Obama accuses GOP of imagining voter fraud

[UncleBeer 244]

President Barack Obama struck hard at restrictive voting rights laws Friday, calling them a Republican political tactic conceived to address a made-up problem.

Pretending that there’s widespread impropriety, he said, is just about keeping Democrats from winning.

“The real voter fraud is people who try to deny our rights by making bogus arguments about voter fraud,” Obama said, in a speech to Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network in New York — an organization that he said should serve as a national model for organizing people around voting, led by a man who deserved “a big round of applause.”

The voting rights argument is a key element of the White House’s strategy to have the president focus on boosting base turnout for the midterms, especially among core Obama voters.

“There are well-organized and well-funded efforts to undo [the] gains” of the civil rights movement, Obama told the largely African-American crowd. “Just as inequality feeds on justice, opportunity requires justice, and justice requires the right to vote.”

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/04/barack-obama-voting-rights-105645.html

Gawd: he torpedoes Democrats with his crappy policies, then "offers to help" by doing what he does best: race-baiting. He's a real prize.

So voter fraud is "bogus"? Really?

State election officials are looking into thousands of cases where registered voters may have voted in two states or after their reported death. A report presented Wednesday by Elections Director Kim Strach to the Joint Legislative Elections Oversight Committee said 81 voters have a voter history later than the date of their death. The audit further identified 13,416 deceased voters on voter rolls in Oct. 13. The audit showed 155,692 registered North Carolina voters whose first and last names, dates of birth and last four digits of their Social Security number match those of voters registered in other states, but who most recently registered or voted elsewhere. A total of 35,750 voters with matching first and last names and date of birth were registered in North Carolina and another state, and voted in both states in the 2012 general election. Another 765 voters with an exact match of first and last name, date of birth and last four digits of their Social Security number were registered and voted in the 2012 general election in North Carolina and another state...A total of 28 states participated in the crosscheck, leaving data missing from 22 other states.

Since Obama believes that voter fraud is "bogus", that would explain why Eric Holder has taken no action against a woman who freely admits she voted 6 times for Obama. Wouldn't want to discourage "the voters", eh?

The preznit's obvious lies concerning the truth of voter fraud aside, I find it telling that he doesn't call for a national conversation concerning voterID; he goes straight to accusations that the GOP is trying to "suppress" voters' rights by favoring a simple requirement of showing a photo ID in order to vote; a common requirement for such mundane activities as boarding a plane, buying antihistamines, driving a car, etc. No: it's all "bogus" and 'they' are "racists".

Whatever happened to the nice young man who said this years ago?

Yet even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters, the negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there is not a liberal America and a conservative America—there is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America and Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America.

[Robby999 1,024]

You must have forgotten the Democratic motto " Vote Early and Vote Often" and corpses in cemeteries are honorary democrats for voting purposes!

[LibCampFireClub 635]

It's time for a national ID card. The ACLU has fought this notion from the get-go, but in truth American citizens and taxpayers have no privacy. You must submit all your personal information to get a cell phone, rent an apartment, and file taxes to what is now a partisan IRS. Thomas Jefferson warned that an uninformed electorate would destroy the freedoms of a republic: "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."

[Robby999 1,024]

It's time for a national ID card. The ACLU has fought this notion from the get-go, but in truth American citizens and taxpayers have no privacy. You must submit all your personal information to get a cell phone, rent an apartment, and file taxes to what is now a partisan IRS. Thomas Jefferson warned that an uninformed electorate would destroy the freedoms of a republic: "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."

FACT SHEET: U.S. Support for Strengthening Democratic Institutions, Rule of Law, and Human Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa

The United States strongly supports the great strides many African countries have made to ensure good governance, rule of law, and respect for human rights. We commend the progress they have made to broaden political participation and improve governance, and will remain a steady partner as they continue to work to strengthen electoral processes, ensure transparency and accountability in government, and provide security while respecting and protecting universal rights and fundamental freedoms.

