First, the good news: Nearly every state law making it hard for eligible citizens to vote has been blocked by a judge.
Ari Berman at The Nation reported on Tuesday:
In a major victory for voting rights, Judge Robert Simpson of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled today that voters in the state do not need to show government-issued ID in order to cast a ballot in November. A full trial is scheduled for after the election to determine whether a permanent injunction will be issued against the state’s voter ID law. By my count, Pennsylvania is one of eleven voter suppression laws passed by Republicans since the 2010 election that have been invalidated by state or federal courts in the past year, including in crucial swing states like Florida, Ohio and Wisconsin
“It is a remarkable development that courts across the country have almost uniformly rejected every single law passed making it harder for eligible citizens to vote,” says Wendy Weiser, director of the democracy program at the Brennan Center. “This is a clear rejection of attempts by politicians to manipulate the election rules for political gain.”Now the bad news: People are being trained to turn away eligible voters at the polls by lying to them. ProgressNow New Mexico reports,
Undercover video recorded by ProgressNow New Mexico shows the Republican Party training poll challengers in illegal tactics that could potentially restrict the voting rights of as many as 1-in8 New Mexicans in November.
A recording of the September 26th official "Poll Challenger Training" conducted by the Republican Party shows a GOP & Tea Party leader giving false and/or misleading information about voting rights and regulations to the training's attendees. The training was replete with misinformation about ID requirements, the use of provisional ballots, assistance for Spanish-speaking citizens, change of address requirements, and the rights of the disabled at the polls.
The group even created it's own poll challenger guide complete with instructions on how to demand ID and force legal voters to vote by provisional ballot in blatant contradiction with election law.
The tactics disseminated at the Republican "Poll Challenger Training" have the potential to restrict the voting rights of New Mexicans throughout the state by making it harder for eligible voters to exercise their civic duty and by compromising the integrity of the entire state electoral process.
Here's the video:
