Appeals Court blocks Kansas, Alabama, Georgia voter ID laws

It's been a tough few weeks for Republican attempts at voter suppression. When forced to defend their blatant attempts to keep minority voters from the polls in court Republicans are failing miserably. Recently we have seen voter ID laws struck down in Wisconsin and North Carolina, and now you can add Kansas, Alabama, and Georgia to that list. George L. Cook III AfricanAmericanReports.Com

A U.S. Court of Appeals on Friday blocked an effort by Alabama, Georgia and Kansas for voters to furnish proof of citizenship when registering at the polls, which opponents say disenfranchises voters, especially minorities.

The decision effectively strikes down a rule that requires voters in the three states to provide proof they are United States citizens. Elsewhere, voters only need swear that they are citizens in order to cast a ballot.

"With just weeks to go before a critical presidential election, we are grateful to the court of appeals for stopping this thinly veiled discrimination in its tracks," Chris Carson, president of the League of Women Voters, which had sued to block the new requirements, said in a statement.

The Appeals Court of the District of Columbia said the League of Women Voters had shown there would be irreparable harm if the rule was permitted, and had also shown it was likely to win the case on its merits.

It ordered any voter applications filed since Jan. 29, 2016, to be treated as if they did not contain the proof of citizenship instructions.

Alabama and Georgia, which passed provisions several years ago, have not implemented their laws while at least 20,000 voters in Kansas, where the law took effect in 2013, have been blocked from registering to vote, the League's lawyers say.

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Ben Carson dismisses idea anti-voter fraud measures racist

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson on Wednesday dismissed the idea restrictive anti-voter fraud requirements could be racist, echoing the position of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach – a champion of such measures who has called accusations of racism a personal insult.

“I’ve made it my personal project, every time I visit a country outside the U.S. to ask what do they do to ensure the integrity of voting? There’s not one single country anywhere – first world, second world, it doesn’t matter – that doesn’t have official requirements for voting,” Carson said.

“My question to those people who say we’re racist because we apply those standards: Are all the other countries of the world racist? I don’t think so. Voting is an important thing. Obviously, you want to make sure that it’s done by the appropriate people.”

Read more: Ben Carson, GOP presidential candidate, dismisses idea anti-voter fraud measures racist

Rand Paul backtracks on Voter ID comments

Whew! Rand Paul scared me over the weekend. It sounded as if he was having a rationale discussion over voter ID laws. But never fear Paul reverted back to his party's disenfranchising ways today! George Cook AfricanAmericanReports.com

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) continues to believe voter identification laws should be left up to individual states, an adviser to the senator said Monday.

Paul's senior adviser, Doug Stafford, downplayed remarks Paul made Friday when he advised Republicans not to go "too crazy" about voter identification laws because they are "offending people."

Stafford signaled that Paul's comments to The New York Times did not mark a change in view and said it is a point he has made many times before.

"In the course of that discussion, he reiterated a point he has made before that while there may be some instances of voter fraud, it should not be a defining issue of the Republican Party, as it is an issue that is perhaps perceived in a way it is not intended,” Stafford said in a statement Monday. “In terms of the specifics of voter ID laws, Senator Paul believes it's up to each state to decide that type of issue.”

Read more: Paul's office clarifies voter ID remarks