Suppressing the vote has been the goal of GOP leaders for decades. Their efforts are working:
Polling locations are supposed to be accessible to all voters -but ~1 in 5 polling locations is a church, -religious entities are exempt from the Disabilities Act. The prevalence of inaccessible polling places -alarming for disabled & aging ppl in states that have moved to quash mail-in voting—incl. OK & AK -churches make up >50% of voting locations.
All registered voters get a voters' pamphlet and ballot in the mail automatically, then have 2-3 (?) weeks to complete ballot and return it, either by mail or in a drop box.
"Here’s a Clever Way to Uncover America’s Voting Deserts:
Mathematicians are using topological abstractions to find places poorly served by polling stations."
Sure, this is clever. But you know what's even more clever? Eliminating polling places entirely and switching to 100% vote-by-mail like in Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Vermont, and Hawaii.
(With some in-person polling places as needed for accessibilty reasons)
As of Jan 2024, NY now allows mail-in early ballots without any excuse. This was signed into the budget bill by the Governor last year. It's permanent - not tied to any emergency covid things or anything.
If you're planning to vote by mail (recommended, as always), the deadline to request a ballot for the upcoming primary is rapidly approaching (Mar 23rd). #Vote#VoteNY#VoteByMail#NYS#NYC
GOP bills in the #Oregon Legislature:
SB1536 - impose a 15 week abortion ban.
HB4037 - make gender-affirming care for youth illegal.
HB4054 - allow discrimination against trans athletes.
SB1589 - attack our vote-by-mail system and make it harder for people to vote.
Contact your state representatives and make it clear a majority of Oregonians oppose these bills.
@ahimsa_pdx Originally it was a non-partisan issue and had broad support. (We've had vote by mail for local elections since the 1980's and it expanded from there.) Unfortunately the GOP drive to restrict voting nationally has gained popularity amongst the "we want minority rule" set here too.
#VoteByMail is a gift. I was thrilled when we started it and I've been grateful every election since.
Good news a from NC. Republicans passed a law that required a postcard be sent to the address of any person who took advantage of same-day registration, if the card was undeliverable by the post office the vote would be thrown out.
(The voter would not even be notified this happened.)
Like many voter suppression laws, it almost sounds sensible: if you don't think about it much.
On closer inspection, it is designed to target poor, minority and/or young voters. 1/
"We are here because #Senate#Republicans refused to convict Donald #Trump on the article of impeachment charging him with inciting insurrection" @JoyceVance on the failed vote three years ago, 13 February 2021
Consequently, the #SCOTUS will hear oral argument on the #Colorado 14th Amendment case on Thursday 08 February, five weeks from now.
Colorado GOP primary voting starts the following Monday, 12 February. CO is a #VoteByMail state.
In the new book Voting in Indian Country, Jean Reith Schroedel weaves together historical and contemporary voting rights conflicts as the election nears
by Nina Lakhani in New York
Fri 16 Oct 2020
"#VoterSuppression has taken centre stage in the race to elect potentially the 46th president of the United States. But we’ve heard little about the 5.2 million #Native Americans whose ancestors have called this land home before there was a US president.
"The rights of indigenous communities – including the right to vote – have been systematically violated for generations with devastating consequences for access to #CleaAir and #water, #health, #education, economic opportunities, #housing and #sovereignty. Voter turnout for Native Americans and Alaskan Natives is the lowest in the country, and about one in three eligible voters (1.2 million people) are not registered to vote, according to the National Congress of American Indians.
"In a new book, Voting in Indian County: The View from the Trenches, Jean Reith Schroedel, professor emerita of political science at Claremont Graduate University, weaves together historical and contemporary voting rights conflicts.
"Is the right to vote struggle for Native Americans distinct from the wider struggle faced by marginalized groups in the US?
"One thing few Americans understand is that American Indians and #NativeAlaskans were the last group in the #UnitedStates to get #citizenship and to get the #vote. Even after the civil war and the Reconstruction (13th, 14th and 15th) amendments there was a supreme court decision that said #IndigenousPeople could never become US citizens, and some laws used to disenfranchise them were still in place in 1975. In fact first-generation violations used to deny – not just dilute voting rights – were in place for much longer for Native Americans than any other group. It’s impossible to understand contemporary voter suppression in Indian Country without understanding this historical context.
"The motivation for the VRA was the egregious treatment of #black people in the south, and for the first 10 years there was a question over whether it even applied to #AmericanIndian and Native Alaskan populations. It wasn’t really discussed until a #CivilRights commission report in 1975 which included cases from #SouthDakota and #Arizona that showed equally egregious #discrimination and absolute denial of right to vote towards Native Americans – and also #Latinos.
"When voter suppression is discussed by politicians, advocates and journalists, it’s mostly about African American voters, and to a lesser degree Latinos. Why are Native Americans still excluded from the conversation?
