CHAPTER 10: THE VOTING WARS
106. Same as 52: The Fight to Vote, by Michael Waldman. See page 186–7 for federal voter fraud investigations, page 190 for estimate by Texas Republican Party’s Royal Masset that stricter voter ID laws would undercut Democratic turnout by 3 percent, and page 209 for GAO studies. http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Fight-to-Vote/Michael-Waldman/9781501116483.
107. Same as 61: Issues Related to State Voter Identification Laws, US Government Accountability Office, September 2014.
108. “Voter Suppression Works,” by Sean McElwee, demos.org, May 9, 2017. This study on the impact of stricter voter ID compared laws between red and blue states. It found stricter ID laws in Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin caused turnout to drop by 1.7 percent. When Wisconsin was compared to Minnesota, turnout fell by 2.2 percent in high black population counties. http://www.demos.org/blog/5/9/17/voter-suppression-works.
109. “Do voter identification laws suppress minority voting? Yes. We did the research.” by Zoltan Hajnal, Nazita Lajevardi, Lindsay Nielson, The Washington Post, February 15, 2017. This analysis suggests that stricter voter ID laws undercut progressive candidates in primaries and pushes the Democratic Party toward the center. “All else equal, when strict ID laws are instituted, the turnout gap between Republicans and Democrats in primary contests more than doubles from 4.3 points to 9.8 points. Likewise, the turnout gap between conservative and liberal voters more than doubles from 7.7 to 20.4 points … Unsurprisingly, these strict ID laws are passed almost exclusively by Republican legislatures.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/02/15/do-voter-identification-laws-suppress-minority-voting-yes-we-did-the-research/?utm_term=.a248da5d08ce.
110. “Voting Law Changes: Election Update,” by Wendy Weiser and Diana Kasdan, The Brennan Center for Justice, October 28, 2012. http://www.brennancenter.org/publication/voting-law-changes-election-update.
111. “The Voting Rights Act of 1965,” The US Department of Justice. This is the DOJ’s online description of the history of the Voting Rights Act and subsequent amendments in 1970, 1975, 1982, and 2006. https://www.justice.gov/crt/history-federal-voting-rights-laws.
112. Same as 110: “Voting Law Changes: Election Update,” by Wendy Weiser and Diana Kasdan, The Brennan Center for Justice, October 28, 2012.
113. Shelby County v. Holder, The Supreme Court’s 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision striking down the enforcement formula in Section 5 as unconstitutional, https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/12-96_6k47.pdf.
114. “About Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act,” The US Department of Justice. This is the DOJ’s summary of states and counties previously covered under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. https://www.justice.gov/crt/about-section-5-voting-rights-act.
115. “Special Report: Behind US race cases, a little-known recruiter,” by Joan Biskupic, Reuters, December 4, 2012. Excerpt: “Over the past 20 years, Blum has similarly launched at least a dozen lawsuits attacking race-based protections. In addition to the Fisher [affirmative action in university admissions] and Shelby County [Voting Rights Act] cases, two other Blum-backed cases reached the Supreme Court. One struck down majority-black and majority-Latino voting districts in Texas. The other prompted the court to suggest it might eliminate a major portion of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which the conservative-majority bench may now be poised to do.” http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-casemaker-idUSBRE8B30V220121204.
Also see: “Meet the Brains Behind the Effort to Get the Supreme Court to Rethink Civil Rights: Edward Blum has orchestrated a string of big cases targeting voting rights and affirmative action,” by Stephanie Mencimer, Mother Jones, March/April 2016. http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/04/edward-blum-supreme-court-affirmative-action-civil-rights.
116. “The GOP is Dying Off. Literally,” by Daniel J. McGraw, May 17, 2015, Politico Magazine. http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/05/the-gop-is-dying-off-literally-118035.
117. “Voting Law Roundup 2013,” by the Brennan Center for Justice, Dec. 19, 2013. This summary lists the 2013 legislation and resulting laws that would restrict and also expand voting rights following the Supreme Court’s Shelby County ruling. Typically, red states, including some presidential swing states, moved to restrict rights, while blue states went in the opposite direction. http://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/election-2013-voting-laws-roundup Also see: “Voting Laws Roundup 2014,” by the Brennan Center for Justice, December 18, 2014. http://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/voting-laws-roundup-2014.
