Voting Rights

The level of douchebaggery exhibited by the California Republican Party is astounding. A recent bill brought before the state assembly would seek to allow 16 and 17 year olds to "pre-register" to vote, making them automatically eligible to vote when they turn 18. Not a single Republican voted in favor of the bill, and many seem to have over-exerted themselves in trying to explain why it's such a bad idea:

The bill passed the Assembly and was sent to the Senate last month on a party-line vote, 45-31, with no GOP support.

Assemblyman Anthony Adams, R-Hesperia, criticized the bill as a Democratic power play.

"For all their sweet-tongue talk about doing what's right for the country, that's baloney," Adams said.

"The truth is, when you're young you tend to think like a liberal," he said. "As you get older and wiser … you tend to become more conservative."

Aside from the fact that the last statement is utter nonsense (pdf), how cynical, and how wrapped up in your own personal power do you need to be before you can make these statements without a little piece of your soul dying with them? I know that Republicans like to suppress the vote, but I never expected them to be so blatant about their motives. Usually they at least try to cloak it in their own "baloney" about "voter fraud" or some other fantasy menace.

One of Assemblyman Adam's GOP colleagues was more subtle:

Assemblyman Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, said his opposition to AB 1819 has nothing to do with partisan politics. The state should excite teenagers about voting, not play a useless numbers game by amassing forms from disinterested students who can't cast ballots for two years, he said.

"(I want) to have a citizenry that is informed, engaged and interested," Niello said. "If you have that, they'll register to vote – and they'll vote."

So the state should "excite teenagers about voting" (whatever that means), but shouldn't actually allow them to register to vote. If the state GOP really believes that youth will naturally vote Democrat (not necessarily a given; see: Ronald Reagan), in what way is this not playing the numbers game?

The state should do whatever it can to increase registration rates among all voters, including youth who participate at lower rates precisely because many lack a valid registration. Anything else is playing politics with the voting rights of the electorate.

Yesterday we made history in this country. The first african american nominee of a major party. Sorry I haven't posted much on it yet, but I'm waiting on final stats about the youth vote in this process before I put out my final thoughts. In the meantime, Joe has an excellent message for Hillary Clinton and her supporters, and if you missed it last night, you owe it to yourself to watch Obama's speech.

There's an important story in the New York Times today about student voting rights. Down in Prairie View Texas, two voting rights cases are underway. The first involves the use of voter fraud charges by the Attorney General to intimidate black and hispanic (Democratic) voters in the country. Recent reports indicate that of 26 voter fraud cases brought by the Attorney General, all were against Democrats and almost all were against black or hispanic voters.

The second involves hundreds of students who were denied their right to vote in 2006:

Before the 2006 election, Judge Charleston said in an interview, he personally registered about 1,000 students. But on Election Day, he said, hundreds of them were turned away as not registered to vote. The registration cards were later found in county offices, he said.

Ellen C. Shelburne, the county tax assessor and registrar, who took office in January 2007, said she had recently been questioned by investigators from Mr. Abbott’s office and had told them that she knew nothing about the matter. Jerry Strickland, a spokesman for Mr. Abbott, said, “We cannot comment on ongoing investigations.”

Waller County has a long history of voter suppression, but we don't have to go back all that far to know that this will be important in November. During the primaries, Waller County purposefully tried to discourage student voting by locating early voting locations far from campus at the county seat. Students protested that decision at the time and marched over 7 miles to cast their ballots:

I expect tactics like this will become common in many places this November, particularly after the Supreme Court issued its ruling on the Indiana voter ID law. Student voter suppression happens every year. It occurred in 2004, it occurred in 2006, and those were elections cycles in which most of the political class did not think the youth vote would matter.

This year, the youth vote could be up to 25% of the electorate and will likely vote around 66 - 33 Democratic. Does anyone have doubts that the Republicans will do all they can to suppress that vote?

• Will Ralph Nader poach youth votes from the Democrats this year? - Chronicle of Higher Education
• Will John McCain poach youth votes from the Democrats this year? - The Politico
• Kat Barr from Rock the Vote interviews me and reviews Youth to Power. - WireTap
• Tim Fernholz has a tough but fair review of Youth to Power. - Campus Progress
• 17 year old Pennsylvanians are fighting for the right to cast primary ballots if they will be 18 by election day. - Fair Vote
• Obama hits McCain for failing to support the Webb GI Bill. - TPM Election Central
• Bob Herbert gets hip to the economic plight of Millennials - New York Times
• Former candidate George McGovern has an interesting solution to bring the primaries to an amicable end. - New York Times
• Along a number of indicators, the civic engagement gap between college and non-college youth has widened since the 1970s. - Peter Levine
• Hip Hop youth organizing is going local and deeper in 2008. - Boston Globe

From a press release I just received from Student PIRG:

Student PIRG New Voters Project staff stationed at polling locations near Indiana campuses today are beginning to hear from young voters turned away at the polls for a failure to meet voter identification laws upheld by the Supreme Court last week. The law, which requires voters to possess in-state or federal identification, such as an Indiana Driver’s License or federal passport, has been widely criticized for creating additional voting barriers. Three incidents of student voters turned away from the polls documented by Student PIRG staff in past two hours are included below. To contact profiled voters, please contact Sujatha Jahagirdar at (323) 309 6120.

