Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
Last December, the NAACP released a report titled Defending Democracy: Confronting Modern Barriers to Voting Rights in America. The report reveals “direct connections between the trend of increasing, unprecedented African American and Latino voter turnout and an onslaught of restrictive measures across the country designed to stem electoral strength among communities of color.”
Benjamin Jealous, NAACP President and CEO, said, “It’s been more than a century since we’ve seen such a tidal wave of assaults on the right to vote. Historically, when voting rights are attacked, it’s done to facilitate attacks on other rights. It is no mistake that the groups who are behind this are simultaneously attacking very basic women’s rights, environmental protections, labor rights, and educational access for working people and minorities.” He added, “Voting rights attacks are the flip side of buying a democracy. First you buy all the leaders you can, and then you suppress as many votes as possible of the people who might object.”
I should add that African American and Latino voters aren’t the only people who are being targeted by the “block the vote” effort. Young people and the elderly in some states may also face hurdles if they hope to exercise their right to vote in the November elections.
From the NAACP report:
“The heart of the modern block the vote campaign is a wave of restrictive government-issued photo identification requirements. In a coordinated effort, legislators in thirty-four states introduced bills imposing such requirements. Many of these bills were modeled on legislation drafted by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)—a conservative advocacy group whose founder explained: ‘Our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down.’”
In a Nation article titled The Koch Brothers, ALEC and the Savage Assault on Democracy, John Nichols addresses the issue of ALEC’s involvement in the “block the vote” effort:
For the Koch brothers and their kind, less democracy is better. They fund campaigns with millions of dollars in checks that have helped elect the likes of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and Ohio Governor John Kasich. And ALEC has made it clear, through its ambitious “Public Safety and Elections Task Force,” that while it wants to dismantle any barriers to corporate cash and billionaire bucks’ influencing elections, it wants very much to erect barriers to the primary tool that Americans who are not CEOs have to influence the politics and the government of the nation: voting.
That crude calculus, usually cloaked in bureaucracy and back-room dealmaking, came into full view in 2011.
Across the country, and to a greater extent than at any time since the last days of Southern resistance to desegregation, voting rights were being systematically diminished rather than expanded.
ALEC has been organizing and promoting the assault, encouraging its legislative minions to enact rigid Voter ID laws and related attacks on voting rights in more than three dozen states.
With their requirements that the millions of Americans who lack driver’s licenses and other forms of official paperwork go out and purchase identification cards in order to cast ballots, the Voter ID push put in place new variations on an old evil: the poll tax.
Some states are becoming extremely selective about the types of voter ID’s that they will accept at the polls. Take Texas, for example: In the Lone Star State, you’ll be allowed to vote if you present a military ID or a concealed-gun license—but not if you present your college ID.
Democrats have argued that the enactment of these new restrictive voter laws was politically motivated. They have claimed that groups that tend to vote Democratic—the elderly, the young, minorities, and the poor—include many people who lack photo ID’s.
Last October, the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University released a report about the new voting laws and how they could affect the 2012 elections. Here is an excerpt from the report’s summary:
State governments across the country enacted an array of new laws making it harder to register or to vote. Some states require voters to show government-issued photo identification, often of a type that as many as one in ten voters do not have. Other states have cut back on early voting, a hugely popular innovation used by millions of Americans. Two states reversed earlier reforms and once again disenfranchised millions who have past criminal convictions but who are now taxpaying members of the community. Still others made it much more difficult for citizens to register to vote, a prerequisite for voting.
These new restrictions fall most heavily on young, minority, and low-income voters, as well as on voters with disabilities. This wave of changes may sharply tilt the political terrain for the 2012 election. Based on the Brennan Center’s analysis of the 19 laws and two executive actions that passed in 14 states, it is clear that:
- These new laws could make it significantly harder for more than five million eligible voters to cast ballots in 2012.
