[URL]http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/floridas-governor-signs-assault-on-democracy-into-law/1170616[/URL]
[quote]
Not surprisingly, Gov. [B]Rick Scott signed into law on Thursday pernicious election changes designed to benefit Republicans and suppress voting by minorities, college students and low-wage workers.[/B] It is a blatant partisan effort to make it harder to register to vote and cast ballots, and it is up to the U.S. Department of Justice and the courts to stand up to this assault on democracy.
By shortening early voting from two weeks to eight days, [B]the new law makes it harder for low-income working people who don't have flexible hours to vote. And early voting is barred three days before Election Day, ensuring that the weekend before the election, when casual voters are most engaged and most able to vote, there will be no opportunity[/B]. Republicans took aim at Florida's popular early voting process because it has favored Democrats and was utilized by African-Americans in 2008 as Barack Obama won Florida and the presidency. The other form of early voting, absentee ballots, which heavily favors Republicans, was untouched by the new law.
In another craven move by Republicans, [B]voters who change their residences a lot such as renters, college students and the poor will now to be handed provisional ballots at the polls, which may or may not be counted.[/B] For the last 40 years, Floridians who moved out of the county of their registration had the convenience of changing their address at the polls, and with the state's new voter database, there's no chance of someone voting twice. But the rules were tightened to disadvantage Democratic voters.
[B]The new law also suppresses voting by threatening groups that conduct voter registration drives. Groups will now face steep fines if they don't get new registrations submitted within 48 hours rather than 10 days. They also must register with the state, listing all volunteers who will be registering voters. And those volunteers must individually swear to uphold election laws.[/B] The paperwork is designed to be an administrative nightmare for organizations that utilize hundreds of volunteers with few resources. No wonder the League of Women Voters says it will suspend its voter registration efforts in Florida because of the new law.
Republicans claim that the changes are necessary to address voter fraud. That's a laughable contention, dispelled by the Florida Department of State, which reports that only 31 cases were referred to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for investigation between January 2008 and March 2011. There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Florida. Besides, voting by absentee ballot is most the susceptible to fraud, since no one sees whether the named voter is the one who fills out his ballot. Yet Republicans had no interest in putting new safeguards on absentee voting.
It's no shock that Scott failed to stand up to Republican legislators and veto this assault on the constitutional right to vote. It is disappointing that Secretary of State Kurt Browning, the former Pasco elections supervisor once known for his integrity and independence, is sacrificing his own reputation to defend the indefensible for his new boss. Republican legislators have succeeded in their unrepentant effort to make it harder for their most likely political opponents to vote. The Justice Department and the courts should not let them get away with it.[/quote]
:saddowns:
Fascisti! Fascisti! We must burn the fascisti!
Disgusting. Just another catastrophic decision the Republican governors have made since winning/retaining their seats in 2010.
He's making a mockery of democracy.
Voter fraud in the US is the smallest of small deals. Focus on things that actually matter Republicans.
[editline]20th May 2011[/editline]
I mean if you can, I can't remember the last time that's happened.
I don't see how shortening the time frame will prevent fraud.
Unless by fraud they mean non-republican votes
There's florida again, making a mockery of our democratic system.
Although I didn't support this bill, I feel obliged to inform everyone that this is an opinion piece, not a news article. The bias irks me.
[QUOTE=Sumap;29942083]I don't see how shortening the time frame will prevent fraud.
Unless by fraud they mean non-republican votes[/QUOTE]
All votes for Democrats are fraudulent votes, according to the GOP. Also this is just an ACORN conspiracy.
I honestly need to hear from another source because this is an opinion piece. What were the stated reasons for the change? Don't have a clue, but there is plenty of speculation about the reason for the change. A good article would detail both sides so you would have a good idea of what is going on. This isn't news, it is an opinion piece.
Another reason why our politicians are dumb as hell.
If he signed it, that means the state house and senate also voted on it. They are as responsible as he is. Though I do hate him.
Hmm, while the excerpt posted is interesting, it is an opinion piece. Is there any other source that presents a less biased point of view? I'm looking for one now, but it would make more sense to have it in the original post.
God dammit.
Just... God dammit.
[QUOTE=Fourm Shark;29947058]Florida uprising yea, yea?[/QUOTE]
with me in charge :smug:
I thought opinion articles weren't allowed.
[QUOTE=lulzbocksV2;29947421]I thought opinion articles weren't allowed.[/QUOTE]
They shouldn't be, they're usually about as trustworthy as the onion.
On a related note:
[MEDIA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUpO1QFMDtM[/MEDIA]
Republicans :sigh:
[editline]wat[/editline]
Just noticed both of these guys name's are Rick.
I guess you could say these Rick's are turning out to be dicks.
I guess a 2nd civil war is in order.
We must conduct mass genocide of the republicans, they will ruin this country.
This man is a criminal. Really. I mean literally. There was pervasive medicare fraud at hospitals he owned, going towards things such as superbowl tickets and parties for employees. The only reason he got elected is because it's florida and old people and morons flock there. But the point is [i]this guy[/i] thinks he can complain about fraud?
[url]http://www.wusf.usf.edu/news/2010/06/18/whistleblowers_say_rick_scott_knew_about_medicare_fraud[/url]
[img]http://www.wusf.usf.edu/sites/default/files/imagecache/news_max/storyimages/Rick,P20Scott,P20horiz_0.JPG.pagespeed.ce.SbH8g77r_-.jpg[/img]
The face of honesty.
Florida fucking sucks and the people here are too stupid to try to change anything. As soon as I've got the chance I'm getting out of this horrible state.
Fuck.. Why my state... I fucking hate Florida some times. First banning sex, now this. (Not like the former affected me anyway, but still.) Why is this the shittiest state ever?
You know florida is awful when they elect a person to government when he himself stole hundreds of millions of dollars from it. As a student I also love how he is taking BILLIONS of dollars from education and selling all of the states vehicles for him because he already owns some. It's not like an airplane is expensive once the new guy gets in or something.
Early voting is ripe for fraud. It should be either mail in voting only, or in person voting only.
Why does this have to happen in Florida? Why can't shit like this happen in Texas so it at least appears normal?
[QUOTE=Ridge;29954832]Early voting is ripe for fraud. It should be either mail in voting only, or in person voting only.[/QUOTE]
You may say it's ripe for it, but has fraud actually been an issue?
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