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Subscribe to RSSOpening up a new front in its legal battles with the Obama administration, the state of Arizona on Thursday challenged the federal Voting Rights Act, prompting a swift response from Attorney General Eric Holder.
"The Voting Rights Act plays a vital role in our society by ensuring that every American has the right to vote and to have that vote counted,” Holder said. “The Department of Justice will vigorously defend the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act in this case, as it has done successfully in the past.”
Arizona is challenging the law's requirement that the state seek Justice Department approval for any changes in how elections are conducted. Many states are subject to the law's pre-clearance requirement, generally to remedy past restrictions that discouraged minority voting.
"Arizona is still penalized for archaic violations that were corrected with the implementation of bilingual ballots prior to the 1974 elections," said the state's Attorney General Tom Horne. He noted that in 1974, Arizona became the second state to elect a Hispanic governor.
The Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional, Horne said, "because it suspends all changes to state election law, however innocuous, until pre-clearance is given by the federal government."
The state objects to the requirement that it seek federal approval to dissolve school districts that have no students and annex them to adjoining districts. Such a change would eliminate elected school board positions from the dissolved districts.
"A statute as innocuous as this has to go through an approval process with the Justice Department,” reads the state’s lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal court in Washington, DC. “Such laws cannot be justified by any power delegated to the federal government by the Constitution.”
Vowing to fight the challenge, Holder said the provisions challenged in this case, including the pre-clearance requirement, "were reauthorized by Congress in 2006 with overwhelming and bipartisan support,” he said. “The Justice Department will continue to enforce the Voting Rights Act, including each of the provisions challenged today.”
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Any idea why all these red states are suddenly in favor of voter suppression?
These right wing nut jobs will not be satisfied until only land owners are allowed to vote...
Oh WAIT - they've already proposed that...
They want to take their country back all right - all the way to the 19th century!
Exactly. Suddenly this becomes an issue where it never was before.
And you really don't have to look any further than ALEC to figure out why.
It would be nice taking you into the land of "reality"....but they have strict immigration laws against the mentally challenged.
Why are all the 'Blue' states unable to pay their bills and going broke, and as always....looking for the federal government for a bailout???? Figure that one out yet libby?
There appears to be a epidemic of posters commenting under 'bob lots of numbers' who can't pull their heads out of the a@@!
You read one - you've read them all... *yawn*
Talk about cheaper by the dozen! lol
Feisty, some of the things the ultra-right want to achieve would take us back to Colonial times.
I don't think that's true, bobby. Texas has one of the largest deficits of all, and plenty of the red states have been in trouble enough. The states without deficits generally tend to be those states that are rich in natural resources, like oil, gas, and coal, like Montana, which happens to have a democratic governor.
These charts seem helpful for that:
http://www.stateline.org/live/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=136&languageId=1&contentId=15158
http://www.aarp.org/money/taxes/info-01-2011/state_budget_gaps.html?CMP=KNC-360I-GOOGLE-MON-TAX&HBX_PK=state_budget_deficits&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=state%2Bbudget%2Bdeficits&utm_campaign=G_Money&360cid=SI_232713695_6436623437_1
Why do the GOTP Governors use federal dollars or deferments to balance their budgets?
Slick Ricks Voter ID bill says that you can use your gun permit 'to carry', as proof of your identity!
geez louise; what is constitutional to these guys? something being unconstitutional must be the new argument of the day....social security, medicare, medicaid, the 14th and 16th amendments, the voters right act, obama cares. the list is so long now it's hard to remember them all. first it was the stimulus failed, then it was obamacare, then the debt, now those working poor moochers who do not pay any income tax (which would make corporations, since they are people now, moochers also.)
Anna Molly
Exactly. Suddenly this becomes an issue where it never was before.
And you really don't have to look any further than ALEC to figure out why.
Hi Anna Molly,
We need to expose ALEC so it can be dumped!!!
ALEC is not a lobby; it is not a front group. It is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, behind closed doors, corporations hand state legislators the changes to the law they desire that directly benefit their bottom line. Along with legislators, corporations have membership in ALEC. Corporations sit on all nine ALEC task forces and vote with legislators to approve “model” bills. They have their own corporate governing board which meets jointly with the legislative board. (ALEC says that corporations do not vote on the board.) They fund almost all of ALEC's operations. Participating legislators, overwhelmingly conservative Republicans, then bring those proposals home and introduce them in statehouses across the land as their own brilliant ideas and important public policy innovations—without disclosing that corporations crafted and voted on the bills
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=ALEC_Corporations
The Republican's just don't want people to vote. And of course Bob is full of bull when he says blue states are going broke.
