voter suppression

So if you didn't hear about Ted Nugent being an asshole you can check it out here. Some have been having fun with it. Tweets such as

• Tweet: Ted Nugent tells young Americans to get off his lawn http://su.pr/33iDDa
• Tweet: Ted Nugent smells like old people .... #NoLie http://su.pr/33iDDa #p2
• Tweet: Ted Nugent is still alive?! http://su.pr/33iDDa #p2

In other news.....

• Bless her! NC Photo ID vetoed by Governor Bev Perdue
• Washington's War on Youth
  

  "Anti-government hawks like Alan Simpson and Pete Peterson also made a deft (if deeply cynical) move by framing these programs as a war between baby boomers vs. Gen X-ers, since some of their cuts would hurt boomers too.

  But young people will take the worst of these cuts, since their impact increases over time. When you combine this assault on "entitlements" with other forms of austerity economics, the result is a plan to hand the next generation a nation with crumbling infrastructure, collapsing government services, and bleak economic prospects. It's an all-out assault on the future of the young.

  That's no accident. Politicians know that seniors would rise up against any politician who crosses them. And seniors vote. They're also aware that baby boomers are a large and powerful voting bloc, not to be trifled with."

• Jobless claims up as Young People Struggle as Opportunities Remain Scarce
• Youthy Op-ed: The only thing we can count on is that youth are put further in debt
• Good for them: Connecticut wants to keep its young people around. A bill in their legislature would give an extra boost to students who want to save money for their first home in the state.
• Illegal Immigrant youth come out in reform push. Good for them - I'd be scared to death to do this so I solute them.
  

  Already around the country, efforts by young activists have ranged from rallies and letter-writing to sit-ins and civil disobedience, drawing inspiration from civil rights demonstrations decades ago, with the aim of forcing the federal government to reform rules for immigrants in their situation.

  In one of the most high-profile declarations yet, former Washington Post reporter Jose Antonio Vargas used an ABC News interview and a New York Times Magazine article to announce Wednesday that he is an illegal immigrant from the Philippines.



• Young People face barriers to enter Farming Careers

  "Farmers and ranchers in the U.S. are growing increasingly older as barriers to entry into agriculture set up obstacles for young people to begin farming and ranching operations, according to the April and May issues of the Food, Nutrition & Science report. . .

  Because of this, the USDA provides special assistance to beginning farmers and ranchers through programs such as the Small Farms Program at Oregon State University, the report said."

I want to be a Shepherd. Happy Friday!

Some interesting reads for you as we prepare to move into another week.

• With all the economic strife Millennials are experiencing these days, perhaps we need a National Youth Administration to help dig our way out?
• Democratic political strategist Donna Brazile outlines the extent to which Republicans plan to suppress votes in future elections.
• NPR explores how young people can improve their financial literacy; this article is one of a series of articles on the topic.
• Did you know? The largest number of American hate groups are located in Idaho and Mississippi.
• A Huffington Post piece discusses the importance of young people starting businesses and how we can enhance youth entrepreneurship in the future.
• Montana college students will be hit with a 10 percent tuition increase over two years. Why? State budget cuts.
• Allowing concealed guns on college campuses appeared to be sure to pass in Texas. However, some Democratic tactics appear to have dealt the bill a fatal blow.

Hat tip to our own Kevin Bondelli:

During a campaign rally for Republican Gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell in Virginia Mike Huckabee made this statement:

You have two jobs. One, get all those people who are going to vote for Bob out to the polls and vote. If they’re not going to vote for Bob, you have another job. Let the air out of their tires and do not let them out of their driveway on Election Day. Keep ‘em home. Do the Lord’s work, my friend. I’m giving you an opportunity…yes, do the right thing.

This looks like a pretty good reason to do something to help Brian Moran.

You know how Huckabee and Co. will explain this. They'll say it was a simple joke and wasn't meant to be taken seriously. The problem is that we all know people out there fanatical enough to believe they are doing "the Lord's work" by doing this stuff. The last thing they need is a prominent politician validating it, giving them cover.

Check out Brian Moran's campaign here.

I just saw CNN report on the fake text messages we posted about earlier today. And there are new reports coming in that these texts are now claiming to be "Breaking News from CNN" to lend them an air of legitimacy.

YDA is messaging their list to get the word out about these fraudulent messages:

Dear Michael,

We are getting reports from multiple states, of a recent influx of fraudulent emails, fliers, and text messages incorrectly telling students that voting has been delayed or polling places are moved for students.

