**REPUBLICAN EFFORTS TO SUPPRESS VOTES**

The Juggler

Whether its by gerrymandering, limiting access to ballot drop boxes, limiting access to early voting, limiting access to vote by mail, limiting the number of polling places in urban areas, making it harder to register, and just generally opposing common sense solutions, there is a lot to discuss here. Figured we need a thread devoted to the subject. 

I think this is the biggest issue facing our country. Nearly half the country has been convinced, with no evidence, to not accept the results of an election loss and the leaders of that party are actively implementing new laws based on that lie to prevent them from losing future elections. That is a toxic combination that does not bode well for a healthy democracy. 

There are rational things that can and should be done to ensure more people vote in free and fair elections moving forward. But how do we make those changes if 70% of one of the two major political parties choose to ignore reality in favor of a fairy tail sold to them by a serial liar? 



https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/18/politics/florida-redistricting-desantis/index.html

DeSantis pushes Florida redistricting map that heavily favors Republicans

(CNN)For political observers who have wondered for months how far Republicans should press their advantage in Florida when drawing the state's new congressional boundaries, they now have a response from Gov. Ron DeSantis: all the way.

DeSantis threw a surprise wrench into the state's redistricting process late Sunday night when his office submitted for consideration a new congressional map that heavily favors his party. The highly partisan offering pins Democratic-leaning seats to three urban areas -- Tampa, Orlando and Miami -- and gives Republicans the advantage in at least 18 of the 28 districts in the state and as many as 20.

Dave Wasserman, an editor of The Cook Political Report and a redistricting guru, called DeSantis' proposal on Twitter "the most brutal gerrymander proposed by a Florida (Republican) yet."

If the goal of this unusual step was to energize Republicans closely watching redistricting in Florida, then mission accomplished. DeSantis, widely seen as a contender for the White House in 2024, was immediately cheered on by party activists from around the country who wanted the GOP to ram through a map.

"I had a TON of people come up to me at the Trump Rally in ARIZONA asking about Florida Congressional Maps & if DeSantis was going to get involved," Christian Ziegler, the vice chairman of the Florida GOP, tweeted on Sunday night. "24 hours later...Looks like we have an answer!"

The governor's foray into the redistricting fight surprised even some in his own party.

"This is news to me," state Sen. Ray Rodrigues, the GOP point man on redistricting, told CNN on Monday. Rodrigues added that anyone in the state is allowed to submit a proposed map through the Legislature's online portal.

The deliberations in Tallahassee have been closely watched because Florida represents one of the few places where the GOP can use the redistricting process to significantly improve its chances of picking up seats and winning back the US House of Representatives this November. Republicans in the state control the state House, Senate and governor's office. And the state Supreme Court is stacked with Republican appointees, including three made by DeSantis.

Ben Ginsberg, a Republican election attorney, said partisans often want their parties to draw aggressive maps, but it's often more complicated in fast-growing states. Republicans in Texas were in a spot similar to Florida's and chose to shore up vulnerable districts instead of expanding their opportunities to win seats.

"You have to balance emerging demographic trends with what you want to do politically," Ginsberg said. "If the census turns out to be inaccurate, it makes an aggressive map more vulnerable."

The Florida Senate recently advanced its map largely maintaining the status quo, much to the delight of Democrats and nonpartisan groups, which praised the proposal as competitive and fair.

As it stands, there are 16 Republicans in the state's congressional delegation and 11 Democrats. Florida gained an additional seat after the 2020 census.

State House Republicans had proposed a map that went further to push the GOP advantage than the state Senate's, but not nearly as far as DeSantis'.

Whether Republican lawmakers now line up behind DeSantis' proposal -- and how forcefully the governor pushes for it -- will depend on how much they're willing to stomach a protracted legal fight.

Already, Democrats have dismissed the DeSantis map as unserious, accusing the governor of blatantly violating the state Constitution's Fair District amendment and the Voting Rights Act. In addition to carving up communities that long shared the same congressional district, DeSantis' map would eliminate some minority access districts, including the north Florida congressional seat currently held by US Rep. Al Lawson.

