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Monday, August 6th, 2012

Voter Suppression and John Roberts’ New World Order

Author:     BILL BLUM
Source:     Truthdig
Publication Date:     31-Jul-12
 Link: Voter Suppression and John Roberts’ New World Order
Stephan:   The 2012 election torqued as it is by Citizens United, and Republican voter suppression efforts at the state level, I think, has taken on an importance quite unlike 2010, 2008, or earlier elections. There is a concerted conservative effort to fundamentally alter the nature of American democracy, and it has never been more important that every social progressive vote.

As the presidential campaign heads for the stretch, the political and legal battles over voter suppression are also coming to a head. To understand the unfolding class warfare-and that’s exactly what it is-it’s important not just to grasp the specifics of the many suppression schemes sweeping the nation. It’s vital to place those schemes in the larger context of the American right’s long-cherished goal of redrafting the nation’s legal architecture and forging a new corporate political order.

Consider the specifics first. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, since the start of 2011, 16 states-accounting for 214 electoral votes-have passed restrictive voting laws. Each law is different, with states such as Florida seeking to curb voter registration drives and others such as South Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania imposing new requirements on voters to produce government-issued photo IDs at the polls.

The laws raise different technical legal issues. States such as Texas and South Carolina, with a legacy of discrimination against the electoral rights of minorities, are required to obtain ‘preclearance

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