S03.E01: Voter ID Laws in the United States

[NextIteration]

I happily stand corrected about Schumer.

[OneWhoLurks]

Fox News wants you to know that the head of a food research firm thought John Oliver's quip about Chipotle being "America's emotionally abusive boyfriend" was unduly harsh: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2016/02/18/chipotle-survival-part-joke/

 

I guess even they're using him for hits.

 

ETA:

 

Former FDA official Henry Miller wrote, "The source of the company's woes is a marketing-driven propensity to exploit current food fads, even if it diverts the corporate focus away from what should always be 'job one' — safety." Chipotle’s recent attempts to focus on food safety might lead one to believe the worst is over, except... the company’s co-CEOs didn’t suffer a smidge as its stock tanked. Steve Ells and Monty Moran raked in a whopping $57 million in compensation last year. That landed them the fourth spot on the “100 Most Overpaid CEOs.” What, we expect “food with integrity” to be cheap?

 

 

http://www.agweb.com/blog/grazing-the-net/the-57-million-burrito-boondoggle/

 

Oliver said that in Sauk City, Wis., "the ID office" that provides identification for voting "is only open on the fifth Wednesday of every month" -- a total of four days in 2016.

 

He’s correct that the state DMV office in Sauk City is only open on those four days in 2016, but that isn’t the only place where residents can go to get a state ID that they can use for voting. Several other locations within a relatively short drive of Sauk City are open much more often.

 

For a statement that is accurate but needs clarification, our rating is Mostly True.

 

 

http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2016/feb/19/john-oliver/office-provides-id-voting-one-wisconsin-burg-open-/

 

I rate that rating Mostly True, considering that this is what they mean by "a relatively short drive" and "open much more often"

 

The one in Baraboo (home to Circus World), about 20 miles away, is open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays. The one in Reedsburg ("fastest available" Internet speeds in Wisconsin), about 30 miles away, is open the first, second and third Wednesday of each month from 8:15 a.m. to 4 p.m.

 

 

Edited February 20, 2016 by OneWhoLurks

[ganesh]

And everyone has instant access to a car and several hours for the drive and the wait at the alternative locations of course. 

 

GIve me a break. If you can't get your necessary ID where you actually live, then it's wrong.

[possibilities]

If you had a driver's license you would not need to get the state voter I.D.. right? So they want people to travel 20 miles or more to get this document-- and that means what? A bus ride? A day off from work? I am a non-driver and I got a state non-voter ID years ago in Massachusetts. The only place to do so was 20 miles away. The bus took TWO HOURS ONE WAY, because it was a local, not an express, and it traveled a circuitous route all around the county. It ran every two hours. So once I got to the office, I then waited on line about an hour to get the ID. Then I had to wait for the return bus and take the additional 2 hour ride home. It was an all day affair and it was a huge waste of time. When you consider that people who don't drive are also more likely to be elderly, disabled, or low income and under-employed, this burden is truly very harsh.

 

And after all that, when I moved a few years later, I reported my new address to the registry, and THANK GOD in Massachusetts they allowed me to update my address in writing instead of in person. So now I am technically the owner of a valid state photo I.D. but it has an out-dated address printed on it. And the photo is 15 years old-- I think you can probably tell it's me, but only if you want to give the benefit of the doubt, which I'm sure these voter I.D. proponents don't want people to do.

 

Luckily, in Massachusetts we don't have to show photo I.D. to vote. It would be impossible for me to get a photo I.D. replaced now, because the logistics are even worse here-- no bus at all, and I am not mobile enough to travel like that anymore anyway.

 

I have to wonder if these hypocrites are actually "proxy voting" because their colleagues asked them to, or if they're just taking advantage of the empty chair, to stack the votes in the direction they prefer. When more than one person is on camera trying to vote for the same absent person, it sure doesn't look like it's in any way an organized effort.