Lawson, a Democrat who represents the majority-black areas from Tallahassee to Jacksonville, said he learned that DeSantis had eliminated his seat on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

"It's insensitive to the constituents in this area and demonstrates a lack of concern about minority representation," Lawson told CNN.

Marc Elias, the Democratic elections lawyer spearheading voting and redistricting challenges in several states, wrote on Twitter that he looked forward to deposing DeSantis and his staff "to fully understand the illegal partisan motivations of this map."

Many Republican lawmakers in Florida remember the bruising court battles the last time lawmakers had to draw congressional maps. The drama, which started in 2011, finally ended in 2015 when the state Supreme Court approved new maps drawn by the legal challengers.

Rodrigues said he's confident the map that the Senate produced "meets all federal requirements, constitutional requirements and state constitutional requirements."

Ryan Newman, general counsel for DeSantis, said the governor's office had "legal concerns with the congressional redistricting maps under consideration in the Legislature."

"Because the Governor must approve any congressional map passed by the Legislature, we wanted to provide our proposal as soon as possible and in a transparent manner," Newman said.

DeSantis' latest maneuver has left many Democrats wondering what his endgame is. Is this a bargaining chip to extract other legislative priorities from Republicans? A move to save face with future GOP primary voters? Or is he prepared to take this esoteric battle to the state Supreme Court?

"Do I think this map is likely to become law? No," said Matthew Isbell, a Democratic strategist and the party's redistricting expert. "Have I ruled it out entirely? No. You can't be sure what lawmakers will do if he makes outright threats."

State Sen. Randolph Bracy, a Democrat who serves on the Senate redistricting committee, opined that DeSantis was "a messaging tool based on wanting to be president."

Ginsberg said it could be that DeSantis sees an opportunity in the legal landscape to be as aggressive as possible. While it's perhaps likely the US Supreme Court will frown on a map that violates established laws about minority access to congressional districts, nothing is guaranteed with this new 6-3 conservative majority, he said.

"Given the current makeup of the US Supreme Court and Florida Supreme Court, Democrats are banging the drum without a judicial stopgap to back it up," said Ginsberg. "Political gerrymandering, given the US Supreme Court rulings last decade, is going nowhere."

Gern Blansten

We need to get rid of gerrymandering altogether...regardless of who is in charge

It's a pathetic practice

The Juggler

Gern Blansten said:

We need to get rid of gerrymandering altogether...regardless of who is in charge

It's a pathetic practice

100%

And the Democrats do it too, but they have no choice if the Republicans won't agree to stop. 

gimmesometruth27

to be fair though, the current senate can fix all this by passing the voting bill. should we not be pressing manchin, sinema, and every single republican in the senate to pass it?

it is so frustrating that sinema will not entertain filibuster reform. i love it that so many people are holding her accountable though. but nobody is going after a single republican senator for their blanket opposition to the bill.

if you can't win an election on your platform. i guess you gotta cheat.

Gern Blansten

This filibuster shit is driving me insane. We can put a supreme court justice on the bench for life with 50 votes yet meaningful bills get held up because we can't get 60?  Fucked up.

gimmesometruth27

Gern Blansten said:

This filibuster shit is driving me insane. We can put a supreme court justice on the bench for life with 50 votes yet meaningful bills get held up because we can't get 60?  Fucked up.

yep. i guess a conservative would tell you that you can leave if you don't like it, haha.

Halifax2TheMax

gimmesometruth27 said:

Gern Blansten said:

This filibuster shit is driving me insane. We can put a supreme court justice on the bench for life with 50 votes yet meaningful bills get held up because we can't get 60?  Fucked up.

yep. i guess a conservative would tell you that you can leave if you don't like it, haha.

