Thursday, March 28, 2013

New GOP bills would curb early voting, public financing

Two new bills filed Thursday would change the way North Carolinians vote.

The state's early voting period would be shortened and Sunday voting eliminated under one bill. The bill from House Majority Leader Edgar Starnes of Caldwell County also would eliminate straight-ticket voting and same-day registration. And it would make non-partisan judicial elections partisan.

The bill could help Republicans.

It would lop a week off the early voting period, which Democrats have used more successfully than Republicans. It would also stop straight-ticket voting. Democrats cast 300,000 more straight tickets than Republicans in 2012. And by ending Sunday voting, it would stop the heavily Democratic "Souls to the Polls" efforts to get voters out after Sunday church services.

A bill introduced by Senate Rules Chairman Tom Apodaca of Hendersonville would eliminate public financing of judicial and other statewide races now eligible for it .
 

41 comments:

Anonymous said...

You know what they say....If you cant win em cheat em! NC say hello to your new Rick Scott!

Anonymous said...

Ought discontinue the ability to vote straight ticket. Might do away with all this partisan crapola by both sides. Best move I ever did was change to non afliated.

Anonymous said...

GOPers continue their vile assault on voting. If you can't win fair - rig the process.

Aubrey Moore said...

The assault on sane state government continues. I always looked upon government in the state as more defined by region than party. I was wrong. In order to hold together a governing majority, Republicans are forced into extremes, and more afraid of being called a RINO than being looked upon as sons of Mississippi. This group of Republicans is composed of traitors to the North Carolina that grew and nourished them. They are aliens, feeding on and spreading fear. We are a better state than this.

Anonymous said...

In a few short months NC has taken giant strides toward being the next Mississippi. Imagine the next 3.5 years!

Anonymous said...

Absolute Corruption with the added restrictions on early voting.

If they want to eliminate straight party voting, they need to eliminate political parties. We would be a lot better off if all candidates ran on the own merits.

Wiley Coyote said...

They didn't go far enough.

No early voting except absentee ballots. All voting done on election day and put out more voting machines to handle the crowds.

Straight party vote needs to be eliminated.

I'm am unaffiliated.

Ghoul said...

If a step away from Illinois is a step towards Mississippi, then that is a good thing, keep up the good work.

Anonymous said...

Totally predictable and disgusting effort to suppress the African American vote.

Anonymous said...

Don't do anything that would cause voters to have to read, or especially have to think.

Anonymous said...

Please explain how this would suppress the African American vote.

Gabe said...

And what about this part, where they changed the order of the parties on the election ballots so that Republicans would be listed first... so effing petty.

SECTION 3.1. G.S. 163‑165.6(d) reads as rewritten:
"(d) Order of Party Candidates on General Election Official Ballot. – Candidates in any ballot item on a general election official ballot shall appear in the following order:
(1) Nominees of political parties that reflect at least five percent (5%) of statewide voter registration, according to the most recent statistical report published by the State Board of Elections, first with the party with which the Governor was affiliated when elected, then for other parties in alphabetical order by party and in alphabetical order within the party.

Anonymous said...

Anon 12:07, I can tell you exactly how this would suppress the AA vote. I live in district 3. I'm unaffiliated. This past election day, I stopped by the poling center and was speaking to a neighbor who was working outside. I'm white, she's black. Lovely lady but as I stood there if a white person approached, "would you like a list of candidates?" When a black voter came up "Here's a list. Just touch the button for straight democrat ticket when you go in but remember you have to vote Obama separately. Then you can vote for judges if you want". One guy got out of one of the Obama vans and was offered his candidate sheet and replied "oh, I got the one they gave me at the other poll". Why the republicans don't have poll watchers out to document this kind of stuff I don't understand. There is fraud and racism at the polls, I've seen it. At least at my polling place, it wasn't being perpetrated by the repubs, libertarians or independents.

Anonymous said...

@10:54 how is it cheating to make people consciously select candidates one at a time or shorten early voting. For most of my life there was no early voting at all. Are you saying NC has been cheating by not having early voting until the last 15 years. That seems ridiculous to claim. It isnt even logical that people having all the same conditions is somehow cheating.

Anonymous said...

Another thing I don't understand is why people are so up in arms over having to show ID when they vote. If you're registered to vote and want to cast your vote on election day then how difficult is it to show your ID to the poll worker. I know that not everyone drives and therefore not everyone has a valid drivers license, however, people can still go to the DMV and get an NC ID card for $10. What's the problem with that?

Anonymous said...

As well we should suppress the "African American" vote. Throughout history they've proven they can't govern themselves.

