Thursday Open Thread | Voter Suppression 2020

Posted on May 9, 2019 by rikyrah

Ari Berman is sounding the alarm. As always, he is warning of Voter Suppression efforts in the states.

Mr. Berman is once again out here, calling it out and putting up the bat signal.

Just in time for 2020- GOP Voter Suppression.
Make no mistake – BOTH SIDES DON’T DO IT.
There is ONE PARTY out here doing Voter Suppression.
ONE PARTY for whom the objective is to LIMIT the number of people that get out and voter.
ONE PARTY who will resort to anything -INCLUDING P0LL TAXES – in order to prevent people from voting.

POLITICS
MAY 3, 2019
After the 2018 Blue Wave, Republicans Are Making It Harder to Vote
Key battleground states like Florida are adopting new voter suppression laws before the 2020 election.
By Ari Berman
Senior Reporter

In 2010, Karen Leicht was sentenced to 28 months in prison for conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. She was released in 2013, found a job as a paralegal in Miami, and completed her probation in 2016. But the 61-year-old lifelong Republican still couldn’t vote because of a Florida law banning people with past felony convictions from voting unless their rights were restored by the governor.

Leicht should have become eligible to get her voting rights back after the 2018 election, when 64 percent of Florida voters approved a ballot initiative overturning the state’s felon disenfranchisement law. Amendment 4 promised to restore the franchise to 1.4 million Floridians, the largest expansion of voting rights in the state since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Yet Leicht and hundreds of thousands of other Floridians could lose the chance to regain their voting rights because of legislation that just passed Florida’s Republican-controlled legislature. The measure would require people with felony convictions to pay all restitution, fines, and fees resulting from their sentences before becoming eligible to vote. Leicht owes a staggering $59 million in restitution payments, meaning she’ll probably never vote again if Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, signs the bill into law.

“$59 million—really?” Leicht asked a state senate committee in March. “You think I can ever pay that? I’ll never vote in this state again, at this rate. That’s like a poll tax.”
The bill could disenfranchise more than half a million Floridians who have not completed restitution payments. (More than 80 percent of fines levied by courts in Florida from 2014 to 2018 had “minimal collections expectations,” according to the Clerk of Courts association, because defendants were too poor to pay them off.) Those with past felony convictions who have completed probation and parole began registering to vote in January, when Amendment 4 went into effect, and voter registration numbers have more than doubled from the same period four years ago. Now that could all come to a halt. “This is clearly an effort to undermine the will of the voters,” says Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Florida. “We are creating a two-tiered system and saying how much money you have can determine whether you can vote.”

FIFTY-NINE MILLION?
Really? Seriously?
This is absolutely nothing more than a POLL TAX.

 

The move to gut Amendment 4 is part of a broader effort by Republican-controlled states to restrict access to the ballot after voters approved ballot initiatives in November’s midterm elections to expand voting rights and elected Democrats who supported policies like automatic voter registration and felon reenfranchisement. “There is an uptick in activity around measures to restrict voting access,” the Brennan Center for Justice states in a new report, with 19 bills restricting voting access moving through state legislatures in 10 states.

And, you can guess which party is putting forth all these bills.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill on Thursday that could curtail voter registration drives by imposing fines of up to $10,000 on groups that submit incomplete registration forms, even though they’re required by state law to hand in any registration forms they collect. The law imposes additional requirements on registration groups, such as mandatory state training and limited time windows to submit registrations, and failure to meet these requirements is punishable by jail time. Civil rights groups allege that the law is an effort to disenfranchise black voters after the Tennessee Black Voter Project registered 90,000 African Americans ahead of the 2018 election. Shortly after Lee signed the measure into law, the Tennessee chapter of the NAACP and other civil rights groups filed suit against state officials to challenge it.

Uh huh
Uh huh
Make no mistake. The GOP knows that it can’t win elections legitimately. So, they are deliberately attempting to take away the right to vote from as many citizens as possible.
This is nothing but the re-imposing of Jim Crow.

