Last year the legislature put in a law allowing early voting, unsurprisingly for a Republican especially one in a very Democratic state, Bob Ehrlich realizes that the less people who vote the better for him. So he’s made a petition drive to rescind the early voting law his top priority (I guess the jacked up energy rates can wait).
The petition drive, if successful, would ask the state’s voters to overturn a 2005 law that orders polling places to stay open 13 hours a day during the week leading up to Election Day. More crucial to Ehrlich (R), who is seeking reelection in November, it would automatically postpone early voting entirely this year.
Petitioning legislation onto the ballot has occurred rarely in Maryland. For Ehrlich to prevail, his campaign team would have to collect 51,185 valid signatures by June 30 and overcome a recent legal opinion by the state attorney general’s office, which asserted that the petition drive needed to occur last year to get on the ballot this fall.
…
Democratic Party leaders met in Baltimore yesterday to decry Ehrlich’s decision to challenge early voting. In interviews, O’Malley and Duncan also voiced disapproval.
Duncan said he was “surprised the Republicans are trying to limit the democratic process.”
O’Malley called it “a shame.”
“One of the hallmarks of Governor Ehrlich’s four years in office is to thwart the rule of the majority, whether it’s with vetoes or this,” he said.
It’s still Election Day, isn’t it?
Just another situation where a small number of radicals wants to overturn a democratic election won with a large number of voters
(see, California recall, Gray Davis)
Not in Colorado. We have early voting at the polls and very lenient standards for absentee voting.
“It s still Election Day, isn t it?”
Learn the Constitution. Article I Section 4:
The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Place of Chusing Senators.
Nothing in the Constitution requires an “election day”
Yup. That’s about how we do it here.
yea, but a whole WEEK! A week of 13 hour days?
The MD electorate must have the IQ level of a gnat if that is what is required to get a “fair election”.
Maryland: The Special Olympics of Elections
Last time out, we had early voting for five days (but not on weekends) for 8 hours each day.
The MD electorate must have the IQ level of a gnat if that is what is required to get a fair election .
Some people actually do work thirteen hours a day, seven days a week, and they also have families they feel a perverse urge to spend time with.
One of the two major parties wants to keep people like that from voting. Guess which one.
hehehe…my guess is that democrats, as a group, just ain’t that bright.
“Some people actually do work thirteen hours a day, seven days a week, and they also have families they feel a perverse urge to spend time with”
uh, waaaah…..I am vaguely familiar with that complaint as a surgeon. So you know what I do? Absentee ballot…..
but then again, I am a republican, so I believe in personal responsibility not changing the rules of game to fit whatever imagined “disadvantage” the weak sister leftists think up
Personal responsibility?
What’s the percentage of voters been in the U.S. recently? 60%? 50%?
Heaven forbid anyone do anything to make voting easier, or more attractive, for more people.
The more people you get out to vote, the harder it is for the GOParty of Hate to push their radical agenda.
I love that “opportunity to vote” is a partisan issue.
In one post DP sez – you elitist leftist – in another he calls all dems dumb…who is being l33t?
Hey Dr P it was the hippocratic oath not the oath to be a hypocrite.
But in this case, peed’, if you’d read the story, it’s the Republicans who want to change the rules to their own advantage.
it’s called responsibility. Unfortunately the Framers left it out of the constitution.
When things are free, they by definition have no value. If people don’t value the vote enough to make a good faith effort to do so (and it isn’t that hard) then they probably shouldn’t be voting at all.
the legislature put the law on the books last year…seems like the lefties started it, and the governor is just trying to fix it.
Zappa being an idiot doesn’t preclude one from being an elitist… The lefties just THINK they are better than everyone else, but as they aren’t that bright,can’t see the reality of the situation.
Shoot, lets make voting REALLY easy! We should buy cars (and someone to drive them too if needed) for every poor person on election day! I mean, we want all the (cherry picked) votes to count right?
You guys are maroons…
“Shoot, lets make voting REALLY easy! We should buy cars (and someone to drive them too if needed) for every poor person on election day! I mean, we want all the (cherry picked) votes to count right?”
“Shoot, lets make voting REALLY easy! Voting hours should be at 3am until 3:30am! I mean, voting is about personal responsibility right?”
Let me guess: Your cheeky suggestion represents the stupidity of the “not that bright” liberals, but my suggestion misses the point entirely!
I just have to wonder (aloud) whether Republicans would be happy with 100% voter turnout. My guess is no. I don’t understand why giving people more opportunty to actually vote is a bad thing.
Make 24/7 voting WEEK for all I care.
Are you free, DrPedro?
(best joke in OW history!)
Back on topic: What is a “good faith effort”? Why does voting have to be accomplished in one day? What’s special about the connection between a good faith effort and that one particular day?
I guess I’m just not offended by the concept that more people would get to the polls. Saying “they should be more responsible” is well and good, but I find it strange that a country which places *such* a historical emphasis on voting treats voting day like a rat race. “Didn’t get to vote? Too bad! You should be more responsible!” Doesn’t sit well with me.