Obviously these assertions are FALSE and an obvious attempt by supporters of Republican candidates afraid of the impact you are having on this election.

No voting has been delayed, all remaining voting will take place today, and you can find your polling place at www.govote.org. If you or your friends encounter any problems voting, call 866-OUR-VOTE for assistance.

If you have received any of these emails or texts do not delete them. Please forward them to chapter@yda.org immediately. If you are unable to forward text messages from your phone, please take a photo of the text on your phone and email the photo to us.

Do not allow these cheap, dirty, and irresponsible voter suppression tactics to succeed. Forward this email on to all your friends so they know the truth, post the blog post we wrote on this topic on your facebook wall, and do whatever you can to spread the word.

Sincerely,
Tony Cani
National Political Director
Young Democrats of America

The League sent a similar email to their members.

We just got this report from Adam Mason at Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement:

Sounds like a team of Republican Lawyers is challenging student registrations. This is something we are monitoring now. One of our staffers is a recent graduate from Grinnell College, so we got some word of this last night. It is also in one of our targeted areas, so we want to learn more about what is going on on the ground --- but just wanted to give you a heads up.

http://iowaindependent.com/8068/students-face-ballot-challenges-in-battleground-district

In response, the students have re-registered (same day registered) students who were challenged at their dorm room address, and there are quite a few questions in with county officials.

Read more news at http://www.communitychange.org/vote

Hi everybody!

I'm live-blogging Election Days all day today. It's pretty crazy here in NYC. Some of my colleagues had to wait HOURS on-line and that was already at the crack of dawn.

Now that we're all settled in, we'll be providing periodic updates from the field from community organizers across the nation.

Check it out here:
http://www.communitychange.org/vote

Aren't y'all tired of the same talking heads behind a news desk talking about the elections. Let's get our news from real, everyday people on the ground.

Dennis

See Luke Russert's special report that aired on the Today Show this morning featuring Matthew Segal of the Student Association for Voter Empowerment.

This is fucked up:

Students at Radford University in Virginia got some bad news recently-- the local county registrar's office informed them that they were ineligible to vote because they listed their dormitory addresses on their voter registration application.

The county registrar, Tracy Howard, told a local newspaper in October that "a dorm is generally--and I say generally--the same thing as a long-term motel stay." Some students who had registered using their school address had been sent postcards asking them to re-state their "home" address, and those that replied with dormitory addresses again were disqualified. Other students received no requests for clarification, and though they submitted applications more than a month in advance of the deadline, were notified of their ineligibility a week after it had passed.

The Supreme Court ruled in 1971 that students may register to vote where they attend school, and the Virginia state board of elections explicitly states that a dormitory may constitute a valid address. What's more, the additional paperwork sent to students violates the constitutional requirements against discrimination against particular groups of voters, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

The ACLU and the Brennan Center are threatening legal action if all the students' registrations aren't cleared and accepted. If this applies to you, get in touch with the local ACLU chapter.

From last night's Rachel Maddow show, Matthew Segal from the Student Association for Voter Empowerment making the rounds on the talk shows spreading his message of youth power and the disproportionate disenfranchisement they face year after year.

Please note, the assumption that seniors vote more than youth was disproved in 2006 when young voters 18-29 surpassed the 65+ voters.

Will the youth turnout?

• The Wall Street Journal, which has run a mixed bag of good and bad youth vote stories this year, follows up with a piece describing the two campaigns youth strategy for the final days. Read this for nothing else if not the hilarious attempts by the McCain campaign to explain anemic youth outreach as an important strategic move.
• The AP thinks that this year youth could actually "rock the vote," though they are bizarrely touting a poll that has an astounding margin of error of 9%.
• Fox News says much the same thing in a piece that seems to be written culled from the same wire copy.

Voting Rights

• The Twitter Vote Reporting Project is gaining steam. Tech President has the latest on their efforts. Or visit the Voter Suppression Wiki to follow along and contribute to their efforts.
• The College Democrats have their own election protection program up and running - Respect the Youth Vote.

Miscellaneous

• Campus Vote lists 37 things you can do between now and election day to engage students.
• It's Getting Hot in Here reports that 90% of young people around the world want action on climate change. That's a global consensus.
• Walden University held an "online debate" between the candidates in which all the questions were written by young people, and both McCain and Obama responded by creating videos. You can view their answers here.