The Voting News Weekly: The Voting News Weekly Auguest 12-18 2013
With the passage of sweeping election legislation in North Carolina and the Justice Department’s challenge to Voter ID in Texas, Politico surveyed the voting rights battleground. American Prospect examined the argument that since efforts to restrict voting rights have been unsuccessful in some cases, those efforts were therefore not intended to restrict voting rights. As many as 15,000 Kansas voters may face challenges in registering to vote under the State’s new proof-of-citizenship requirements. North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed a bill into law that establishes strict voter identification requirements, curtails early voting, eliminates same day registration, early registration for 17-years old and the ability to keep polling places open in the event of long lines or technical problems. A court in Pennsylvania has blocked the State’s Voter ID law for a second time. Texas argues that laws intended to restrict minority access to the polls are not based on politics rather than race. Concerns over cost and security have halted the push for internet voting in Canadian towns and, citing a lack confidence in the integrity of the challenge process, the opposition has dropped its challenge to Zimbabwe’s recent presidential election.