 

If they want to allow legislators to vote absentee, they should force them to sign the paperwork like voters in regular elections have to do. But of course they don't want that, because then there would be a record of who is actually showing up and who isn't. And with motions from the floor, changing agendas, amendments, and so on, it would be impossible to create an "absentee ballot" that seemed legitimate.

 

But this is all par for the course. There is no giving a shit about the relative hardships, obstacles, and impossibilities of everyday people, the people behaving so hypocritically see voters as an obstacle to their own power, rather than as important members of the body politic. That's why lots of problems aren't solved. I used to think it was because people didn't know. But I think at this point they don't care.

 

And at some level we allow this, because why? We are too tired, I guess, to pay attention, and then too exhausted to do anything about it once we are confronted with how much BS is happening in our names? It's frustrating.

[Danny Franks]

But this is all par for the course. There is no giving a shit about the relative hardships, obstacles, and impossibilities of everyday people, the people behaving so hypocritically see voters as an obstacle to their own power, rather than as important members of the body politic. That's why lots of problems aren't solved. I used to think it was because people didn't know. But I think at this point they don't care.

 

And at some level we allow this, because why? We are too tired, I guess, to pay attention, and then too exhausted to do anything about it once we are confronted with how much BS is happening in our names? It's frustrating.

 

That's the crux of it. John called a spade a spade with this, more or less. It's not about getting people eligible to vote, it's about disqualifying them from voting. Because the targets of this law are more likely to vote Democrat. I don't think it bothers the lawmakers at all that they're making unreasonable demands of people who might not be able to easily get the ID they now need.

 

These insidious moves to rig democracy are going on under our noses, and people are sleepwalking them into law. I already mentioned the Conservative govt's attempts to gerrymander UK elections with their redrawing of constituency boundaries, and I'm sure they would massively favour this sort of voting ID for those inner city people who overwhelmingly vote Labour.

 

And people wonder why Corbyn, Sanders and even Trump are surging in popularity. They promise (however nebulously) something different and apart from the conniving, self-serving establishment, an alternative to the 'born to rule' patrician class. I sometimes wonder how much of it we'll stomach before there actually is an uprising. But then I remember that we've all got iPads and smartphones and we'd rather play Candy Crush while watching celebrities get drunk and fight on reality TV.

[attica]

If you look at the types of ids accepted, you'll find that Student ids are not accepted for voting, but gun registrations are. Which confirms that the passage of this law was to shape the electorate, not to protect against fraud. But it begs an interesting thought experiment: what would happen if black folk started registering for guns en masse in these states?

[NextIteration]

Conservatives have expanded their voter suppression efforts beyond Voter ID.  Leave it to Texas, again, and again, and more.

[tenativelyyours]

Heck, attica, just have a group of about twenty Black men walk into every Wal-mart in predominantly White neighborhoods in Texas and ask how to go about buying guns and I think these racist assholes with power would shit their collective pants. 

 

And I realized what I would have done with the Powerball Billion had I played and had won.  By November every person wanting a voter id required by law would have one.  If I had to drive them myself.  In my brand new Rolls of course.

 

The problem though I believe goes deeper.  It is not just the distance and the hours in regards to these centers that are limiting and obstructive but also the paperwork is onerous.  Again.  I think what is required to get a gun permit which is then allowed is less complicated.  But there is also a fee involved.  And that is where the sticking point is with any id even a driver's license.  Unless the state provides it for free, it is a poll tax when all is said and done.  Especially since most of these states require an original copy of a birth certificate which can be costly when added to the cost of the id processing when you are talking people who are in the economic strata these laws are aimed at in part.  Another area is youth and especially students who also as a group who often are strapped for cash or have money flow concerns.

[possibilities]

In other news, this has been a big time in the world, for dildos, wasn't it? There was that dildo flag that scared the news media, and the many dildos sent to the Malheur occupiers. And now this. Have we reached some kind of cultural dildo threshold?

Edited February 21, 2016 by possibilities

[Victor the Crab]

Heck, attica, just have a group of about twenty Black men walk into every Wal-mart in predominantly White neighborhoods in Texas and ask how to go about buying guns and I think these racist assholes with power would shit their collective pants.

