All That’s Left Is the Vote

In the haze of summer, with books still to be read, weeds pulled, kids retrieved from camp, it’s a little hard to fathom that, three months from now, American democracy will be on the line. The midterm elections in November are the last remaining obstacle to President Trump’s consolidation of power. None of the other forces that might have checked the rise of a corrupt homegrown oligarchy can stop or even slow it. The institutional clout that ended the Presidency of Richard Nixon no longer exists. The honest press, for all its success in exposing daily scandals, won’t persuade the unpersuadable or shame the shameless, while the dishonest press is Trump’s personal amplifier. The federal courts, including the Supreme Court, are rapidly becoming instruments of partisan advocacy, as reliably conservative as elected legislatures. It’s impossible to imagine the Roberts Court voting unanimously against the President, as the Burger Court, including five Republican appointees, did in forcing Nixon to turn over his tapes. (Brett Kavanaugh, Trump’s nominee to succeed Anthony Kennedy, has even suggested that the decision was wrong.) Congress has readily submitted to the President’s will, as if legislation and oversight were burdens to be relinquished. And, when the independent counsel finally releases his report, it will have only the potency that the guardians of the law and the Constitution give it.

Voting Did Not Go Smoothly Last Night

Last night’s primaries and caucuses in Michigan, Mississippi, Idaho, and Hawaii, delivered a major victory for Sen. Bernie Sanders, helped Donald Trump on his march to the Republican nomination, and spelled doom for Sen. Marco Rubio. They also shined a spotlight on serious voting rights problems in those states.
Hawaii: Trouble in paradise

For several election cycles, Hawaii has one of the worst voter turnout rates in the country. Last night changed that trend, with high turnout that triggered long lines, delays at the polls, and many voters giving up and leaving in frustration. At least 2,000 people were forced to cast provisional ballots, which have yet to be counted.

Federal Election Advance Polls Report A Large Increase In Voter Turnout

OTTAWA — The opening day of advance polls brought out a big increase in the number of voters casting ballots ahead of the Oct. 19 election.

Elections Canada says it estimates some 850,000 people voted on Friday, the first day of advance polls.

The agency says that is a 26 per cent increase over the first day of advance polls in the 2011 election and a 90 per cent increase over the first day of advance polls in 2008.

There were long line-ups reported on Friday at polling sections.

There were concerns that the Conservative government's changes to election laws to tighten identification requirements could create snags for certain Canadians, but Elections Canada said it has been trying to ensure everyone who wants to vote would get a chance to do so.

Advance polls are open throughout the Thanksgiving weekend.

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.ca/
Author: cp

Voting While Abroad: Tories Would Rather You Didn't

Later this week I will cast my ballot in the Oct. 19 federal election. I intend to enjoy it. It may be the last time I get to vote as a Canadian for a while.

If the Conservatives secure another majority there's a good chance that the next time Canadians are allowed to vote, I won't be considered "Canadian" enough to count.

Mandatory voting would erode Conservatives’ strategic advantage, say experts

PARLIAMENT HILL—A system of mandatory voting now being crowd-tested by the Liberal Party would either erode or eliminate a strategic advantage the Conservative Party held over the past two federal elections through the disproportionate weight of its loyal base, U.S.-style campaign tactics, and negative attack ads, experts say.

Electoral strategy and tactics the Conservatives have developed under Prime Minister and party leader Stephen Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) since 2005 produced election gains won largely because of low voter turnout, elector alienation, and the Conservative focus on electoral districts where margins had grown increasingly tighter, analysts said in interviews with The Hill Times.

Long-term expat Canadians win back voting rights after judge nixes law

TORONTO - More than one million Canadians living abroad are now eligible to cast ballots in the next federal election after a court struck down a law stripping them of their voting rights.

While mass murderers have the right to vote, long-term expats "who care deeply about Canada" do not have the right, Ontario Superior Court Justice Michael Penny said in his decision.

Fury with MPs is main reason for not voting – poll

Nearly half of Britons say they are angry with politics and politicians, according to a Guardian/ICM poll analysing the disconnect between British people and their democracy.

The research, which explores the reasons behind the precipitous drop in voter turnout – particularly among under-30s – finds that it is anger with the political class and broken promises made by high-profile figures that most rile voters, rather than boredom with Westminster.

Voting Laws Under Heavy Scrutiny In GOP-Led Southern States

MIAMI — Emboldened by the Supreme Court decision that struck down the heart of the Voting Rights Act, a growing number of Republican-led states are moving aggressively to tighten voting rules. Lawsuits by the Obama administration and voting rights activists say those efforts disproportionately affect minorities.

At least five Southern states, no longer required to ask Washington's permission before changing election procedures, are adopting strict voter identification laws or toughening existing requirements.

Extending Toronto vote to permanent residents is the right thing to do

Toronto City Council got it right. Last week, it decided to ask the province to consider extending the municipal franchise to permanent residents in Toronto. This is good public policy, and is in line with legal principles and Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Several commentators, however, have viewed it differently, calling it a “backward step” and comparing it to the rules governing admission to a private club. Clubs, they argue, have a right to choose who gets to join, and those who aspire to membership better be prepared to shape up or ship out.

