Last week I realized just how much I take the right to vote for granted. Not just that I’ve missed an election or two, but I always assumed that as a white man I could take a time machine to any November in American history and vote. Of course that is assuming I brought the…
North Carolina’s primaries are in jeopardy after a federal judicial ruling declared two congressional districts unconstitutional due to racial gerrymandering. The Tar Heel State planned to hold primaries on March 15 and even started sending out absentee ballots, but now everything is up in the air. Last Friday a panel of three federal judges ruled…
We’re not sending anyone new to Washington DC in 2015, but there are important local elections tomorrow, including a unique initiative on Seattle ballots. This initiative would drastically change the Emerald City’s campaign finance laws in an effort to stem the growth of big money in politics. The initiative, known as I-122, would enact a…
North Carolina is carefully being watched as a federal trial is underway that will determine if its 2013 election law is illegal. The plaintiffs, including the US Justice Department, North Carolina NAACP and the North Carolina League of Women Voters, are tasked with proving that North Carolina’s election law reform, known as HB589, was created and enacted to intentionally discriminate against minorities and voters under 25.
Congratulations, you’re eighteen! You can get a tattoo, buy a lottery ticket, be selected for jury duty, and call yourself a legal adult. According to the 26th Amendment, you also possess the right to vote. But there’s a caveat that makes this last right much less accessible than the rest: voter registration. Advocates for…
This spring the United States Supreme Court has stepped in to address racial gerrymanders in Alabama and North Carolina. Each state has been asked to reconsider existing judicial decisions on districts drawn following the 2010 census. Additional states are expected to follow.
My Elementary School, P.S. 24 (Class of 2002 represent), wants two new laptop carts consisting of 72 brand new laptop computers. When I went there we had a computer lab consisting of two or three dozen pre-iMac Apples. In that lab Mavis Beacon taught me how to type, Zoombinis taught me how to do math, and…
Rapidly more and more nations are deciding to lower their voting age, as well. Some of these nations include Austria, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, and the UK. The United States, as a result, is catching up. Two Maryland cities have already granted municipal voting rights to 16 and 17 year olds, and there’s a recent push in San Francisco to follow their lead. Additionally, more than 15 states already allow 17 year olds to vote in primaries to nominate candidates for president, Congress, and governor. So now the question is – what are the pros and cons of taking this nationwide?
Inmates who are released from prison will be allowed to vote under a proposed Marylan law. Ex-Felons would gain voting rights while still on parole
If you have an Oregon drivers license issued in the last two years, you’re also registered to vote. That’s the nut of a new law in Oregon that positions the state as leader in voter accessibility. By digitally linking Department of Motor Vehicles records to voter registration, anyone who has been to the DMV since…