Alabama Voting Rights Fighter Dies at the Age of 100

Alabama Voting Rights fighter dies at 100.

Annie Lee Cooper fought figuratively and literally for her right to vote. She has been recognized in various ways. She passed on after turning 100.

US Desires Third Party

"Given the lack of alternatives, it perhaps is no surprise that Americans' desires for a third party are as high as they've been in at least the last seven years. And while the formation of an official third party is not imminent, that desire may be manifested in voters' strong anti-incumbent sentiments this year."

While there are significant barriers to third party development put in place by corporate sponsored parties this desire cannot be denied forever. A multi-party democracy would have better voter turnout, be more representative, and would reduce much of the useless deadlock of our current system. You can register La Raza Unida by putting "LRU" in box 5 of your NM Voter Registration Form.

Same Day Voter Registration Would Reduce Polling Problems

Our Bernalillo County Clerk thinks that Same Day Voter Registration would reduce problems at the polls.

While this example relates to UNM students. The issues apply to other situations as well. And many experts agree that Same Day Voter Registration would increase voter turnout. More voter turnout is very important.

Now, it doesn't seem she is wanting it to be done as Election Day Registration. It seems she wants is as a support for early voting. That might still be helpful.

She said, "Additionally, I have lobbied extensively for same-day registration (SDR). If implemented in New Mexico, SDR, as it has been proposed and supported by me and the New Mexico County Clerks’ Affiliate, would allow voters to register and vote at the same time during the early voting period."

One Step Voting

Voter registration practices also limited the pool of voters. Over American history, requirements for voter registration have included residency, property or income, gender and race or ethnicity. The exact set of requirements varied by location, with different political parties trying to disqualify the constituents of their opponents from the right to vote. The imposition of voter registration requirements, and the other election reforms enacted at the beginning of the 20th Century, had dramatic effects on voter participation. Hansen (2001) reports that turnout declined in the South from 64.2% in 1888 to 29.0% in 1904. Outside the South, turnout fell from 86.2% in 1888 to 67.7% in 1912. Clearly the imposition of voter registration requirements imposed an important new hurdle on voter participation in the United States.

The hurdle of voter registration stands higher for certain groups of voters. The seminal work by Rosenstone and Wolfinger (1980), using the 1972 Current Population Survey’s Voter Supplement (CPS-VS), demonstrated that voter registration practices --- in particular practices like the extent to which election offices were open in evenings and during weekends, absentee voting, and the length of the pre-election closing period, all had some effect on voter turnout because they made it more difficult and costly for voters to participate. But the registration closing deadline had by far the greatest impact on turnout in the Rosenstone and Wolfinger study; residents of states with 30-day closing deadlines were anywhere from 3 to 9 percent less likely to turnout than residents of states with election day voter registration. And the impact of the registration closing deadline was greater for voters with lower levels of educational attainment, and those who were generally less able to navigate the voter registration process in their state.

...

In this paper we review the literature on the linkage between voter registration and turnout, with a particular emphasis on how election day registration works and how it impacts voter turnout. We then present our analysis of the 2000 CPS-VS, in which we estimate the potential national impact of election day registration in the United States. Using a novel counterfactual analysis, we examine not only the question about how much voter registration and turnout would increase if every state used election day registration, we also estimate the impact of this change on the composition of the American electorate. We find that the very groups who would be expected to find election day registration an easier process, those who are younger, more residentially mobile, lower on the socioeconomic ladder, nonwhite, and newly naturalized citizens of the US, would benefit in important ways from election day registration.

Read more on One Step Voting from the Voting Technology Project

Election Day Registration

Election Day Registration or Same Day Voter Registration would be a great way to improve our turnout and registration levels.

There are several bills being worked on for this. Vermont's S124 is one example.

Obama introduced Instant Runoff Voting legislation in 2002

As a state Senator in Illinois during the 2002 session, Barack Obama introduced SB 1789 which would have adopted instant runoff voting (IRV) for congressional and state primary elections in Illinois and authorized IRV for local elections.

Instant Runoff Voting would eliminate the "Spoiler Effect"

Instant Runoff Voting would eliminate the "Spoiler Effect" and provide real choice for voters!

In several races this past Tuesday the two-party system (duopoly) worked to give voters a minority view. If the vote is split between two similar candidates who have more than 50% and someone with less than 50% wins because of it then the duopoly system works against democracy and does not represent voter choice!

IRV would eliminate wasted votes, increase voter turnout, and increase voter choice!

11/2/10

Our way of life is one where all children are all our children; where we want everyone to have enough; and where we are willing to take a stand for each other. Vote, organize, and live THOSE values and we'll be better off!


We need to outvote the extremists! Go vote today!

Another Reason to Register and Vote - LRU!

Register La Raza Unida by writing in "LRU" in box 5 of your New Mexico Voter registration form! But not until after the election!!!

Fight Voter Suppression - VOTE!

Ping Pong

It seems like all that is needed for US voters to flip flop is a crisis. Many are expecting that to be true in the November elections as the economy continues to drag along.

Had the minimum wage been increased at the beginning of this crisis, the people working at those jobs would be spending more and in turn creating new jobs. Instead we have banksters continuing to rob society blind with tax payer money.

We'll see if this year brings another ping pong election. Most people only see two options, the openly corporatist party and the party of the middle-class. The illusion that "everyone" thinks they are middle-class in the US is not true. While those identifying as middle-class has grown, one study shows 47 percent of voters identify as working-class. And given that voter turnout is higher among college educated and higher income groups this number may be low.

So it is time for the working class to figure out what is in the interest of working families and organize, network, and vote for family friendly, working friendly, and justice friendly parties and candidates!

Tax the Wealthy!

It is always useful to think about what is possible. We often use the term "third party" and that's incorrect. That falls under the assumption that a "two-party" system is normal or natural. It is not, it is designed, just like markets.

Anything designed can be changed. And, in Oregon voters increased taxes on the wealthy!

But many in the Chicana and Chicano Movement are against voting. The same is true in many movements who are frustrated by politics as usual. There has been a lot of money invested in getting people not to vote. Watch this and remember that School Bond Election for Albuquerque Public Schools is Tuesday, February 5.

1/25/10

Looks like the President is a little off balance and needing to "reboot" his agenda. That's too bad as most of it was decent. But obviously not enough as Kucinich takes his party to task.

What is probably of most importance in the last month is the Suprem Court siding with corporatocracy over democracy. It is not like the system was pro-working-class to begin with. But now for sure things will be difficult.

What we will need for a fully functioning democracy is Instant Runoff Voting, Proportional Representation, Universal Voter Registration, and much more. Mainly we need to remove special interest money from politics!

Turnout would help. The US ranks 114th on the planet for voter turnout.