Josiah Bartlett Center - Details, Foreclosures, and the Voting Rights Act

When Details Matter More than Party

Much of the debate in the Legislature will devolve into predictable patterns reminiscent of the "infotainment" shows on what are generously called cable news channels: my party good, your party bad. This dynamic helps most of us tune out and ignore whatever silly thing they're up to in Concord or Washington this month... Click here to keep reading.

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N.H. man tries to save Voting Rights Act in order to kill it
On one side, a group seeking to overturn an outdated section of the law is trying to keep New Hampshire from getting out from under its ridiculous restrictions. On the other, supporters want to let New Hampshire escape to make it easier to keep other states under federal jurisdiction. The whole thing is turning an already obscure legal battle into something silly. Click here to keep reading.

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NH Foreclosures Fall in November
November saw New Hampshire’s foreclosure filings drop to 578. This reverses last month’s spike to 739. From the data it is not clear what caused the jump in October, but whatever the cause, it was only temporary. Click here to keep reading.

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NHDP - NH VOTING GUIDE: Republicans Say What? A Top Ten Guide to Voting in the State of NH

We've been hearing a lot of mistruths about voting during the last few months, and as the primary approaches, the New Hampshire Democratic Party wanted to take a moment to clarify what you need to know about voting in the Granite State.

10. Granite Staters take voting rights very seriously. In fact, a federal court case defending college students' right to vote began with a student at Dartmouth College.

9. The voting age in New Hampshire is 18, just like it is in Texas and has been in the rest of the United States since 1971.

8. Yes, Herman Cain, New Hampshire's undeclared voters - those voters not registered with either party -  can cast votes in the party primary of their choosing.

7.       Despite Republicans' legislative efforts and erroneous signs at the polls, you don't have to show photo ID before casting your vote in New Hampshire.

6.       New Hampshire doesn't have a caucus. We have the first in the nation primary.  This year it has been scheduled for January 10^th, much to the chagrin of a former Massachusetts Governor who now has to avoid questions for another month.

5.       If you have any concerns or other questions about voting not answered in this guide, Bill Gardner is still the Secretary of State, and he's the guy to ask, despite Tea Party Champ Orly Taitz calling for his removal.

4.       President Obama is a U.S. citizen, and he will be on the Democratic Primary ballot on January 10^th. We encourage voters to support him.

3.       Despite what Speaker Bill O'Brien might tell you, "voting as a liberal" is not a valid reason to turn someone away from the polls.

2.       Calling your friends and supporters on Election Day and reminding them to vote is encouraged. Jamming their phone lines is not, and may land you in prison.

1. Despite what Mitt Romney and Rep. Charlie Bass believe, corporations are not people, and to be clear, they can't vote.

For a more serious take on attacks on voting rights, visit the DNC's new website: www.protectingthevote.org.

New DNC Voting Rights Institute Report: The Real Cost of Photo ID

The DNC Voting Rights Institute today released a new report, The Real Cost of Photo ID, on the cost incurred on states when implementing photo ID laws. The report undercuts Republican arguments calling for such laws and spells out the extraordinary cost to states.

Read The Real Cost of Photo ID: An Unnecessary, Expensive and Intrusive Voter Restriction in a Time of Fiscal Crisis here.

Read DNC Vice Chair of Voter Registration & Participation Donna Brazile’s USA Today column, GOP’s 2012 Game Plan is to Keep Voters Home, on photo ID laws here.

http://www.democrats.org/news/blog/photo_id_laws_changing_the_face_of_the_electorate_for_republican_gain

Photo ID Laws: Changing the Face of the Electorate for Republican Gain

Posted by Will Crossley, DNC Counsel and Director of Voter Protection on Wednesday, May 18, 2011 at 5:27 PM

In USA Today this week, Donna Brazile, DNC Vice Chair of Voter Registration & Participation, calls out Republican lawmakers for their efforts to push election laws that will cost taxpayers millions -- and disenfranchise countless voters.  She writes:

"Across America, Republican lawmakers have talked a big game about cutting budgets, but they also are seeking reductions to something much more fundamental: Americans' voting rights. From coast to coast, the GOP is engaged in what appears to be a coordinated, expensive effort to block voters from the polls… In more than 30 states, GOP legislators are on the move, from a sweeping rewrite of Florida's election laws to new rules for photo identification in Ohio, Wisconsin, North Carolina and more than 20 other states.”

