Pennsylvania voters triple-whammied in one day

By Heather Turner
 
Pennsylvania voters have suddenly found themselves triple whammied.

 On the same day Judge Robert E. Simpson released his baffling 70 page ruling on the validity of Pennsylvania's new voter ID law, the Department of State quietly issued an email to county election officials explaining that it would drop two initiatives intended to boost voting. The initiatives would have allowed citizens to register to vote online and to apply online for absentee ballots for the upcoming election. The reasons, according to an unidentified Department of State spokesperson and Department of State Commissioner, Jonathan Marks: it's too much work! All efforts and resources, it seems, are focused on implementing the new voter ID law.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports today that after the Commonwealth Court ruled in favor of the state's strict voter-ID law—a law many believe will result in fewer people being able to vote—Corbett's administration opted to abandon two different efforts intended to boost the vote. The state will no longer try to make online voter registration available this year, nor can those who need to vote absentee submit their applications online. That's a big deal. Pennsylvania doesn't just allow anyone to vote absentee; you have to show proof that you cannot be at the polls for one of the acceptable reasons. Without the online option, those needing an absentee ballot will have to either mail in their application or deliver it in person. Meanwhile, online registration simply streamlines the process, creating less paperwork and requiring less effort for the would-be voter. According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, it's too much work to implement both the voter-ID law and these new reforms.

Let's just be clear on the situation here. These online systems make it easier to vote. Pennsylvania is not going to pursue those, because its hands are full with the voter ID-law that makes it harder to vote. The law, which requires voters to show a government-issued identification is among the strictest in the country; to get an ID in the Keystone state is no easy feat: It requires a birth certificate, Social Security card, as well as two proofs of address.

Blog Roundup!

Lida Vasilevskaya gives an insider's account of what was going on in the courtroom during the Pussy Riot trial.

Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin airs his frustrations over GOP voter suppression efforts (and ended up having to shut down the comments section on his blog as a result).

Pressthink dissects everything that's wrong with political journalism in one Washington Post item.

Informed Comment lists the top ten differences in media language when reporting on white terrorists and other terrorists.

Occupy Wallstreet crackdowns: Tyranny isn't always centralized.

And finally, the power of the press release: Doubtful Newsblog shows how dozens of major media outlets, including The Guardian and ABC, proliferated an erroneous story about a women-only city to be built in Saudi Arabia, all based on misreading (or not reading) one press release.

Ex-Head of Florida GOP testifies that some party officials discussed suppressing black votes

One would hope that this really wasn't the topic of conversation that Republican party officials, or any party official at any level of government would be discussing in 2012, much less on the state level. But, according to Jim Greer, the former Florida Republican Party Chairman, it happened.


 (Florida News 10 WTSP report )

Greer had resigned facing pressures from within his own party in January 2010. It was at this time that Greer said he signed a severance package agreement with the party amounting to $130,000. Greer never received what he says he was promised, and later filed a lawsuit against the party and two officials, Senate President Mike Haridopolos and Sen. John Thrasher.  However, Greer is also facing possible criminal charges for corruption, stemming from his creation of Victory Strategies LLC, which made $200,000 from the party while Greer was Chairman. The result of all of this is a 630 page deposition, the testimony of Greer, who describes the turmoil in the months leading up to his resignation. He in fact, documents the split in the party that occurred as the right wing of the state party clashed with Greer over their support of Marco Rubio. According to Salon: