I just got the following in email:
I am assuming that since it is my email I don’t have to edit it for fair use standards? LOL
BREAKING: Federal Judge Restores Early Voting and Weekend Voting in Wisconsin This is phenomenal news, ErinJoy Help us capitalize on the momentum by signing on to support initiatives that make it EASIER to vote: |
ErinJoy , the federal court just delivered Wisconsin Republicans a crippling blow. This past Friday, a GOP-backed law that limited in-person absentee voting to just one location, slashed early voting hours, and got rid of weekend voting was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge. This decision, along with the similar ruling issued in Texas a few weeks ago, is proof that Republicans are ILLEGALLY tampering with voting rights in order to win elections. Thankfully, the courts are stepping in. But we must continue to call on our representatives to STOP creating barriers to the ballot box: Unfortunately, Wisconsin isn’t the only state that passed aggressive voter suppression rules. Since the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, Republicans in 22 states have passed similar laws to keep minorities from voting. The courts are finally saying what we’ve always known to be true: these voting laws are “specifically targeted to curtail voting… without any other legitimate purpose.”[1] The Wisconsin ruling is a HUGE victory for our efforts to get more people out to vote, but if we want to see nationwide reform on voter suppression laws, we simply can’t slow down. Let’s make sure ALL voting restrictions are overturned before the General Election this fall. go.turnoutpac.org/... Thanks for your continued support, - The Progressive Turnout Project |
Okay, more to the story and I am not sure why this was just sent to me if it happened at least partially on Friday, but….
A federal district court struck down a series of voting restrictions in Wisconsin on Friday, marking the third major victory for voting-rights advocates this month.
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“The Wisconsin experience demonstrates that a preoccupation with mostly phantom election fraud leads to real incidents of disenfranchisement, which undermine rather than enhance confidence in elections, particularly in minority communities,” he wrote. “To put it bluntly, Wisconsin’s strict version of voter ID law is a cure worse than the disease.”
Among the restrictions blocked were requirements that each city only have one polling place for early voting, an extended residency requirement for city wards, and strict rules governing what can be used as voter ID.
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has more:
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The decision deals with a swath of election laws that have been modified in recent years by Walker and Republican lawmakers. Peterson, who was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2014, concluded many of them violate the First Amendment right to free speech, the Fourteenth Amendment guarantee of equal protection under the law and the Fifteenth Amendment protection of the right to vote.
Wisconsin joins two other states where federal courts recently struck down restrictive voting laws. Earlier this month, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Texas’s voter-ID law had a racially discriminatory effect to suppress black and Hispanic voters. Then, hours before the Wisconsin ruling, the Fourth Circuit ruled that recent changes to North Carolina’s election law targeted black voters “with almost surgical precision.”
Tuesday, Aug 2, 2016 · 6:54:33 PM +00:00 · ErinJoyUpdated to say we made the rec list! Thanks youse Guys! as we say here in Jersey.
Tuesday, Aug 2, 2016 · 7:00:29 PM +00:00 · ErinJoyHey, Swatmacher just had a good suggestion. Instead of saying this is a big win for democrats, we should be saying “this is good for all Americans. It makes it easier for all Americans to vote”. I think that is a good idea, don’t you?