It’s been a rough couple months for voter rights, and the GOP is still on the attack. The Tea Party has launched an initiative called True the Vote, a poll-watching network where people stand guard around voting booths, supposedly to deter voter fraud.
On Friday’s PoliticsNation, Rev. Al Sharpton spoke to Brentin Mock, an investigative reporter for Colorlines.com, who sat in on some True the Vote summits and training sessions. He asked Mock to describe what he saw.
“What you had were far right-wing speakers talking about the right-wing agenda, a lot of Obama-bashing. But the main thing they talked about was monitoring and watching,” Mock said. “According to True the Vote, people on both sides of the voting booth are up to no good. The people working the polls are subject to corruption and fraud, and the people going up to vote are also subject to corruption and fraud. So they believe it’s their job to watch both sides to make sure that nothing happens.”
Rev. Al suspected that perhaps, just maybe, this isn’t an objective, nonpartisan group.
“Absolutely not. And it’s not been since their inception,” Mock said. “They helped set the Republican Party agenda in Texas and they helped pass the photo voter ID law. Now they’re working to pass a photo voter ID law nationally.”
Sharpton said the initiative sounds like overzealous right-wingers hovering over voters, intimidating workers and voters in predominately black and Latino voting locations. And, True the Vote now boasts having trainees in 35 states. Sharpton asked Joyce Beatty, a Democratic candidate for Congress in Ohio, how she feels about having that presence in her state.
She said Ohioans will not be intimidated:
“We are obviously upset about this because this is clearly voter suppression…they are afraid that in Ohio, we make presidents. They are afraid we will come out, we will turn out the vote, and we will reelect President Obama.
So we have to do a better job of making sure we get all of our folks to the polls. We have to remind them of how hard we have fought to be able to have this right. And that’s what it is. 'True the Vote' is 'Rob the Vote' and we have to let them know this is a very mean-spirited partisan machine that’s working against us.”
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Along these lines, I thought that this article was exceptionally interesting: http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/going-undercover-gops-voter-vigilante-project-disrupt-nov-election
Are they trying to take us back 45 plus years...wake up people and pay attention!
I think this is totally against the law as it is an infringement on Voter Rights. And anyone who participates in this should be arrested and put in jail for a FELONY!
Absolutely, it's like those new black panthers, I believe, in Phillidelphia. There they were in quasi military garb with billy clubs in their hands. And the justice department has refused to prosecute them. Oh wait. The difference here is that people in Philly made legal complaints and of course the black panthers are, well, the right race. Oh...oh...sorry my bad.
I am wondering why the justice department doesn't get a stay order until the election is over. Then it can be tried without pressure.
MSNBC you forgot to play the race card
We all know African Americans don't have what it takes to get an ID
We all know they don't buy alcohol or cigarettes and they never cashed a check they don't fly or rent a car or ever got a loan or opened a bank account they never went to college or even legally drove a car
Over 70% of America believes in voter ID laws so who are you to tell they are all wrong
1. The things you list are PRIVILEGES.
Voting is the most basic of RIGHTS - without which there IS no America.
2. You have no proof of the 70% claim - so it isn't true.
3. We HAVE voter ID's. You get one when you register. But this travesty is about restricting the number and type of citizens who can register, when, and reasonably how-and even disenfranchising those who already HAVE these TRADITIONALLY NON-PICTURE- ID's. That is the only election crime whose existence anyone can prove. And it has to be STOPPED across the board.
4. That Democrats win -or might win- an election is NOT proof of "VOTER FRAUD" - In Fact, Bush v. Gore proved that the converse is actually true - and just LOOK at the consequences!
I have a right to own a gun a right pacifically granted to me by the Constitution but i have to have an ID to purchase one so you argument that you shouldn't have to have an ID to vote because it is a right is not accurate
Washington Post Poll
"Almost three-quarters of all Americans support the idea that people should have
to show photo identification to vote"
Pacifically? Perhaps we should go back to requiring proof that you can read and write. When I registered to vote in the State of Florida, I was given a voter ID card. Why isn't this card enough for me to vote? Because it doesn't have my picture on it. Another poorly thought out plan. Make the voter ID card a picture ID, and require that all states issue a voter ID card. Problem solved.
remembers the 08 poll watcher that were Black Panther stand out in front of a polling place with BILL CLUDS? The people that corrupt the voting both should be thrown in JAIL
Trevon Martin was shot by a Mexican and all the black people were blaming the white people, like President Obama along with J. Jackson, Black Panther and don't for get about Al sharpton also. You all were trying to start a race war. The hoody thing was mentioned by another Mexican Herolodo, still blame the white people for the whole thing. It was not the police that didn't want to charge him it was the DA. Get your crap right!!!
Overwhelm the voter suppression!
ACLU Protect The Vote Petition to Eric Holder:
I wish one of those fools would get in my face while I'm trying to vote. They will be told about themselves!!!
Regarding voter suppression,a great example is what happened in Ohio. Republicans passed a law to end early voting 3 days before election day. Why 3 days before the election? Because the Sunday right before, many Black churches bring their congregations to the Board of election office to vote early. Thankfully an Appeal's court struct this law down but its another example of how far folks will go to influence an election. As bad as whatever happened to Trey Martin, the Black Panthers, etc.. etc.. none would have had a greater impact than suprressing enough of the vote to change the presidential election. Its absolutely pathetic that folks would try such tactics because they think they can't win legitimately. It reminds me of the boxers who wanted to win so much, they'd put concrete mix or other in their gloves to give them an extra edge. Okay, many of these tactics might be ruled as 'legal' but they're still sorry and immoral. As a Christian, I believe God placed our Christian president, Obama, in office - and I believe, if God wants to keep him in, no amount of suppression will work. Folks might not vote for Obama because he's upholding abortion. Well, I and others are not voting for Romney because they're upholding a greed-lust culture and hurting the downtrodden.