independentsforkerry.org

A year after the 2008 presidential election, calls for new voter identification laws were heard in many states. Led by a group called the American Legislative Exchange Council, proponents claim that such a law is needed because there is “rampant voter fraud.”

American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a heavily conservative nonprofit organization funded by billionaires such as the Scaife family (Allegheny Foundation and the Scaife Family Foundation), the Coors family (Castle Rock Foundation), Charles Koch (Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation and the Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation), the Bradley family (The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation) and the Olin family (John M. Olin Foundation) and corporations such as Altria, AT&T, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Koch Industries, Kraft, PhRMA, Wal-Mart, Peabody Energy, and State Farm. Such corporations represent just a fraction of ALEC’s approximately three hundred corporate partners. ALEC writes legislative bills that Republican governors and legislators introduce as their own in state legislatures.

ALEC’s public safety and elections task force drafted the Voter ID Act in the summer of 2009, which would require “proof of identity” to vote. Those without a valid photo ID must fill out a provisional ballot that is only counted if the voter produces an ID at the county elections office. It also suggests that ID cards be made available free of charge to eligible voters without a valid driver’s license.

PBS: Millions of voting age citizens don’t have a U.S. Passport or photo ID issued by a department of motor vehicles office in any of the 50 states. The hurdles to vote by first obtaining a photo ID issued by state’s department of motor vehicles can be daunting and costly for those who do not otherwise need or have a state DMV issued photo ID.

The new voter photo ID laws being pushed by ALEC in all 50 states arguably represent the most serious efforts to exclude Americans from voting since the Jim Crow wave of anti-black voter suppression laws that Southern states enforced from the 1870s until the 1960s.

The Daily Planet – Minneapolis, MN

ALEC is a Republican-favored organization that is promoting “its right-wing agenda” in all 50 states, says Color of Change.org, a national activist group that has launched a national campaign calling for corporations and others to stop financially supporting the organization. The MSR tried contacting ALEC’s Washington offices for comment, but no one answered the phone and there was not an answering system available to leave messages.

Since 2009, 33 states have introduced some form of photo ID bill, and 14 states have passed laws that now require voters to present a federal- or state-issued photo ID with an expiration date at the polls. Opponents, who include most Democrats as well as local and nationally based organizations that advocate for Blacks and other people of color, say the legislation is “a thinly veiled attempt to depress [voter] turnout.”

“There have been no problems [of voter fraud in Minnesota],” says State Representative Bobby Joe Champion (DFL-Minneapolis), who told the MSR last week that there are more pressing issues that need addressing.

“Public policy and legislation should be about solving a problem or a challenge,” Champion says. The current same-day voter registration “encourages people to come out and vote. If a person doesn’t have something [to verify their address], their neighbor can vouch for them,” says the lawmaker.

State Representative Rena Moran (DFL-St. Paul) says, “We have a system that is working and very inclusive, and also represents that voting is a right. We have a group here trying to take that right [and] make it a privilege.”

The Republican-majority Minnesota Legislature did pass a photo ID bill last year, but it was vetoed by Gov. Mark Dayton. An attempt is now underway in this year’s session to introduce a bill that would amend the state constitution to require all Minnesotans to show either a driver’s license or a state-issued photo ID at the polls.

If successful, this legislation would end same-day voter registration and absentee voting.

This amendment is not publicly driven but politically driven, says State Senator Jeff Hayden (DFL-Minneapolis). “All you need is a simple majority in the Senate and the House to put it on the ballot,” he explains, adding that going this route “sets up a dangerous precedent like they have in other states. It really mucks up the ballot.”

U.S. Representative Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) joined several Minnesotans at the State Capitol on February 6 to speak out against the proposed amendment. He cited statistics from the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office showing that over 700,000 Minnesotans — including seniors, college students, people with disabilities, people of color, and new Americans — would be affected by a new photo ID amendment.

Ellison later told the MSR that because statewide elections in both 2008 and 2010 were decided by, respectively, a few hundred and a few thousand votes, “Photo ID could unfairly tip the scales in future elections.”