- The states that have already cut back on voting rights will provide 171 electoral votes in 2012 – 63 percent of the 270 needed to win the presidency.
- Of the 12 likely battleground states, as assessed by an August Los Angeles Times analysis of Gallup polling, five have already cut back on voting rights (and may pass additional restrictive legislation), and two more are currently considering new restrictions.
Is this what our legislators and others who have been elected to represent us should be working on—writing and enacting laws that will make it more difficult for some citizens to vote?
From the ACLU’s Oppose Voter Registration Fact Sheet:
VOTING IS A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT, NOT A PRIVILEGE
- Nothing is more fundamental to our democracy than the right to vote.
- The right to vote is protected by more constitutional amendments – the 1st, 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th and 26th – than any other right we enjoy as Americans.
- There are additional federal and state statutes which guarantee and protect voting rights, as well as declarations by the Supreme Court that the right to vote is fundamental because it is protective of all our other rights.
We have heard a lot about voter fraud in the past couple of years. So…one has to ask: “How big a problem is voter fraud in this country?” An editorial that appeared in the New York Times last fall says that there is actually little voter fraud in America—and that “none of the lawmakers who claim there is have ever been able to document any but the most isolated cases.” The Times editorial also suggested that Republicans are passing these restrictive voter laws in order “to give themselves a political edge by suppressing Democratic votes”
Would you describe these attempts by politicians to disenfranchise voters in this country as un-American? Do you think it’s an attack on democracy?
SOURCES
Defending Democracy: Confronting Modern Barriers to Voting Rights in America (NAACP)
A Report by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. & the NAACP (PDF)
NAACP Denounces Role of ALEC in “Jim Crow, Esquire” Voting Laws (PRWatch)
Voting Law Changes in 2012 (Brennan Center for Justice, New York University School of Law)
The Koch Brothers, ALEC and the Savage Assault on Democracy (The Nation)
ALEC Exposed: Rigging Elections (The Nation)
New Hampshire GOP Speaker Discourages Students From Voting Because They’ll Vote ‘Liberal’ (ThinkProgress)
Students hit by voter ID restrictions (Politico)
GOP War on Voting: AG Holder Joins the Fight (Rolling Stone)
The Myth of Voter Fraud (New York Times)
“There Is Almost No Voter Fraud in America.” (ACLU)
Puzzling,
Where is the evidence of widespread voter fraud that would require these restrictions?
Above posting was to Puzzling.
Can government demand that flyers show ID when traveling?
Can government require issuance of a picture ID in order to drive a car?
Can government compel patients to show ID when picking up narcotic prescriptions? Or just buying a decongestant?
Can the government postal service require ID when picking up a package?
Can government compel ID checks when purchasing alcohol?
Can government demand ID to issue a marriage license?
YES.
Does voter fraud disenfranchise legitimate voters?
NO, because it is a myth.
Voting is a RIGHT, all of your examples are not Constitutional rights. They are commerce or privileges. When measures are imposed that make it difficult or impossible to exercise a right then the measure should be rejected.
http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/policy_brief_on_the_truth_about_voter_fraud/
ALEC leads the way to corporate governance
By Nancy Lindsay
1/8/12
http://www.heraldnews.com/bloggers/holmes-and-co/x1266412617/ALEC-leads-the-way-to-corporate-governance
Who’s writing the laws? ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, is writing the laws. ALEC is described in the Nation magazine as “the Nation’s largest, non-partisan, individual public private membership association of state legislators” and is made up of 2,000 legislators and 300 corporate members.
The Washington Spectator reports ALEC is the single largest source of pro-corporate anti-regulatory legislation in the country, and describes them as a “corporate funded corporate bill-mill, cross dressing as an association of state legislators.” The Nation wrote ”dozens of corporations are investing millions of dollars a year to write business-friendly legislation that is being made into law in statehouses coast to coast, with no regard to the public interest” says Bob Edgar of Common Cause.”
