Tag: voting

Georgia Lawsuit Latest Blow in US Fight Over Voting Rights

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U.S. voting rights advocacy groups Thursday sued Georgia’s top election official, Secretary of State Brian Kemp, accusing him of putting more than 50,000 voter registration applications on hold to boost his gubernatorial campaign. Kemp is the Republican nominee for governor in one of this year’s highest-profile state races, in which Democrat Stacey Abrams is seeking to become the state’s first black governor. The lawsuit brought by a coalition of state civil rights groups accused Kemp of attempting to depress minority turnout to improve his chances of victory. It was the latest legal development this week involving voting rights that could influence the Nov. 6 elections in states, including North Dakota, Arkansas and Ohio. Stakes high In addition to governor’s races, control of Congress hangs in the balance in next month’s elections, when Democrats hope to claw back enough seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate to regain some power in Washington. Backers of voter ID laws say they are intended to combat voter fraud. But voter rights advocates say the number of documented cases of voter fraud in the United States is extremely small and that restrictions disproportionately affect poor and minority voters. “A lot of states’ laws…

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Missouri Appeals Ruling That Blocked Part of Voter Photo ID

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Missouri’s top election official on Thursday said the state was appealing a judge’s ruling that blocked enforcement of parts of a voter photo identification law, adding that the ruling was causing “mass confusion” ahead of a key election for a U.S. Senate seat. Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (pictured) in a statement said the state attorney general had appealed the ruling and asked it to be put on hold as that process plays out. At issue is Senior Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan’s recent ruling striking down a requirement that a voter lacking a valid photo ID must sign a sworn statement and present some other form of identification in order to cast a regular ballot. Callahan also blocked the state from advertising that a photo ID is required to vote. Ashcroft said there’s confusion because Callahan’s ruling “directs the STATE not to use the statement.” But Ashcroft said it’s local election authorities who would have been responsible for requesting that voters without proper photo identification sign an affidavit, “so it is not clear if they are bound by the judge’s decision.” “The judge’s decision has injected mass confusion into the voting process just weeks before an important…

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Sen. Lamar Alexander Tells Tennessee Star Report Vote on Kavanaugh Will Be Held This Week

Julie Carr

On Tuesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – the men talked with Senator Lamar Alexander about getting the vote finalized after a seventh FBI investigation into Judge Kavanaugh is completed so that they can confirm President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee. “Well, Senator McConnell is determined to have the vote this week so we’ll get the FBI look at Judge Kavanaugh over the last 26 years.  We’ll see if it says what it said before.  We’ll have a day or two to read it, and then we’ll vote.  And so yes, I believe a vote will be this week sometime, maybe Friday or Saturday, but it will be this week,” Alexander said. At the beginning of the segment, Alexander commented in dismay regarding the issue of fairness and how the destruction of Kavanaugh’s reputation, which was excellent up until only ten days ago, has effected the nominee. “What people are overlooking is Judge Kavanaugh has been subjected to six background checks over the last 26 years in connection with the various federal positions he has.  And those background checks are extensive. The…

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Commentary: If Congress Is Really Concerned About ‘Foreign Meddling,’ Get Illegal Immigrants Off the Voter Rolls

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By Printus LeBlanc   Multiple congressional committees and a Special Counsel have spent millions of taxpayer dollars to investigate foreign interference in the 2016 election and have come up with some memes from Russia. Meanwhile, recent reports from several states indicate there is real foreign influence in U.S. elections being ignored by Congress and the Special Counsel. Voter fraud is a far more significant threat to our democracy than $300 in Facebook ads for Pennsylvania, and it is time for Congress, the Department of Justice, and the Special Counsel to go after the real foreign influence. On Monday, the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PLIF) filed a lawsuit against Pennsylvania officials for failing to comply with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). The PLIF is seeking records related to registered voters for inspection, which the NVRA makes legal. The foundation is seeking the information to ensure the Pennsylvania voter rolls are clean and have good reason to think otherwise. In December, Philadelphia Election Commissioner Al Schmidt told state lawmakers there was a glitch in the state’s motor voter system. Schmidt also told the lawmakers that after the Pennsylvania Department of State completed the Noncitizen Matching Analysis more than 100,000 driver’s license numbers associated with noncitizens…

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