Read the full article @ The Daily Planet

More:

• ALEC: The Voice of Corporate Special Interests In State Legislatures
• Project Seeks to Help Students Overcome Barriers to Voting
• Why Millions of American Voters Have No Government Issued Photo ID
  
• Texas Voter Photo ID FAQ

Democratic Blog News

The U.S. House late today narrowly passed a debt-ceiling bill without a single Democratic vote, only to see the Senate quickly turn around and reject the Republican plan.

Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo.

Colorado’s House delegation split along party lines, with the four Republicans voting in favor of the modified House Speaker John Boehner plan and all three Democrats rejecting it. The House vote was 218-210. The Senate rejected the bill 59-41.

Colorado’s senior congresswoman, Democrat Diana DeGette, issued the following statement on the Republican’s plan, which included a balanced budget amendment to the constitution in order to appease conservative GOP members, 22 of whom still voted against the bill:

“As we stand four days away from the first default in our nation’s history, the Republican bill passed today may raise the debt ceiling for the near future, but it is an imbalanced approach to deficit reduction that disproportionately punishes the most vulnerable Americans, and, with its untenable balanced budget amendment timeline, sets the stage for likely default in six months. That timetable systematically continues the blanket of uncertainty this debate has placed over our economy, virtually ensuring a downgrade to the U.S. credit rating and an economic crisis for our nation.

“With the markets already reacting to the gridlock in Washington, it is time to pay our bills, avoid a default crisis that would send interest rates skyrocketing, and then focus on getting our fiscal house in order. We must reduce our deficit, pay down our debt, and ensure the long-term solvency of Social Security and Medicare. These issues deserve balanced and thoughtful solutions; not to be held hostage to preserving the full faith and credit of the U.S.”

Colorado’s senior Republic congressman, Doug Lamborn, issued this statement after his yes vote:

“This is not a perfect plan, but it is a sincere, honest effort to fundamentally change the way Washington does business. It ensures that the federal government will meet all its financial obligations in the short term. Under this plan, every government payment would go out on time. But, down the road, it calls for additional spending cuts and a balanced budget amendment before Congress will raise the debt ceiling a second time.

“I would prefer deeper spending cuts. But I am glad for the possibility of putting more fiscal discipline for Congress into the Constitution. This is the only way we can control spending and make sure that the American dream survives for our children and grandchildren.

“This is the second time in 10 days that House Republicans have sent to the Senate a common-sense plan for restoring our nation’s fiscal strength. I urge our Senators to work with us in a bipartisan effort to solve our overspending problem.”

The Colorado Independent

With Jackie Salit, Independentvoting.org President  Monday, March 28th Time: 8:30 pm EST (5:30 pm PT, 6:30 pm MT, 7:30 pm CT)  Check out Independentvoting.org For more information, contact Nancy Ross or Gwen Mandell at 800-288-3201 or email national@cuip.org.

The Hankster

The red wave that swept America in last week’s election didn’t exactly miss Colorado, but it was very selective.

It will probably be felt most acutely in the State Legislature, where control will be split, the Republicans gaining a one- or two-seat edge in the House. Democrats will retain control of the Colorado Senate, probably by a 20-15 margin.

Speaker Terrance Carroll on the first day of the 2009 session. (Photo/Bob Spencer, The Colorado Independent)

While Colorado Democratic Party officials still say they are waiting for all the votes to be counted in a couple of races, it appears to most that House Democrats took a big hit, going from a 37-27-1 majority to being down one seat, 33-32, or possibly 33-31-1 if unaffiliated candidate Kathleen Curry prevails in HD 61.

Among Democratic losers in the House were:

Debbie Benefield, Arvada, who is losing HD 29 to Robert Ramirez by just over 200 votes.

Joe Rice, Littleton, who lost HD 38 to Kathleen Conti by a 52-48 margin.

Dennis Apuan, Colorado Springs, who lost HD 17 to Mark Barker by a 54-46 margin.

Dianne Primavera, Broomfield, who is losing HD 33 to Donald Beezley by around 400 votes.