In addition to our ongoing diplomacy and our efforts in multilateral institutions, in 2012 the United States – through the U.S. Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – provided more than $292 million in support for these efforts, including in the following priority areas:

Supporting Civil Society and Independent Media

Civil society and independent media play a critical role in any vibrant democracy. Across sub-Saharan Africa, the United States supports efforts to ensure civil society organizations and independent media can organize, advocate, and raise awareness with governments and the private sector to improve political processes, transparency, and government performance. Examples include:

• In Kenya, the $53 million Yes Youth Can program empowers nearly one million Kenyan youth to use their voices for advocacy in national and local policy-making, while also creating economic opportunities. In advance of Kenya’s March 2013 general elections, Yes Youth Can’s “My ID My Life” campaign helped 500,000 youth obtain National identification cards, a prerequisite to voter registration, and carried out a successful nationwide campaign with Kenyan civic organizations to elicit peace pledges from all presidential aspirants.
• In Tanzania, the United States has dedicated $14 million to strengthening government accountability institutions and linking them with Tanzanian civil society watchdog groups and civic activists in a constructive partnership to further government transparency. The program focuses on improving access to information for Tanzanian citizens in four key development sectors: health, education, natural resource management, and food security.
• The United States will soon launch a program in West Africa to build the capacity of civil society organizations to responsibly advocate on land tenure issues, including land rights, working closely with governments and the private sector to improve responsible natural resource utilization and the protection and advancement of human rights and economic development.

Assisting Credible Elections and Democratic Processes

Elections provide citizens with the opportunity to build strong, peaceful democratic systems and give citizens a stake in the future of their countries. The United States supports efforts across the continent to promote credible, transparent and effective democratic processes through civic and voter education, building the capacity of African election commissions, strengthening political parties, training and supporting election observers, and facilitating the inclusion of women, youth, and people with disabilities. We also partner with regional centers of excellence to share best practices in electoral management and build capacity for improved elections implementation. Examples include:

• The United States and the University of South Africa are partners in developing a network of alumni from the university’s Democratic Elections in Africa Certificate Program for African election officials and other administrators, leading to more professional, independent, and effective electoral commissions across the continent.
• This summer, the United States will launch an initiative to strengthen African efforts to ensure electoral integrity by supporting a network of activists across the continent to share best practices for elections preparation, engage in cross-border elections monitoring, and track adherence to campaign commitments using the latest technological and mobile platforms. This investment lays the groundwork for a larger multi-donor, multi-implementer fund focused on improving the standards and best practices for electoral monitoring and civic engagement.

Consolidating the Rule of Law and Protecting Human Rights

Many countries in Africa have made good progress on strengthening the rule of law, but much work remains. In some parts of the continent weak, ineffective, and partisan judiciaries contribute to – or fail to provide justice in the face of – a range of societal scourges, including gender-based violence, organized crime, impunity and corruption, labor abuses, and human and narcotics trafficking. The United States supports efforts to improve the ability of governments to strengthen the rule of law, particularly in transitional and fragile states. Our programs also assist governments to investigate and prosecute corruption, organized crime, and narcotics and human traffickers. Examples include:

• In West Africa, the United States has established the Africa Regional Anti-Corruption Training Program, a two-year initiative to support the establishment of stable judicial and law enforcement institutions that combat organized crime and drug cartels and support rule of law.
• With U.S. support, the West Africa Regional Training Center (RTC) brings together justice sector and security officials from across the region, creating relationships and boosting knowledge and skills on topics ranging from investigative analysis to combating corruption. By September, the RTC will have conducted 12 courses and trained approximately 400 officials from ten West African countries to combat government corruption, organized crime and drug cartels, and support rule of law.
• In Southern Africa, the 5-year Justice as a Right in Southern Africa (JARSA) program partners more than a dozen Southern African legal aid and human rights NGOs to increase judicial independence, improve the capacity of human rights lawyers and the legal community to enforce the rule of law, and encourage active civic participation in domestic and regional judicial processes.