This entry was posted in 2020 Elections, 2020 Presidential Campaign, Open Thread, Politics, Uncategorized, Voter Suppression, Voting Rights and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

93 Responses to Thursday Open Thread | Voter Suppression 2020

  7. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2019 at 5:13 pm

    ” Why he don’t want me, Man?” 😪😪😪😪

    https://twitter.com/JustinTinsley/status/1126484074233774081

    Reply
  10. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2019 at 4:07 pm

    I do think that a lot of people, even some Black people, don’t understand why Black people tend to show up to fight for other people. I see a number of Black people say..
    ” They never fight for us, so why should we show up for them?”

    I have gotten this, from people who respond to me being so vehemently against this administration due to immigration policies.

    I believe that these folks are extremely short-sighted. And,know very little American History.

    I stand up for wrongs committed against others, not because I am such a generous person, but because I am always looking out for my own self-interest.

    Because, there is NOTHING in the history of THIS country, that would make me, as a Black American, believe that if something starts in another community, that it won’t ultimately wind up in MINE. So, it’s best to stop shyt before it gets far.
    I don’t understand Black people who don’t get that. You help others so that the bad stuff is killed in its tracks, and doesn’t arrive on our doorstep.

    Reply
  14. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2019 at 2:07 pm

    Trust The Base

    ……………
    Because of all this, people of color are the best judge of today’s politicians. Their lived experiences have put them in constant contact with White people, some of whom have been genuine and some of whom have been fake and insincere. People of color are keenly aware of when they are being pandered too. When a White person sees them are a token friend of color, they are offended and rightfully so. People of color know when someone is trying to take advantage of them. It’s in their DNA. A person of color in America today knows when he or she is being used for political gain. Yes, there are some who willingly allow themselves to be taken advantage of but by and large, the overwhelming majority of people of color see through these ruses. They know exactly what someone’s intentions are and often know those intentions better than the person themselves.

    The 2020 election will come down to what kind of future we want for our country. The republic as we know is fractured, but not fully broken. What 2016 has taught us is that we have 1/3 of the country who is perfectly content with White supremacy, a number that has always been there but has now become emboldened to say it publicly for the very first time. When people of color say their lives are at stake, their lives are actually at stake. Over 3,000 people of color are dead in Puerto Rico. Children remain in cages. People of color continue to be shot by White police officers who fail to receive repercussions for their actions. Access to safe, affordable health care which primarily benefits women of color is being threatened. Trans men and women are being denied an opportunity to serve their country. Tribal lands are being stripped and sold off to the highest bidder. And the act of voting, seen as the great equalizer throughout our country’s history for marginalized groups, is being stripped down and eroded by a Republican Party that wants to pick its voters rather than have the voters pick their leaders.

    People of color know what’s on the line now. They knew what was on the line in 2016 when 94% of women of color voted for Hillary Clinton. Despite the fact that candidates of color, especially women, will never have equal media access that should not discourage us from hearing their views. At the end of the day, people of color will be the ones who end up electing the 2020 Democratic candidate for president. They are the only ones who saw through the great conman of 2016 and they are the only ones who aren’t buying what the media is already selling in 2019. They know who is genuine and who is pandering. They know who is actually fighting for them rather than mouthing the words. They know, once again, that the future of our republic rests at the ballot box and America absolutely cannot get this wrong a second time. If we do, that idea of liberty and justice for some has the potential to become liberty and justice for none by 2024.

    Reply
    • majiir says:
      May 9, 2019 at 3:15 pm

      I’m tired of stupid people. Scientific research shows that humans and primates/simians share a majority of the same DNA. In the case of chimpanzees, the difference between them and humans is less than 2%. There’s no way I’m believing Danny Baker was joking. It’s a common tactic employed by many around the world to compare blacks to primates/simians, and in no case is it ever meant to be a compliment. He can stick his “I’m sorry” in his anus where the sun doesn’t shine.

      Reply
    • rikyrah says:
      May 9, 2019 at 1:50 pm

      Well ..it ain’t right, but considering what she got away with before this….maybe she will learn and change her ways.

      Reply
  24. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2019 at 1:24 pm

    Deja Vu… didn’t this happen in 2016?🤔🤔

    https://twitter.com/Bernie_GoKnit/status/1126543922178560000

    Reply
  31. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2019 at 1:03 pm

    Thread

    Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) Tweeted:
    These fundraising numbers show @KamalaHarris lapping the field in fundraising numbers from communities of color.