ALEC: Slave Labor Through Destruction of Worker’s Rights
http://veracitystew.com/2011/08/07/alec-slave-labor-through-destruction-of-workers-rights/
Who is behind ALEC?
It should come as no surprise that the Brothers Koch, Charles and David, are major players in ALEC. Lisa Graves, Executive Director for the Center for Media and Democracy in Madison, Wisconsin, wrote an article for The Nationmagazine, ALEC Exposed: The Koch Connection, in which she explains their influence:
Hundreds of ALEC’s model bills and resolutions bear traces of Koch DNA: raw ideas that were once at the fringes but that have been carved into “mainstream” policy through the wealth and will of Charles and David Koch. Of all the Kochs’ investments in right-wing organizations, ALEC provides some of the best returns: it gives the Kochs a way to make their brand of free-market fundamentalism legally binding.
In addition to the politicians and corporations, several think tanks serve as members including the NRA, the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice (started by the “shock doctrine” mastermind Milton Friedman), Dick Armey’s Institute for Policy Innovation, and the Mackinac Center for Public policy, which spent a lot of time meddling in the Wisconsin protests.
Also on board are several “scholars,” the majority of whom have direct ties to the Koch brothers. The most recognizable is Stephen Moore, the founder of the Club for Growth and a former senior fellow at the Cato Institute, founded by Charles Koch in 1977.
http://veracitystew.com/2011/07/17/alec-an-introduction-to-the-koch-brothers-undercover-politics-video/
http://veracitystew.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Prison-Labor-300x219.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ1eetTP-Gk&feature=player_embedded
Thank you, Beverly, for your tireless efforts to expose ALEC. All these conservatives somehow have the idea that the governors have thought these things up for themselves, randomly, and yet simultaneously.
They refuse to accept that they, and not the liberals, are the ones who are tools of the shadowy groups like ALEC, Club for Growth, Americans for Prosperity, and all the rest that serve as fronts for the corporatists/globalists.
Most of them don't realize that the "shock doctrine" was first posited by their own hero Milton Friedman, and not for benign purposes. They laugh derisively, claiming that it is merely a liberal conspiracy theory, when in fact, it is a conservative conspiracy theory.
A conservative conspiracy that encompasses a LOT more than just destroying the unions.
http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_8f26d924-b30c-11e0-ac6a-001cc4c002e0.html
http://host.madison.com/ct/news/opinion/column/john_nichols/article_dab4424f-057f-544b-aa09-5a6c0a4adadd.html
It is precisely this lack of critical thinking by conservatives, who seem content to allow others in the shadows to think for them, so long as they see profit in it for themselves, that has placed us in our current peril.
The only conclusion I come to is the right wing gets more paranoid by the day. AZ has gone nuts.
lol
Is Eric Holder also protecting the voting rights of all those dead people that voted for the Hope Dope in 2008? When is Holder going to be indicted for his illegal gun sales to Mexican drug lords during "Operation Fast and Furious" Where did the drug money go??? To Obummer's campaign fund?? Subpoena Howard Dean and Baby Huey Robert Gibbs! When is Holder going to indict the Black panthers that intimidated WHITE voters in Philadelphia??? When are people going to realize that the biggest racist in the nation occupies the White House now??
Alright bob, Dead people voting? The "New" Black Panthers? Sorry, that pig won't fly.
Wait you must of got lost on the way to Fox. The Tea Bags on Fox are calling around looking for you. They're apparently a quart low.
Really? Enough with the idiotic statements. Pull your head out.
The biggest voter fraud case took place in Florida during the 2000 election, when President-Elect Gore was not allowed to serve as President. Remember the butter-fly ballots.
Sadly, Job1, I think all people with connected brain cells remember!
bob-2579213
Is Eric Holder also protecting the voting rights of all those dead people that voted for the Hope Dope in 2008? When is Holder going to be indicted for his illegal gun sales to Mexican drug lords during "Operation Fast and Furious" Where did the drug money go??? To Obummer's campaign fund?? Subpoena Howard Dean and Baby Huey Robert Gibbs! When is Holder going to indict the Black panthers that intimidated WHITE voters in Philadelphia??? When are people going to realize that the biggest racist in the nation occupies the White House now??
Sponge Bob, you are laughably Res ipsa
As usual everything you say is full of holes.
See if you can adsorb this and get your facts straight...
Politico reported:
You are the true embodiment of a simpleton, just like the other tea- NUTS here who write and create your very own fables of injustices. Hopefully, you'll overcome your fixations.
FYI: Dead people don't vote!!!
wait for it- "but you need an ID to buy booze". Well, yes, you do. Keeps under age people from getting alcohol illegally. Have people been voting illegally?
If your answer is 'yes', tell us how bad it is- how many cases have been reported?