Partnering to Promote Open Government and Transparency

The United States is committed to promoting open and accountable governance in Africa and around the world. As a founding member of the Open Government Partnership, we are working to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies. South Africa was a founding member of the Open Government Partnership when it was launched in 2011. Since then, four more African nations –Tanzania, Ghana, Liberia, and Kenya – have joined, and four more — Cape Verde, Malawi, Senegal, and Sierra Leone – have committed to join by the end of 2014.

Leveraging Technology to Revolutionize Governance and Civic Participation

The United States continues to expand support for cutting-edge technological innovations that improve government performance and accountability, open new frontiers for advocacy and civic engagement, and link Africa’s tech-savvy citizens and leaders across the continent. Examples include:

• The United States, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the Omidyar Network Making created All Voices Count: A Grand Challenge for Development, a $45 million fund to support innovation and research to harness and disseminate new technologies to enable greater citizen engagement and government responsiveness.
• The Freedom of Information Act App, a mobile phone application supported by the United States, provides Nigerians with a detailed explanation on the newly-implemented Nigerian freedom of information law and allows users to get information on how to request public information.
• Kenya, Malawi, and Senegal have partnered with the United States to join the Better Than Cash Alliance, through which they can accelerate the transition from cash to electronic payments made by governments, the development community, and the private sector. The electronic distribution of payments increases transparency and efficiency, reduces corruption, and ensures accountability – while facilitating access to formal financial services. The Better than Cash Alliance was launched in 2012 by the U.S. Agency for International Development in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Citi, Ford Foundation, Omidyar Network, Visa, and the United Nations Capital Development Fund.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/06/27/fact-sheet-us-support-strengthening-democratic-institutions-rule-law-and

I guess it is ok to use our tax dollars to pay for other countries citizens to have ids so they can vote, but is considered racist here to require an id to vote? So am I to assume our president is supporting racism by paying for the ids for Kenyans so they can vote in Kenyan elections? I would have thought he would be striving to strip away all those silly id requirements there like he is doing here.

[UncleBeer 244]

[deleted-05292014 331]

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/voter-fraud-real-rare/story?id=17213376

Voter fraud is very rare. I mean once you get past the GOP false claims and look at the actual convictions, indictments your are looking at like 000002% of legitimate cases.

This is why the Civil Rights act, the Voting Rights act was only the beginning they were not the finish line. Jim Crow got a new name, it's Scott Walker or Rick Scott.

Americans who side with democracy and freedom need to stay focused, and fight against these measures to disenfranchise people from voting. They may have traded in their white sheets and dunce caps for suits but they are using the same tactics their predecessors used.

Republicans can't win the ideological argument to win a national election so they are using tactics to cut down on those voters who do not vote their way.

GOP are commies. No not in an ideological sense per say, but the vitriol in their rhetoric and the anti democratic values of most of their policies are. No the left and right are not the same, far from it.

Federal courts have struck down most of these voter id laws we need to remain vigilant against the new Jim Crow.

[JohnR! 5,495]

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/voter-fraud-real-rare/story?id=17213376

Voter fraud is very rare. I mean once you get past the GOP false claims and look at the actual convictions, indictments your are looking at like 000002% of legitimate cases.

This is why the Civil Rights act, the Voting Rights act was only the beginning they were not the finish line. Jim Crow got a new name, it's Scott Walker or Rick Scott.

Americans who side with democracy and freedom need to stay focused, and fight against these measures to disenfranchise people from voting. They may have traded in their white sheets and dunce caps for suits but they are using the same tactics their predecessors used.

Republicans can't win the ideological argument to win a national election so they are using tactics to cut down on those voters who do not vote their way.

GOP are commies. No not in an ideological sense per say, but the vitriol in their rhetoric and the anti democratic values of most of their policies are. No the left and right are not the same, far from it.

Federal courts have struck down most of these voter id laws we need to remain vigilant against the new Jim Crow.

The TBs have made a mockery of the GOP. It is about time the real conservatives took back their party. It will end up costing them dearly in the long run...

