From the VOMITORIUM
Meanwhile, back at the Constitution…….
My friend and loyal reader, Quin of Quintessential Havoc (Dammit! Go to blogroll on right of site and visit a very well thought out site…..NOW!) have been having this exchange on voting in our two countries. He is against the AV vote and I understand why…..I wrote this to give him an idea of the silliness of this country and the people that want to eliminate some voters completely…the UK system is not looking so bad after, huh?
I like good political regurgitation from time to time, but there are times when it goes beyond pundit puke and becomes an attack on the rights of Americans…one of our fundamental rights that is guaranteed by the Constitution is that if you are a citizen and at least 18 years old you may vote …you can vote for mayor or gov or prez…..you can vote for whoever you want…..we have come a long way from the days when there were literacy tests or poll taxes or other such games used to keep some people, mostly minorities, away from the polls….the land of rights and freedoms…that is the US…..but in the wings are those little toads that want to find ways to keep some Americans, mostly minorities and elderly, from voting….mainly because they vote one party over another…usually…..
An article by Ryan C. Ebersole brought this attempt to limit the people that vote to my attention……
It appears that the Republican Party may be turning to a new strategy to win elections this upcoming cycle. In 33 states, new laws have been proposed or enacted that make voter laws much stricter. These laws appear to be aimed at groups that are historically presumed to be Democratic voters, including the elderly, poor, disabled, minority and youth voters.These bills were introduced by Republican lawmakers under the premise of counter-acting voter fraud, when in fact no such phenomenon widely exists. Studies have shown that actual voter impersonation is so rare that it is practically non-existent.
While Republicans claim that the existence of voter fraud is so rampant that is has damaged their party’s electoral successes, in the past five years only 120 people have been charged with the crime, and only 86 were convicted.
When juxtaposed against the tens of millions who voted in 2008 alone, it seems almost comical that it would be the focus of such a concerted effort. Yet still, many on the far-right cited ACORN as complicit in “stealing” the 2008 presidential election.
How much of an impact might these laws have upon the American electorate? According to studies by the Advancement Project, approximately 11 percent of American citizens (21 million) lack a current government photo ID. Percentages are higher among specific groups: 25 percent of African Americans, 20 percent of 18-29 year olds, 15 percent of those who make under $35k annually, and 18 percent of senior citizens are without a current government-issued photo ID.
Sorry people, no matter how you to try and cut this story….it still is a chance for the GOP and its hidden donors to try and eliminate the competition….Now that would be a wonderful thing for our cloaked democracy (sarcasm, in case you missed it)….and if this is somehow successful then the next step in our democratic evolution will be an authoritarian, single party dictatorship…..now think hard…..does that sound familiar? If it does not…then go back to SOPCOM4 and leave the debate to the adults!
Yeah these laws are suspicious but we always have the supreme court to define whether or not they are constitutional.
Oh wait. Never mind.
HA! I knew you would change your mind…..LOL
There actually may be quite a few right-wing knuckle-draggers out there who have no picture ID because they don’t want the gubermint to trace them and act all big brotherly like with them. If that’s true this could backfire on the GOP
I hope it does! The GOP is crapping in the chili at every turn these days…..but these types of things are aimed solely at the minorities……you know those pesky “commies” that vote Dems……
lb, did you see the OBL will thing I posted?
Is it a legal requirement to have a photo ID? I mean, is it illegal NOT to have one and carry it.
If it is NOT a legal requirement to have and carry such proof of identity, then it must surely be illegal under your constitution to make it a condition of voting, wouldn’t you say?
Exactly and there is my point……these toadss are trying to make it all but short of illegal to register people to vote…they are trying to make it so hard that minorities will have a difficult time registering to vote…..
Oh, and thanks for the (thoroughly undeserved I’m sure) props. Much appreciated… 🙂
No problem my friend…hopefully the unclean will visit often….LOL
I apologize….I mentioned the AV thing in the UK and have been asked what the hell I was talking about…..AV (Alternative Vote) and now what is it>
The AV system asks voters to rank candidates in order of preference. People can nominate as many preferences as they like. Only first preference votes are counted initially. Anyone getting more than 50% of these is elected automatically. If that doesn’t happen, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their second choices allocated to the remaining candidates in a second round of counting. If one candidate then has more than 50% of the votes in this round they are elected. If not, the remaining candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their second preferences (or third preferences if they were the second choice of someone who voted for the first candidate to be eliminated) reallocated. This continues until one candidate has 50% or more of the vote in that round of counting, or there are no more votes to be distributed.
Just in case you were confused…..
Good description … You use primaries to reduce the number of candidates – AV sort of aims to do the same job all at the same time as the main election using one ballot paper. Your system gives enormous power to the selectors for the party. In the UK anyone wanting to stand (well, pretty much anyone) for election can do so for the payment of a paltry sum (a few hundred pounds I’m pretty sure), which is the “deposit” and designed to make sure candidates are “serious”. Of course, if they get selected by a party, then the party backs them, but there are LOTS of parties too and three or four main ones.
In my opinion, as you know, AV is extremely complicated to operate and a complete fudge of reality, since it is quite likely that the candidate with the most votes in the election will NOT win. It’s like watching a horse race and then declaring the third placed horse the winner because lots of people put a “place” (or “each way”)bet on it! Ridiculous.
It’s meant to be more “representative”, but I think it actually represents even LESS people than the current system!
I apologize, I meant to put that in the post so there was NO confusion….but…I had a brain fart…..
The more I try to figure AV out the more confused I get….maybe it is because it is a dumb idea….or maybe that is the way they want it….
Yes… It could be either, or more likely BOTH!
Morning…thought you might be celebrating Cinco de Mayo yesterday…..lol