If your answer is 'yes', tell us- is this some new phenomena, or would it have been a problem for years, now? If it's been a problem for years now, why the interest only now?
So many questions, so few answers (that make sense)....
dbo: what is really interesting is the party affiliation of the persons who have actually been convicted of voter fraud in the last 20 years.... care to take a guess on those statistics ?
Bet I don't have to...
Oh, and if someone on the street registers me to vote, and I give 'em Elmer Fudd as my name, I am not 'fraudulently voting'. That only takes place when (IF) I then vote., and vote as Elmer Fudd and again as DBO.
Not if your real name is Elmer Fudd, and you have your conceal carry permit to prove it...
It's easier to hunt bunnies or wabbits if you can sneak up on them and then *flash* out comes your gun from behind a trench coat.
Voter suppression is and has been common for the Republican party for years. They want only land owners to vote. They want literacy tests but not for white land owners, just black and hispanics land owners. Why anyone votes for a Republican against their own interests is beyond me. I expect that most of the top 2% will vote for them, however the other 98% control the outcome of elections and we better wake up and vote in 2012 before we lose the right by Republican hands.
Hey Ana....did you catch the last Mid Terms elections???
Or....did the elections interfer with welfare check day?
Hey Ana....everyone was a land(home) owner when Blarney Skank and Christopher the Dud were in charge of supervising Freddie Mack and Fannie Mae....you know just before the Democrats ruined this Country and the World financially?
Bob lotsa numbers- I hope they didn't ID you before they sold you whatever it is you drank for breakfast this morning....
Yes I caught the mid terms. Democrats fell asleep across the country. Except in my state. We voted and got rid of another actor pretending to be a statesman who sent our state into a downward spiral. Our credit rating even went up last month because of the good solid policies of our new Democratic governor.
Because of that mistake I doubt anyone sleeps through 2012. With Congress approval at 12% I think everyone will be voting for their best interests which is Democrats.
Don't you think people on welfare and ones who are losing their homes have enough problems without you demoralizing them and attempting to use them as insults towards me? Doesn't work. I have nothing but empathy for them and want my tax dollars used to assist them instead of the wealthy. The majority of posters, Democrat and Republicans, are with me on this issue. You are a minority. But if it makes you feel better keep up your insults. It shows your true colors: Mr. Potter would be proud!
This Bob has even more numbers than I do.
The mid-term election where only 37% of the voters voted.
Nice post Ana. This new bob is a rabid Tea Bag!
They may like to call him Governor Moonbeam but Governor Brown fiscal policies are rock solid. The GOTP hates it when their policies are out there for all the world to see. I maybe dating myself a bit but I remember his GOP successor, George Deukmejian, did when he took office. He got rid of the open door policy and shut out the public.
Governor Brown is an above board class act.
Bob188, do you know Bob257 ?
If not, Bob188 I would like to introduce you to Bob 257. I think you have many things in common.
Jerry Brown came back to pound the last nail in California's coffin.
Gotta say one thing about Brown and his union cohorts' continued attempts at tax increases. They're relentless, unfortunately unable to focus on anything else, like jobs.
In the mean time California has plunged to the bottom in net job creation. From 2001 - 2009 we ranked either 1st or 2nd, but in 2010 we dropped to 50th. We lost 4600 businesses last year.
Oh, but they have the time and money to get more regulations through, Clean Air Bill 133 legislation, and pro illegal aliens legislation to continue to breeze through Sacramento!!! We have plenty of money for those 'problems'!!!!
As California goes, so goes the nation!
CA property owners didn't have to wait for "the big one" to drop their homes into the ocean, their already under water. With propety values down, their is no construction industry. No building industry, no income taxes. No taxes, no governement spending to business. No business, no jobs. No jobs, no income taxes. No jobs, no demand. No demand, no business. No business, no jobs. And the wheel goes round and round.
The only quick solution is massive spending, paid for (by tax increases.) Since tax increases are impossible with Republicans, the economy will take a LONG time to recover, unless they are voted out of office.
I think on of the Bob's has been SMOKING 'numbers'. Lots and lots of them.
The Obama Administration will not rest until the country's elections are as fair and free from fraud as those in the President's home base of Chicago.
Vote early and often.
The Republican dream, is to have only rich white males vote.
Bob -- I don't understand why you belittle the process. Voting is a right of all citizens, and the Voting Rights Act was enacted because some states weren't allowing that constitutional right. If you think elections in your area aren't free and fair, you also have the right to have the department of justice look into your situation. If you really don't think that the department of justice is without bias, then you may as well pack your bags and find a country where you have a higher degree of confidence in the system. Almost all countries do recognize our system as one of the most fair, which is why when where are apparent exceptions to the rule it causes such a stir. Arizona doesn't like the fact that it has to have the federal government's approval for actions it feels are Arizona-only concerns, but it is because states in the past abused the system that the law was put into place.
