gruehls Wrote:Schadenfreude Wrote:First, a word about Democratic values.
By and large, Democrats want people to vote. The more, the better. This leads Democrats to champion policy changes to make it easier to vote -- longer polling hours, same day registration, early voting, and a bunch of other things.
Sometimes Republicans go along, because "making it easier to vote" is a pretty popular position to take. But, at the end of the day, Republicans have an easier time winning elections with light turnout because Republican voters are more consistent about voting than Democratic voters.
So, when push comes to shove, Republicans aren't going to expend much political capital making voting easier. And, if they have an opportunity to find a popular way to make voting tougher, they'll do it.
That's what this is -- a well-packaged attempt to make voting tougher.
well, that's your word. got any of those, what do they call 'em, "facts" to support this "word" of yours?
It's conventional wisdom. Politics 101.
In 1982, Democrats clobbered Republicans in Ohio. Dick Celeste beat old man Rhodes, and most of the other statewide offices went Democratic.
Asked what had happened, one prominent Ohio Republican said, essentially, "Too many people voted."
(I wish I could show you a link to back that up. I spent entirely too much time today trying. Maybe I'll try again later. It happened.)
Quote:Quote:This Arizona proposal would seem to require people to register to vote in person. That's a big change. That means figuring out where the Board of Election is, perhaps driving downtown and paying for parking, then going in person to fill out a card, then presenting proof of citizenship.
again, your factual basis is? why have libraries and other agencies been conveniently excluded from your analysis of the horrible possibilities this minimal requirement will inflict? by statute, the arizona bmv's will accept and encourage voter registration with issuance and renewal of drivers' licenses. are you going to argue that requiring driver's licenses is a republican plot to keep democratic voters off the road?
Let's not get caught up in a side issue.
Presently, people may register to vote by mail. This is an additional convenience that encourages more people to register by making it easier.
By allowing registration by mail, the law leaves open a common Democratic get-out-the-vote strategy: registering people to vote by walking neighborhoods (usually poor, transient ones), signing people up to vote and then mailing in the cards for them.
The Arizona proposal would seem to eliminate this strategy.
Net result: Fewer citizens will be registered. Fewer citizens will vote.
It's that simple.
Quote:Quote:All I can do is suggest that some people do not believe they are in an economic position to call off work and go downtown between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on a week day and invest the time it takes to register to vote in person.
it is staggering the liberties you take. factual basis for claiming registration will be available only from 9-5 on weekdays? and only downtown?
Well, some boards of election (or DMVs or welfare offices) might open at 8 a.m. and close at 4:30.
Also, occasionally, boards of elections have been known to stay open past 5 once in a while -- usually right before the close of the registration period preceeding an election.
But, by and large, if one wants to register to vote, one should go to the board of elections between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Boards of elections are typically located in the downtown of the county seat.
Quote:you register to vote one time only. you act like it's a weekly event.
It's more common than "one-time only" -- especially if one moves around frequently, as many poor families sometimes do.
I've registered to vote about every two years since I graduated from high school.
Quote:Quote:I can also point to the practical result: If this thing happens in Arizona, fewer eligible voters will be registered to vote, meaning fewer people will vote.
And that's the concern of Democrats.
.
hooey. the concern of democrats is it will disproportionately effect democratic voters.
You are trying to parse something that need not be parsed.
Democrats want more people to vote and they believe it favors them in elections for more people to vote.
Quote:if i were inclined to make wild statements on the subject, i'd say that they really worry about losing all those illegal voters, both the living and the dead ones, who everone knows overwhelmingly vote democrat.
The right wing spin on this does feed quite a few standing myths about Democrats.
But it doesn't make any of them true.