But the Colorado Democratic Party still had this language on its website as of this morning:

The Colorado State House is one representative shy of the majority. We continue to review the votes for several House races. We will miss the wise counsel of Joe Rice, Sarah Gagliardi and Dennis Apuan. And we hope to discover the votes needed to bring back Debbie Benefield and Diane Primavera.

And Benefield had this to say Monday afternoon: “Of course I still have a chance.”

She said she is currently behind by 208 votes, but that there are hundreds of provisional and military ballots still to be counted.

A source in the Democratic Party who did not want to be identified but whose job entails keeping a close eye on the late ballot counting process, said there are still about 4,000 provisional ballots in Jefferson County that have not been counted. Only a portion of those are in HD 29, but he said it is way too soon to declare a winner in that race.

“We may not know who won that race until the middle of the month,” he said. He also said there are still a lot of votes to be counted in HD 33, but with the Republicans having a larger lead there among votes already counted, that race seems less likely to flip. Provisional ballots tend to tilt Democratic, he said.

While the Democratic Party may still be saying, “let’s wait and see,” both parties in both chambers have been busy electing leaders for the 2011 session.

Last session’s Speaker of the House Democrat Terrance Carroll has reportedly offered his congratulations to Republican Rep. Frank McNulty, Highlands Ranch, for capturing majority control of the Colorado House, where he has already been named Speaker for next year.

The Democrats managed to hold off challenges to all but one of their state Senate seats in last week’s election, leaving them firmly in control with a 20-15 majority. While some still hold out for a Republican victory in SD 16, Jeanne Nicholson was leading Tim Leonard by more than 500 this morning.

How much a split legislature matters is unclear.

“The biggest difference (in the House) is that their party now picks the chairs of all the committees,” said Rep. Jim Riesberg, D-Greeley.

He also noted that as most committees have 11 members, in the next session, that will mean committees each have six Republicans and five Democrats.

“As long as people vote on the issues, I really don’t think it will make much difference. Last year, more than 80 percent of the bills that passed the House had at least 50 votes (out of 65).”

Similarly, on redistricting, he said that anytime the legislature tries to gerrymander the districts, the courts have stepped in to redraw the lines anyway.

“We will make every effort to work together with the Republicans,” he said.

Democratic Rep. Max Tyler, HD 23, Lakewood, says there was no red wave in Colorado. “The House is Republican because of less than 300 votes in one district. That’s hardly a wave,” he said.

Tyler, elected to his first full term after having been appointed to fill a vacancy, said it felt great to win. Unusual in a state legislative race, Tyler’s opponent, Edgar Johannson, moved to the district from Denver just to run against Tyler. Also unusual was that Tyler was targeted by a well-funded TV effort, with negative ads running during prime time sporting events.

“I think I won because of my deep roots in the community.” He said he thinks Republican leadership will make it difficult to pass legislation favoring green energy. “When the other side thinks climate change is a hoax, it will be hard to get clean energy legislation through,” he said.

“With a majority in the House, we are going to have the chance to move Colorado forward with bipartisan cooperation,” said newly elected Speaker of the House Frank McNulty.

“We will be on equal footing with Democrats in the next session,” McNulty said. “We will focus on finding common ground with Democrats in the House and in the Senate and with Governor Elect [John] Hickenlooper. We know that Hickenlooper has good ideas he would like to pursue in putting Colorado back to work and we look forward to meaningful and substantive conversations with the governor and the Democratic Senate,” McNulty added.

Colorado Independent

An interesting article on CapitalNewYork.com examines the personal and Green Party history of Howie Hawkins, the Greens’ 2010 gubernatorial nominee in New York who was successful in getting the 50,000 votes necessary for ballot access, as well as the history of the Greens in New York and their plans for the future, among other subjects.  Read the full thing here.

“I came to New York to organize co-ops,” he said. “When the funding ran out I got a job loading trucks for UPS.”

He’s still there.

Hawkins has built up a real, if not massive, following in the Syracuse area. In addition to his run for mayor in 2005, he ran for Congress in 2008 and received almost 9,000 votes, 3.3 percent of the total. Last year, he got 41 percent of the vote running for a seat on the Syracuse Common Council. The Syracuse-area voters supported him in large numbers this year, with Hawkins garnering 5.3 percent of the vote in Onondaga County.

