Atlanta Journal Constitution op-ed.
…in states with photo-ID requirements: Black turnout surpassed or
equaled white turnout in the vast majority of them (9 of 11), while
Hispanic turnout appears to have fared better or perhaps no worse than
white turnout, compared to the national average, in almost as many of
them (8 of 11). Keep these numbers in mind the next time you hear someone complaining about those dastardly voter ID laws.
Author Archives: J Christian Adams
National voting group auditing St. Lucie County, Florida for irregularities and vulnerabilities
The Palm Beach Post reports: A conservative group plans to examine more than 118,000 ballots and
sift through voter registration records in St. Lucie County, the site of
litigation and tabulating problems that drew national scorn in Democrat
Patrick Murphy’s narrow congressional victory over Republican Allen
West last November.
The group True The Vote says it will send
anywhere from 10 to 50 people to Fort Pierce to look at the ballots and
records under an agreement reached this week with St. Lucie County
Elections Supervisor Gertrude Walker. St. Lucie County accounted for 36
percent of the ballots cast in the congressional District 18 race.
…“This lawsuit has never been about the victor. It’s been about
vulnerabilities, vulnerabilities in the system,” True The Vote attorney
J. Christian Adams said. Among the questions the group hopes to answer,
Adams said, is “Were people voting in the congressional election that
weren’t allowed to vote?”
The records True The Vote plans to
review include registration forms for people who registered after Jan.
1, 2012, notices sent to inactive voters, lists of voters purged after
Jan. 1, 2009, notices sent to possible felons and lists of voters who
were identified by the Florida secretary of state’s office as
potentially non-citizens.
Flashback: ALCJ points to “reform groups” pressuring IRS on Tea Party
ACLJ, in an August 2012 article “U.S. Senators Demand the IRS leave the Tea Party alone“points at Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center as pressuring the IRS to do the wrong thing.
Fast forward to July 17, 2012 when the IRS responded to an inquiry from
liberal groups Democracy 21 and Campaign Legal Center by saying that it
would consider changes to the tax treatment of social welfare groups.
This reply was sent despite the fact that the IRS has given no public
indication of considering such a change, has not requested public
comment, and has not communicated that this is among their current list
of priorities.
“Tea Party Rejects IRS Apology, Republicans Vow Investigation”
The IRS admits that it harassed and wrongfully investigated Tea Party organizations, many of which were the foundation for electoral gains and the Republican majority in the House of Representatives. This effort was aimed at conservative political organizations and heads should roll and not just low-level workers in Cincinnati. This is governmental interference with the integrity of our elections from 2010-2012. An apology is not going to suffice.
Conservative groups have rejected an Internal Revenue Service apology
for unjustifiably scrutinizing tax-exempt conservative groups during the
2012 election cycle. The IRS apology has seemingly validated
conservatives’ fears of politically motivated regulation.
ABC has the story.
Reformers blame Karl Rove and Free Speech for IRS abuses
Ezra Klein with the Washington Post channels the sentiment of the Reformers, as the Left searches for a way to explain why the IRS and federal government wrongfully interfered with the free exercise of speech and electoral process from 2010-2012. According to them, it was wrong to single out the TeaParty because all organizations who exercised their free speech under the law should have been harassed. This is who the Reformers blame:
The culprit here is partly the Citizens United and SpeechNow
decisions which lifted the contribution limits on wealthy individuals,
corporations, and unions. But it’s also the IRS’s reticence to regulate
the murky world of 501(c)4s — a reticence partly attributable to the
organization’s fear of blow-ups just like this one.
Karl Rove wasn’t the first to try to use the 501(c)4 to solicit
anonymous political donations. But he was the first big player to do it.
And the expectation was that he’d had a clever idea that the IRS would
quickly reject. “A lot of people thought Rove would get smacked back by
the IRS,” says Hasen. “It didn’t happen. And then 501(c)4s exploded.”
Are we really blaming Karl Rove? How about George W. Bush too!! This episode and the blame the victim attitude of reformers is going to generate a hot fire in the bellies of conservatives and libertarians. The IRS may be crucified by the Congress, but in the end it will surely survive. However, this anger may spill over to the FEC and the Congress.
Gessler: CO Governor Rushes to Failure
Statement of Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler: Gessler says Governor rubber-stamping partisan bill “Doubles-down” on Denver’s 2006 election failures Today, Governor John Hickenlooper fundamentally overhauled Colorado’s elections. Secretary of State Scott Gessler, Colorado’s chief election official, made the following statement: “Unfortunately, today the governor rubber-stamped the agenda of partisan, special interests at the capitol. Most Coloradans are asking themselves why would the governor want to change a system that produced the third highest turnout in the country and better election integrity than ever before. “Last year, Governor Hickenlooper promised to focus on compromise and moderation. But this bill is one-sided and extreme. He promised that local governments wouldn’t see their costs increase. But taxpayers in El Paso, Arapahoe, Elbert and other counties will see significantly higher elections costs. “Just as bad, this bill is a rush to failure. Under Mayor Hickenlooper, Denver saw a meltdown in the 2006 election. Instead of learning from those mistakes, he’s doubled-down on failure by repeating Denver’s mistakes statewide. “Our voters demand integrity in our elections and I’m determined to stand up for them. Though this bill undercuts our election integrity efforts, we owe it to Coloradans to do the best job possible. Voters shouldn’t be concerned their votes will be cancelled by an ineligible vote. I will work to make it easy to vote but tough to cheat.”
“Echoes of the whip and chain”
Latest at PJ Media. Eric Holder’s Justice Department won’t because it seems to have given up enforcing Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, once again without a whisper of criticism from the race Left.”
“In other words, federal law recognizes that past generational experiences can impair a minority’s present day ability to participate in politics. While it is the law, this factor has always struck me of the sort of thing the critics now howl about regarding Richwine. Naturally, they are entirely silent regarding Senate Factor Five, and the ACLU and NAACP will probably use the factor shortly in another voting case.
Major Changes in California Electoral System
Stockton. “Until now, Lincoln Unified’s five board members have been elected in districtwide elections. But with a unanimous vote Wednesday night, Lincoln’s board established trustee areas, ensuring each geographical portion of the district a representative following the November 2014 elections. Such a guarantee has not previously been the case. Board members Susan Lenz, Ted Bestolarides, Don Ruhstaller, Van-Ha To-Cowell and Kathleen Solari were elected in districtwide elections. Three trustees’ terms expire next year, with Lenz and Bestolarides termed out and Ruhstaller eligible for a second term. Under the now-defunct system, Lincoln Unified voters would have chosen from a slate of candidates for those three seats in 2014, with the top trio of vote-getters winning election.”
“Blacks, Voter ID and the Census”
“The Supreme Court may soon decide the constitutionality of Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which requires that (mostly Southern) states with a history of denying blacks the franchise have any changes in voting procedures cleared by a federal court or the Justice Department. We already knew that states covered by Section 5 tend to have higher black voter registration rates than the states not covered. Now the Census reveals that blacks in those covered states are also voting at higher rates than whites. How much more proof do we need that Section 5, which Congress intended to be a temporary measure, has been a success and is no longer necessary?”
Wall Street Journal.
North Carolina Voter Fraud Hearing
“The local elections board was concerned when Womack declared to have “first-hand knowledge of individuals having sold their ballots” during the commissioner meeting, according to a letter dated Dec. 11, 2012, to Womack by the board. Selling and purchasing ballots are state felonies and the board “would ask that (Womack) immediately provide (the) board and the district attorney’s office with the names of those individuals who have sold their votes,” according to the December letter.”
Link.