Anonymous said...

How is that assault on voting. What actual harm is done ny making people take a few seconds more to actually consider who they are voting for. Both parties experience straight ticket voting, but we all benefit from people consciously thinking about who they are voting for.
Reducing early voting saves money and everyone plays by the same rules either way. For over a hundred years there was no early voting and obviously there was nothing inherently wrong with that at all. There is no assault on voting"

Anonymous said...

What does that have to do wirh this story?

Anonymous said...

To Anonymous posting at 12:44 pm, your previous comments aren't relevant to the conversation and are incorrect. I simply wanted an answer from a previous poster how these proposed new voting laws would suppress the African American vote. I wasn't trying to start a war of words here.

Anonymous said...

How is that? And how is that a relevant? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
We will still have early voting. How is it bad thing? How is eliminating straight ticket voting a problem? Is it good that we wont be like SC

Anonymous said...

This makes no sense. how is it "corruption" to reduce early voting. We didnt even used to have early voting and it has been extended several times. How is it corrupt to eliminate straight ticket voting? For most of our states history there was none. Are you saying voting was corrupt for over 100 years because there was no early voting or straight ticket voting?
Also it is illogical to say we cant have a law to stop straight ticket option on the ballot because we have parties at all.

Anonymous said...

How is that? Everyone gets the same amount of time to vote regardless of race. Everyone can select candidates one ny one regardless of race.

Anonymous said...

Conservative here - It strikes me as an unnecessary attempt to try to counter recent heavier Dem voting. Cant wait to finally read when a liberal doesnt back a bad idea by a Dem

Anonymous said...

Disgusting

Anonymous said...

NC has more serious issues to take care of than this. It is a shame that the Pea Party fruit cakes in NC cannot find something of value to discuss. Are they really afraid of the changing demographic. A lot of lower end wage people work two jobs and they are the kind that you cannot just skip. This is nothing but another effort by the Republican party to tip things away from underprivileged and in favor of their hard core white supremacy groups.

Anonymous said...

Eliminating straight ticket voting is the best idea of the bunch ...

If you want to vote for all of the Republicans, Democrats or Libertarians, feel free!!! But, it's reasonable to ask each voter to look at each race individually and consider the merits of the candidates for that office.

Anonymous said...

Sorrh i didnt see how reducing early voting or stopping straight ticket voting suppressex african americans right or access fo vote any more than anyone else

Anonymous said...

Interesting...its now corrupt to curb early voting, something that we didn't have until REPUBLICANS starting winning. People like Aubrey Moore had no problem with the system when the likes of Aaron Plyler was raiding the state house, but now he declares an assault on state government. Humorous indeed, but too serious to laugh about. I would argue it far more corrupt to load up a bus of people at the church on Sunday after preaching and haul them down to vote the pastors wishes`...but Aubrey likes that because those blind sheep kept people like the grand wizard Robert Byrd in the US Senate for decades.

Lets face it...this is a racial issue. Abraham Lincoln led the blacks out of slavery and the democrats under Woodrow Wilson, FDR, and LBJ put them right back into slavery. While they don't have to plow the fields and pick the cotton anymore, they are beholden to the democrats for survival (NOT ALL OF THEM) but plenty enough to control their votes. The democrats can spend millions in campaign contributions to win votes, or spend millions of tax dollars to buy votes. The latter has worked well for decades. Its disgusting, and what makes it more disgusting is that they "pretend" to care about the black community. They care alright...because they need those votes to survive.

And those votes... come by the busload on Sunday afternoon early voting. Much easier than back in the good old days when they had to round folks up on just one election day.

Call the new law corrupt all you will...all you are doing is crying sour grapes because the scam will be much harder to pull off.

Anonymous said...

"Corrupt" is a loaded word. By reducing the early voting period they are reducing the likelihood that young people and the working poor will be able to vote (historically democrats"). Why? If you work during the day, you don't necessarily have the ability to get off work to vote. If you wait till the evening, the line is out the door. Doesn't stop you from voting, but reduces the likelihood you will. See e.g. Florida 2012/2008/2004/2000.

I'm not sure I understand why posters are comfortable reducing a fundamental right of all Americans. Regardless of party (and I'm unaffiliated) in a true republican (small R) democracy, you want as much of the electorate to vote as possible.

Anonymous said...

If shortening the early voting period shortens a candidates campaign, that would be a plus.

Anonymous said...

If the state is fine w/ issuing IDs to everyone at no charge, requiring an ID is not a bad idea. If they are not ensuring everyone has one before making it a requirement to vote, then it is an impediment to voter's rights and is disrespectful to our democracy.