19-year old Angela Hiss, a sophomore and computer science major at the University of Notre Dame, was turned away from the polls this afternoon as she attempted to vote in her first election. After arriving at her polling location, she presented several forms of identification - her school ID, a piece of mail that showed her campus address and an Illinois driver’s license – but was misinformed that she could not vote because she could not show in-state ID. Poll-workers, according to Hiss, also did not advise her that she could cast a provisional ballot, as required by state and federal law. Instead, they suggested visiting local Department of Motor Vehicles to obtain the in-state identification required by Indiana’s newly-upheld law, an endeavor that could take hours, she explained. Furthermore, while the law allows her ten days to obtain the required ID from the DMV, Hiss’s travel plans will not give her time. As a result, she said, she will not be able to vote in the primary.

19-year old Allyson Miller, a sophomore at the University of Notre Dame and volunteer at a local children’s clinic was similarly turned away from the polls today. An Indiana resident since the age of five, Miller left her driver’s license in her dorm room, and arrived straight from class at the polls with her school ID and registration confirmation papers from the County Registrar. Upon arriving, however, poll-workers did not allow her to vote without a state-issued ID. “I plan to come back because voting is a big deal to me,” said Miller, “but it’s a huge inconvenience, especially with a final tomorrow.”

19-year old Becky Jenkins, a sophomore and member of the tennis team at Butler University was also unable to vote in her first election today. “I didn’t know that I had to have an Indiana ID,” she said after she was turned away from the polls for attempting to cast her ballot using a driver’s licenses issued by the State of Illinois. When asked if she would instead cast a provisional ballot, Jenkins also said her travel plans wouldn’t allow her to.

The National Journal is running an important article on new, restrictive voting laws and the effect such laws might have on the youth vote. If anything is going to slow down the amazing spike we're seeing in participation, it's going to be laws like these that either outright disenfranchise new voters, or at the very least erect substantial barriers to participation. Honestly I'm a little worried that 2008 might make Ohio 2004 and Florida 2000 look like the poster-children for universal suffrage.

At a time when young Americans are registering to vote in record numbers, a variety of fresh obstacles threaten their participation. This could create massive Election Day headaches for youth and adult voters alike.

"We're looking at a fairly serious train wreck," says Gary Kalman, who heads the federal legislative office for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG).

The problem: A slew of restrictive new election laws take direct aim at the very voters -- the "Millennial" crowd aged 30 and under -- who have helped swell the rolls and crowd primaries in recent months. These include state laws that impose tough new restrictions on voter registration, disqualify voters because of minor database errors and require a photo ID, such as a driver's license, at the polls.

[...]

By some estimates, the younger-than-30 generation now numbers 50 million, a quarter of the voting-age population. Their recent rush to register and turn out is a positive signal that Americans haven't given up on their problem-plagued voting system just yet. There's a risk that these young voters' first attempt to cast ballots could turn into a nightmare -- both for them and for those standing in line behind them.

"From the registration to the polling places to the actual ID, students face enormous hurdles," said Kalman, of U.S. PIRG. "And it's something we're going to have to get over if we want the next generation to be active in politics."

I've got a few big posts in the hopper, but they probably won't start rolling out until later this afternoon or tomorrow. Today appears to be a slow news day (unless you are still interested in Rev. Wright or the latest obscenity McCain called his wife). Nevertheless, these are worth checking out:

• Rockt the Vote issues a new handbook for reaching young voters: Winning Young Voters. I'll have more about this later this weekend. - Rock the Vote
• Young--and in Charge: Under-30 Dems Set to Have Big Impact - Hispanic Business Wire
• Parsing the Generational Divide for Democrats - NPR
• Voting Rights Are Too Important to Leave to the States - New York Times
• Senate Passes Student Loans Bill - The Politico
• Is FaceBook the Hub of the Internet World? - DIY Marketing

Steve Fenberg, my good buddy at New Era Colorado, sent me a note on Facebook today about some good things happening in Colorado.

In recent news you've heard about the exciting possibility of various non-profit organizations who are registering huge numbers of people online with their various tools available for such finery.