According to the Washington Spectator, ALEC was founded in 1973 by a small right wing group of activists and elected officials such as Paul Weyrich, who with help from brewing magnate Joseph Coors, set up the Heritage Foundation. Buz Lukens another founder lost his seat in 1990 after being convicted of paying a 16 year old girl for sex. And Woody Jenkins whose campaign commission paid a fine for filing false disclosure forms while Tony Perkins (now director of the Christian right Family Research Council) was his campaign manager.
The Nation also reports bills introduced in Virginia, Maryland, Arizona, Kansas, Oregon, Illinois and South Carolina, mirror the ALEC model’s with some state’s bill coming directly from ALEC written legislation. Stacks of new ALEC inspired laws passed in Ohio and Wisconsin with both governors former ALEC alums. Voter ID is an ALEC agenda with 33 states introducing voter ID laws. And the Nation magazine states-“Corporate donors retain veto power over the language, which is developed by the secretive task forces”.
The Spectator lists some of the corporations supporting ALEC as Koch Industries; Exxon-Mobil; Wal-Mart; AT&T Services; and GlaxoSmithKline. ALEC’s private enterprise board includes Exxon-Mobil; Koch Industries; Entergy, and Peabody Coal.
Between the secretive writing of legislation and the legalized corporate ownership of politicians, thanks to Supreme Court‘s Citizens United ruling, it seems pretty well sewn up to be a corporate government against the people. Real issues affecting the lives of everyday Americans will not be addressed by any politician; their corporate masters won‘t allow it. The problem is, with all the corporate money being paid to buy the politicians, and pay the media to overlook; spin & whitewash the issues, most people see only the PR spin, and are hoodwinked… they buy it “hook, line and sinker“, and even clamor for more of the same.
rafflaw,
Meet the Influencers: The American Legislative Exchange Council
http://stateimpact.npr.org/indiana/2011/12/16/meet-the-influencers-the-american-legislative-exchange-council/
Excerpt:
This year’s legislative session is already underway and lawmakers are hurrying to put their bills forward for consideration. And where there are lawmakers, there are interest groups. The groups and their lobbyists can be tremendously effective in steering — or killing — legislation, so we’re helping you get familiar with them. Learn about the most important groups and individuals influencing your lawmakers with our series, “Meet the Influencers.” First up …
The American Legislative Exchange Council
The American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, is not a lobbying firm, but it has quite a bit of influence at the capitol. It’s an organization that brings together right-leaning businesses and legislators from statehouses all over the country. They meet at a series of annual conferences to, among other things, hammer out model bills to be introduced into state legislatures.
Indiana Legislators Connected To ALEC
Many ALEC members are lawmakers. Indiana House Education Committee Chair Robert Behning’s resumé boasts of having held leadership positions within the group. And several organizations reported on Indiana State Superintendent Tony Bennett’s keynote address at a ALEC convention in Phoenix, AZ earlier this year. At the same conference, Indiana State Representative Dave Frizzell was appointed national chairman of the organization. The Evansville Courier Journal has a specific list of other Indiana legislators either working on or leading ALEC task forces.
State Sen. Jim Buck, R-Kokomo, meanwhile, chairs ALEC’s tax and fiscal policy committee. State Rep. David Wolkins, R-Winona Lake, chairs its energy, environment and agriculture committee.
In all, nine of the 150 members of the Indiana General Assembly attended the summit. About 20 more Indiana Republican legislators are members of ALEC but did not attend.
What Did They Do Last Session?
Lawmaker membership in ALEC has led to real legislative results. A recent report from the blog School Matters points to strong similarities between Indiana’s new voucher law and a piece of model legislation drafted by ALEC. They share a name — the ALEC written draft suggested the term “Choice Scholarship,” and the Indiana law is called the “Choice Scholarship” program. And the income limits for families wanting to participate proposed in the model legislation are also similar to the limits included in Indiana’s actual law.