“I have a personal base in Onondaga and adjacent counties,” Hawkins says. “I got over 3 percent in all of them…”

Perhaps now that it is so much easier for them to put candidates on the ballot, the Greens will be more aggressive in running local candidates in New York City. The vast majority of incumbents in the city, both on the Council and the state legislature, currently have little competition. Democrats control every position in Manhattan and the Bronx, every position in Queens but for three members of the City Council, and every position in Brooklyn except for one State Senator. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver ran unopposed this year.

“We got a lot of organizing to do,” said Hawkins.

Independent Political Report

The Jim Crow of Bipartisan Rule (Dr. Omar Ali, The Public Professor blog) “Voting for candidates who offer a challenge to the rules of the game is a way of dealing a blow to the Jim Crow of bipartisan rule. It is also a way of building today’s independent movement and helping the nation move toward non-partisan governance. So, please, keep the movement and the long-term in mind when you cast your ballot this Tuesday.”

Will Election Day be independents’ day? (By Susan Frick Carlman, Naperville IL Sun Times) “Four out of 10 voters would check “neither of the above” if asked to choose between Democratic and Republican loyalties, according to polls taken by CNN, ABC News, the Wall Street Journal and others. “It’s hovered around 40 percent since 2006, so it’s not spiked dramatically in the last year, but it hasn’t gone down,” said John Opdycke, an Evanston IL native and chief of staff at New York-based Independentvoting.org, the online presence of the Committee for a Unified Independent Party…“In general, independents are dissatisfied with partisan politics, and the way in which partisans have turned American civic and political life into a bloodsport,” he said. “And they express that dissatisfaction on Election Day, typically by voting against the party in power.”

Letter to the Editor/Staten Island Advance
By SARAH LYONS
ST. GEORGE

I applaud Borough President Jim Molinaro’s willingness to cross party lines and endorse Andrew Cuomo for governor.

Cuomo, of course, is not just running as a Democrat. He’s also on The Independence Party line. The more votes Cuomo receives on Column “C,” the more pressure he’ll feel to govern in a non-partisan fashion.

That’s important because we’ve all seen the negative effects of party politics. Indeed, both major parties derive much of their power from the fact that voters have no other place to go. That’s why the independent movement, with its focus on structural political reform and opening up the process, remains so important and so relevant.

There’s another good choice in the governor’s race this year. It’s helping the fledgling Freedom Party win ballot status with 50,000 votes.

Launched by City Councilman Charles Barron as a challenge to the Democratic Party’s monopoly of the black and Latino vote, it’s an independent effort with the potential to bring much needed political options to a growing segment of New York City’s population.

Staten Island has vibrant minor parties in Independence, Conservative and Working Families. A minor party highlighting the interests of the African-American and Latino communities would be a welcome addition to the mix.

[The writer is chair of the Independence Party of Richmond County.]
Published: Thursday, October 28, 2010, 12:00 PM Updated: Thursday, October 28, 2010, 12:48 PM

Women, Independent Voters Show Biggest Swing From 2008 (FoxNews.com) Independent voters supported Democrats 51 percent of the time compared to 43 percent of the time for Republicans in 2008. But in 2010, the Democrats garnered only 39 percent of the independent vote compared to 55 percent for the GOP.

The Hankster

The eleven Green Party candidates on the ballot this year for US Senate netted a combined half million votes. The 510,000 votes is the highest combined total for Green Party Senate candidates since 2000, when Medea Benjamin won 326,000 votes for US Senate in California and Vance Hansen picked up over 100,000 in Arizona.
The 2010 [...]
Green Party Watch

Updated July 6, 2010 @ 9:10 p.m.
Dallas Morning News – July 6, 2010: A Republican consultant with ties to Rick Perry – and to the governor’s biggest campaign contributor — is cited in court records among a growing number of GOP operatives involved in efforts to put the Green Party on the Texas ballot. At issue is the legality of a GOP-backed petition drive bankrolled with 2,000 through an out-of-state corporation to gather over 90,000 petition signatures to put Green Party candidates on the November general election ballot. Court records include a Green Party email that names Anthony Holm as, “a Republican in Texas [who] wants to give us 40 percent of the cost of petitioning.” Holm, who had previously worked as a Perry staff member responsible for “Special Projects,” heads a consulting firm that has been paid over 8,000 by the Perry campaign. The Texas Supreme Court has allowed the Green Party to certify its candidates while it reviews the case.

