Civil & Human Rights

Will there be a Latino voter surge in Arizona on Tuesday?

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

A Latino voter surge in Arizona has long been predicted, but has yet to materialize, as it did in California after Republican Governor Pete Wilson screwed the pooch with his anti-immigrant Prop. 187. California is now reliably "blue."

Presente_LicensePlateAZ_300pxWill Republican Governor Jan Brewer's embrace of disgraced recalled state senator Russell Pearce's anti-immigrant SB 1070 lead to the long anticipated Latino voter surge in Arizona on Tuesday? Latino groups say they have registered tens of thousands of new Hispanic voters in Arizona leading up to the Nov. 6 general election. Latino voters surge in Arizona:

Over the past six months, a coalition of 10 Latino groups has been going from door to door, registering new voters and encouraging voters who are already registered to sign up for early mail-in ballots. The groups also have been encouraging voters who have received early ballots to mail them in and even offering to deliver them to county election officials on their behalf.

The voter-registration drives are part of a concerted effort by advocacy groups to increase the number of Latino voters in Arizona to counter what they consider anti-Latino policies such as Arizona’s immigration law, Senate Bill 1070, and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s immigration-enforcement sweeps.

The voter-registration efforts intensified over the past two weeks after it was revealed that [Maricopa] county printed the wrong election date on some election materials in Spanish, including bookmarks distributed at voter-outreach events and election reminders distributed with voter-ID cards.

The Spanish version of the materials gave Nov. 8 as the election date instead of the correct date, Nov. 6.

The errors sparked an outcry from Latino voting groups concerned that the wrong election dates printed in Spanish could prevent some Latinos from voting, undermining some of their efforts to boost Latino turnout at the polls.

(Repost) Rep. John Lewis: People died for the right to vote, we have come too far together to ever turn back

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Civil Rights Movement hero Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) addressed the DNC convention on voting rights. "My dear friends, your vote is precious, almost sacred. It is the most powerful, nonviolent tool we have to create a more perfect union." Lewis went on to describe the literacy tests and poll taxes that are now unconstitutional.

"Today it is unbelievable that there are Republican officials who are trying to stop some people from voting. They are changing the rules, cutting polling hours and imposing requirements intended to suppress the vote . . . that's not right, that's not fair, and that is not just."

"I've seen this before. I've lived this before. Too many people struggled, suffered and died to make it possible for every American to exercise their right to vote. We have come too far together to ever turn back. So Democrats we must not be silent. We must stand up, speak up and speak out. We must march to the polls like never ever before. We must come together and exercise our sacred right."

Video below the fold.

Election Protection Hotline Numbers

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie: The New York Times in an editorial opinion today writes, Voting Rights – Upholding Democracy: This year, voting is more than just the core responsibility of citizenship; it is an act of defiance against malicious political forces determined to reduce access to democracy. Millions of ballots on Tuesday — along with those … Read more

Martha McSally: The anti-feminist (video)

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Even feminists own recipe boxes.
Even feminists own recipe boxes.

Republican Congressional candidate Col. Martha McSally says she has been “fighting for women’s rights and women’s equality [her] whole life.”

McSally is well known as the first woman combat pilot and the Air Force officer who fought against a government rule requiring US service women to wear Arab garb when they leave the base. Does this make her a champion for women’s rights?

Let’s look beyond these headlines to answer that question. More on McSally’s stances on choice, women’s health, equal pay, and the War on Women.

Choice

Although McSally bristles when called a “cookie cutter” Republican candidate, her stances on women’s issues are in lock-step with Congressional War on Women stalwarts like Republican Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan and fellow Arizonan Jeff Flake, who is running on the Republican ticket for US Senate against Dr. Richard Carmona.

McSally’s website says she believes in “the sanctity of every human life”. This right-wing code for saying that she agrees with the Republican Party’s anti-abortion platform. Ironically, small-government McSally believes that the government should dictate when American women have children. Not supporting a woman’s right to make decisions governing her own body is a deal breaker for many women.

Read more

The House Majority PAC ad: ‘AZ-01: Jonathan Paton – Why’

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The House Majority PAC is up with a closing ad in CD 1 against Jonathan "Payday" Paton entitled "Jonathan Paton – Why." Tthe House Majority PAC teamed up with Emily’s List (aka Women Vote!) to target Paton’s views on women’s healthcare.

Paton has been a consistent vote for the fetus fetish "culture warriors" at Center for Arizona Policy who want to criminalize abortion and subject women to second class citizen status to a fertilized egg.

Video below the fold.