Clinton calling for universal, automatic, voter registration....

[brooklynite]

(voting rights speech at TSU)

...with automated records so your registration moves with you.

[OKNancy]

1. touts Oregon

Will be hard, but people need to be activist about this topic

More like Moral Monday in North Carolina

Then - need the Supreme Court

!!! THe court needs to care more about the right of the individual than the right of a corporation to buy an election !!

[kenfrequed]

2. Well...

I am in support of this. I am still backing bernie, but this is something I applaud.

[Sherman A1]

16. Agreed

this is a good idea.

[ut oh]

37. Indeed...

This idea should be adopted by all Dem candidates.

[Cosmocat]

44. ABSOLUTELY - along with the expanding of SS

Lots of good stuff bring put out by these two ...

This party needs to get in the game.

Set a simple agenda of top line items like these and every D out there should be championing them like the crazy ass shit the Rs champion.

[tblue]

79. ...starting 15 years ago, but I'll take it.

I think this kinda seals it for her. It is music to so many ears, and it will ignite many Obama supporters who haven't quite warned to her. My heart is with Bernie (and I know he agrees with her on this issue) but I enthusiastically embrace Hillary for taking this on. It's about damn time some Democrat did it!

[olegramps]

106. Could an election be contested on the basis that some voters were prevented from voting.

I have no idea what the law would be but it does seem to have some merit. When I think that our nation was founded in part by the revolt against taxation without representation it greatly disturbs me that so many of our citizens right to vote is being trampled on by Republican thugs. It seems to me that this is the same principle that is being ignored by hateful fascist bastards. There is absolutely no justifiable reason that young people, poor and minorities are being discriminated against. I sadly say it but I have grown to actually despise these jackbooted thugs. When the hell are the people going to say enough is enough and demand change? Its a wonder that riots haven't broken out. Seems like the Colonists had more balls than the present crop of citizens.

[peecoolyour]

3. I'm all for it. nt

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

4. I hope she got lots of applause for that.

I also laud her for her call for 20 days of early voting as a standard across the nation.

[arcane1]

5. It's almost like something a sane, rational country would be doing already

[freshwest]

29. +300,000,000 Americans! We're on the finish line. Gotta flip the USSC, too.

[jalan48]

90. Great Post!

[cali]

6. a lot of what she's saying is spot on.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

7. Good. Even though we don't register by party in my state.

We're all de facto Independents in Washington, whatever our leanings.

[Sheepshank]

75. I think the term she used was "register to vote"

Not necessarily register for a party...although the way that is worded, if the state requires a party registration, that too is included. Just my take on the language used

[Gothmog]

8. I am watching this speech on line

HRC is going a great job

[herding cats]

9. I highly support that idea.

We need to get more people to the polls if we're ever going to make our government resemble the majority of the population.

[randys1]

10. ALL of you MUST demand we have the right to vote, but in Texas, NC and elsewhere

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS

maybe

MILLIONS

are currently unable to vote

Follow my twitter account below and report obstruction

[freshwest]

30. Thanks, randys1

[Iliyah]

41. And thats the way the GOP wants it.

So being aggressive of progressive ideals is beautiful but in the USA votes count which allows politicians to get into office (well that is how it suppose to work), therefore, nothing progressive will be achieve if the USA gets all one party members in, especially the US Supreme Court and WH.

Think Hobby Lobby running the country.

[sheshe2]

11. Excellent!

The whole process should be simplified.

[mopinko]

12. her focus on voting rights is very smart.

and doing it early and often is a winner. we need to address this stuff NOW. not at the last minute and not after voting is over.

[lovemydog]

14. Yes, now!

Great point mopinko.

[Gothmog]

28. Voting rights and GOP voter suppression will be an issue in 2016

[uponit7771]

32. +1

[Hekate]

54. Damn straight.

[lovemydog]

13. Expanding opportunities

for millions of people to exercise their right to vote. I absolutely support this. How can we help make this happen?

I watched some of the speech in the live stream provided here - thank you. If the entire speech can be posted here it would be much appreciated.

[Avalux]

15. Good to hear! I also would like to see Election Day as a holiday. n/t

[lovemydog]

19. Yeah me too Avalux.

We can easily move one of the holidays too. For example, make Presidents day voting day.

[freshwest]

31. Sounds perfect for presidential election days. n/t

[DirtyHippyBastard]

78. I work for a state agency in PA,

and all election days are paid holidays. If you work on that day (most do) you get time and a half.
Yes, we are union. Teamsters.

[lovemydog]

17. Bumpa de bump

a kicka and a recca

[JDPriestly]

18. Good idea.

[Rex]

20. We should have been doing that a long time ago!

Brava!

[mcar]

21. This is excellent

Voting rights for all!