If you want to confine voting to a 24 hour period, at LEAST declare it a national holiday where people actually get off from work. I never understood why people didn’t get off work on Voting Day.
Here’s a question for you, peed’:
Why do you think elections are traditionally held on Tuesdays?
They can.
Do you have any other questions?
When things are free, they by definition have no value.
Guess that makes Pedro’s opinions worthless. I certainly wouldn’t pay to read them.
Voting is a citizen’s right. It’s not a test of character. Republicans want to keep a much of the general population away from the polls as possible. That way their well-organized get-out-the-lemmings campaigns have the greatest impact. It’s that simple.
Heres a question for you lefties….why can’t these people ask for an absentee ballot?
When did *voting* become a partisan issue?
Uncanny.
why can t these people ask for an absentee ballot?
In most states the process of arranging to vote absentee is at least as time-consuming as going down to the polls on election day, so it’s no real solution for people who are bunged up from cock-crow to midnight with work, school, kids, etc. Working on local campaigns I’ve come across responsible people who had every intention of voting on the canonical tuesday, but when they day rolls around they fall sick, or have an accident, or get socked in at work all day. Too late then to vote absentee, at least in my state. Why do you object to making it easier for such people to vote, Pedro? Why do you hate democracy?
Here is my real-life story- I was disenfranchised by an incompetant elections supervisor who chucked 100’s of new (I had moved) registrations. On election day I had to stand in line to go in front of a judge to get my right to vote back.
Then, with my court order in hand to vote, I went back to my polling place and the incompetant poll workers didn’t want to let me vote. I had to call a lawyer from the local (D) headquarters to allow me to cast my vote. The process took about 6 hours.
I had taken the day off from my high-paying job to help on election day. What if I had to vote on lunch break, or vote between two jobs? I wouldn’t have been able to vote, exercise MY right, because of someone else’s mistake.
This is why I want voting hours and dates to be as open as possible. Some here seem to have forgotten all the people who have died so that regular people can vote. Some people want to return to the days where wealthy white male land owners were the only people who could vote. Maryland Democrats believe there is an alternative.
You can order an absentee ballot anytime you want. In fact, they send the request to you IN THE MAIL , all you do is fill it out and send it back.
Unfortunately the Framers didn’t use the word “responsibility” next to “right”, and the nanny-state leftists have been harping on some sort of perceived inequity ever since.
And I have to admit that Factcheck impresses me with his story of voting rights, I would have to give you a “Citizenship Gold Star” for that.
Having been informed of how perfectly responsible citizens can be prevented from voting under the one-day system, Pedro’s only response is to engage in further tongue-clucking about responsibility. What’s so bad about making it easier for people to vote, Pedro?
Here s a question for you–again–peed :
Why do you think elections are traditionally held on Tuesdays?
BTW, if anyone here ever has problems voting, contact your local party headquarters, they have attorneys that volunteer and will give you advice on how to proceed.
Unless you are a conservative Republican, because you being unable to vote is OBVIOUSLY because you didn’t take personal responsibility, so you should go home and try to do better next year.
Need more?
Bulk challenges of voters based on their address (redlining).
Hiring firms to collect new voter registrations in malls, and discarding the (D) or (I) applications.
Opening poll places late.
Closing poll places early.
Not allowing people in line when the poll place closes to vote.
Making voters standing in line wait outside in inclement weather.
Making voters standing in line wait inside in excessive heat/cold.
How many situations have we seen where conservatives try to make it harder for people to vote, or defend such methods?
Butterfly ballots.
Poll taxes.
Literacy tests.
Relocating polling places at the last minute.
Misprinting ballot information so that people go to the wrong polling place.
Telling voters that the election is on a different day.
Lobbying to put polling places where people without cars can’t get to them.
Requiring a drivers license or even a county ID, which requires that a poor person take time off work and go to the county seat in order to obtain.
Ticket blitzes in the blocks surrounding polling places in “certain” neighborhoods.
Felons lists, which exclude legitimate voters.
Only sending 1 machine to a busy polling place in “those” neighborhoods.
Not sending poll workers to “certain” polling places.
Sending lesser trained workers to “certain” polling places.
Instructing voters to vote on provisional ballots, which are then thrown out after the election.
Yep, conservatives have lots of ways to prevent certain people from voting. Unfortunately, occasionally some conservative Democrats have done some of the same things.
It makes one wonder WHY conservatives don’t want people to vote- is it because they don’t have confidence that their agenda will get support among the wider public?
DrDoper seems to think that absentee ballot requirements are the same in all states. I would guess in his state he has the ‘no-excuse’ absentee ballot without a notary requirement. Maybe even the state pays the return postage. In several states, one has to be out of state or handicapped to get an absentee ballot. In some areas people have to go and stand in line for up to 7 hours to get the chance to vote on the single day they are allowed.
It is funny that DrDoper is saying that people who want early voting have no sense of personal responsibility when in fact he participates in early voting.