Congressmen Seek Constitutional Guarantee of the Right to Vote

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia made a point of emphasizing during the Bush v. Gore arguments in December 2000 that there is no federal constitutional guarantee of a right to vote for president. Scalia was right. Indeed, as the reform group FairVote reminds us, “Because there is no right to vote in the U.S. Constitution, individual states set their own electoral policies and procedures. This leads to confusing and sometimes contradictory policies regarding ballot design, polling hours, voting equipment, voter registration requirements, and ex-felon voting rights. As a result, our electoral system is divided into 50 states, more than 3,000 counties and approximately 13,000 voting districts, all separate and unequal.”

Can online activism incite political agency? ShitHarperDid keeps apathy in its crosshairs

It is by now a common trope: teenagers don't vote.

On May 2, 2011, the day of Canada's last federal election, close to 2 million young people avoided the polls. Remarkably, only 37.4 per cent of Canadians aged 18-24 voted.

Since then, much has been made of these historically low numbers, ones which suggest general detachment from, and passivity towards, the political process. After all, the last election featured the third-lowest voter turnout in Canadian history at 61.1 per cent.

Ohio Measure Punishes Public Colleges For Helping Out-Of-State Students Vote

A new effort from Republican lawmakers in the Ohio House of Representatives would financially punish state universities for helping out-of-state students vote in Ohio during their college years.

Under the proposal, if a state university provided an out-of-state student with a letter or utility bill to prove Ohio residency and thereby allow the student to vote locally, the Columbus Dispatch reports, the school would then be forced to charge the lower in-state tuition rate to that student.

Democracy, leadership conventions and the voting fallacy

Ontario Liberals hold their leadership convention this weekend at Maple Leaf Gardens -- a great choice of venue. The event belongs to a dying breed: brokered conventions. That means the wheeling, dealing and decision-making happen right there on the floor among delegates in real time. It runs counter to the trend toward more self-evidently democratic conventions, in which party members everywhere get to vote by mail or online -- the way the NDP chose Tom Mulcair last spring and federal Liberals will do so in April.

Voting Rights Haven't Gotten Such Attention Since 1965. What Did We Learn?

A little over a week after the presidential election has ended, many voting rights watchers are reflecting on all that we learned through this year’s campaigns: what went right, what went wrong and the unresolved challenges that remain ahead. As for the overall takeaway, Advancement Project director Judith Browne-Dianis wraps it up nicely, saying, “The national conversation around voting rights was amplified like we haven’t seen since 1965.”

Ready to Vote? Rampant Suppression Threatens Already Tight Race

We’re just four days away from Election Day, and voter suppression schemes continue to strike—as does the push back against them. The aftermath of Hurricane Sandy may mark an additional, and unforeseen barrier to the vote. Meanwhile, everyday people will contribute to the way we understand this election than ever before.

As seen above, Video the Vote is empowering communities to document what happens Tuesday, from long lines to voter machine failures. Their new promo video encourages voters to sign up, monitor hot spots, and hashtag shared social media content with #VideoTheVote.

Canada’s voting system has the potential to distort electoral outcomes, expert says

MONTREAL - Canada’s future hinged on just a few percentage points Tuesday.

With just under 32 per cent of votes cast, the Parti Québécois eked out a narrow victory, winning 54 seats, to 50 for the Liberals, 19 for Coalition Avenir Québec 19 and two for Québec solidaire. The difference between the PQ and the Liberals was 0.7 of a percentage point.

Politicians causing voter apathy

Canada’s democratic system would be improved if the state had the power to coerce citizens into the voting booth.

Or least that seems to be the take of those who want to impose “mandatory voting,” a scheme whereby citizens would be forced by law to cast ballots on election day, whether they wanted to or not.

Mandatory voting: turning Canadians’ democratic ‘choice’ into ‘duty’

OTTAWA—One phrase keeps popping up in the complaints about fraudulent calls in the 2011 election, when hapless voters were reportedly told their polling locations had changed.

It’s this: “due to higher-than-expected turnout.” Presumably, the callers wanted to plant the suggestion that voting was a nuisance to be avoided — what with the changed location and all those crowds at the ballot boxes. “It’s a stampede, Martha, like we saw when the new iPhones came out. Let’s just wait it out.”

Compulsory voting here should be on the table for discussion -- before it's too late

OTTAWA -- Quebec Premier Jean Charest last week interrupted one of the hottest, sunniest summers on record to call a provincial election.

It is, as it always seems to be in Quebec, a nail-biter of a campaign, and the issue of separatism is once again rearing its ugly head. It is also an election coming on the heels of some of the largest and longest-lasting protests Canada has seen, as thousands of Quebec students took to the streets to protest hikes in post-secondary tuition fees.

With young people in Quebec seemingly more engaged right now, one could hope it will drive them to the polls in greater numbers than usual.

Whether error or ill will, voting system needs fix

OTTAWA -- The Supreme Court is normally a pretty sleepy place in July.

The fact it is convening for a special hearing this Tuesday should alone be enough to suggest the importance of the subject matter.

It is the first time the country's top court is being asked to intervene in a case involving the results of an election.