[Teddy B 17,252]

Both sides use "voter fraud" to their advantage.There are very few isolated incidents of voter fraud, but it is not a large scale problem in the least bit. Republicans use voter fraud to rile up their base and get their people to the polls. The dems use the claims of voter fraud as an attack against the poor and an effort to keep them from voting. Fact is there are much more pressing problems to worry about, but both sides would rather keep everyone focused on non-existent problems like voter fraud rather than deal with reality.

[UncleBeer 244]

Voter fraud is very rare. I mean once you get past the GOP false claims and look at the actual convictions, indictments your are looking at like 000002% of legitimate cases.

Utter nonsense. At least don't post ####### that's already been disproven. It makes you look stooopid.

Jim Crow got a new name, it's Scott Walker or Rick Scott.

Americans who side with democracy and freedom need to stay focused, and fight against these measures to disenfranchise people from voting. They may have traded in their white sheets and dunce caps for suits but they are using the same tactics their predecessors used.

Ughhh; more baseless demonization without even an attempt at substantiation. Fine. I guess that's 'how you roll', eh?

You'd think that anyone claiming to be interested in civil rights and enfranchisement would be 100% for voterID. After all,:

Surely even "low information voters" should be able to manage getting themselves photo ID, since it's a necessity of modern life, and the gubmint's made it extra-easy to acquire as well.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/voter-fraud-real-rare/story?id=17213376

Voter fraud is very rare. I mean once you get past the GOP false claims and look at the actual convictions, indictments your are looking at like 000002% of legitimate cases.

This is why the Civil Rights act, the Voting Rights act was only the beginning they were not the finish line. Jim Crow got a new name, it's Scott Walker or Rick Scott.

Americans who side with democracy and freedom need to stay focused, and fight against these measures to disenfranchise people from voting. They may have traded in their white sheets and dunce caps for suits but they are using the same tactics their predecessors used.

Republicans can't win the ideological argument to win a national election so they are using tactics to cut down on those voters who do not vote their way.

GOP are commies. No not in an ideological sense per say, but the vitriol in their rhetoric and the anti democratic values of most of their policies are. No the left and right are not the same, far from it.

Federal courts have struck down most of these voter id laws we need to remain vigilant against the new Jim Crow.

You may have mistaken this for a thread meant to have a discussion. The fact is that this was quite obviously supposed to be a right wing circlejerk. How dare you interrupt the action with facts? Shame on you!

[Peikko 1,575]

I love it. All those who want freedom from the evils of government actually want to give government one of the main tools that can be used to disenfranchise whoever they personally do not want to vote. Brilliant. Government issued voter ID, a call for freedom

[JohnR! 5,495]

I love it. All those who want freedom from the evils of government actually want to give government one of the main tools that can be used to disenfranchise whoever they personally do not want to vote. Brilliant. Government issued voter ID, a call for freedom

Remember they want freedom from government in their lives only. They welcome the notion of more big government in the lives of everyone else...

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I love it. All those who want freedom from the evils of government actually want to give government one of the main tools that can be used to disenfranchise whoever they personally do not want to vote. Brilliant. Government issued voter ID, a call for freedom

Gubmint is good if it keeps brown people from the polls. Not that hard to understand, is it?

[deleted-05292014 331]

Both sides use "voter fraud" to their advantage.There are very few isolated incidents of voter fraud, but it is not a large scale problem in the least bit. Republicans use voter fraud to rile up their base and get their people to the polls. The dems use the claims of voter fraud as an attack against the poor and an effort to keep them from voting. Fact is there are much more pressing problems to worry about, but both sides would rather keep everyone focused on non-existent problems like voter fraud rather than deal with reality.

No.

Both sides don't do it. All you need to do is look at the attempts of laws being passed, those Republican governors who have cut back voting hours making mostly people in minority communities wait in line for HOURS to vote. You will NEVER see that happen in those districts that vote Republican.

Soon as that backwards Supreme Court ruling was handed down you had States back tracking from protections that were put in place to keep these Southern States in check because they cannot behaved civilized.

What this proves is that the struggle continues to protect peoples right to vote.

