GoDawgs
GoDawgs's JournalFederal lawsuit claims ”Exact Match” process violates Voting Rights Act
From WXIA tv news (article also contains extensive links and information to get you registered to vote. Make sure you are registered and ready to vote!)
Excerpts:
ATLANTA (AP) - A federal lawsuit claims Georgia's voter registration process violates the Voting Rights Act and has prevented tens of thousands of people from being able to register to vote - many of them minorities.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday in Gainesville says a state policy causes voter registration applications to be rejected if the submitted information doesn't exactly match that in databases maintained by the Georgia Department of Driver Services or the Social Security Administration.
The lawsuit says that for multiple reasons the records may not match, including data entry errors, typos or elections officials misreading applicants' handwriting. Hyphenated and maiden names or initials can also cause problems.
http://www.11alive.com/news/politics/elections/federal-lawsuit-ga-voter-registration-process-violates-voting-rights-act/318791965
Excerpts from another article at NBC national news:
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court, charges that the "exact match" system used by Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp violates the Voting Rights Act's ban on racial discrimination in voting. It asks that the state be required to stop using the system immediately, while there's still time for affected applicants to be added to the rolls.
"Georgia, like many states across the country, has erected another burdensome and unnecessary obstacle for those seeking to register and vote," said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, one of the lead groups behind the suit. "The Secretary of State's exact-match program penalizes those seeking to register and vote because of errors contained in databases maintained by the state."
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/lawsuit-exact-match-system-negatively-impacts-georgia-s-minority-voters-n648251
Make sure you are registered and ready to vote D in November!
Chinese gay activist challenges homosexuality 'disorder' textbooks
Qiu Bai is a university student in Guangzhou, China. She is trying to get textbooks to stop describing homosexuality as a disorder/illness. Chinese govt refuses to fix the textbooks, so she is filing suit. Wish her good luck!
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-rights-textbook-idUSKCN11I174
Excerpt from Reuters article:
”Since 2001 when homosexuality was declassified as an illness in mainland China, 40 percent of the psychology and mental health teaching materials published on the mainland say homosexuality is an illness," Qiu said.
She first raised the issue and lodged legal cases with the Ministry of Education in 2015, as well as with publishers of the textbooks. But her complaints were ignored and her applications were rejected.
A promise by the Ministry of Education to deal with her case through their internal mediation process in return for dropping one of the lawsuits also failed to materialize, Qiu said.
"As someone studying within the education system, when the Ministry of Education tells me that the education materials have no connection with us and we won't deal with it, it's really disappointing."
Wild Asian Water Buffalo herd discovered in east Georgia
This week's Georgia Farm Monitor had a weird story- game cameras on a trail and at a pond in Wilkes county caught images of a herd of Asian Water Buffalo. DNR biologists confirmed sighting and an agent is investigating.
The episode isn't on the web yet, but I did find a reference on an outdoor enthusiasts site.
Quotes:
”These animals, however, appear to be wild and are hiding out amongst the bamboo cane thickets of a Georgia swamp,”...Brad talked to someone last year who even mentioned water buffalo in their swamp. “We should’ve believed him, but now we got photo evidence”
Link to internet article has more pictures:
http://www.gon.com/news/water-buffalo-caught-on-georgia-trail-camera
Dems shift to help Down-Ballot Dems & LGBT, Arizona, Georgia
Trump May Be Boon for Down-Ballot Dems, LGBT Rights in Arizona, Georgia
Excerpts:
The Clinton campaign announced this week it no longer considers states like Virginia to be battlegrounds in the presidential election. The latest polls show Trump trailing enough that her campaign is diverting staff to Arizona and Georgia, typically considered to be safely red states
...
And Clinton's strategic maneuver could also be a boon for Democrats in down-ballot races in these states. While most voters tend to be focused on the presidential election, races further down the ballot are not inconsequential -- especially when it comes to LGBT rights.
...
"We see so much bad legislation passed in states and signed by anti-LGBT governors," she said, mentioning North Carolina, Tennessee and Indiana among those states. "The people who are passing those laws are state reps and state senators."
Also has statements from Daniel Hernandez of AZ and Park Cannon of GA
http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/analysis-trump-may-be-boon-down-ballot-dems-arizona-georgia-n629451
10 posts means I need to post
I'm supposed to test post when I make 10 posts. I've lurked DU since 2007 or so. Recently made account.
Enjoy!
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Profile Information
Name: ToddGender: Do not display
Hometown: Lithia Springs, GA
Home country: USA
Member since: Sun Aug 7, 2016, 11:17 AM
Number of posts: 267
