Issues Archives - Page 68 of 69

Oregon Registers Thousands Under New ‘Motor Voter’ Law

PORTLAND -- Roughly 68,500 Oregonians have been automatically registered to vote under the state's new "motor voter" law, according to the Associated Press. That's an average 13,700 new voters a month through May, a big jump from the 2,000 per month Oregon typically saw before the automatic voter registration system kicked in Jan. 1. The program automatically registers people to vote when they apply for or renew a driver's license or state ID card, and on Friday state elections officials began rolling out its second and final phase. Phase two involves mailing registration paperwork to another 145,000 residents who interacted with the motor vehicle department in the two years before motor voter went into effect.

By ACRU Staff|2016-06-21T16:43:30+00:00June 21st, 2016|

Four Connecticut Republicans Oppose Automatic Voter Registration

HARTFORD -- An agreement between Secretary of the State Denise Merrill and Department of Motor Vehicle Commissioner Michael Byzdra to develop an automatic voter registration system is an unnecessary and expensive proposition. That was the message from four Republican lawmakers who held a press conference in late May at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford to criticize the decision. In response to the U.S. Department of Justice's threat to sue Connecticut for not complying with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, Merrill and Byzdra inked an agreement to come up with an automatic voter registration system for drivers to use at the DMV when they renew their license. Sen. Michael McLachlan, R-Danbury, said the current paper process has no new implementation costs. It involves making sure drivers are given voter registration cards by an employee at the counter and that those cards are mailed to their respective towns. The memorandum of understanding between Merrill and Byzdra sets forth a two-year process for coming up with an automated way for drivers to register to vote at the DMV.

By ACRU Staff|2016-06-14T14:29:24+00:00June 14th, 2016|

Fixing Elections, Automatically

If you think that the politicians who now run our government are bad, how about a system with leaders chosen by people too lazy even to register to vote?

By ACRU Staff|2020-05-06T15:28:30+00:00September 21st, 2015|

Crucial Texas Voting Case to Be Heard

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 26, 2015) -- The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to states giving more political power to areas with high illegal alien populations. In a brief filed in March, the (ACRU) argued that Texas and a U.S. District Court erred in approving state senate districts based on "total population" rather than on eligible citizen voters. "Total population" includes illegal aliens. Counting non-voters, including illegal aliens, when assessing the size of senate districts, gives citizens living in areas with high numbers of illegal aliens more senate seats than areas with mostly U.S. citizens, the ACRU says in the brief, filed on behalf of the plaintiffs in Evenwel and Pfenninger v. Abbott et al. The ACRU brief notes that even the United States Department of Justice uses only citizen population in allocating legislative seats in redistricting litigation. "The current Texas method violates the one-man, one-vote concept that ensures fair elections," said ACRU President Susan A. Carleson. "We're pleased that the Court is taking the case."

By ACRU Staff|2015-05-27T12:44:40+00:00May 27th, 2015|

No. 3 Democrat: Voter ID Laws Helped Killer Cop Gun Down Victim

Did you know that voter-ID cards caused last week's police-involved shooting of an unarmed black man? This incredible revelation comes courtesy of the No. 3 Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, James Clyburn of South Carolina. Responding to the five bullets that North Charleston police officer Michael Slager fatally fired into the back of a black man named Walter Scott, Mr. Clyburn blamed this bloody mess on none other than the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and its work for ballot integrity. The U.S. House Assistant Minority Leader, Mr. Clyburn explained to "Hardball" host Chris Matthews, thanks to "ALEX [sic] . . . a climate has been created in the country that's causing these things to occur all over." Clyburn continued: They have drawn up these legislations [sic], pieces of legislation like stand your ground, that legislation gives a license for people to be vigilantes. They are the ones that are drawing up all of these, uh, so-called voter-ID laws. They are the ones that have been drawing up these unfair redistricting plans. These people are a cancer eating at the inners [sic] of our society. So, photo-ID requirements are not just disenfranchising blacks who, supposedly, are incapable of possessing or even requesting them before they visit the polls. Now, voter ID is responsible for gunning down a black man.

By ACRU Staff|2020-05-06T15:28:32+00:00April 15th, 2015|

Supreme Court Deals a Blow to Racial Redistricting

The Supreme Court has dealt a heavy blow to efforts -- often by the Republican Party -- to draw legislative districts that pack black voters into majority black legislative districts in order to elect black representatives. In a case decided today arising out of Alabama state legislative plans, the Supreme Court held that the Voting Rights Act does not require the preservation and protection of legislative districts with percentages of black voters designed to produce black elected officials. Republicans and black politicians often argue that the Voting Rights Act requires line drawers to preserve proportional black representation by creating districts where black candidates are sure to win election. These plans help Republicans by bleaching out surrounding areas helping to elect Republicans. Instead, the Court ruled that what must be preserved is the "ability to elect" minority preferred candidates of choice -- who need not necessarily be minority candidates themselves. This means legislatures can dip below numeric thresholds which create majority black districts, and not necessarily offend the Voting Rights Act.

By ACRU Staff|2020-05-06T15:28:32+00:00March 25th, 2015|

Court to Hear Texas Voter ID Case

In early September, a court in Corpus Christi begins a trial that should decide whether the current law requiring Texas voters to show government-issued photo identification before casting a ballot is constitutional. As it has happened with cases over redistricting, the Texas voter ID fight is expected to get national attention because two years ago a three-judge federal court in Washington ruled the 2011 legislation unconstitutional.

By ACRU Staff|2014-07-16T14:18:57+00:00July 16th, 2014|

Texas AG: Obamacare Would Not Be Law Without Vote Fraud

Attorney General Greg Abbott, a Republican gubernatorial candidate, discussed voting rights, redistricting and Texas' voter ID law at a panel in Austin on Sept. 28 and made the argument that the Affordable Care Act would not have passed into law without "voter fraud." Abbott, speaking at the Texas Tribune festival, said Minnesota Senator Al Franken won his seat, which was decided by a 312-vote margin, because of voter fraud and that his subsequent vote on the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, wouldn't have been cast.

By ACRU Staff|2013-09-30T15:57:58+00:00September 30th, 2013|

Adams: Colorado Dems Remaking Election Process

J. Christian Adams warns that, "Something is happening in Colorado, and you better pay attention. Colorado Democrats, with the active help of some Republican county election clerks interested in shirking work, have devised a revolutionary plan to remake future Colorado elections. "The plan is simple - ballots are automatically mailed out to every single person on the voter rolls. Ballots are even mailed to people listed as "inactive" voters at their last known address. Ballots are then voted and returned by mail. No more polling places. No more voters actually demonstrating an interest in participating in an election."

By ACRU Staff|2020-05-06T15:28:40+00:00May 2nd, 2013|

The Left’s War on Vote Fraud Reform

Pretty soon, the right to cast a meaningful vote might be just a memory. The issue at hand is ensuring that American citizens can exercise the most fundamental civil right of being an American.

By ACRU Staff|2020-05-06T15:29:05+00:00January 16th, 2012|