ALEC is not the only organization writing model legislation. The practice has been common for decades. The Anti-Defamation League, The World Health Organization, ProEnglish, The Marijuana Policy Project and countless other interest groups all draft this kind of material.
But one of the major differences between ALEC and these organizations is that the group is not legally involved in lobbying. According to a report from NPR and Internal Revenue Service records, the American Legislative Exchange Council is nominally a 501c3 nonprofit. They are therefore not required to disclose who funds their conferences and who makes contributions to lawmakers through their organization. The NPR report goes on to say that conferences hosted by ALEC are often lavish affairs attended by major corporations which lawmakers are under no legal obligation to report as gifts or donations.
Videos and photos from one recent ALEC conference show banquets, open bar parties and baseball games — all hosted by corporations. Tax records show the group spent $138,000 to keep legislators’ children entertained for the week.
But the legislators don’t have to declare these as corporate gifts.
Can government demand that flyers show ID when traveling?
Can government require issuance of a picture ID in order to drive a car?
Can government compel patients to show ID when picking up narcotic prescriptions? Or just buying a decongestant?
Can the government postal service require ID when picking up a package?
Can government compel ID checks when purchasing alcohol?
Can government demand ID to issue a marriage license?
Does voter fraud disenfranchise legitimate voters?
Elaine,
The discussion of ALEC is all about money. The Koch Brothers and others who are trying to overthrow our democracy are flooding the states with money for the legislatures to do the work for them. .
You are welcome, Elaine.
EMW1,
Good question. Maybe we citizens should start by looking at where our state legislators are getting templates for their legislation…and at which of our state representatives attend the ALEC conferences.
*****
Corporate interests fuel group’s desire to shape Va. legislation, critics say
By Anita Kumar, Published: December 27
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/2011/12/21/gIQA9ccRLP_story.html
Excerpt:
RICHMOND — In recent years, Virginia legislators have proposed bills that would legalize the use of deadly force in defending your home, call for companies that hire illegal immigrants to be shut down and give businesses tax credits to fund private school tuition for needy students.
All of those bills — and more than 50 others — have been pushed by a conservative group that ghostwrites bills for legislators across the nation, according to a study set to be released in the coming days.
In many instances, the bills are identical to model legislation written by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a pro-business, free-market group whose members include legislators as well as private companies, which pay thousands of dollars to have a seat at the table.
ALEC, as the group is known, has seen seven of its bills passed by the Virginia General Assembly, including measures on education, taxes and health care, according to the study, conducted by the liberal group ProgressVA. One of the resulting laws laid the groundwork for Virginia’s legal challenge of the federal health-care law passed in 2010.
And for the coming legislative session, the first bill introduced in the Senate is an ALEC bill that changes voter requirements — forcing registered voters to cast provisional ballots if they cannot provide identification.
Critics say the group’s low profile cloaks an ambitious agenda driven by corporate interests.
“The American Legislative Exchange Council, a secretive organization funded by big corporations, has been writing bills that Virginia legislators are passing off as their own work on everything from education to health care to voting rights,” said Anna Scholl, executive director of ProgressVA.
Interest groups of all stripes seek to shape legislation, and many of the most influential have a strong hand in writing bills brought before state legislatures and Congress. But ALEC is notable for the range of issues on which it helps craft legislation and for the influence it has accrued, aided by a run of GOP electoral victories in Virginia and by the presence of a former ALEC chairman in the House speaker’s chair.
*****
Occupy ALEC in Arizona: Fight Corporate Influence In State Laws
by Kristina Chew
November 29, 2011
http://www.care2.com/causes/occupy-alec-in-arizona-fight-corporate-influence-in-state-laws.html
Excerpt:
ALEC will be in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Wednesday, and so will Arizonans determined to shut down the group’s “States and Nation Policy Summit.” ALEC is the American Legislative Exchange Council, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization with approximately $6.5 million in annual revenue. ALEC describes itself as a “nonpartisan national association of state legislators” and does count about 2,000 legislators (nearly one-third of state legislators) among its members — but these are almost all Republican. ALEC’s other members include some 300 corporations: Amazon.com, BP, AT&T, Chevron, UPS, Wall-Mart, Fed-Ex, Visa, TimeWarner, just to name a few whom you very likely patronize.
