Author Archives: J Christian Adams

Mississippi Voter ID cards available to voters displaced by storms



Mississippi continues to lead the way in providing voters easy access to free photo voter IDs:


 


The Secretary of State’s office says employees will travel to any eligible voter who was displaced during the storms and needs a Mississippi Voter ID card.



“We want to provide a convenience to anyone who lost their identification during the storms and may not have a photo ID to present on Election Day,” says Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann.



Officials say circuit clerk’s offices will issue Mississippi Voter ID cards to anyone who lacks another acceptable form of photo ID, even when a citizen is not a resident of that county.  Free transportation to and from the circuit clerk’s office is also available.


“Judge rewrites description of Nevada voter ID measure backed by Sharron Angle”


A state judge Wednesday rewrote a description that details the effect of a voter photo identification initiative backed by conservative activist Sharron Angle.

After two separate hearings on challenges to the initiative’s wording, Carson City District Court Judge James Russell came up with his own language describing what the proposed constitutional amendment would do.

Russell added words clarifying acceptable forms of identity to include state of Nevada or federal government documents, as opposed to “certain government-issued documents” included in the original petition that critics said was vague.

…Angle added she’s confident supporters will be able to gather the roughly 101,000 signatures needed by June 17 to qualify for the November ballot.

Second Federal Court Spanking of “Voting Rights Gladiator”

Tabella notes below that United States District Court Judge Eric Melgren has ordered the EAC to immediately issue a federal registration form in the format sought by Kansas.  It allows Kansas to verify citizenship of registrants. 

The federal government had brazenly defied Melgren’s earlier order and refused to issue the new form, instead filing a motion for stay of Melgren’s order.

The attorney who filed the motion for the stay was the same attorney who was spanked by Judge Melgren’s first order ruling in favor of Kansas and Arizona – Bradley Heard. 



Heard is the same DOJ lawyer who on his Twitter account called himself a “Voting Rights Gladiator” and “outside agitator.”  He also tweeted out on his personal Twitter account his own mental impressions about arguments he made while representing the United States of America in a hearing before Judge Melgren.

Heard is also the same lawyer who embarrassed the Justice Department by wasting taxpayer dollars by filing a brief complaining about the font size of a brief submitted by South Carolina.  Heard is the same lawyer who was accused by his former law partners of misconduct, after which Heard tried to have his ex-partners arrested.

Soon after I wrote about these inappropriate and potentially unethical public communications by Heard on his Twitter account, Deputy Attorney General James Cole issued a memo to DOJ lawyers about inappropriate use of Twitter and other social media.  The Cole memo describes unprofessional and undesirable behavior which precisely matches the behavior of Heard.

Heard is still employed by the Department of Justice Voting Section. His Twitter profile still refers to himself as a “Voting Rights Gladiator,” even though Heard is prohibited from involvement in any private matters involving the Voting Rights Act outside of his employment with the Justice Department.  In other words, his status as a self-professed “Gladiator” must necessarily relate to his employment at the Voting Section of the Justice Department.

It is unclear if a Voting Rights Gladiator has the same duties and responsibilities as a Deputy Chief, or more similar to a Special Litigation Counsel.

“Legalizing Voter Fraud”

“They flagrantly flout the law, while simultaneously turning it into a weapon against political opponents, use government agencies to target innocent Americans, attempt to create legal voters through amnesty, and undermine voter integrity measures to facilitate vote fraud, while denying it even exists. In short, they are corrupting the entire process.”

Jim Simpson at Accuracy in Media.

Federal Judge refuses EAC request for stay of citizenship verification instructions

EAC has done more to politicize itself in this litigation than any other issue over the years.  The Associated Press via Huffington Post reports:

Melgren ordered the commission to carry out “forthwith without further delay” his March 19 directive. The judge wrote that the commission and its supporters had not shown that the public interest is best served by suspending his ruling.

“Public interest is best expressed through laws enacted by the public’s elected representatives,” Melgren wrote in a nine-page ruling. “The people of Arizona and the representatives of Kansas have decided that the public interest of their residents is in preventing voter fraud and protecting public confidence in the integrity of their elections.”

…Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach told The Associated Press said it’s significant that the judge found that the harm to Kansas and Arizona outweigh the alleged harm to the federal agency.

“It is shocking that the federal government waited 49 days and refused to comply with a federal court order,” Kobach said. “The rule of law requires parties to comply with a federal order. Here we have the federal government thinking it can defy a federal court order.”

Post-Apartheid South Africans Vote in Nationwide Elections, Photo ID required

Voice of America reports that South Africans are voting in nationwide elections.
Millions of South Africans have cast their ballots in the first nationwide elections to include voters born after the end of apartheid in 1994.  Link
As the South African voter guide informs:  South Africa requires a photo ID to confirm identity prior to voting:
Are you ready?
If you are a South African citizen 18 years or older and have registered to vote, remember:
Voting stations are open from 7am to 9pm on Wednesday.
You must vote where you registered. SMS your ID number to 32810 to confirm your correct voting station. SMSs cost R1. Or you can check your registration details on the IEC’s website.
Take along your green bar-coded South African ID book, or a smart ID card, or your temporary identity certificate.
The voting process
1. Entrance: When you get to the entrance of the voting station, the door controller will tell you when it is your turn to enter.
2. ID Document: You will be directed to the voters’ roll table where IEC staff will look at your ID book or temporary ID certificate and check for your name on the voters’ roll.
If you are not on the voters’ roll, but have proof that you have registered, such as a registration sticker, the presiding officer must validate your proof of registration. If the officer is satisfied with the proof, you will have to complete a VEC4 form (national elections) or MEC7 form (municipal elections) and will then be allowed to continue as an ordinary voter.
3. Inked thumb: IEC staff will ink your left thumb. This is special ink that will not wash off for several days. It will show everyone you participated (and prevent people from voting more than once). Your ID book will also be stamped to show you have voted.