Wisconsin’s Voter-ID Law Could Block 300,000 Registered Voters From the Polls

[moonshaz]

One of the country’s toughest voting restrictions takes effect for the April 5 primary.Johnny Randle, a 74-year-old African-American resident of Milwaukee, moved to Wisconsin from Mississippi in 2011, the same year the state legislature passed a law requiring a government-issued photo ID to cast a ballot. Randle, with the help of his daughter,

Comments

[theoreticalpixy]

I have a lot of friends and family still in the state and it's so depressing. So many shitty things have happened under Walker and it's so gross to realize how bad the voting stuff has gotten. The whole 'it's just an ID! Everyone has one!' attitude is such a lie when coupled with all the other restrictions. It's not that simple and voting needs to be accessible, not littered with this crap.

[screamingintune]

horrible, voter ID laws are so discriminatory. if only we had something like a Voting Rights Act to help with this

but while we're talking about voter suppression, again I have to say fuck caucuses. you're talking like what? 7-8% turnout in caucus states? grotesque.

[zukpager305]

I don't like the idea of caucuses either. How do they even work? Do you go into a room, and "discuss" the candidates? Or is it the loudest voice in the room bullies the others into picking their candidate? Also, its it a huge time commitment? No, thank you. I like my 1 vote in a primary state.

[screamingintune]

it varies by state to state tbh but often they take hours to complete and in some states (like Iowa), the process is really prone to voter intimidation. Like they stand in groups to declare their supporters and then other supporters try to rally them to join their side

which doesn't sit at all well with me as a sociologist because I know how coercive group behavior and political partisans are particularly aggressive.

additionally, because of the time investment it is so inaccessible to people who have work issues and health issues. my mom's friend in Idaho is disabled and wasn't even able to get in the building to caucus.

add to that, turnout is often EXTREMELY low, like 10% or less, and you have a system set up to favor the most zealous and/or privileged

the Democratic Party has been going so hard on voter suppression in recent years and rightfully so but they need to clean up their own house with this caucus bullshit.

[fauxkaren]

Cute voter suppression and disenfranchisement, Wisconsin.

ugh.

Also OT, but also about the undemocratic-ness of elections in the US... Bernie may have just won Nevada. lol. From an objective POV, I see how undemocratic caucuses are. But from the POV of a Bernie supporter, I am thrilled that apparently Hillary's delegates didn't feel like showing up to the Clark county convention and that Bernie was able to get enough alternates there to take their place.

I'm like 98% sure this is what happened in 2008 too. Clinton won on the day of the caucuses, but Obama was able to get more people to conventions and thus get more delegates.

I'd make a post about it, but no news articles yet. Just reports from people at the convention.

[screamingintune]

Cruz is apparently doing this too and it's so damn hinky. I know it's within the rules but it's still shady as hell

idk if I'd say I was ever "thrilled" about something like this tho, yikes girl

[fauxkaren]

How is it shady??

The system is a mess, but it's just playing withing the confines of the system. Hillary delegates didn't show up so they didn't count. That's not Bernie's fault.

[screamingintune]

it's within the rules of the system sure, but it's shady because it's not representative of the will of the people. it may not be Bernie's fault but if I were one of his supporters I wouldn't find it "thrilling"

[lightframes]

That last paragraph says it all... at least somebody is admitting it.

[antrazi]

The way the US election system is set up is not democratic anyway, so no surprise in further ... it up.