Voting Rights and Progressive Politics
Submitted by Graig on Wed, 09/13/2006 - 9:41pm
Well, there's a first time for everyone...
Today, over at Facing South, Chris Kromm quotes from a Mother Jones article about threats to voting rights around the country.
Of the 11 examples they cite, 7 are in the South. #2 on the list is right here in North Carolina.
Now, we can't have all forgotten about the problems with missing ballots in Cateret County, can we?
#2 Machine Meltdowns Beaufort, North Carolina; Fort Worth, Texas; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (tie) - In 2004, a touch-screen voting machine in Beaufort, North Carolina, erased 4,439 ballots cast during early voting two weeks before Election Day; they were never recovered. That wasn't the only place.
What about the missing ballots from early and absentee voting in Guilford and Gaston? See the same link for a reminder of how some NC straight party votes for Dems got counted for Libertarians.
As Kromm accurately points out:
Progressives interested in taking back Southern politics often forget that the reasons for their difficulties in the region are not necessarily due to a lack of progressive voters, but are often due to widespread disenfranchisement of progressive constituencies in the region.
The legacy of Jim Crow, felon disenfranchisement, voter intimidation and other barriers have kept millions of voters locked out -- especially African-American, Latino, poor and working-class voters who could be the basis of a progressive constituency. The cumulative impact on Southern politics is huge.
The Wimington Star reports that the General Assembly's 2005 law requiring paper recordings of electronic ballots may not be the end of this problem.
Personally, I'm dismayed by all of the examples on the Mother Jones list, and the ones that seem targeted at people of color in particular.
Our candidates can't win if our people can't cast a ballot. Progressive candidates and a progressive party need to keep this issue towards the top of their agenda for the good of our democracy and the good of themselves.
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How can you be a Good American or even
a Good Patriot if you try to swindel people out of their constitutional right to vote? Or even a good Christian? Next we'll hear that it's ok if Republicans cheat on tax forms, college exams, their spouses, but not the Democrats, that is unless they have two forms of I.D. and make over$ $200K a year!
No matter that patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots.
Does anyone know why this entry has all that white space?
n/t
I think it might have something to do with the image
I went in to do an edit and there is nothing wrong with any of the html. I can't get to the image to adjust to see if that's the problem.
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You've gotta tell me...
b/c it's my first one and I was making it up as I went along!
Graig, we'll get it worked out
I'll see if Lance can remove and replace the image and figure out what's wrong with the tag.
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