Voter Suppression: Is It Happening In Your State?
Posted by Michelle Moquin on March 1st, 2014
Good morning!
Friday the write from the Progress Report stated, “…some conservative state governments that have taken steps to reduce voting access by decreasing early voting days and restricting the absentee ballot process.”
As I said, I want to keep this in the forefront of everyone’s minds so…I did a little perusing on Think Progress and found this.
Voter suppression – It’s happening. In more than one area but this write is about your state, Howie. Any thoughts from you?
Florida County Eliminates Minority-Heavy Polling Places
On a party-line vote, a Florida county’s Republican majority Board of County Commissioners voted Tuesday to eliminate almost one-third of Manatee County’s voting sites. The board accepted a proposal by Supervisor of Elections Mike Bennett (R) by a 6-1 vote to trim the number of precincts, despite unanimous public testimony against the move — and complaints by the lone Democratic Commissioner that it would eliminate half of the polling places in his heavily minority District 2.
Bennett, in his first term as elections supervisor, proposed reducing the number of Manatee County precincts from 99 to 69. Citing decreased Election Day turnout, as more voters switch to in-person early voting and vote-by-mail options, he told the commissioners that the move would save money and allow the county to offer more early voting sites in the future.
In the public comment section of the meeting, all ten speeches strongly opposed the move. Representatives of the local NAACP and Southern Christian Leadership Council warned that the cuts would decrease voter turnout because voters would have to travel further to a polling place, especially among the elderly and people without cars, and noted that the cuts disproportionately affected minority-heavy precincts. Bennett dismissed these concerns, noting that because District 2 had received “preferential treatment in the past,” even with the changes, his district will have the smallest number of voters per precinct. “It was overbalanced before, it’s overbalanced now.” Bennett also repeatedly noted that he had discussed the move with civil rights groups and both the Republican and “Democrat” Parties.
Bennett assured the commission that if lines are longer in 2014 as a result of these changes, he would ask them to revisit the decision in 2015, before the 2016 elections. But it is unclear whether voter accessibility is a sincere priority for him. In 2011, while serving in the Florida Senate, he endorsed making it hard to vote: “I wouldn’t have any problem making it harder. I would want them to vote as badly as I want to vote. I want the people of the state of Florida to want to vote as bad as that person in Africa who’s willing to walk 200 miles…This should not be easy.” He made that comment as he supported a voter suppression bill that reduced the number of days for early voting in Florida and helped create long lines across the state.
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Readers: Notice how Bennett says, ”…if lines are longer in 2014 as a result of these changes, he would ask them to revisit the decision in 2015, before the 2016 elections.” That would be too late and he knows it. The midterms are super important for Obama and the Dems. This is our chance to get back the House and get done what needs to get done while Obama is President. If the lines are longer or voters have a tough time getting to the polls to vote, we may lose that chance, and he knows it.
This guy is sick. Comparing voting in Florida to Africa says it all. Minority- heavy districts will be the ones to suffer…the ones he is asking to want to vote as bad as the person in Africa and be willing to walk 200 miles. What he means when he says, “This should not be easy,” is “This should not be easy for minorities to vote.” Racist. Let’s have Bennett walk 200 miles and see how badly he wants to vote. No doubt his voting poll is down the street from his house. Convenient and easy.
Thoughts? Blog me.
Phillip: I am with ya. Ruth,SM said it best: short, to the point, and right on. I am expecting the Dems to show up big time.
Peace out. And Happy Saturday!
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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March 1st, 2014 at 1:56 pm
Joseph #2 fr 2/28, I feel ya, that’s total and utter nonsense that you, as a gay man, are subject to their discrimation but turn the tables and they’d be sue happy whiny babies in the name of religion, now there’s some hypocrisy…
I HOPE dems get out there or this country will be going to hell in a handbag (or maybe we are already there?)
Luv, Zen Lill