Kate: I think that Bob 188 was refering to an old joke in Chicago politics, once rumored to allow people to vote in more than one pricinct. Voting early would allow the "multi-voters" enought time to get into more than one voting booth. The rumor began when eligible voter lists were reviewed and the same name would come up with multiple addresses. The presence of more than one "John Patrick Murphy" in Chicago wouldn't surprise anyone familiar with the City of Chicago. Vote fraud in Chicago has repeatedly been stated, but never proven, despite over 100 years of federal investigations.
The Republican dream is to have only Republicans vote.
Ho Hum. The liberals continue their campaign to get voting rights for illegal aliens or, as Democrats call them; "unregistered Democrats." Only real traitors to our nation and our constitution would want citizens of other countries to vote in OUR elections. As soon as we get Hussein out of office in 2012, Eric Holder needs to be put on trial for treason.
That is the dumbest statement of the day. No wonder the Republicans are Dumbing Down America.
Like the illegal immigrants vote. Why would they risk getting deported to vote in an election that means nothing to them. President Obama has deported more illegals than Bush every did. So your argument that illegals will vote for Obama is insane at best.
Due to years of sailing I have met lots and lots of Americans living in Mexico and none of them wanted to vote in Mexican politics.
We can barely get Americans to vote and you are worried about illegals.
damage and others like him are too wrapped up in their faux news bs that facts only confuse them. They still cling to the "blue states are welfare states" and "obama is a marxist" along with their other low information ideologies as to be blinded to the simplest truths. The sad part is that they continue to frighten the "blue hair" generation into believing the ignorance, and as mid terms proved, can make inroads into mainstream politics. We are spiraling into an idiocracy at an alarming rate.
Nice post Ana. This new bob is a rabid Tea Bag! They may like to call him Governor Moonbeam but Governor Brown fiscal policies are rock solid. The GOTP hates it when their policies are out there for all the world to see. I maybe dating myself a bit but I remember his GOP successor, George Deukmejian, did when he took office. He got rid of the open door policy and shut out the public.
Governor Brown is an above board class act.
Yeah, but now we know they are nothing but the religious right with a new name with more hate and dollops of racism.
That's okay their approval rating is below Muslims and atheist.
I think maybe you need to put the tea-bags away and grow up and do what is best for our country and not for Norquist and his rich friends.
the intelligentsia will never let it happen again. Most progressives still were under the impression that most americans were smart enough to see through the TP BS and look what happened. We are spiraling into an idiocracy at a faster rate than expected....
Look in the mirror Rob. You're you!
The Tea-Party seem to say the same thing everyday! Hate is all they talk about! I can only guess that Bob is a member of the Klan or white citizens council! I feel sorry for you! Maybe you just need a hug from a family member.
Anybody with a brain not stuffed with tea-bags.
All of you left wing liberals please explain to me what this article is really about. From reading the above it appears Arizona wants to dissolve school districts that have no students and annex them with adjoining districts, without having to get federal approval, so what's wrong with eliminating school board elections from dissolved districts? Why is the DOJ not just rubber stamping this request, unless there is more to it, since Holder states "the DOJ will defend the Voting Rights Act and each of the provisions challenged today." So what other provisions, if any, have been challenged by Arizona. I really don't understand why is story by NBC is so shallow in that it really says nothing of importance about the case. I guess it's just something for you lefties to try and make something out of nothing.
BTW, I agree the DOJ is responsible for enforcing the "Voting Rights Act", even if it is outdated and no longer needed.
The voting rights act is very much needed. Any group that is in power wants to maintain that power by any means they can. The State of Arizona would very much like to remove the requirement that they submit their changes to the DOJ for approval. If they no longer have that requirement, AZ can change voting pricincts, change requirements to be eligible, pretty much do as they please. AZ wants to get out from under the blanket requirement. AZ is using the school boards as a pretext to the blanket removal.
The current political pwoer base in AZ is white (i.e. N. European ancestry) Republicans. The population of AZ (as is much of the SW) is becoming more and more of hispanic heritage. In order for the current power base to maintain their position for a longer time period, they would use every means they can.
That is what is the big deal.
sfcret, you left out the part where Arizona is worried about losing voting school board members. Even from dissolved school districts. They seem to want board members who have no districts...
THAT's the problem. And they talk about voting rights and fair practices... Wow!
As I have said before to people who make no sense...
Bob and whatever # he wants to use at the moment, needs a warm bottle, a nice long nap and if need be ...someone to change the little guy's pants.....nighty nighty Bobby...
Little guys like him love to argue and argue and argue..............but say nothing.
..