BDx13
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while we're at it...no voting for students
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theticket/20110308/ts_yblog_th...
If some GOP lawmakers get their way, it could be a whole lot tougher for people across the country to cast a ballot in the upcoming 2012 presidential
election.
Boosted by major electoral gains in state legislatures nationwide in the 2010 campaign, Republican lawmakers in 32 states are pushing measures that
would require citizens to show a state identification or proof of citizenship to vote. Meanwhile, in New Hampshire, GOP lawmakers are proposing new
limits on college students who vote in the state, potentially eliminating a key base of electoral support for Democrats in the state ahead of the
upcoming presidential election.
As the Washington Post's Peter Wallsten writes, the measures have set off a partisan battle over voting rights across the country, with Democrats
accusing Republicans of trying to suppress voters, including young people and minorities, who would cast their ballots for President Obama and other
Democratic candidates next year.
In New Hampshire, Republicans are pushing to end rules that allow same-day voter registration in the state, which has often provided key swing votes
for candidates from all parties in the state. State GOP lawmakers are also proposing new limits on students, including a bill that would allow them to
vote in college towns only if they or their parents had established permanent residency in the state.
Some GOP lawmakers in New Hampshire have billed the measures as an attempt to crack down on voter fraud in the state--but recent remarks from the
newly elected GOP state House speaker have suggested otherwise.
In a recent speech to a tea party group in the state, House Speaker William O'Brien described college voters as "foolish." "Voting as a liberal.
That's what kids do," he said, in remarks that were videotaped by a state Democratic Party staffer and posted on YouTube. Students, he said, lack
"life experience" and "just vote their feelings."
GOP lawmakers in the state have distanced themselves from O'Brien's remarks.
"It's a war on voting," Thomas Bates, vice president of Rock the Vote, a youth voter-registration group, told the Post. "We'd like to be advocating
for a 21st-century voting system, but here we are fighting against efforts to turn it back to the 19th century."
Meanwhile, Republicans have also revived measures that have been debated on and off over the last several election cycles that would require voters to
provide state-issued IDs at the polls.
In Wisconsin, GOP lawmakers are moving forward with legislation that would block students from using school-issued identification to verify their
identity at the polls. Meanwhile, in North Carolina, Republicans are preparing to introduce a similar measure requiring state IDs--a plan that the
North Carolina Board of Elections has said could be problematic for African-American voters, a key base of support for Obama in 2008.
(College students protesting in February at the New Hampshire state capitol building last month: Jim Cole/AP)
If I fail math, there goes my chance at a good job and a happy life full of hard work.
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random
Posting Freak
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Registered: 7-30-2006
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As someone who has been a student for a long time... this is a difficult issue. Students primarily live in one state for school while often
benefiting (or not) from the laws where their parents live. Health insurance is a great example, where you can often remain on your parents'
insurance until 21 (though I've heard that "Obamacare," if it ever gets implemented, extends that by a few years). You're also often stuck in this
residency loophole, where you can't establish residency for school (i.e. in-state tuition) but you can - and are often expected to - for all other
purposes (eg. driver's license).
For what it's worth, I don't have much of a problem requiring state issued ID and banning same-day voting (though that means it should be easier to
get state-issued ID and fast processing of voter registration cards), even if it does often benefit my preferred candidates. I do have huge problems
with what happened with Bush-Gore, where tons of people were de-registered to vote (in some states) without their knowledge and for fraudulent
reasons, such as having the same name as a convicted felon without actually being that convicted felon.
Requiring proof of citizenship to vote? I have no problem except that I'm sure it also means state-issued ID to confirm, since no citizenship
document I have (birth certificate and social security card) have a photo on them.
Ah well, enough of my drinking and rambling. 
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DaveMoral
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^"Obamacare" has extended the age a student can be on his parents' insurance to 26 and it's been in effect since last fall.
The Republicans sure have some nerve, I'll say that. But they've had anti-democratic forces latching onto them for ages now.
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barc0debaby
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Mood: Punk as Fuck
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Obamacare gets my vote. I was kickboxing and training jiujitsu without insurance until the age limit was raised last September. Snapped my big toe in
half the week after I got my insurance card. Republicans can suck a dick, if they want to get rid of voter fraud they should stop having CEO's of
companies that sell voting machines work as their fundraisers.
Search Premier Election Solutions sometime, I'm sure it will make everyone feel warm and fuzzy inside.
Hacking Democracy
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random
Posting Freak
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Wow, I kinda sounded like a dick last night... but not as much as Williams ""Voting as a liberal. That's what kids do" O'Brien.
I hate the term Obamacare, which is why I put it in quotations. God forbid we create a terrible sounding name for people having healthcare. I
thought it extended coverage until 26. Wasn't sure if it was in effect yet, since I've lived outside the US for a few years.
The main point I was trying to make about voting/residency is that college students are often residents of their parents' home state for most
purposes, though they can choose whether to register in that state or the one they go to school in. You're subject to the laws of the state you go to
school in for 2/3 of the year, but you're basically a resident of your parents' home state for all other purposes (you pay taxes there, work there in
summers - and you only work in summers, are on your parents' insurance, etc).
For what it's worth, I used to live in a state with closed primaries, so you could only vote in the primaries for the party you were affiliated with.
I registered as a Republican solely to (i) minimize the damage when it looked like they'd win by helping nominate a moderate or, more often, (ii) vote
for the extremist lunatic in the hopes that 50% +1 of the population wouldn't vote for someone as crazy as Bush or Palin (guess who's often wrong
about the stupidity of the general population?). But, should I have been able to help select the "other party's" candidate for my own strategic
purposes? I don't know, but it was the system in place where I lived. Regardless, I'm a bigger fan of things like proportional representation which
are at least moderately more democratic.
Oh, and Obamacare is some mediocre reform. Universal coverage with a single-payer system for the win!
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spyderdog
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Mood: my own dumb ass band....yeah im like that
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people forget how its republican propaganda that caused "obamacare" to suck so bad (AKA "bipartisanship" watered the thing down to stupidity)
the biggest mistake the democrats make is trying to work with the republicans
this is a fucking war all
its us vs them on the lines of age, race, and above all else, economic status
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DaveMoral
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^I agree. The Dems and Obama should have rammed single payer right through the process and told the Repubs to go to hell. Once the dim-witted working
people that vote Republican because they erroneously believe they are "one of us" gets their hands on full access to healthcare without spending 2k a
month for their whole family they'll accept it for what it is and consider anyone that wants to take it away Satan.
There's something to be said for the fact that statistically people in countries with universal healthcare tend to be happier than Americans. There's
a whole hell of a lot going on in those countries that lends itself to more happiness, including universal healthcare and a cultural expectation of
more vacation.
I'd much rather be working to live than living to work.
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spyderdog
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Mood: my own dumb ass band....yeah im like that
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working to live costs rich people way too much money
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