"GOP will control vote in 2016 swing states"

[Samantha]

What? Was I so tired last evening I was seeing things on MSNBC’s trailer scrolling across the bottom of the screen? I waited a few minutes, and then THERE IT WAS AGAIN. I had to look this up! A Google search of that tag led me to the address below.

A string of GOP victories in races for governor and secretary of state means the party will control the voting process in key presidential battlegrounds from Nevada to Florida. That’ll allow the GOP to impose restrictive rules about casting and counting ballots that could disenfranchise predominantly Democratic voters.
* * *
It would be a repeat of what happened in 2000 and 2004, when Republican state officials in Florida and Ohio, respectively, gave George W. Bush a massive boost by doing all they could to make it harder for voters to have their voices heard.

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/gop-control-voting-process-2016-swing-states

As you might expect, I immediately thought of Chris Christie and remembered his saying words to the effect the GOP needed to get control over the voting mechanics in 2016. And there he was -- in the same article!

Chris Christie made clear last week he understood what was at stake. The New Jersey governor and chair of the Republican Governors Association asked a friendly crowd whether they’d rather have Republicans or Democrats “overseeing the voting mechanism” in key states like Ohio, Wisconsin, and Florida.

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/gop-control-voting-process-2016-swing-states

The next lane closures Americans may be protesting might be those blocking their access to their 2016 voting location. What are we going to do about it? Sit down and shut up, as Christie would say? I don't think so.

How do we make our voices heard and our votes count in 2016? We need to start thinking about this now....

Sam

[rwheeler31]

1. Help your voters get every possible form of ID, and keep this in the news.

[Samantha]

3. I am not sure how a uniform acceptable list could be generated by the government

It is a kind of difficult situation because the Constitution delegates the right to run Presidential elections to the states. So perhaps that might make it impossible for Uncle Sam to jump in with a list of documents states should allow as acceptable id. Maybe the Justice Department Civil Rights Division might have to brainstorm this problem, or maybe some DU'ers might have some thoughts.

Thanks for posting on my thread. This is an extremely important subject, and I hope we don't drop the ball on it.

Sam

[Andy823]

13. Get a list from the state

Any state changing he voting laws about ID should have a list of what is acceptable. Anyone living in those states should get the information and then start working on making sure everyone has the right ID to vote.

[dlwickham]

4. we have over a year to get our voters the IDs they need to vote

[Samantha]

5. Yes, I know

I am just wondering about uniform standards that would make obtaining the IDs easier and at no cost. If Post Offices could issue them, in rural areas people in these offices know most of the local residents and often know their addresses. That would make it harder for the GOP to cry voter fraud.

Sam

[99th_Monkey]

2. It's not cheating when Republicans do it.

It's merely "taking parti$an libertie$ to repre$ent certain ve$ted intere$t$"

[Samantha]

6. The only Democrat I have known to deliberately tamper with election ballots

to the extent it probably changed the outcome is Lyndon Johnson. In one of his first Congressional races, his opponent accused him of wrongdoing and demanded a recount. The night before the recount was to start, the storage facility housing the ballots burned to the ground. Of course, Johnson's opponent accused him of having the fire set, but there was no evidence. You know the rest.

I do not think Democrats are built to attempt to out and out steal an election, although I am sure over time there was more than one (Johnson) who instituted some shennigans. As far as many Republicans are concerned (not all, but many), I believe they start out with the question, "What do I have to do to win this thing and how far am I willing to go." The answer is the motto the Republicans chanted during the 2000 election controversy, "win at all costs."

Thanks for posting on my thread.

Sam

[MineralMan]

7. Just one of the reasons that turnout is crucial in mid-term elections.

Democrats have not learned that lesson yet. That's very unfortunate. In 2010, low turnout allowed Republicans to take over a number of state legislatures. The result was that Republicans had control of redistricting after the 2010 census. Nobody thought about that, apparently, and far too many people sat out that election.

We'll see the results of that redistricting through the 2020 Presidential election. There will be another census in 2020 and subsequent redistricting in every state.

Gerrymandering sucks. Elections after census-taking years are critical.

[Samantha]

8. I think a lot of peole, MineralMan, just don't care any more

They are so tired, so stressed, so worried and they don't think anything will change unless it is for the worse. I see it everyday, and I understand it. But somehow, some way the condition the majority of people find themselves in today -- the worst in their life they have experienced -- must be addressed and things must change -- for the better. Until Dems step out and get back into their former motto of "a rising tide lifts all boats" I fear many people will not come out and vote for them. Just my thinking ....

Sam

[ucrdem]

9. This is really worrisome.

If 2014 proves anything it's that "the voting process" in red and purples states is just as compromised as it was in 2004, with even less attention being given to massive voter disenfranchisement at every level: registration, voting, and counting. Some is being done legally (voter ID & registration laws) or questionably (eliminating voting sites), but some is outright criminal (vote manipulation). And the media give no pushback at all. In fact the media dutifully cover it up.

[Samantha]

11. You sum it up well

That was the Republicans plan to control the voting process before 2016 -- Christie made no attempt to hide the fact he was telling Republicans this was what they needed to do. My biggest fear is that the Dems will shove all this under the carpet and not try to build a plan to closely monitor potential manipulation. Additionally, they need this time to run as Dems! FDR Dems or Democratic Socialists.

The way we win elections is to differentiate ourselves from the Republicans, not blur the line between them and as, as the New Dems do.

Thanks for posting on my thread.

Sam

[Rex]

10. This is one reason BOTH parties should have been serious about gerrymandering

Once again it goes back to honoring the law. Everyone knows the GOP will never honor the law again. Good luck getting any serious issues done while districts are divided politically to favor one candidate or the other! Politicans and their lawyers and their corporate backers have to stop manipulating the system and let people vote. We should get all day to vote and the polls should stay open until the last person leaves.

Term limits - stop talking about career politicians, they all go on to great jobs in the private sector. THAT way we aren't waiting around 20 years for the Perfect Congress no matter who we pick.

[Ykcutnek]

12. Agreed.

Redistricting should be based on data and done by open source software.