    [braces for people telling me Buttigieg and Biden just haven’t had *time* to *outreach* to these communities, but they totally will someday!]

    https://t.co/Anrsly9UiC https://twitter.com/ElieNYC/status/1126125940399050752?s=17

    Reply
  38. SouthernGirl2 says:
    May 9, 2019 at 10:48 am

    But David Ortiz’s white team mates tho? What does that say about them?

    https://twitter.com/dabeard/status/1126482606269267969

    Reply
  39. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2019 at 10:48 am

    UH HUH
    UH HUH

    The problems began in 2014, when Congress decreed that the 2020 Decennial Census should cost no more than the 2010 count without adjusting for inflation, or some $12.5 billion. The Obama administration objected, but to no effect—although it’s worth recalling that Bill Clinton took a different tack in 1998, when he vetoed an omnibus budget bill and risked a government shutdown to get rid of a provision that would have barred the Census Bureau from using statistical sampling to verify the 2000 count.

    The Census Bureau did what it had to do to live within its new budget constraints: it drew up new plans to cut costs by replacing thousands of temporary Census workers and hundreds of temporary offices with new technologies and online capacities. It also had to do what it shouldn’t have done: to save money, the Bureau aborted a planned Spanish-language test census and didn’t test or implement new ways to more accurately count people in remote and rural areas. Census also ended its plans to test a range of local outreach and messaging strategies to get people to fill out their census forms, which are crucial to minimizing undercounts in many minority and marginalized communities.

    Even so, the Census Bureau prepared to ramp up funding in 2017 and 2018, as it normally did, under the $12.5 billion cap. Enter the Trump administration, which cut the Obama administration’s 2017 budget request for the Census Bureau by 10 percent and then, this past April, flat-lined the funding for 2018. It is no coincidence that the Director of the Census Bureau, John Thompson, resigned in May, effective in June. It’s a serious loss, since Dr. Thompson directed the 2000 decennial count and is probably the most able person available to contain the coming damage to the 2020 count. For its part, the administration hasn’t even identified, much less nominated, his successor. It is no surprise that the Government Accountability Office recently designated the 2020 Census as one of a handful of federal programs at “High Risk” of failure.

    The costs of starving the decennial Census could be great. It not only paints the country’s changing demographic and geographic portrait every 10 years. Its state-by-state counts determine how the 435 members of the House of Representatives are allocated among the states, and its counts by “Census block” (roughly a neighborhood) shape how members of state legislatures and many city councils are allocated in those jurisdictions. That’s just the beginning.

    Reply
  40. Ametia says:
    May 9, 2019 at 10:46 am

    I bring you Amy, the Klobu-Meister.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM5W-5oz6Xw

    Reply
  41. Ametia says:
    May 9, 2019 at 10:39 am

    THE GOP ARE COMING AFTER YOUR VAGINAS, LADIES!

    And counting on the 54 white men & black coon Thomas to overturn ROE V WADE & codify anti-abortion as law.

    Alabama Senate passes nation’s strictest abortion bill, making performing the procedure a felony with few exceptions
    The bill needs Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s (R) approval before it becomes law.

    Conservative governors and legislators are using new highly restrictive abortion laws to get abortion back in front of what they believe is the friendliest U.S. Supreme Court in decades.

    Read more » https://s2.washingtonpost.com/13a30bc/5cd447b7e6e81b46581b0384/YXdhcmVvZjQxMUBnbWFpbC5jb20%3D/2/10/3a569220054ddfca9b49a25bb24a75b5

    Reply
  50. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2019 at 9:21 am

    Democrats’ Mueller questions show public need for more details
    Rachel Maddow explains why Donald Trump is so afraid of Robert Mueller testifying about his investigation, and reads highlights from a list of questions prepared by Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee that show how much remains unanswered about Robert Mueller’s investigation.

    Reply
  51. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2019 at 9:05 am

    Trump versus the Mueller investigation: one fight on many fronts
    Rachel Maddow looks at Donald Trump’s flailing effort to prevent Congress from conducting any oversight or investigations into him or his campaign and points out that while Washington may appear to be roiling with many disparate fights, there is actually just one root conflict.