118. Same as 114. “About Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act,” Department of Justice.
119. Same as 24: Democracy Diminished: State and Local Threats to Voting Post-Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder, by NAACP Legal Defense Fund, June 9, 2016. This report details post-Shelby voter suppression tactics and legal fights that continued into the 2016 election. It has sections on Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and also describes the fight over requiring documented proof of citizenship on voter registration forms at US Election Assistance Commission.
120. Same as 96: “Voting Laws Roundup 2017,” by the Brennan Center for Justice, May 10, 2017. This update notes that more anti-voter laws were passed in 2017 than in the two prior years, but notes that blue states have been looking at expanding voting rights. Those blue states are not considered swing states for the House majority or presidential elections.
121. “Supreme Court: Virginia redistricting must be reexamined for racial bias,” by Robert Barnes, Chicago Tribune, March 1, 2017. This report discusses the Supreme Court’s ruling that sent the Virginia redistricting case back to lower courts to assess the latest maps. While it is nominally a victory for minority voters and Democrats, the political boundaries that have been challenged as racially discriminatory remain. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-supreme-court-virginia-redistricting-racial-bias-20170301-story.html.
Also see: “Will third time be a charm for those who want NC Supreme Court to invalidate election maps?” by Anne Blythe, The News and Observer, May 30, 2017. This report recounts how the North Carolina GOP has thwarted repeated federal court rulings to redraw state and congressional district maps. http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/under-the-dome/article153347589.html.
Also see: “Revised Redistricting Plans Face Strong Public Opposition: GOP lawmakers on a key Senate committee approved a revision Friday of controversial redistricting plans, but Democrats and others accused Republicans of lacking transparency,” by Ezra Kaplan, Associated Press, March 24, 2017. This AP report about revising Georgia state legislative districts also had Democrats accusing the majority GOP of acting secretly to retain their advantage. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/georgia/articles/2017-03-24/revised-redistricting-plans-face-strong-public-opposition.
122. “Alabama’s GOP approves new maps; Dems vow repeat court fight: Alabama’s overwhelmingly Republican legislature has sent a new legislative map to the governor after a rancorous session featuring a racially charged email comparing lawmakers to monkeys.” by Kim Chandler, Associated Press, May 20, 2017. What’s unfolded in Alabama is typical of GOP efforts to keep their structural advantage despite losing in court. “‘It seems like we are going to end up in court again,’ said Legislative Black Caucus Chairman John Knight, D-Montgomery. ‘It’s clear. You can look at the [newly redrawn] map. There is racial gerrymandering.’” https://www.apnews.com/526ad1f61e32407ab28c40616efbbcd7.
123. Same as 24: Democracy Diminished: State and Local Threats to Voting Post-Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder, by NAACP Legal Defense Fund, June 9, 2016.
124. “Plaintiffs Claim Bias During Closing Argument Against Texas Voter ID Law,” by Manny Fernandez, The New York Times, Sept. 22, 2014. Excerpt: “Richard Dellheim, a lawyer for the Justice Department’s Voting Section, said in his closing argument that more than 608,000 registered voters in Texas lack the types of ID required b
y the law and that the percentage of Hispanics and blacks without the necessary identification is substantially higher than the percentage of whites without that ID … Texas has issued only 279 election ID cards. A similar program in Georgia has issued 2,200 cards, Mr. Dellheim said.” https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/23/us/plaintiffs-assert-bias-during-closing-argument-against-texas-voter-id-law.html?mcubz=2.
125. Same as the first item in 121: “Supreme Court: Virginia redistricting must be reexamined for racial bias,” by Robert Barnes, Chicago Tribune, March 1, 2017.
126. “Va. Supreme Court strikes down McAuliffe’s order on felon voting rights,” by Graham Moomaw, Richmond Times-Dispatch, July 23, 2016. This report recounts the state Supreme Court ruling that threw out Gov. McAuliffe’s first executive order restoring ex-felon voting rights, which resulted in 11,662 ex-felons to register. Virginia’s Supreme Court ordered those ex-felons to be removed from voter rolls. McAuliffe replied he’d take steps to reinstate their voting rights. http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/government-politics/va-supreme-court-strikes-down-mcauliffe-s-order-on-felon/article_718d04d8-70b2-5bfb-aa8c-0ff1ca108b8d.html.