Originally Posted June 24, 2010 @ 5:10 p.m.
Early in June month the Dallas Morning News reported that the Green Party’s petition drive to gain ballot access in Texas this November was set up by Arizona-based Republican consultant.

The news broke a week after the Green Party of Texas submitted 90,000 signatures to the Texas Secretary of State. Kat Swift, the state coordinator of the Green Party of Texas admitted, in the DMN story, “If it hadn’t been for that donation, we wouldn’t have been on the ballot.” The Green Party had been struggling to get the required 43,991 petition signatures for its candidates to make the ballot.

A Green Party slate on the November ballot would likely drain votes from Democrat Bill White giving incumbent Republican Rick Perry an electoral advantage in the election for the governor’s office.

DMN: Green Party officials said an outside group gathered the 92,000 signatures and gave them as “a gift” to the party, which delivered them to the secretary of state, who oversees Texas elections. If the secretary of state determines that enough of them are valid, the party will be able to field a slate of candidates for statewide offices for the first time since 2002.

“It’s good news for Rick Perry, in the sense that the Green Party label draws votes away from White rather than Perry,” said Rice University political science professor Mark Jones.

The Texas Democratic Party then filed for a temporary restraining order in State District Court to prevent the certification of Green Party candidates pending a fast track discovery process to gather facts to determine whether out-of-state Republican operatives used money from illegal corporate sources to gather the 92,000 signatures for the Green Party. Texas Democratic Party press release:

The Republicans secretly funded and organized a ballot petition operation that may have been funded by illegal, anonymous contributions, according to reports published this week by the Dallas Morning News. The TDP was forced to take legal action because those involved with this dubious secret Republican-Green Party scheme have refused to be upfront with Texans about the nature of this political contribution, and legal discovery would serve the public interest by shedding light on a murky transaction. As the Dallas Morning News stated in an editorial yesterday, “the legality of the money behind the Green petitions needs to be tested in court.”

Today State District Judge John Dietz issued an injunction blocking Green Party candidates from the November ballot after hearing arguments and sworn testimony. Judge Dietz said that restricted corporate money was used to support the signature drive and did not comply with state election law. Dietz said he expected his injunction against the Green Party, disqualifying them for a spot on the November ballot, will be stayed by a higher court. The Green Party, represented by former Republican state Supreme Court Justice Stephen Smith, plans to appeal to the high court on Monday. (Houston Chronicle, June 24, 2010)

A key witness testified under oath today that a top member of Rick Perry’s inner circle paid him about ,000 to convince Green Party of Texas leaders to participate in an elaborate ballot petition scam. University of Texas student Garrett Mize testified that he was approached in late 2009 by Mike Toomey and Stuart Moss about contacting the Green Party to discuss raising money from wind energy proponents for a signature-gathering effort. Mize said Toomey paid him ,000 a month but that he quit in April when it became clear there was no money to come from wind-energy advocates and that all money would likely come from Republican donors and “interests that did not want Democrats to do well.” (Houston Chronicle, June 24, 2010)

Lone Star Project: Mike Toomey, the former chief of staff for the governor, paid Garrett Mize, a 22-year-old University of Texas student, from his personal checking account to present a formal proposal to Green Party leaders. The proposal suggests using out-of-state funds to gather signatures needed to field candidates [to bleed votes away from Democratic candidates] in the upcoming Texas [November] election. The memo notes that, “many of the donors will be people that simply do not want to see the Democratic Party win.” (The proposal by Mize can be seen here.)