Requiring common sense, the ability to read, basic math skills, etc. to vote would be great but unfortunately, we don't require those things to run for office or be elected, so its not reasonable. Based on the reasoning used to justify these budget cuts and how funds are prioritized, basic math, forethought, and common sense seem to elude our governing body pretty effectively. These goofballs want to eliminate available time to vote, and then simultaneously claim it won't impact voting. They also want to eliminate straight ticket voting which extends the average time taken to vote, but play ignorant to the fact that longer lines will be created as a result. Either that speaks to a) poor math skills, b) a lack of common sense, or c) a deceptive attempt to reduce the voter turnout. I believe the answer is d) All of the above.

Anonymous said...

To those who asked why this would suppress the AA vote:

People of color and students are much more likely to have schedules that do not offer or enable them to vote on Election Day. In NC, there is no state law that requires employers to grant time off to vote.

If your income depends upon hourly wages, taking time off to vote amounts to a poll tax - it's something that some families just can't afford. And that kind of poverty is much more likely to affect families of color, families that tend to vote Democrat.

Reducing the early vote period is obviously an attempt to suppress the Democratic vote.

Anonymous said...

Students can't vote because of their schedules? Hourly workers can't take time off to vote? Really??? It has come to this? It never seemed to be a problem before. People used to manage to make it to vote somehow between 7am and 7pm. Guess we just too busy nowadays, and perhaps too ignorant to write a letter and request a ballot be sent to our house if we can't make the 7am-7pm thing work.

The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. You democrats need to start finding candidates who are about fixing the issues we face, then maybe you wouldn't need to subvert the system to load the ballot box.

Anonymous said...

Just a general inquiry. I'm not sure if anyone w/ detailed knowledge of the issue reads this blog, but:

Are mailed absentee ballots more or less expensive to administer than in person early voting (which amounts to a different type of absentee ballot)?

Are any statistics available indicating the turn times and error rates associated w/ sending absentee ballots to people via the mail and counting the received absentee ballots received by election officials?

The 5PM poster seems to be making an assumption that the line at 7PM will be manageable for in person voters who have jobs, kids, families, and other obligations, when additional time will be required by constraining the voting windows and extending the time required to physically complete the voting process.

Next, I'm sure someone will propose using a number 2 pencil and a sheet of paper to vote since we can't trust the technology, right after reducing funding for polling machines and maintenance, all in the name of what seemed to have worked for 100 years.

Anonymous said...

http://apps.npr.org/unfit-for-work/

Under Obama there has been a 50% increase and millions more loafing lazy worthless liberal scumbags lying to get disability free gumint welfare checks in the mail each month making the national debt go to 17 trillion and counting.
The Obama welfare socialist scumbag nation of sorry moocher freeloaders continues nonstop ...

Anonymous said...

Stupid is as stupid does. You folks are blind as a bat. The democrats ran this state since Sir Walter Raleigh rolled in....and now the tables have been turned. Get used to it and stop whining because the power is no longer yours. #1...get a job (its that thing you have to set an alarm for in the morning to get up in time to get to)...#2 find out what its like to get a paycheck that has at least 25% of the money taken out for this thing called taxes (whats been paying for you to sleep in all your life and get free groceries)...then perhaps you will understand why its refreshing to see a party in control that is sick of low life politicians abusing an entire race to establish their kingdom.

Anonymous said...

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/03/28/187214/gov-mccrory-eliminates-latino.html


McCrory keeps getting smarter and smarter and better.

Pat McCrory for PRESIDENT in 2016

Anonymous said...

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/29/egypts-muslim-brotherhood-filling-pro-western-mili/

Muslim treasonist traitor jihadist Obama who led the Islamic Revolution in North Africa overthrows is reaping more rewards as Muslim Brotherhood jihad terrorists who run Egypt now allowing al queda to join its military.
What a major dumbass fuck up in the WH as never been seen. Impeach the pos asap ...

Anonymous said...

Good to see Gov Pat Mc closed the state wetback office.

Anonymous said...

http://www.wnd.com/2013/02/why-is-government-stockpiling-guns-ammo/

Highly intelligent real journalists ask why comrade dictator Obama and his USSR Homeland Security now stockpile massive amounts of large weapontry including nukes all over Amerika
to used against citizens while trying to kill 2nd Amendment rights of protection against goverment tyranny using his liberal toad sluts Feinstein or Bloomberg etc?

Anonymous said...

The eadline could also say:
New bills will save taxpayer money, still provide early voting and reduce the multiple times people voted using other people's names.