#electoral

[thashining]

[eaglesnick]

The Continued Erosion of British Democracy

In May 2021 it was reported that:

“More than 2m voters may lack photo ID required under new UK bill” (Guardian: 11/04/21)

Although there was no evidence that our electoral process was in anyway flawed, being abused or interfered with, the right-wing Tory Party decided to introduce voter ID. US civil rights groups, who know something about Republican interference with the democratic voting process, have called what the Tory Party is doing “voter suppression".

In other words, the Tory government has introduced a legally binding voter requirement that has the effect of potentially  denying millions of the electorate their right to vote The fact that this group of voters – the young, the poor, the homeless, - are demographically more likely to vote Labour or Liberal Democrat is not a coincidence. This is a blatant attempt at ballot rigging.

Am I exaggerating? Possibly, but it is very odd, that older voters, who demographically tend to be vote Conservative, can use their bus passes as proof of identity, whilst students, who demographically tend to vote for more left-wing parties, are not allowed to use their student cards as proof of ID. 

 On top of the 2 million people estimated to have no photo identity at all, you can add those who do not know they need a valid form of photo ID to vote. Research shows that 25% of those born after 1995 do not realise they now need photo ID to be able to vote.

All of these figures and statistics are guess work at the moment, derived from various polls looking into the problem. Come voting day, and post electoral analysis, we should know exactly how many people will have been disenfranchised by these new rules. Well, that is what you would expect but this isn’t so. Sunak has no intension of  calculating how many voters don't have a "valid" photo ID.

Tory minister refuses to say if number of voters without photo ID will be fully recorded  (Guardian: 27/04/23)

Even the Daily Telegraph, usually a staunch supporter of Conservative Party policies, is disgusted with this anti-democratic interference with the right to vote.

“The new rules on voter ID are a democratic scandal. This expensive new system is a solution to a non-existent problem – the government should be making voting easier, not harder."

I couldn’t agree more.

[leftsharkpalacefan]

Right so now that Biden won, can you folks also put the same energy in making sure he doesn’t fuck with the rest of the world?? Like no more bombing and interfering with political elections??

[icecoldotaku]

Panic attack

[usnatarchives]

Certificates of Ascertainment from Georgia, North Dakota, and Louisiana, 2020, from the National Archives Office of the Federal Register.

ELECTORAL COLLEGE - GAME ON!!!  

By Miriam Kleiman, who went to a Big 10 school but sadly learned nothing about football. 

GAME ON!  The first three Electoral College Certificates of Ascertainment are IN, from Georgia, North Dakota and Louisiana. Keep score at home here!  The Office of the Federal Register reviews these Certificates and will post the results after Congress counts the electoral votes on January 6, 2021.

Little known fact - the National Archives administers the Electoral College. As you may recall from this post, the Electoral College is the archival equivalent of the Superbowl, with the Archivist of the US playing quarterback -- calling the plays and getting the team to the end goal. 

By law, the Archivist performs certain functions relating to the Electoral College, and delegates some stuff to the our Office of the Federal Register. Thankfully, the current Archivist of the United States, David S. Ferriero, is a former marathoner and is more than up for the task.

More info:

HELP!  WHAT THE HECK IS THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE?

National Archives News: Federal Register Prepares for Electoral College Duties.

Public Program: The Electoral College and the Constitution, with intro by Archivist David S. Ferriero.

Presidential Elections & Inaugurations - special topics page.

The 2020 Presidential Election/Provisions of the Constitution and U.S. Code

Congressional Research Service: The Electoral College: A 2020 Presidential Election Timeline.

“Summer Schedule” by Clifford K. Berryman, 7/24/1947. (NARA ID 1693481).

[rvexillology]

The United States Flag with states / stars scaled by Electoral College votes

from /r/vexillology Top comment: Far out man

[pakistaniweddings]

This is when the protestors first got into the senate building.

Link to original video:

Igor Bobic on Twitter

“Several people got on to a scaffolding outside Senate, took it to second floor, which looked like the area where McConnell’s office is loca