127. “Governor McAuliffe Provides Update on Restoration of Rights Numbers,” by WWIR, NBC29.com, January 18, 2018. This report describes McAuliffe’s second clemency effort, which restored 140,000 ex-felon’s voting rights. http://www.nbc29.com/story/34203534/governor-mcauliffe-provides-update-on-restoration-of-rights-numbers.
Also see: “Virginia’s breakthrough on rectifying an enormous injustice,” Editorial Board, The Washington Post, June 11, 2017. This editorial reports the number of ex-felons whose voting rights were restored as 156,000, and that 26,000 of those individuals had voted in November 2016. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/virginias-breakthrough-on-rectifying-an-enormous-injustice/2017/06/11/c90e3808-4d52-11e7-9669-250d0b15f83b_story.html?utm_term=.b0528b5bfd05.
128. “Are Felons More Likely to Vote for Democrats over Republicans?” by ProCon.org, March 7, 2014. This website contains statements by Republicans and Democrats about the partisan implications of restoring ex-felon voting rights, including the 2004 statement by Marty Connor to the Washington Post that ex-felons are likely to support Democrats. http://felonvoting.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=000662.
129. “Florida: An Outlier in Denying Voting Rights,” by Erkia Wood, The Brennan Center for Justice, December 16, 2016. This report has national and state-based statistics on felon disenfranchisement. “Florida is one of only three states with a lifetime voting ban for people with felony convictions. The strict law disenfranchises 1.6 million citizens, including 21 percent of the state’s voting-age African Americans.” https://www.brennancenter.org/publication/florida-outlier-denying-voting-rights.
Also see: “Florida’s felons inch closer to regaining right to vote,” by Dan Sweeney, Sun-Sentinel, December 31, 2016. Ten percent of Florida’s voting age population can’t vote because of criminal records. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florida/fl-voting-rights-felons-20161231-story.html.
Also see: “Epic Fight Over Florida’s Political Future Looms As Constitutional Amendment to Restore Felon Voting Rights Clears Hurdle,” by Lulu Friesdat, AlterNet.org, April 27, 2017. This is an update on a prospective state ballot measure to amend the Florida Constitution to restore felon voting. http://www.alternet.org/activism/epic-fight-over-floridas-political-future-looms-constitutional-amendment-restore-felon.
130. “No, 1.8 million dead people aren’t going to vote in November,” by Phillip Bump, The Washington Post, October 18, 2016. This piece recounts Trump’s oft-recreated claims that more than 1 million dead people will be voting—but not likely for him. The Post’s traces the source of that claim, notes how Trump manipulates a nonissue into a fake threat, and shows how dead people do not vote. The real-life challenge for election officials is keeping their voters lists accurate after people die or move, in both cases not being informed of the change. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/10/18/no-1-8-million-dead-people-arent-going-to-vote-in-november/?utm_term=.16e1f2247798.
CHAPTER 11: THE STARTING LINE
131. “Jeff Sessions,” wikipedia.org. Jeff Sessions’ biography. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Sessions.
See 103, for 1985 voter fraud prosecutions as US Attorney in Alabama: “Why Republicans Can’t Find the Big Voter Fraud Conspiracy: If the last federal investigation is any guide, the answer is simple: It probably doesn’t exist,” by Lisa Rab, Politico Magazine, April 2, 2017. See: “Names of the American Civil War,” wikipedia.org, for Confederate names of American Civil War: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_the_American_Civil_War.
132. Same as 24: Democracy Diminished: State and Local Threats to Voting Post-Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder, by NAACP Legal Defense Fund, June 9, 2016.
133. Same as 81: “Alabama House Approves Redistricting Bill Over Objections,” by Kim Chandler, Associated Press, May 18, 2017.
Also see 66: “The State of Redistricting Litigation (March 2017 edition),” by the Brennan Center For Justice.
134. “How the GOP Is Re-segregating the South: Republicans are using the redistricting process to undermine minority voting power and ensure their party’s dominance,” by Ari Berman, The Nation, February 20, 2012. This report describes GOP redistricting is an attempt to turn the GOP into a party of white voters in the South, while making Democrats a bastion of nonwhites. https://www.thenation.com/article/how-gop-resegregating-south/.