The DNC Voting Rights Institute today released a report highlighting the burdensome cost states would incur implementing photo ID laws.  The report found that not only has the underlying argument in support of such laws been found to be completely baseless, but states can ill afford the extraordinary costs of their implementation.  You can read the report, The Real Cost of Photo ID, here.

The consequences of these laws can’t be overstated.  As Brazile writes of photo ID laws, 11% of Americans – more than 21 million citizens of voting age – don’t have the type of ID they would be required to present before voting.  And, she notes, those without photo identification are disproportionately low-income, minority voters, young voters, older voters and the disabled. 

Brazile also highlights the fiscal impact of photo ID – and writes that Republican legislators have ignored their high cost.  Indiana spent more than $10 million dollars in the first four fiscal years of implementation, to provide free ID cards – just one of many costs associated with photo ID laws.

Brazile concludes:

“…[T]hese voting hurdles won't improve the integrity of our elections, but they will change the face of the electorate….  In my career, I have felt the elation of a hard-fought, successful campaign and the crushing defeat of an equally grueling loss. I've learned that campaigns are about which side makes the more compelling case to the electorate. This is what makes our democracy great. What the GOP is attempting to do is change the rules of the game, leaving only their players on the field.”

You can read the rest of Brazile’s article here.

freekeenenews - Think there's a right to vote in NH? Not so! Here's Video Proof

http://freekeene.com/2009/11/13/voter-intimidation-continues-in-keene/

Voter Intimidation Continues in Keene
Filed under: Hypocrisy, Issues, Update — Ian at 11:45 pm on Friday, November 13, 2009

On the day of the general election I went to Ward 4’s voting location with the intention of voting for Free Keene’s Nick Ryder. As the city clerk had promised, I had indeed been removed from the voters’ rolls because I’d registered to vote with my “domicile” as my box at the UPS Store. On the day of the general election I was homeless and decided to register to vote as such. As happened during the primary, they did everything they could to prevent me from taking part in their system. (Interestingly, people like me who prefer outside-the-system activism are incessantly told that we should work within the system, but if we try to, this is the kind of crap that happens.)

So I tried to register as a homeless person and despite signing TWO forms under penalty of perjury (the “domicile affidavit” and the “voter challenge affidavit”) they STILL refused to accept my registration! I immediately pulled out my blackberry and QIKked their explanation. Turns out because the “checklist supervisor” didn’t FEEL like I was homeless, that was enough to deny me the right to vote. It didn’t matter one iota that I’d sworn an oath to my claim being true. My supposed right to vote was DENIED. Watch as it happened:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvIfcRGsD9M

Now that they have denied me any method of actually working within their system, allow me to cite their own rules in the form of part of article 12 of the NH constitution’s bill of rights:

"Nor are the inhabitants of this state controllable by any other laws than those to which they, or their representative body, have given their consent."

I certainly do not consent to this insane system and its rules and now that they’ve denied me the right to vote, no one could claim that the NH representatives are my “representative body”, so I should be free and clear to stop paying them, right?

Oh yeah, my interpretation doesn’t matter, only the interpretation of their men in robes calling themselves the “Supreme Court” matters. Every day I get closer to not caring though. It’s just a house and when I decide to stop paying these criminals it will be crystal clear to the world that they are just a gang of criminals as they steal my home and kick my family into the street.

Always available for comment,
Ian Freeman
Blogger, FreeKeene.com

Manchester Voter Registration Drive 10/14

The Office of the City Clerk of the City of Manchester is conducting another aggressive voter registration initiative.  Our goal is to encourage voter participation on November 3, 2009 while expediting the wait time on Election Day by minimizing the number of people looking to register at the polls.  The attached flyer identifies several upcoming dates and locations that our staff will be out in the community registering voters. 

Our first two events will be held this Wednesday, October 14, 2009! 

Click here to view ---> Manchester Voter Registration Drive Flyer