Tea Party ‘True the Vote’ voter suppression efforts

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The New York Times finally caught up to the Tea Party voter suppression efforts by "True the Vote" in a lengthy report on Sunday. Looking, Very Closely, for Voter Fraud:

It might as well be Harry Potter’s invisible Knight Bus, because no one can prove it exists.

The bus has been repeatedly cited by True the Vote, a national group
focused on voter fraud. Catherine Engelbrecht, the group’s leader, told a
gathering in July about buses carrying dozens of voters showing up at
polling places during the recent Wisconsin recall election.

“Magically, all of them needed to register and vote at the same time,”
Ms. Engelbrecht said. “Do you think maybe they registered falsely under
false pretenses? Probably so.”

Weeks later, another True the Vote representative told a meeting of
conservative women about a bus seen at a San Diego polling place in 2010
offloading people “who did not appear to be from this country.”

Officials in both San Diego and Wisconsin said they had no evidence that
the buses were real. “It’s so stealthy that no one is ever able to get a
picture and no one is able to get a license plate,” said Reid Magney, a
spokesman for the Wisconsin agency that oversees elections. In some
versions the bus is from an Indian reservation; in others it is full of
voters from Chicago or Detroit. “Pick your minority group,” he said.

[In 2010, Tea Party candidate Jesse Kelly's Claims That Mexicans Are Being Bused In To Vote Were Dismissed By AZ Secretary Of State – the claims “are without merit.” Matthew Benson, then communications director for the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office, called it an “urban legend” and pointed out that “in terms of specific instances, we haven’t seen it.”]

The buses are part of the election fraud gospel according to True the
Vote, which is mobilizing a small army of volunteers to combat what it
sees as a force out to subvert elections. Ms. Engelbrecht’s July speech
in Montana was titled “Voter Fraud: The Plot to Undermine American
Democracy.”

True the Vote’s plan is to scrutinize the validity of voter registration
rolls and voters who appear at the polls.
Among those in their cross
hairs: noncitizens who are registered to vote, those without proper
identification, others who may be registered twice, and dead people. In
Ohio and Indiana, True the Vote recently filed lawsuits to force
officials to clean up voter rolls.

* * *

In a report this month, the liberal-leaning organizations Common Cause
and Demos cited True the Vote as the central player in this effort,
which it called a threat to the fundamental right to vote.

* * *

While [Ms. Englebrecht] portrays True the Vote as nonpartisan, it grew out of a Tea Party
group, King Street Patriots, that she founded in Texas. An examination
shows that it has worked closely with a variety of well-financed
organizations, many unabashed in their desire to defeat President Obama.

A polished and provocative video, circulating among Tea Party activists,
seeks to raise a “cavalry” to march on swing states and identifies True
the Vote as a participant in the effort, called Code Red USA.

In the past year, Americans for Prosperity, an organization founded by
the billionaire Koch brothers, and other Republican-leaning independent
groups have sponsored meetings featuring Ms. Engelbrecht and other True
the Vote speakers.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court to hear voter ID case this Thursday

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The suprising, and wrongly decided Pennsylvania superior court decision on voter ID, will go before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court this Thursday. Voter ID law set for review by state Supreme Court | PennLive.com:

Pennsylvania will take its place as a battleground state on a different political front this week as supporters and opponents argue the validity of the state’s new voter ID law before the state Supreme Court.

Oral arguments are scheduled for Thursday in Philadelphia. They will be televised live on Pennsylvania Cable Network at 9:30 a.m.

The six-member court — evenly split between Democrats and Republicans — will be tasked with reviewing Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson’s August ruling that permitted Pennsylvania’s new voter ID law to be implemented for the Nov. 6 election. If the justices are deadlocked, Simpson’s decisions will stand.

* * *

Plaintiffs in this case say the state, as of Tuesday, had issued nearly 7,000 nondriver’s license photo ID cards since March, when the law was enacted. That proves their point that with at least 100,000 voters needing IDs, there’s strong evidence that “you are going to have tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, without ID on Election Day,” said Witold Walczak, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania’s legal director.

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

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Civil Rights Movement hero Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) addressed the 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.

Undocumented protesters arrested outside of Democratic Convention

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by Pamela Powers Hannley

Ten undocumented protesters from Arizona were arrested late Tuesday afternoon outside of the Time Warner Arena in uptown Charlotte, as Democratic National Convention delegates watched.

Chanting in Spanish and English, the protesters– surrounded by media and conventioneers with smart phone cameras– quickly marched toward the arena where First Lady Michelle Obama was scheduled to speak.

As throngs of convention delegates bustled down the sidewalk, the small band of Latinos laid a large yellow mat decorated with butterflies in the middle of the intersection and sat in protest of US immigration policies. Just as quickly, they were surrounded by police on foot and on bicycles. Although it was difficult for passersby to see them, we could hear their stories and feel the passion. 

More details and video after the jump.

Isn’t it Time to Take to the Streets?

Posted by Bob Lord All pretense regarding the purpose for the restrictive voting measures that swept the country has been peeled away. Weeks ago, a Pennsylvania Republican outright boasted how their passage of the voter ID law would allow them to deliver Pennsylvania to Romney in November. There's no shame. There's no contrition. There's no … Read more