Let Me Vote - Count My Vote (93)
Where black voters stand 50 years after the Voting Rights Act was passed
Written by Niraj Chokshi | The Washington Post
African Americans have come a long way politically over the past half-century, but disparities remain.
In the five decades since the passage of the Voting Rights Act, blacks have made significant strides in registering and turning out to vote, according to a new study. Yet, the policies enacted tend to better represent the interests of white Americans and blacks continue to be underrepresented in elected office.
U.S. 'Electoral Integrity' Ranked 45th Among 107 Nations, 'Worst of Established Democracies'
Written by Brad Friedman | The Brad Blog
Electoral integrity has not improved in the U.S. over the past year, according to a new study. In fact, elections in Mexico now have more integrity than ours, the new survey, based on the observations of some 1,400 international election experts, finds.
DNC Adopts Resolution Calling for 'Right-to-Vote' Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
Written by Brad Friedman | The Brad Blog
While Republican state legislatures around the nation have been working to limit access to the polls over recent years, Democrats moved a non-partisan initiative forward over the weekend to help expand --- or, at least, to help protect --- the franchise for all Americans.
The Next Attack on Voting Rights
Written by Jamella Bouie | Slate.com
The last round of voter restrictions came after the 2010 Republican wave, when new GOP majorities passed voter identification laws and slashed ballot access in states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Florida. Now, three months after the 2014 Republican wave, another class of state lawmakers are prepping another assault on voting rights under the same guise of “uniformity” and “ballot integrity.”
Ferguson Reid’s movement can bring change to Virginia
Written by Wills Dahl | Baltimore Post Examiner
It’s the cusp of his 90th birthday, but civil rights icon Ferguson Reid is still gearing up for the long haul. “We have the races in 2015, 2017, and 2019 to get the majority,” he tells me, referring to the off-year elections for control of Virginia’s state government. “And this election will determine whether or not we’re able to get a House majority for 2021.”
Alabama Secretary Of State: It’s Time To ‘Forgive People’ For Voter Suppression And ‘Move On’
Written by Alice Ollstein | Think Progress
Just weeks ahead of the 50th anniversary of the violent clashes in Selma that led to passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, lawmakers introduced a bill to restore that law’s power to protect voters against discrimination.
Georgia’s New Plan To Make Voting Even Harder
Written by Alice Ollstein | Think Progress
A plan to further slash the availability of early voting is rapidly advancing in Georgia.
A committee of state lawmakers voted along party lines last week to slash the state’s early voting days from 21 to 12. The full legislature could call a vote on the cuts at any time, and with Republicans holding a majority of the House seats, the measure would likely pass.
Fewer provisional ballots cast in 2014
Written by Darrel Rowland | The Columbus Dispatch
More than 15,000 Ohioans tried to cast a ballot but didn’t have their votes counted in the November 2014 general election. And that’s good news, says a report unveiled yesterday by the Ohio secretary of state’s office, because it’s fewer than those who had their ballots thrown out in the previous gubernatorial election four years earlier.
John Nichols: The right to vote can and should be guaranteed
Written by John Nichols | The Cap Times
Congressmen Mark Pocan and Keith Ellison have made it their mission to answer threats to voting rights in America with a solution sufficient to a great democracy.
Kemba Smith's Fight for Felon Voting Rights
Written by Jenee Desmond Harris | The Root
(The Root) -- In 1994 Kemba Smith was sentenced to 24 1/2 years in prison after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy in a cocaine ring. The story of the harsh punishment dealt to a minor player -- who admitted to lying and breaking the law for her abusive boyfriend but never used or sold drugs -- caught the attention of criminal-justice advocates across the country.
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McAuliffe restores rights of more than 5,100 ex-offenders
Written by Bob Brown | Richmond Times Dispatch
James W. Ray sat silently in the front row of the church meeting room, rubbing his eyes. Ray wasn’t mourning a loss. Rather, the Vietnam veteran and felon wept over something that had just been returned to him — the right to vote.
Maine 'Phantom Ballot' Mystery Solved
Written by Brad Friedman | The Brad Blog
We recently detailed the fascinating story of 21 "phantom ballots", all cast for Republican state Senate candidate Cathleen Manchester, which, when reportedly "discovered" during a November 18th recount of the very close Maine Senate race, ended up flipping the results from the slim victory Democratic candidate Catherine Breen thought she had achieved on Election Night to a "win" for her GOP opponent.
Voter Suppression Efforts in Five States and Their Effect on the 2014 Midterm Elections
Written by Ben Jealous and Ryan P. Haygood |Center for American Progress
“So long as I do not firmly and irrevocably possess the right to vote, I do not possess myself. I cannot make up my mind—it is made up for me. I cannot live as a democratic citizen.”
— Martin Luther King Jr.
Controversy and 'Recount' for U.S. House Seat in Arizona's 2nd Congressional District
Written by Brad Friedman | The Brad Blog
Razor-thin margin, failed tabulators, untallied ballots, terrible 'recount' provisions leave Barber-McSally contest unsettled...