Toomey’s direct involvement elevates the matter to a level of wrongdoing not seen since the Sharpstown scandal of the 1970s. Mike Toomey is a member of Perry’s inner circle and described as “close friends” (Source: Texas Monthly, February 2005). It is irrational to believe that Toomey would have made such an elaborate — and likely illegal — effort to field Green Party candidates without the knowledge and approval of the governor.

The morning testimony left it unclear what happened after the original plan proposed by Mize fell apart. A second plan was formulated just two weeks before the deadline to turn in ballot petitions. This second plan funneled 2,500 in corporate money [from Missouri-based Take Initiative America headed by Charles Hurth III, a Republican lawyer. The Missouri-based corporation founder has worked on similar efforts in the past with Perry's chief political strategist. ] to pay for the effort to gather signatures for the Green Party in order to qualify candidates for the Texas ballot. [The 2,000 to gather the signatures is deemed an in-kind contribution to the Texas Green Party.] Documents and testimony in the coming days should reveal whether Toomey masterminded this plan as well. (Source: Austin American-Statesman, June 24, 2010)

The Dallas Morning News broke the story that a secret donor funneled money through a non-profit corporation to finance the Green Party of Texas ballot initiative. The Lone Star Project has detailed the connection between the Republican operatives running the signature gathering effort and Perry’s top campaign consultant, Dave Carney. Today’s revelation connects the Green Party/GOP scam directly to Perry again by exposing his close confidant, Mike Toomey, as the mastermind behind an effort to field Green Party candidates.

This would not be the first time Mike Toomey has used secret corporate donations to illegally help elect Republicans in Texas. Toomey was implicated in the TRMPAC scandal and the Texas Association of Business lawsuit after the 2002 elections. The TRMPAC “indictments …noted that TAB board members Mike Toomey and Eric Glenn, both lobbyists, played prominent roles in soliciting money.” (Austin American-Statesman, September 8, 2005)

Toomey was sued alongside the Texas Association of Business for illegally using corporate money in elections. According to the Statesman, “Although state law generally forbids the spending of corporate money in connection with campaigns, Toomey and the corporations argue that the corporate money at the heart of the litigation was for issue ads – … and that therefore they were not required to tell the public who was paying for them….Other documents confirmed Toomey as a primary fundraiser among the 30 corporations that spent the money under the business association’s name without revealing their identities.” (Austin American-Statesman, September 7, 2006)

Recanting earlier statements, Rick Perry chief consultant, Dave Carney, now admits knowing Tim Mooney and the Republicans who orchestrated this plan. Carney initially denied even knowing Mooney to the Dallas Morning News, then later admitted to the Texas Tribune that he did, in fact, know and work with Mooney in the past. (DMN: Perry political chief: May I amend my remarks?)

In legal action to place Green Party candidates on the November ballot, Green Party officials have called on several prominent Republican lawyers. Among them are Andy Taylor, who represented business interests in Republican Tom DeLay’s effort to use corporate money to redraw congressional districts; Cleta Mitchell, co-chair of the Republican National Lawyers Association; and David Rogers, a plaintiff in the Hopwood court case over affirmative action at the University of Texas.

Perry became only the third governor in state history to have been elected by a plurality of less than 40 percent of votes cast in the 2006 election. In 2006 Perry faced a six-way race with former Democratic Congressman Chris Bell, Libertarian candidate James Werner; and three independent candidates – outgoing Republican state Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, well-known Texas humorist Kinky Friedman, and write-in candidate James “Patriot” Dillon. Perry won with 38% of the vote.

GOP strategist Royal Masset says of Perry’s 2010 opponent, “He (White) is plain-spoken. He is very specific-oriented. He’s kind of our nightmare …” [The Houston Chronicle]

According to a new poll on the 2010 Texas gubernatorial race released by Public Policy Polling, Democratic challenger Bill White is running neck and neck with incumbent Republican Gov. Rick Perry. They each have 43 percent of the expected vote.

Perry campaign spokesman Mark Miner said the governor had “nothing to do with the Green Party efforts” (Houston Chronicle, June 24, 2010)

Bill White campaign video on Mike Toomey & the Green Party

Democratic Blog of Collin County – News