DrDoper, you are a fine one to talk. You take advantage of absentee ballots whose purpose is to allow people working away from home (typically out of state) or who are disabled and unable to make it to a polling place to vote. Rather than require proof, your state extends that ballot to everyone. Now you want to complain that other states want to make it easier for their citizens to vote. If that idea is so repellent, drag your sorry ass down to a polling place and wait in line. If it hasn’t been moved.
Waiting in line is for peons.
Seems to me, most poor people don t have jobs, so should have plenty of time to get around to voting, if they are interested in it& &
That’s so wrong on so many levels. Who’s being the elitist now?
I don’t have the time or interest to go down pauls laundry list of gripes, though many of them have been previously debunked.
My favorite though is the constant refrain of “poor people don’t have time”….
Seems to me, most “poor people” don’t have jobs, so should have plenty of time to get around to voting, if they are interested in it……
The problem with making it “easier” to vote really comes down to this: The further you bend over backwards to make things easier, the more the lefties will screech about the next level of perceived inequity. If you make it a week, why not a month? If you allow absentee ballots for everyone, why not a hand delivered ballot and someone to pick it up….I mean what if you are disabled? It has already begun with the various challenges so far…I mean, you can’t properly punch a hole in a card? WTF…?
Might get some of that poverty on him. Eww!
The further you bend over backwards to make things easier, the more the lefties will screech about the next level of perceived inequity.
What, so we should make it harder to vote? Would that be more fair? Maybe we could set up an obstacle course in front of the polling place. If Grandma can’t navigate the tires or climb over the cargo netting, too bad, she can’t vote.
Or maybe an alligator pit you have to cross. Or snakes!
Shorter pedro: I’m much too busy and important to stand in line with the little people.
Peedro won’t say why he thinks we hold elections on Tuesdays. Wonder why?
What’s that, Peed’?
You don’t believe me? Let me help.
Well, nevermind then.
The reason we traditionally vote on Tuesdays is to make it easier for poor people to vote!
In the early days of the country, some people–mostly poor, rural folks–lived a day’s travel away from the nearest county seat or other polling place. Many people couldn’t or wouldn’t travel on a Sunday, so Monday was allowed as a travel day for voting on Tuesday.
So you see, Peedro, the practice of making it easier for people to vote is a very, very old tradition in this country.
Quake, you should know by now that the easiest way to get Dr. pedro off the thread is to ask him a direct question.
hehe
Excellent thanks for saving me the googling……but again it goes to my point. When do we stop “making it easier”? How “easy” does it need to be?
I will suggest what you lefties think is an endpoint….when the democrats start winning elections. My guess is at that point you’ll all crow in one loud voice “Finally a fair election!”
LOL
A voter turnout equal to that in third-world countries?
What? What happened to your mantra of “responsibility”? Surely those early elections should have been held on Monday. “Responsible” citizens would have found a way to get into town to vote. Why should anyone have to “make it easy” for them?
What made voting easy in 1806 doesn’t necessarily apply today, peed’. Can you guess why?
Who said that?
Oh, so it will “mandatory voting” eh cracker?
Hmm, what would the founding fathers think of that?
Voting is a political issue.
Awesome.
I grow tired of the quaker innuendo theme….
How are you going to coerce the voter turnout rate quaker?
do you mean to seriously suggest that voter turnout is due to the fact that we don’t have 24/7 voting booths?
How do they vote in these third world countries you refer to? Are those poor people BETTER at voting than OUR poor people?
whats your point?
I will suggest what you lefties think is an endpoint& .when the democrats start winning elections.
Glad to see you admit that more people voting = more democrats in office
But pay attention, Pedro! This thread started with Maryland, and in Maryland democrats already win most elections. Still, all us “lefties” want expanded voting opportunity in Maryland. We want more people to be able to vote regardless of who wins.
yea I’d be more convinced of your good will if I had seen the democrats screaming about “disenfranchisement” in republican districts, or when AlGore and his brown-shirts were throwing out my military ballot in Florida…
Lie, Al Gore did not throw out your military ballot, Gore insisted they be counted despite YOUR personal failure to make sure it met legal requirements like arriving on time, with proper postmarks etc. The heavily contested absentee ballots were in the two counties were Republican operatives were improperly given access to correct improperly filled out applications, in one county they were handed all incomlete ballots where they completed the Republican ones and THREW AWAY the others. Brown Shirts, I don’t think it was Gore that rushed a bunch of staffers down to Florida to bang on walls and try to disrupt recounts. That was Bush’s people.
And DrDoper, again, you take advantage of early voting, now you are saying others shouldn’t be allowed? I wonder what one word description fits that. Hypoc-something or other.
DRPedro: I am a republican, so I believe in personal responsibility
Please show me some evidence that Republicans believe in taking responsibility for their actions.
As a counter-example, I give you George W. Bush.
Never said I would. You made that up.
I mean that voter turnout would be higher if polling places were open longer. That’s not too hard for you to understand, is it?
Uh, they actually vote. It’s a freaking embarrassment that a “big turnout” in our country is 50 percent. Rich people, poor people, middle class people in some countries are way better at voting.
My point is that both parties should want more participation from voters. Why is it that one party seems to think it will do better if it can prevent people from voting?