 

More than likely, these white racist assholes would go out in back and call the cops to have those African American men arrested and sent to one of those notorious prison farms in Texas because LIBURTEE AN' FREEDUMB FER THUH REAL 'MURICUNS!

[Lion]

More than likely, these white racist assholes would go out in back and call the cops to have those African American men arrested and sent to one of those notorious prison farms in Texas because LIBURTEE AN' FREEDUMB FER THUH REAL 'MURICUNS!

Hopefully the cops don't shoot the black men first.  

[Kel Varnsen]

After watching the thing about voter ID I was curious so I decided to look up what the requirements are in Canada. Here is what they are for federal elections. Basically if you don't have a driver's licence all you have to do is show up with two "official documents" with your name on them (and one that has your address). Those can be simple things like a bank statement or a utility bill. If you don't have something with your address on it, you just need 2 things with your name on it and someone from your riding who will attest that your address is correct.

 

Hell I still remember watching news coverage of the first Iraqi election after Sadam was ousted. Even they had ways to prevent voter fraud, where after you voted you dipped your finger in ink. If your finger was covered in ink you couldn't vote again. I don't understand how if they could figure out such a low tech solution why it is so hard in the US.

[OneWhoLurks]

BILLERICA, Mass. (WHDH) - A Chipotle restaurant in Billerica has temporarily closed after one of its workers was diagnosed with norovirus.

 

One of the store's workers has a confirmed case of norovirus, according to the town's health department. The remaining two workers are suspected of having the virus.

 

The are no reports of any customers becoming ill. The city's health department says the restaurant voluntarily shut down on Tuesday.

 

 

http://www.whdh.com/story/31418890/chipotle-restaurant-in-billerica-shut-down-after-norovirus-concerns

[OneWhoLurks]

It is perhaps the world’s most famous dildo – but what became of it? Hayden Donnell reveals the answer in this Spinoff special investigation into the fate of the Waitangi dildo.

 

[...]

 

For a while, I was hopeful. Butler, its rightful owner, told me she would be willing to get behind a Spinoff dildo rescue. "I'd fully support a campaign to get it back and donate it to Te Papa," she said. "I can even sign it if you want." She imagined the handover setting off a tsunami of international headlines. "We could even get Peter Jackson waving the dildo flag at the ceremony!"

 

[...]

 

I called police national headquarters. A spokeswoman told me the sex toy was safe in public hands, stored in a secure evidence locker in Whangarei. Butler hadn't been charged with a crime, and there was no reason she couldn't claim her property, she said. The Spinoff office erupted with joy. We were going to rescue the dildo.

 

The next day, Inspector Chris McLellan rang with the terrible news.

 

"It was destroyed pretty much the same day," he said. "I was the one that did it."

 

[...]

 

UPDATE: A police spokeswoman has clarified that the dildo was chucked in the bin.

 

UPDATE 2: The Spinoff is offering $100 and a lifetime subscription to The Spinoff in exchange for the safe return of the Waitangi dildo. It should be in a landfill near Kerikeri.

 

 

http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11617751

[OneWhoLurks]



Quote

“The courts have said states are trying to disenfranchise African Americans with surgical precision. That should be a big story—this is Jim Crow all over again. But the news media cover it hit and miss—when a court case comes up and then they roll onto the next story,” he continued. “Why aren’t they doing hardcore reporting, going to state legislatures with microphones and cameras? Instead, it’s more like: ‘They don’t want black people to vote?’ Shrug. ‘Is that news?’”

 

Quote

You expect rightwing politicians to suppress talk of suppression. Fox News has pushed the big lie of “fraud” and banished “suppression.” But why do centrist media tend to pass on the issue?

Many simply dread seeming like the “liberal media,” of seeming partisan by even recognizing suppression as a partisan issue. Though, as Berman says, “Of course it’s partisan, because one party is putting it out there and another is opposed to it.”

 Voting Rights Is Not a Fringe Issue