The Voting News Weekly: The Voting News Weekly July 29 – August 4 2013
The rush to enact restrictive voting laws in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Act decision and the Justice Department’s decision to challenge those laws reflect fundamental divisions in American society. Attorney General Holder’s move, made under the Voting Rights Act’s “bail in” provision, is risky, both politically and legally but one of the few alternatives to protect minority voters remaining. McCutcheon v. FEC presents another Supreme Court decision on campaign finance. Cash-strapped Colorado counties will not be reimbursed by the state for the expense of unanticipated recall elections. Sweeping changes to North Carolina’s election law have generated criticism nationwide. The fate of Pennsylvania’s voter ID law is in the hands of a Commonwealth Court judge after closing arguments in the landmark voting-rights case Thursday. Bob Delaney, member of the Ontario Parliament, discussed the security concerns involved with internet voting while Zumbabwe’s Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai rejected Wednesday’s presidential election as a sham, warning that the country was headed for a crisis.