order Here (.pdf).

The Wisconsin State Journal reports, Federal appeals court reinstates voter ID requirement:

U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman struck the law down as unconstitutional in April, saying it unfairly burdens poor and minority voters who may lack such identification. Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen asked the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago to overturn that ruling.

The 7th Circuit issued a ruling late Friday afternoon lifting Aldeman’s stay and allowing the law to go into effect before the November elections.

State attorneys asked a three-judge 7th Circuit panel during oral arguments on Friday to immediately reinstate the law.

Van Hollen’s appeal remains in play, however. The judges say they’ll issue a ruling on the merits later.

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Former Sen. Russell Pearce ordered to comply with subpoena to produce documents

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SB1070Current  First Vice Chair of the Arizona Republican Party, disgraced and recalled former Senator Russell Pearce, has been ordered to comply with a subpoena in a lawsuit alleging that legislators meant to discriminate against Latinos and other people of color.

The challengers argue the law violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. Judge allows access to emails about Arizona immigration law.

The AP reports Judge orders Pearce to comply with subpoena:

A judge ordered the primary sponsor of Arizona’s 2010 immigration law to comply with a subpoena calling for him to turn over his emails and documents about the contentious statute.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton rejected former Sen. Russell Pearce’s arguments that a subpoena requesting documents was defective and that Pearce’s response to the subpoena was more than adequate.

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Of course they ignored repro rights at the Channel 12 debate.

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Crossposted at DemocraticDiva.com

ducey duval

In Wednesday night’s gubernatorial debate hosted by KPNX Channel 12 candidates Fred DuVal (D) and Doug Ducey (R) were asked about topics ranging from the economy to taxation to Common Core school standards to the border and immigration policy. My assessment of it was that Ducey would have gotten away with his recitation of talking points with no specifics to every question were it not for moderator Brahm Resnik, who does not care for that and pressed him for details, causing Ducey to flail. DuVal was definitely better prepared to answer the actual questions.

Noticeably absent, to me and other reproductive rights advocates, were any questions about women’s health and family planning. This deliberate elision is far too common here and not something seen in other red states North Carolina and Texas, where candidates are debating things like abortion and contraception vigorously, as they should since anti-choice laws are being passed like crazy in them. But, for some reason, the mainstream news people in Arizona tend to be squeamish about the topic. You may see the question come up, briefly, in one or two major debates but not in most of them. On the rare occasion moderators do ask it’s typically to allow the GOP candidate to express his support for “exceptions for rape and incest” with no follow-up questions.

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Pima County Recorder issues a notice regarding voter registration mailing

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The Pima County Recorder’s Office has issued a notice to voters regarding a recent mailing sent to voters. Voter registration mailing not from the Pima County Recorder’s Office;

Voter registration mailing not from the Pima County Recorder’s Office

Sep 10, 2014

Several thousand Pima County Voters have received a mailing recently from an organization called the Voter Participation Center informing them that they are not currently registered to vote or that their voter registration is not current.

The Pima County Recorder’s Office has been contacted by several hundred angry registered voters questioning this mailing. This mailing was not sent by the Pima County Recorder’s Office, the Recorder was not contacted by this group and the Pima County Recorder’s office did not provide any voter registration information to the Voter Participation Center and did not provide any addresses for this mailing.

The Pima County Recorder’s Office is not involved in any manner with this mailing.

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Arizona pisses away hundreds of thousands of dollars on two-tiered election system

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A decision in Kobach et al. v. U.S. Election Assistance Commission is still pending before the 10th circuit Court of Appeals. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals oral argument in Kobach v. U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

Screenshot-15But the results of Arizona’s unconstitutional experimentation with the deprivation of the franchise to vote of U.S. Citizens in its primary election for having registered to vote with the federal voter registration form  are now known.

Arizona Secretary of State Ken “Birther” Bennett, relying on nothing more than an Attorney General opinion from Tom “banned for life by the SEC” Horne, forced Arizona’s counties and the state to piss away hundreds of thousands of dollars on a two-tiered election system that resulted in — 21 ballots.

The AP reports, Just 21 Arizona voters used new two-tier system:

Just 21 voters statewide who registered using a federal form for Arizona elections were forced to only vote for federal candidates in the Aug. 26 primary, Secretary of State Ken Bennett said Monday.

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