Latest Expand and Protect Social Security News
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Screwing With and Screwing the Elderly and Disabled
Social Security checks to rise just 0.3% in 2017
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Seizing on Popular Support, Dems Unite on Expanding Social Security
'A few years ago, expanding Social Security was considered a radical idea. Now, it's the official position of the Democratic Party'
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Clinton and Sanders Debate How Much to Expand Social Security
Last night on the debate stage, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, the two candidates vying for the Democratic nomination for…
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The Damned Lies: Attacking the Trust in America's Retirement System
Ever wonder why you hear Republicans and the Right-wing media constantly saying that Social Security is going bankrupt? This drumbeat…
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Elizabeth Warren Wants To Make Up Missing Social Security Increase
Elizabeth Warren would like to send every senior citizen and disabled veteran in America a check for $580.
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Democrats win as Social Security cuts removed from Senate highway bill
Two provisions to cut Social Security benefits in the proposed highway bill caused Democrats in both the Senate and House…
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Strengthen, Expand Social Security
As boxes of petitions signed by 2 million Americans were hauled to the Capitol on Thursday, Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced…
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The Real Social Security Crisis Is Income Inequality
Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) has called out his Senate Republican colleagues for “creating a phony crisis” with regard to Social…
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Why Is No One Talking About the GOP’s Plan to Send Millions of Disabled Americans Into Poverty?
Despite their virtues, many conservative Republicans have an unfortunate habit of picking on the weak and disadvantaged, slandering the people…
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GOP Assault on Social Security Could be 'Death Sentence' for Nation's Disabled
Republican opposition to a plan that would shore up a critical government safety-net program amounts to a new front in…
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House rule sets up election-year battle over Social Security
Buried in new rules that will govern the House for the next two years is a provision that could force…
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'Hostage-Takers': Republicans Go After Social Security on Very First Day
Advocacy groups vow to fight back against what they believe is a preliminary "stealth attack" that portends a wider assault…
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5 Most Economically Vulnerable Groups of Aging Americans Who Need Social Security
(Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from a new book, “Social Security Works! Why Social Security…
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5 Most Economically Vulnerable Groups of Aging Americans Who Need Social Security
(Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from a new book, “Social Security Works! Why Social Security…
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New Polling Shows Overwhelming Support for Adding a Caregiver Credit to Social Security
Poll shows that 68% of Americans favor counting caregiving for small children, chronically disabled relatives, and aging family members towards…
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Latest News
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Trump administration's voter suppression attempts ahead of midterms are not only 'morally wrong,' they're illegal +
Imagine going to the polls on Election Day and discovering that your ballot could be collected and reviewed by the… Read More
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ACLU Blueprints Offer Vision to Cut US Incarceration Rate in Half by Prioritizing 'People Over Prisons' +
ACLU Blueprints Offer Vision to Cut US Incarceration Rate in Half by Prioritizing 'People Over Prisons' Read More
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As Florence Makes Landfall, Poorest Once More Likely to Suffer Most From Storm's Destruction +
"These disasters drag into the light exactly who is already being thrown away," notes Naomi Klein Read More
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How about some good news? Kansas Democratic Representative advances bill for Native Peoples. +
How about some good news? Kansas Democratic Representative advances bill for Native Peoples. Read More
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How One Dying Man Changed The Debate About The Tax Bill +
What mattered was that he showed up — that he put himself in front of the people whose opinions on… Read More
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Democrats Just Won a Major Victory in Virginia +
On a night of Democratic victories, one of the most significant wins came in Virginia, where the party held onto… Read More
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Repealing the Jim Crow law that keeps 1.5 million Floridians from voting. +
A seismic political battle that could send shockwaves all the way to the White House was launched last week in… Read More
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Nuclear Weapons: Who Pays, Who Profits? +
In an interview with Reuters conducted a month after he took office, Donald Trump asserted that the U.S. had “fallen… Read More
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Sessions issues sweeping new criminal charging policy +
Attorney General Jeff Sessions overturned the sweeping criminal charging policy of former attorney general Eric H. Holder Jr. and directed… Read More
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Featured Social Security News
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Screwing With and Screwing the Elderly and Disabled +
Social Security checks to rise just 0.3% in 2017 Read More
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The Damned Lies: Attacking the Trust in America's Retirement System +
Ever wonder why you hear Republicans and the Right-wing media constantly saying that Social Security is going bankrupt? This drumbeat… Read More
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Elizabeth Warren Wants To Make Up Missing Social Security Increase +
Elizabeth Warren would like to send every senior citizen and disabled veteran in America a check for $580. Read More
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Why Is No One Talking About the GOP’s Plan to Send Millions of Disabled Americans Into Poverty? +
Despite their virtues, many conservative Republicans have an unfortunate habit of picking on the weak and disadvantaged, slandering the people… Read More
-
GOP Assault on Social Security Could be 'Death Sentence' for Nation's Disabled +
Republican opposition to a plan that would shore up a critical government safety-net program amounts to a new front in… Read More
-
'Hostage-Takers': Republicans Go After Social Security on Very First Day +
Advocacy groups vow to fight back against what they believe is a preliminary "stealth attack" that portends a wider assault… Read More
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Fight for Big Ideas: Expand Social Security +
Why did Democrats lose on election night? Because not enough of them were fighting for big ideas. As Sen. Bernie… Read More
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Almost Every Slice of American Society Wants To Strengthen Social Security Except Washington Insiders +
Most Americans want better benefits, and they agree on how to pay for them. As strengthening Social Security becomes a… Read More
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