Also see: “Separate and Unequal Voting in Arizona and Kansas: Two states want to create a two-tiered voting system reminiscent of the Jim Crow South,” by Ari Berman, The Nation, October 15, 2013. This report described how Arizona and Kansas “want to create a two-tiered voting system reminiscent of the Jim Crow South.” https://www.thenation.com/article/separate-and-unequal-voting-arizona-and-kansas/.
135. Same as 108: “How Do Proof-of-Citizenship Laws Block Legitimate Voters?” by Stuart Naifeh, demos.org, August 25, 2014. This report summarizes the various state and federal laws and lawsuits surrounding the attempt to add documented proof of citizenship to the voter registration process.
Also see 24: Democracy Diminished: State and Local Threats to Voting Post-Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder, by NAACP Legal Defense Fund, June 9, 2016.
Also see: “Voter Identification, Proof of Citizenship for Voting and Provisional Ballots: A National Overview,” by Wendy Underhill, National Conference of State Legislatures, August 25, 2016. This paper presented at NCSL’s 2016 conference is an overview of proof of citizenship laws, including how Tennessee’s law differs from Arizona, Kansas, Alabama, and Georgia. “The Tennessee approach is different than the Kansas approach because it only comes into play when there is reason to doubt citizenship, rather than creating a requirement for all voters to show proof of citizenship.” http://www.legis.nd.gov/files/committees/64–2014%20appendices/17_5143_03000appendixf.pdf.
136. “Additional Data Could Help State and Local Elections Officials Maintain Accurate Voter Registration Lists,” US Government Accountability Office, June 2005. The report notes there is no single federal citizenship database, which has not changed since then. See numbered pages 14–17. “Two types of standard sources of identification, such as a driver’s license, state identification or social security numbers are not useful because neither are evidence of citizenship.” http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05478.pdf.
137. “Register to Vote and Confirm or Change Registration,” USA.gov. This is the US government’s webpage with voter registration basics and links to state deadlines and voter ID requirements. https://www.usa.gov/register-to-vote.
138. “Register To Vote In Your State by Using This Postcard Form and Guide,” vote.gov. This is the federal voter registration form and accompanying state registration details. Under Kansas, it described the documented proof of citizenship requirements and filing deadlines. https://vote.gov/files/federal-voter-registration_1-25-16_english.pdf.
139. “Same-day voter registration,” ballotp
edia.org. This lists the states with same-day or Election Day registration. Thirteen states and Washington, DC, had this option for the 2016 election. Three more states have passed it but it had not taken effect. https://ballotpedia.org/Same-day_voter_registration.
140. “Voter Identification Requirements | Voter ID Laws,” by Wendy Underhill, National Conference of State Legislatures, June 5, 2017. This 2017 summary of state voter ID requirements says seventeen states in 2017 require state-issued photo IDs. “A total of 34 states have laws requesting or requiring voters to show some form of identification at the polls. 32 of these voter identification laws are in force in 2017. West Virginia’s law, signed on April 1, 2016, goes into effect in 2018 and Iowa’s law, signed on May 5, 2017, will not be fully implemented until 2019 … The remaining 18 states use other methods to verify the identity of voters. Most frequently, other identifying information provided at the polling place, such as a signature, is checked against information on file.” http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/voter-id.aspx#Details.
141. Mark Martin, Secretary of State, et al v. Freedom Kohls, Toylanda Smith, Joe Flakes and Barry Haas, Supreme Court of Arkansas, No. CV-14-462, October 15, 2014.
This Arkansas Supreme Court ruling threw out the state’s 2013 voter ID law as an unconstitutional “additional qualification” for eligibility. https://posting.arktimes.com/media/pdf/voter_id_opinion.pdf.
Also see: “Arkansas governor signs bill to reinstate voter ID law,” by Andrew Demillo, Associated Press, March 24, 2017. The state’s Republican Governor, Asa Hutchinson, signed a new voter ID law in early 2017 reinstating the requirement. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/arkansas-governor-signs-bill-reinstate-voter-id-law/.
142. “Kris Kobach,” by wikipedia.org. This biography article cites Kansas Secretary of State’s history, including anti-immigrant activism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kris_Kobach.
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