Two progressive advocacy groups including the Washington D.C,-based People for the American Way Foundation have released a report that shows just how deeply ALEC has entwined itself in Arizona’s legislature. The report, “ALEC in Arizona: The Voice of Corporate Special Interests in the Halls of Arizona’s Legislature,” points out that nearly 50 Arizona lawmakers belong to ALEC:
Arizona corporations that provide financial support to ALEC include the Salt River Project, Taser International, and Pinnacle West Capital Corp., the parent company of Arizona Public Services Co., the state’s largest utility company.
“There’s no way ordinary citizens can match the level of access and influence that ALEC provides to these corporations,” Baker said. “So Arizonans are subjected to laws that serve the interests of the rich and powerful.”
In the report are side-by-side comparisons of dozens of “model bills” that were created at ALEC conferences and actual bills that have appeared in the Arizona legislature. ALEC officials indeed note that 19 out of 36 such “model bills” introduced into the Arizona legislature have become law. ALEC spokeswoman Kaitlyn Buss describes ALEC as a “resource” for legislators, though one with an admittedly particular focus, on promoting “free market, limited government and federalism (ideals).”
ALEC’s “model” legislation indeed has particular traits: It is anti-immigration, anti-union, and anti-federal health-care reform initiatives. You can thank ALEC for the growth of the private prison industry and for the continued attempts to privatize government functions, from public schools, utilities and transportation to the “regulation of public health, consumer safety and environmental quality.” Arizona corporations that support ALEC include Taser International and the Pinnacle West Capital Corp.,which is the parent company of the state’s largest utility company, Arizona Public Services Co.. ALEC also receives significant funding from the Charles Koch Foundation (CFK) and other hard-right groups.
So, how do we get ALEC out of our government?
Great job Elaine. We talk about a lot of “wars”, but the war on voting could be the most serious. If the Republicans can prevent people from voting, the sky is the limit to the damage they will cause. Rep. Lewis is exactly correct. It is a new poll tax aimed at those who can’t afford it.
Swarthmore mom,
Thanks for posting that video clip of Rep. John Lewis.
It is vital to pay close attention to anything that is happening at the state level for it is there that our individual rights and freedoms are most vulnerable.
“As ALEC’s chair for Wisconsin, Vos was doing what was expected of him. Enacting burdensome photo ID or proof of citizenship requirements has long been an ALEC priority. ALEC and its sponsors have an enduring mission to pass laws that would make it harder for millions of Americans to vote, impose barriers to direct democracy and let big money flow more freely into campaigns.”
Put any states name instead of Wisconsin that is trying to pass these laws and you have the same motive and result.
Per your link.
http://www.thenation.com/article/161969/rigging-elections
The War on Drugs has been taken to new heights by the current administration, a government policy that has disqualified hundreds of thousands (and perhaps millions) of minorities from voting for life. It is far more consequential than the voter ID policies decried here.
Paul Weyrich, a co-founder of ALEC and the Heritage Foundation, on voting:
“Voting rights attacks are the flip side of buying a democracy. First you buy all the leaders you can, and then you suppress as many votes as possible of the people who might object.” – Benjamin Jealous, NAACP President and CEO
————–
And then you institute a method of voting subject to manipulation and hacking that is unverifiable. It’s a three prong attack. HAVA was a Bush program.
“Voting rights attacks are the flip side of buying a democracy. First you buy all the leaders you can, and then you suppress as many votes as possible of the people who might object.” – Benjamin Jealous, NAACP President and CEO
Yep.
One of many assaults on the people.