The state of Colorado is pushing a piece of legislation through that would enable anyone in the state to register online via a secure server through the state. (currently only Arizona and Washington State does)

The bill has passed through the Senate and will be heard in the House tomorrow or Monday. Learn more and write your Rep now. This one is important! Takes 2 seconds

Secondly, CO is working to join with a few other states and counties across the country that are allowing 17 year-olds to caucus if they will be 18 by the November election.

The efforts were begun by Denver Science and Tech senior Sam Brasch. This happened when Sam got screwed by being able to participate in the Colorado Caucuses this year.

The language reads

"Ten other states allow 17-year-olds to participate in the nomination process. Colorado could become the eleventh. The state could encourage teens to become politically active in high school and force politicians to be aware of teen concerns. Colorado could recognize a simple moral claim: if you can choose between the two final candidates, you should be allowed to choose amongst the larger pool."

Sign Sam's petition here

Sorry for the short post, we're having tornadoes again tonight...

Youthy things left on the wayside of the information superhighway:

• Rock the Vote reminds us that early voting has started in Indiana and North Carolina. -Rock the Vote
• Conservatives are attempting a takeover at Dartmouth College. - Daily Kos
• Why the Democrats need all young voters, college and non-college, if they are to win in November. -The Nation
• Students for a New American Politics - a great organization that fundraises to place young activists on campaigns - is holding a fundraiser. -Daily Gotham
• Bush is pushing for legislation that will allow the government to buy-up student loans an ensure that loans will continue to be available to students. The article I read is vague, but it sounds like this might be an end run to bulk up the lender-friendly FFEL (Family Federal Education Loan Program) at the expense of the more efficient Direct Loan Program. -The Politico
• Just what is it that kids do on social networks? Danah Boyd Explains in her lecture "Teen Socialization Practices in Networked Publics." -Apophenia
• Adam B has much more on the Indiana voter ID ruling by the Supreme Court. -Daily Kos

Update: Cliff Schecter notes that Sen. Obama has condemned the decision, but Sen. Clinton, who stands to benefit most from depressed youth turnout, is mum. Curious. And disappointing.
---------------------
As you may have heard, the Supreme Court issued a decision today upholding Indiana's photo ID law. By a vote of 6 - 3 the court determined that Indiana's photo ID law, which requires all voters have a valid government issued photo ID listing their current address, was necessary to prevent voter fraud. This, despite the fact that the court admitted there was no evidence of such fraud ever taking place in Indiana.

This ruling could have potentially huge repercussions in the upcoming Indiana Primary. According to Rock the Vote polling data, almost 1 in 5 18 - 29 year olds do not own valid photo ID listing their most recent address. Young voters are highly transient. We move from state to state, town to town, dorm to dorm for years. I'm 29 years old and I've lived in 9 different residences and 3 different states in the last 12 years. I'm about as politically active as you can be, but under such stringent photo-ID laws, I probably would not have been able to vote at least 9 of those years.

Worse, the ruling not only applied to Indiana but left the door wide open for similar challenges in other states - creating the potential for a landslide of voter suppression in the November election.

This could be a huge deal if Republicans play hardball (and when don't they play hardball). Let me repeat, Rock the Vote estimates that this could disenfranchise 1 in 5 young voters. That's huge - millions of people huge - particularly in a year where we are seeing incredible gains in youth participation.

Rock the Vote sent out an email noting the backwards thinking in the Supreme Court's decision:

) The Court admits in its ruling that the reasoning behind imposing this strict law – the desire to prevent voter fraud – was inapplicable in Indiana. In its ruling, the Court stated "the record contains no evidence that the fraud…in-person voter impersonation at polling places – has actually occurred in Indiana…" (page 2, emphasis added)

2) The Court also downgrades the constitutional right to vote. Justice Scalia, joined by Justices Thomas and Alito, stated "petitioners' premise that the voter-identification law might have imposed a special burden on some voters is irrelevant." (page 3, emphasis added)

3) Finally, the Court states that the burden of obtaining this identification is not "a significant increase over the usual burdens of voting" (page 3), reiterating the sentiment behind the Seventh Circuit's shocking statement that voters who do not obtain the required identification are choosing to "disenfranchise themselves" rather than go to "the expense of obtaining a photo ID." (Crawford v. Marion County Election Bd., 472 F.3d 949, 952 (7th Cir. 2007), cert. granted, 168 L. Ed 2d 809 (2007))

The ACLU, Rock the Vote, YDA, Common Cause, and Speaker Pelosi's office have all issued statements (though some curiously leave young people out of the affected constituencies.

Shorter version: this is bad.