I’m planning on it. It’s way too late and the US populace too far gone. I’m not waiting until I’m too old to go through the stress of moving, which is basically getting rid of shit, figuring out what’s important to keep and selling a house and all that entails. Sometimes I wish I could just lock the door and walk away. And hosting a yard sale? Ugh. But what do I do with that 24’ ladder that’s perfectly fine?

The Juggler

gimmesometruth27 said:

Gern Blansten said:

This filibuster shit is driving me insane. We can put a supreme court justice on the bench for life with 50 votes yet meaningful bills get held up because we can't get 60?  Fucked up.

yep. i guess a conservative would tell you that you can leave if you don't like it, haha.

LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT! WOO!

OnWis97

Halifax2TheMax said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

Gern Blansten said:

This filibuster shit is driving me insane. We can put a supreme court justice on the bench for life with 50 votes yet meaningful bills get held up because we can't get 60?  Fucked up.

yep. i guess a conservative would tell you that you can leave if you don't like it, haha.

I’m planning on it. It’s way too late and the US populace too far gone. I’m not waiting until I’m too old to go through the stress of moving, which is basically getting rid of shit, figuring out what’s important to keep and selling a house and all that entails. Sometimes I wish I could just lock the door and walk away. And hosting a yard sale? Ugh. But what do I do with that 24’ ladder that’s perfectly fine?

I looked into in 2016. It's not easy...

Gern Blansten

https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/19/politics/poll-closures-rural-lincoln-county-georgia/index.html

eh....no biggy

The Juggler

Gern Blansten said:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/19/politics/poll-closures-rural-lincoln-county-georgia/index.html

eh....no biggy

-"Moves in Georgia to close polling places -- or make other changes to electoral procedures -- once required advance federal approval under the 1965 Voting Rights Act to ensure they didn't hurt Black and minority voters.

A Supreme Court ruling in 2013 struck down the heart of that law, however, freeing Georgia and eight other states -- along with a slew of counties and cities in other parts of the country with a history of racial discrimination -- from that federal scrutiny."


In 2006, the Voting Rights Act was reauthorized by a vote of 98-0 in the senate. In 2006 all Republican senators were in favor of voting rights. IN 2022 they are all opposed. What's changed?

https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/21/washington/21vote.html

gimmesometruth27

The Juggler said:

Gern Blansten said:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/19/politics/poll-closures-rural-lincoln-county-georgia/index.html

eh....no biggy

-"Moves in Georgia to close polling places -- or make other changes to electoral procedures -- once required advance federal approval under the 1965 Voting Rights Act to ensure they didn't hurt Black and minority voters.

A Supreme Court ruling in 2013 struck down the heart of that law, however, freeing Georgia and eight other states -- along with a slew of counties and cities in other parts of the country with a history of racial discrimination -- from that federal scrutiny."


In 2006, the Voting Rights Act was reauthorized by a vote of 98-0 in the senate. In 2006 all Republican senators were in favor of voting rights. IN 2022 they are all opposed. What's changed?

https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/21/washington/21vote.html

i think what changed is they went hard right on their platform. their 2020 party platform was "we are cool with whatever trump wants". they know that they cannot win unless they make these changes. it is obvious to anybody paying attention.

Bentleyspop

The regressives want to suppress the vote because they know if they don't,  when white Americans become a minority, they won't be able to keep people down any longer.

Halifax2TheMax

The Juggler said:

Gern Blansten said:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/19/politics/poll-closures-rural-lincoln-county-georgia/index.html

eh....no biggy

-"Moves in Georgia to close polling places -- or make other changes to electoral procedures -- once required advance federal approval under the 1965 Voting Rights Act to ensure they didn't hurt Black and minority voters.

A Supreme Court ruling in 2013 struck down the heart of that law, however, freeing Georgia and eight other states -- along with a slew of counties and cities in other parts of the country with a history of racial discrimination -- from that federal scrutiny."


In 2006, the Voting Rights Act was reauthorized by a vote of 98-0 in the senate. In 2006 all Republican senators were in favor of voting rights. IN 2022 they are all opposed. What's changed?

https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/21/washington/21vote.html

A Muslim black man, from another country, was elected POTUS.