You may have mistaken this for a thread meant to have a discussion. The fact is that this was quite obviously supposed to be a right wing circlejerk. How dare you interrupt the action with facts? Shame on you!

Yeah what was I thinking.

I love it. All those who want freedom from the evils of government actually want to give government one of the main tools that can be used to disenfranchise whoever they personally do not want to vote. Brilliant. Government issued voter ID, a call for freedom

that's because they are only consistent along ideological lines when it benefits them.

[UncleBeer 244]

You may have mistaken this for a thread meant to have a discussion.

I certainly haven't. I present facts, and you guys post unsubstantiated demonization. So be it.

To those who (still!) claim that reports of voter fraud are "bogus" (that includes the preznit):

Check out cases of voter fraud in your state since 2000:

1. 2012 - Alabama
2. 2012 - Alaska
3. 2012 - Arizona
4. 2012 - Arkansas
5. 2012 - California
6. 2005 - Colorado
7. 2012 - Connecticut
8. 2012 - Florida
9. 2012 - Georgia
10. 2012 - Idaho
11. 2011 - Illinois
12. 2012 - Indiana
13. 2011 - Iowa
14. 2004 - Kansas
15. 2012- Kentucky
16. 2002 - Louisiana
17. 2012 - Maine
18. 2012 - Maryland
19. 2012 - Massachusetts
20. 2012 - Michigan
21. 2011 - Minnesota
22. 2011 - Mississippi
23. 2007 - Missouri
24. 2010 - Nebraska
25. 2011 - Nevada
26. 2009 - New Hampshire
27. 2010 - New Jersey
28. 2012 - New Mexico
29. 2011 - New York
30. 2012 - North Carolina
31. 2012 - North Dakota
32. 2012 - Ohio
33. 2010 - Oklahoma
34. 2010 - Oregon
35. 2009 - Pennsylvania
36. 2011 - Rhode Island
37. 2008 - South Carolina
38. 2003 - South Dakota
39. 2010 - Tennessee
40. 2012 - Texas
41. 2008 - Utah
42. 2012 - Virginia
43. 2012 - Washington
44. 2012 - West Virginia
45. 2012 - Wisconsin
46. 2000 - Wyoming

And this:

Minnesota Majority today released a report on voter fraud convictions to date stemming from Minnesota's 2008 general election. The report finds that 113 individuals who voted illegally in the 2008 election have been convicted of the crime, "ineligible voter knowingly votes" under Minnesota Statute 201.014.

And this:

In 2005, the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that up to 3 percent of the 30,000 individuals called for jury duty from voter registration rolls over a two-year period in just one U.S. district court were not U.S. citizens.[1] While that may not seem like many, just 3 percent of registered voters would have been more than enough to provide the winning presidential vote margin in Florida in 2000. Indeed, the Census Bureau estimates that there are over a million illegal aliens in Florida,[2] and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has prosecuted more non-citizen voting cases in Florida than in any other state.[3]

And from a study examining whether voterID rules 'suppressed' votes along racial or ethnic lines (spoiler: they don't):

Voter identification (ID) policies, especially those of the photo ID variety, have been hotly contested over the last few years. The primary concern surrounding these statutes amounts to lower turnout, especially among certain groups in the electorate, such as racial/ethnic minorities. In 2007, the way was cleared for Georgia to implement a new statute requiring registrants to present a government-issued photo ID to vote. Using population data on registrants from two election cycles coupled with information on a subgroup of registrants known to lack photo ID, we conduct a policy impact analysis of the Georgia voter ID law. We find that the new law did produce a suppression effect among those registrants lacking proper ID. Substantively, the law lowered turnout by about four-tenths of a percentage point in 2008. However, we find no empirical evidence to suggest that there is a racial or ethnic component to this suppression effect.

And here's a gem:

The 2004 Washington State gubernatorial election was decided by 133 votes while 1,678 illegal votes, mostly by felons, were cast. The election was upheld because there was no accurate way to determine which candidate was the recipient of the illegal votes.

So, tell me again why requesting a photo ID before voting is unnecessary?