    Reply
  57. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2019 at 7:08 am

    What makes it worse is that there was a local business who offered a donation of several thousand dollars to try and.pay off some of the debt…AND THOSE DEMONS 😠 😠 AT THE LUNCH PROGRAM WOULD NOT ACCEPT IT 😠😠😠

    https://twitter.com/cmclymer/status/1126352549450219522

    Reply
  62. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2019 at 6:57 am

    Scott Dworkin (@funder) Tweeted:
    Last night Trump laughed about shooting immigrants. It’s a new new low for the biggest traitor in American history. Disgusting. Absolutely pathetic & un-American. He should be impeached just for this. Abhorrent & gross. Where’s the Republican outrage? I hear *crickets* #PutinsGOP https://twitter.com/funder/status/1126436231468990465?s=17

    Reply
  63. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2019 at 6:53 am

    Claudia (@WayAheadUK) Tweeted:
    “We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” – Elie Wiesel https://twitter.com/WayAheadUK/status/1126438169128386560?s=17

    Reply
  64. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2019 at 6:47 am

    I use them all the time

    Deafinitely Girly (@deafgirly) Tweeted:
    Subtitles aren’t just for deaf people. Lots of my hearing friends use them, too. If you’re hearing and find yourself using subtitles on Netflix and TV and would quite like them at the cinema, please retweet to help normalise their presence! Big thanks #DeafAwarenessWeek https://twitter.com/deafgirly/status/1126053718426886144?s=17

    Reply
  65. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2019 at 6:45 am

    StanceGrounded (@_SJPeace_) Tweeted:
    Gerry Condon, a Vietnam veteran being beaten then arrested by DC police for attempting to deliver food and water to people in the Venezuelan embassy who’ve had their electricity and water cut off by the US government in violation of international law

    THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS!

    Retweet https://t.co/0W18B1Ff8G https://twitter.com/_SJPeace_/status/1126419654572957696?s=17

    Reply
  66. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2019 at 6:44 am

    BlueSteelDC (@BlueSteelDC) Tweeted:
    Democrats are more likely to believe healthcare is a right but don’t want you changing their structure for getting it. They want you to improve the quality and the cost. https://twitter.com/BlueSteelDC/status/1126420545023696897?s=17

    Reply
  67. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2019 at 6:42 am

    Thread

    (((David Avallone))) (@DAvallone) Tweeted:
    My mother was big in the abortion rights movement. In the early 1960s, when abortion was still illegal, she had a miscarriage at around six months. So she’s covered in blood, with a dead fetus between her legs, and the doctor told her she couldn’t be cleaned up yet. GUESS WHY? 1/ https://t.co/AyUjp4sNeS https://twitter.com/DAvallone/status/1126280699122671616?s=17

    Reply
  70. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2019 at 6:39 am

    A black woman who always vote (@grandoftwo) Tweeted:
    Bernie Sanders needs Hillary’s voters in the primary. This black woman says hell-to-the-no! I didn’t vote for him in 2016 and won’t in 2020 he will never earn my vote. That’s all. https://t.co/qN6f1L1DxE https://twitter.com/grandoftwo/status/1126336707924713473?s=17

    Reply
  71. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2019 at 6:37 am

    thefieldnegro (@fieldnegro) Tweeted:
    The Red Sox visit the white house today less all of their players of color. The optics should be interesting. I see u Boston. Your team is a lot like your city: Divided. #redsoxwhitehouse https://twitter.com/fieldnegro/status/1126430308562341888?s=17

    Reply
  72. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2019 at 6:36 am

    Mr. Weeks 🤴🏾 (@MrDane1982) Tweeted:
    If women can’t have abortions then the government need to stop wasting $85M prescribing viagra for broken dicks.

    God broke your dick, the consequences of life.

    Broken dicks is the natural way of life just like babies. No abortions for women, no fix a broken dick pill for men. https://twitter.com/MrDane1982/status/1126339054222618624?s=17

    Reply
  82. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2019 at 4:15 am

    Good Morning, Everyone 😄😄😄

    Reply

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