Parksy

... every time an American entertainer mocks, insults, or makes fun of Canada in any way, I think of stuff like this (and Trump) and smile happily. 

cincybearcat

Halifax2TheMax said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

Gern Blansten said:

This filibuster shit is driving me insane. We can put a supreme court justice on the bench for life with 50 votes yet meaningful bills get held up because we can't get 60?  Fucked up.

yep. i guess a conservative would tell you that you can leave if you don't like it, haha.

I’m planning on it. It’s way too late and the US populace too far gone. I’m not waiting until I’m too old to go through the stress of moving, which is basically getting rid of shit, figuring out what’s important to keep and selling a house and all that entails. Sometimes I wish I could just lock the door and walk away. And hosting a yard sale? Ugh. But what do I do with that 24’ ladder that’s perfectly fine?

1) How much stuff could you possible have in your mom's basement?
2) Leave the ladder, it's your mom's
3) Where else in the world do you have family basements?  

Kidding of course ...where would you move?  

Halifax2TheMax

cincybearcat said:

Halifax2TheMax said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

Gern Blansten said:

This filibuster shit is driving me insane. We can put a supreme court justice on the bench for life with 50 votes yet meaningful bills get held up because we can't get 60?  Fucked up.

yep. i guess a conservative would tell you that you can leave if you don't like it, haha.

I’m planning on it. It’s way too late and the US populace too far gone. I’m not waiting until I’m too old to go through the stress of moving, which is basically getting rid of shit, figuring out what’s important to keep and selling a house and all that entails. Sometimes I wish I could just lock the door and walk away. And hosting a yard sale? Ugh. But what do I do with that 24’ ladder that’s perfectly fine?

1) How much stuff could you possible have in your mom's basement?
2) Leave the ladder, it's your mom's
3) Where else in the world do you have family basements?  

Kidding of course ...where would you move?  

1. A lot, we're hoarders.
2. Ghosts don't need ladders.
3. I don't, hence the great purge (I may have a Benny and some Funkos laying around).

TBD, but North, South, maybe East or West. Depends on entry and being allowed to stay requirements. Not easy to do but possible, depending. Italy has houses for 5 Euro but you need to spend $30K. Thailand doesn't allow foreigners to "own" property and there are minimum dollar amounts to be deposited in certain countries. Then there's "citizenship" via lineage to investigate. Opens other doors. Lots of recommendations to engage a lawyer to facilitate the process, cha-ching.

Gern Blansten

I have a client that moved to Mexico and loves it. They sold everything up here and bought a place near a bunch of ex-pats. Their social security income is more than sufficient to cover their living costs and entertainment, etc.

Something to think about. I've heard that Panama is really nice for ex-pats too....guy told me that if you didn't know better you would think you were in the US because the same stores are there, lots of Americans, etc.

cincybearcat

Halifax2TheMax said:

cincybearcat said:

Halifax2TheMax said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

Gern Blansten said:

This filibuster shit is driving me insane. We can put a supreme court justice on the bench for life with 50 votes yet meaningful bills get held up because we can't get 60?  Fucked up.

yep. i guess a conservative would tell you that you can leave if you don't like it, haha.

I’m planning on it. It’s way too late and the US populace too far gone. I’m not waiting until I’m too old to go through the stress of moving, which is basically getting rid of shit, figuring out what’s important to keep and selling a house and all that entails. Sometimes I wish I could just lock the door and walk away. And hosting a yard sale? Ugh. But what do I do with that 24’ ladder that’s perfectly fine?

1) How much stuff could you possible have in your mom's basement?
2) Leave the ladder, it's your mom's
3) Where else in the world do you have family basements?  

Kidding of course ...where would you move?  

1. A lot, we're hoarders.
2. Ghosts don't need ladders.
3. I don't, hence the great purge (I may have a Benny and some Funkos laying around).