"Firstly they are a small population and secondly most of the most egregious abuses routinely occur in rural isolated parts of #IndianCountry where there is little media focus. But it’s happening – take Jackson county in South Dakota, a state where the governor has done little to protect people from #Covid. The county council has just decided to close the legally mandated early voting centre on the #PineRidgeReservation, citing concerns about Covid, but not in the voting site in #Kadoka, where the white people go. Regardless of the intent, this will absolutely have a detrimental effect on Native people’s ability to vote. And South Dakota, like many other states, is also a very hard place for Native people to vote by mail. In the primary, the number of people who registered to #VoteByMail increased by 1,000% overall but there was no increase among reservation communities. In #Oglala county, which includes the eastern part of Pine Ridge, turnout was about 10%.
"The right to vote by mail is a hot political and civil rights issue in the 2020 election – could it help increase turnout in Indian Country?
"No, voting by mail is very challenging for Native Americans for multiple reasons. First and foremost, most reservations do not have home mail delivery. Instead, people need to travel to post offices or postal provide sites – little places that offer minimal mail services and are located in places like gas stations and mini-marts. Take the Navajo Nation that encompasses 27,425 square miles – it’s larger than West Virginia, yet there are only 40 places where people can send and receive mail. In West Virginia, there are 725. Not a single PO box on the Navajo Nation has 24-hour access."
@willbeason Well, that specific issue isn't true in all states. I live in #WashingtonState where we have universal #VoteByMail so we get 2 or 3 weeks to review our ballot and think about our choices. But we vote-by-mail states also tend to have huge numbers of initiatives & other ballot measures that require tons of research to form an opinion (looking at you, California). Oh, and vote-by-mail states usually have among the best turnout in the US, partly addressing @Daojoan's original concern.
@glassbottommeg Where I vote, you can do it in your underwear. #VoteByMail Still gotta read the voter's pamphlet - but wait until you get your ballot because the pamphlet includes everybody including that Goodspaceguy (that's what he runs under).
@Olyindivisible Something that I love about Oregon as well. I don't know if all of Oregon's counties have the same status system, but I know Washington County does.
If a #politician tells you that #VoteByMail is a bad idea, that politician is trying to stop you from #voting. #Vote that politician out, with extreme prejudice.
If you live somewhere that offers no-questions-asked mail-in voting, and your election commission gives you the option to automatically get mail ballots with each election, I would highly recommend doing this.
Earlier in the year a ballot just showed up in the mail. It was for the very local elections like school board, parks commissioner, stuff like that.
I almost certainly wouldn't have realized the election was even happening, but having the ballot in-hand made sure I voted in it.
@TechConnectify
Over here in Washington state, we all mail our votes in. That's the way we do it. It works very well.
Our elections aren't compromised, and we vote from the comfort of our homes.
The election pamphlets are mailed out shortly before the ballots. I gather any and all info about each candidate, with the ability to access my computer while I vote.
I can mail my ballot or use a drop box convenient to my house. I never wait in line.
Repubs are doing all they can to stop people (Dems) from voting! DON’T LET THEM STEAL YOUR VOTE!
If you vote by mail in Florida, DeSantis passed a law CANCELING ALL mailin ballot requests so you MUST SIGN UP AGAIN FOR MAIL-IN BALLOTS.
The website is a bit slow after you enter the basic info—so don’t give up!
PASS THIS ON!
I just have to say our local and state governments rock when it comes to elections and voting access.
Just got an email from the county clerk listing all the ballot drop boxes and polling places planned for fall 2024 and asking our input on whether there are underserved locations where there should be more polling places/drop boxes.
Add this to automatic delivery of mail ballots to every single registered voter. And it's almost like we're trying to make voting available to everyone...
The (paper) voter guide only lists my city council candidates. It does not list civil court judges or anyone else who might be on the ballot. You have to know to go to NYC DOE's website, go to "find my pollsite/view sample ballot" so see who's actually on the ballot.
You've gotta do this in advance of going to your poll site, and then (w/ #RCV) memorize the order you want to vote for candidates in.
Governor Greg Abbott just vetoed a bill that would allow disabled Texans to vote by mail
I’m guessing Abbott vetoed this from his wheelchair?
Same as Clarence Thomas looking to repeal interracial marriage, Lindsey Graham attacking same-sex marriage, and Dubya attacking education. Hate and self owns.
@flexghost Eight states plus Washington, DC, have "all mail voting" (vote by mail, vote at home). It's pretty hard to keep up the facade that there's a problem with allowing everyone to vote by mail, not just disabled folks.
And by the way, vote by mail is not accessible to all disabled folks. Voters with certain disabilities need other accessible methods. One size does not fit all.