Is the EAC and DOJ defying a federal court order?

All the talk around DC (okay, maybe not) is whether the EAC is openly defying a court order or just too incompetent to update the federal voter registration application instructions for Kansas, Arizona, and other states that have citizenship verification requirements. The Department of Justice (Civil Rights Division) is now running the show at the EAC and refusing to comply with the March 19 court order. In its pleading, Kansas and Arizona believe the EAC and DOJ should be held in contempt for misleading the Court and now delaying implementation of the order. DOJ claims the EAC needs additional time to translate the few paragraphs of instructions into 7 different languages. Link here for the DOJ response and additional litigation history.

Of course, this contradicts with the earlier EAC assertions:
The court filing late Monday comes in response to U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren’s decision on March 19 requiring the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to immediately modify a national voter registration form to add special instructions for Arizona and Kansas residents about those states’ proof-of-citizenship requirements.
No stay has been granted.  Earlier, the EAC prayed to the Court that they needed until April 11 to have the updated form on its website translated. April 24?  Still crickets, nothing on the website or instructions.  In fact, Arizona’s instructions to voters still have not been updated by the EAC since 2006 due to liberal bureaucracy at the EAC. A month past the court ruling and two weeks past their self-proclaimed deadline and still no revised instructions. The federal court should bring down the hammer on DOJ and the EAC.

Two more indicted for voter fraud in Ohio, including another poll worker



More “nonexistent” voter fraud.  Via Cincinnati.com:


 


“Two more people — including a poll worker — were indicted Wednesday for illegal voting in Hamilton County.  A grand jury issued indictments against Timothy Merman of Fairfax and Ellen Duncan of Avondale.”


 


Duncan, a Hamilton County poll worker like convicted fraudster Melowese Richardson, is accused of voting twice in the 2013 election, by absentee ballot and in person.  “She’s been a poll worker for over 10 years and she said she didn’t understand the rules.”


Obama Discussion on Race & Voting: No frank discussion, full of half-truths and partial lies

In his speech on race and voting, Obama included bogus numbers of total voting rights cases including military voting cases where DOJ failed to monitor the states, amicus briefs and even cases where DOJ was the defendant.  Politifact nails President Obama as telling “half-truths” which equates to a deceptive half lie and partial truths on most days.  Attorney General Holder says the American people are entitled to a frank and honest discussion on race.  Instead, it was full of half-truths and lies.

We sent a summary of DOJ’s explanation about the 102 cases to von Spakovsky.

“To say that it is a positive development when the department is a defendant in a lawsuit is silly – such an action is not being undertaken because the Department is being aggressive in launching lawsuits to protect voting rights. It is because a state or local jurisdiction has sued the Department claiming DOJ has done something wrong. Under that definition, if DOJ is sued 100 times because of its wrongdoing, this would be a positive development,” he told PolitiFact in an email. “This was deceptive claim by the president – to any layman, taking on cases means filing lawsuits to enforce the law on behalf of victims.” He also argued that it would be far-fetched to say that filing an amicus brief is “taking on a case.”

News Flash: Rand Paul says dead people have voted, there is some fraud and he supports voter ID

The Washington Post reports that Rand Paul believes dead people have voted, there is fraud but perhaps it has been overstated, early voting should not be eliminated and that he supports voter ID.

From the transcript:
PAUL: Dead people do still vote in some elections. There still is some fraud. And so we should stop that, and one way of doing it is (driver’s licenses).
AXELROD: Although the incidence of fraud is relatively small.
PAUL: It probably is, and I think Republicans may have over-emphasized this. I don’t know.
Paul did say that he supports voter ID efforts as a minimal standard and noted that you have to present an ID to enter government offices.

…“I don’t think early voting is biased one way or the other,” Paul said. “So I think eliminating it is a mistake for the — Republicans who want to make their whole thing eliminating early voting, I think that’s a mistake.”

Lawsuit seeks redrawing of Texas Senate districts

Associated Press reports: 

Two Texas residents backed by a conservative legal group have filed a federal lawsuit in Austin challenging how state Senate voting districts were drawn, according to a published report Tuesday.

…The lawsuit argues that the way districts were drawn was unconstitutional since it was based on total population. The districts should have been drawn only based on the number of eligible voters, excluding children, felons and noncitizens, the lawsuit says. It also says that districts with fewer eligible voters have more influence than those in districts with more eligible voters, which is unconstitutional.

Democrats funnel money into Secretary of State races “to make or break the environment of voting”

Bloomberg reports on politics at the Secretary of State electoral level where Democrats cynically see potential control of the ballot box, not public service.  Quite remarkable admissions.

Turner, who represents Cleveland in the state Senate, said she understands why the party cares so much about her race, calling Ohio “the swing state of swing states.”  “A secretary of state can make or break the environment of voting — they can use the tools at their disposal,” Turner said. 

More of the background:


Yet this year, national Democrats laying the groundwork for their 2016 presidential candidate are working to ensure Turner won’t be on her own as she tries to pull in millions of dollars needed to make up the seven-to-one cash disadvantage she faced against incumbent Jon Husted at the end of January


Turner’s race is one of a handful of secretary of state contests drawing attention from the Democratic National Committee and two outside groups sending money, organizing infrastructure and the vaunted digital expertise of President Barack Obama’s campaigns to boost state-level candidates.

The central issue for Democrats is voting laws — a matter that has become increasingly divisive in recent years amid a state-level push by Republican legislatures to make changes across the country. All involved, to varying degrees, point to what may be the ultimate goal of this year’s effort: Putting friendly faces in these key offices which administer elections in advance of the 2016 presidential election.

“Much Ado About Voting”

Josiah Neeley at the American Spectator.

Ultimately, then, Voter ID is less about consequences (good or bad), and more about symbolism. It’s neither the end of democracy nor necessary to preserve it. Instead, the laws help a few disadvantaged folks get identification, and give the rest of us a bit more peace of mind about the integrity of the electoral system. And it gives partisans on both sides an opportunity to accuse each other of perfidy. Which is not such a bad deal, really.

Four Alabama counties have more active, registered voters than adult population


Greene, Hale, Lowndes, and Macon 


 


AL.com reports:


Less than three months before the June primary, four Alabama counties had more voters on their rolls than what the Census Bureau says is their voting age population.  Officials give a number of reasons for that, including under-counting by the census.



 


Secretary of State Jim Bennett said the discrepancies create opportunity for voting fraud.  “Every duplicate name and every bad address is just an opportunity for crooks to attempt to manipulate our elections,” Bennett said…


 


Bennett is a longtime advocate of cleaning up the voter rolls… “Purging voter rolls is a painstaking process that takes time and money and a great deal of care,” Bennett said in an email. “But the end result is worth it in the pursuit of elections that voters can trust.”


 


Bennett said he believes Alabama’s new photo ID requirement for voting, which takes effect with the June 3 primary, will reduce the likelihood of someone fraudulently voting under another name.