TBD, but North, South, maybe East or West. Depends on entry and being allowed to stay requirements. Not easy to do but possible, depending. Italy has houses for 5 Euro but you need to spend $30K. Thailand doesn't allow foreigners to "own" property and there are minimum dollar amounts to be deposited in certain countries. Then there's "citizenship" via lineage to investigate. Opens other doors. Lots of recommendations to engage a lawyer to facilitate the process, cha-ching.

I see you;ve been to Prague and Germany....2 great places.  Though I haven;t been to Berlin.  I thought I read somewhere that Portugal and Spain were a couple of the easier places to do this...could be remembering incorrectly though.  Good luck to you.

The Gerrymandering is so blatant it is amazing that it continues.  Each side continuing to use the other as an excuse...and I cannot believe the court system has allowed this to occur....it is the #1 thing to fix in regards to voting for sure.

Bentleyspop

cincybearcat said:

Halifax2TheMax said:

cincybearcat said:

Halifax2TheMax said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

Gern Blansten said:

This filibuster shit is driving me insane. We can put a supreme court justice on the bench for life with 50 votes yet meaningful bills get held up because we can't get 60?  Fucked up.

yep. i guess a conservative would tell you that you can leave if you don't like it, haha.

I’m planning on it. It’s way too late and the US populace too far gone. I’m not waiting until I’m too old to go through the stress of moving, which is basically getting rid of shit, figuring out what’s important to keep and selling a house and all that entails. Sometimes I wish I could just lock the door and walk away. And hosting a yard sale? Ugh. But what do I do with that 24’ ladder that’s perfectly fine?

1) How much stuff could you possible have in your mom's basement?
2) Leave the ladder, it's your mom's
3) Where else in the world do you have family basements?  

Kidding of course ...where would you move?  

1. A lot, we're hoarders.
2. Ghosts don't need ladders.
3. I don't, hence the great purge (I may have a Benny and some Funkos laying around).

TBD, but North, South, maybe East or West. Depends on entry and being allowed to stay requirements. Not easy to do but possible, depending. Italy has houses for 5 Euro but you need to spend $30K. Thailand doesn't allow foreigners to "own" property and there are minimum dollar amounts to be deposited in certain countries. Then there's "citizenship" via lineage to investigate. Opens other doors. Lots of recommendations to engage a lawyer to facilitate the process, cha-ching.

I see you;ve been to Prague and Germany....2 great places.  Though I haven;t been to Berlin.  I thought I read somewhere that Portugal and Spain were a couple of the easier places to do this...could be remembering incorrectly though.  Good luck to you.

The Gerrymandering is so blatant it is amazing that it continues.  Each side continuing to use the other as an excuse...and I cannot believe the court system has allowed this to occur....it is the #1 thing to fix in regards to voting for sure.

My significant other and I have been researching this for awhile. We have narrowed down our international options to Southern Portugal,  Southern Spain, and either Modena or Milan, Italy.
Portugal is the most vaccinated country in the world.
Has the lowest cost of living and the 2nd lowest cost for meds.
Even though we have both been to all 4 locstions, unfortunately the 'Rona has gotten in the way of fact finding visits.

Halifax2TheMax

If I were ANTIIIIIIIIIIIIFA, and I'm not saying that I am, but if I were, or a BLM'er, I'd say its time for some "good trouble." Put on your Sunday best, go out to vote, early, and then spend your day getting folks to the polls. Or, after you've voted, go over to one of those gerrymandered red districts with as many folks that will fit in your car, truck or van, all join the line and when you get up to check in and get your ballot, act confused, thought you were in the right polling place, ask if they know where you're supposed to go and engage them in a long conversation while you fumble for your ID, hand them a gas bill, expired high school ID, etc. and just try to make the folks behind you wait a little longer. Do it politely, say please and sir and ma'am and otherwise be a polite, decent human being. I mean, if you can't hand out water to people in line, why not join it and make your way inside where its air conditioned? And when they ask you to leave, go to the next gerrymandered red polling place and repeat the process. Why not experience how it works in other areas?