DEPARTMENTS
ANTI-WAR
DEATH PENALTY
ELECTIONS
ENVIRONMENT
GLBT ISSUES
HEMP
INTERNATIONAL
NATIONAL
REVIEWS
|
Departments Election Issues Playing field is tilted against voters It’s worth remembering why. Rules matter. Opportunity is vital. A level playing field, clear goals, fair referees all count. This success comes from the amazing talent and extraordinary hard work and discipline of these gifted athletes, supported by family and skilled coaching. But it also derives in part from what we chose to do as a society in 1972, when we included Title IX in the Civil Rights Act. Title IX outlawed discrimination by gender in any education program that received federal spending. It didn’t mention sports, but its effects were electric. A 2006 study showed that the participation of women in athletics in high school had increased 900 percent, and more than 450 in college. Once women were given a fair shot, they demonstrated what they could do. We created the rules that allowed these extraordinary talents to triumph. This week is the anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Clearly, it led to the voting rights and political empowerment of African Americans and people of color who previously suffered discrimination. That act was fundamental to our democracy, extending the right to vote to those who had been denied it under segregation for so long. Yet today, we are not celebrating the extension of democratic rights, but witnessing the partisan constriction of those rights. In 14 states where Republicans have control, they have passed laws constricting the right to vote. Many now are requiring official photo ID, some are purging the voter rolls, some have limited the ability to help register and get out the vote, and some have limited early voting. They claim they are trying to deter fraud, but they produce no evidence of it. This is, as former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican, wrote, “A mockery of the democracy we put on display every Election Day.” As New York Times columnist Thomas Edsall concluded, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that the Republican Party has decided that they must “tilt the playing field to win.” In sad imitation of the poll tax and other impediments the segregated states of the South used to keep African Americans from voting, the constrictions all have a disproportionate effect on the young, minorities, the poor — those least likely to be Republican supporters. In this election — which is likely to be very close, with the outcome determined in a few states such as Florida, Wisconsin or Pennsylvania — these laws may have dramatic effect. By discouraging many from going to the polls, they could make the difference in a state where the candidates are running neck and neck. The Voting Rights Act, 47 years old this week, and the Civil Rights Act opened up opportunity. They made the rules clear and equal. They made America better. Now those seeking to rig the rules will, if successful, make America bitter. In the Olympics victories, we see the talent unleashed by making the rules fair. In our elections this fall, we may witness the poisons injected by trying to fix the game. |
|
Recent Election Issues Articles Story notes For television producer Shonda Rhimes Timeline 2004 – One more look at the Ohio election Dysfunction at Maricopa County Elections department disenfranchises tens of thousands SWING STATE: How the Fix was Nixed in Ohio Romney may have lost, but the voting system is still broken OPINION: Your vote got counted. Here's why Matrix of Deceit: Forcing Pre-election and Exit polls to Match Fraudulent Vote Counts Bifani rap on the state of the elections in the USA An America Yet To Be Born Voter Supression In Center City Allentown PA An Election Protection Agenda for 2016 Vote totals for Obama and Romney inexplicably decreasing in three Ohio counties Opening of polls in Franklin County on Election Day Fitrakis returns from federal court hearing on Ohio voting machine software patch Good news for OSU students trying to vote Video of vote flipping in Pennsylvania Bob Fitrakis from the hearing today Reports from election observers and voters: Broken scanners and too many provisionals Nearly 1000 voters forced to vote provisional in a single Franklin county precinct Breaking News: Judge denies request to stop illegal software patches Election watch report from Columbus Ohio Action at the Driving Park polling site The Battleground States: True Vote Sensitivity Analysis Woman not allowed to vote Breaking News: Results of today’s hearing in state court on the uncertified and untested software Election Protection News Conference - Pt. 1 Election Protection News Conference - Pt. 2 Another Husted dirty trick in Ohio: Secretary of State's Office admits direct reporting function of untested election software OHIO – VOTE HEIST 2012? Invoices prove Romney-related voting company Hart InterCivic does maintenance on Cincinnati voting machines Columbus Free Press Editor and Publisher files suit in federal court to stop suspicious software November 5 Press Conference: FEDERAL E-VOTING LAWSUIT FILED VS. OHIO SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN HUSTED GREEN PARTY PRESIDENTIAL AND CONGRESSIONAL NOMINEES REVEAL DETAILS The electronic architecture of voter suppression As Ohio Faces vote-rigging lawsuit, are dems, liberals, election officials ready to safeguard votes? Busting election theft attempts Will Your Vote Even Get Counted? The Free Press confirms installation, secret justification of uncertified last minute election tabulation reporting software in Ohio Will "experimental" software patches affect the Ohio vote? Why we fight to prevent stolen elections in 2012 and beyond Mike Connell: Man in the Middle Gripping documentary exposes voter suppression and election rigging in the 2004 presidential election Thom Pintello: I Just Want My Vote to Count" Why Romney has already won this electronic election, unless… Partisan lies about the security of Hart e-voting machines continue to flow from Hamilton County Romney family and friends will help tabulate the vote count in Cincinnati: Hart Intercivic holds maintenance contracts on their own machines Election software company Scytl on the run from the Free Press, from one fake address to the next The case for irrational voting Why are legal scholars dismissing election fraud?: Manufactured skepticism and exit polls Jamia Shepard: Advocate for Voter Rights Does the Romney family now own your e-vote? Secretary of State’s directive allowing early voting during three days before Election Day long overdue: Lawsuits and voter confusion could have been avoided “It’s Ok to leave your abuser,” says Green Party VP candidate Will H.I.G.-owned e-voting machines give Romney the White House? Ignore debate zingers, focus on issues Bob Fitrakis speaks at Neighborhood House candidate forum Last three days before election early voting reinstated in Ohio...sort of Book Review: A Must Read for All U.S. Citizens Vote counting company tied to Romney Will 9 GOP governors electronically flip Romney into the White House? Ohio Elections Commission finds probable cause that anti-Issue 2 ad is misleading Who owns Scytl? George Soros isn’t in the voting machines, but the intelligence community is Will the GOP steal America's 2012 election? Pragmatic Racism Four ways the Ohio GOP is already stealing the 2012 election Gubernatorial Recall Ballots Saved from Destruction in Waukesha County, WI - For Now... What Paul Ryan has and Obama wants Playing field is tilted against voters Colonels in mirrored sunglasses The new Jim Crow: Massive disenfranchisement returns Mishandled Redistricting disenfranchises 3,000 voters Corporate vote theft and the future of American democracy PART ONE New certifications, planned expansion Progressive morality Was the election stolen in Wisconsin - what are the odds? Columbus Free Press in the news: A million voters purged Wisconsin: New year, same stench Republican retreat - Ohio House Republicans defeat their own voter suppression bill Elections: What are they good for? The peace movement needs Kucinich, with or without Congress Ron Paul, "Progressive" for who? Do We Approve of Murder Based on Political Party? Pollsters Don't Want You to Know The State of Obama's 2008 Promises The election we should be following Booing the Golden Rule Six Problems with New Hampshire Elections The hollow democracy Read Election Issues Articles by Year: |
FREE PRESS EMAIL UPDATE
Donate to the Free Press Election Protection Fund to help us investigate and monitor election fraud in this year's election.
FOLLOW US ON
twitter
facebook
SEARCH THE FREEPRESS
1021 E. Broad St. Columbus, OH 43205 | 614.253.2571 | truth@freepress.org
All content © 1970-2012 The Columbus Free Press
Disclaimer