[SunSeeker]

22. Yes!!!

[freshwest]

23. Wow! This is what I've been saying for years. Isn't it way in most of the Anglosphere? TIA. n/t

[Qutzupalotl]

24. I LOVE Oregon's vote-by-mail program.

It leads to more informed voters making more rational, considered decisions. You can sit on your sofa with the voter's guide and fill out your ballot in comfort -- no feeling of being rushed to move the line.

Turnout is among the highest in the nation, usually near 80% in presidential elections.

The stamp is not a poll tax, since you can also drop off your ballot at area drop boxes.

As with any paper ballot, there is a chance of spoilage due to weather or other disaster. Problems are VERY rare and not widespread.

Good on Hillary Clinton!

[Punx]

55. And while the ballots

Are still counted by machine, there is paper document to back it up, as well as an envelope with the voter's signature on it. An audit or recount can be done fairly easy, and fraud or miscounting would be easy to prove here. My local state rep here (Democrat) won by only a handful of votes. Thanks Unions for your efforts!

In fact the state GMO labeling inititive (Measure 92) was recounted and while it went narrowly down to defeat, it was recounted and lost by 812 votes with ~1.5 million cast. The shift in votes against based on the recount was 25. Try that with electronic voting!

[Bluenorthwest]

25. It's a very great idea and timely message.

The easier it is to vote, the more people vote regularly.

[morningfog]

26. These are fantastic proposals. I fully support this.

[NightWatcher]

27. The more people that vote, the more Dems win elections.

Paul M. Weyrich (October 7, 1942 – December 18, 2008)

Paul Weyrich, "father" of the right-wing movement and co-founder of the Heritage Foundation, Moral Majority and various other groups tells his flock that he doesn't want people to vote. He complains that fellow Christians have "Goo-Goo Syndrome": Good Government. Classic clip from 1980. This guy still gives weekly strategy sessions to Republicans nowadays. The entire dialog from the clip:

"Now many of our Christians have what I call the goo-goo syndrome — good government. They want everybody to vote. I don't want everybody to vote. Elections are not won by a majority of people, they never have been from the beginning of our country and they are not now. As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down."

-quoted from http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021309809

[daleanime]

33. K&R.....

[NRaleighLiberal]

34. superb!

[lovemydog]

35. Also calling for a national standard requiring every state

offer 20 days of early voting, and keep polling places open weekends and evenings.

Let's get this through Congress. It's vital to our democracy.

WASHINGTON -- Hillary Clinton in a speech on Thursday called for universal, automatic voter registration, saying every citizen in the country should be automatically registered to vote when they turn 18, unless they opt-out. Clinton spoke at Texas Southern University in Houston, where she was receiving the Barbara Jordan Public-Private Leadership Award. She also said Republican-led efforts in several states to further regulate voting and voter registration disproportionately harm both underrepresented communities and young people, adding that Republicans need to "stop fear mongering" about the "phantom epidemic" of voter fraud.

Clinton also called for a national standard that would require every state in the country to offer at least 20 days of early in-person voting, including keeping polling stations open on weekends and evenings. During her speech, Clinton also called on Congress to pass legislation to give the federal government power to review changes to state voting laws before they go into effect. A Supreme Court decision in 2013 struck down a key provision of the landmark Voting Rights Act that required certain states to have their voting changes pre-cleared by the Justice Department or by a panel of federal judges before they were implemented.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/04/hillary-clinton-voting-rights_n_7513858.html

[William769]

36. kick & recommended.

[Jumpin Jack Flash]

38. While it is a good idea,

what chance does it have passing through a Republican Congress?

[Hekate]

56. We'll never know unless we try, will we? So GOTV and send a Dem Congress to Washington...

.....to support our New Democratic POTUS.

[C Moon]

39. nice!

[lovemydog]

40. 'Rec a Roni

the flavor can't be beat.'

[DFW]

42. That's a rather drastic proposal

And it's about time, too!!!!!!!!!!

Of course, it would also be like an injection of cyanide for the Republicans, so it has about as much chance of becoming law as a law requiring free pizza for all on Friday nights.

[47of74]

43. If it was me I would make voting truly universal.

There would be only two requirements if it was up to me.

The person be a citizen of the United States who has reached 18 years of age. No other restrictions whatsoever. Even people currently incarcerated would have the right if it was up to me since it seems to be that our prison industrial state has a vested interest in disenfranchising as many people as possible.

And attempting to keep people from voting would be punishable by 25 to life in my system and trillion dollar fines.

[rurallib]

45. Would you make voting mandatory

BTW - Kudos to Hillary for saying it out loud.

[47of74]

49. I don't know about mandatory.

Just make it truly a right of all Americans to vote.

[Eric J in MN]

84. In Vermont, people can vote even if they're incarcerated.

All 50 states should have that.

Voting is pro-social behavior which should be encouraged.

[47of74]

97. Totally agree

The kind of candidates the incarcerated would support couldn't possibly be any worse than what we have now. And we might get more responsible candidates who have to answer even to prisoners for their actions, who wouldn't be as likely to pass poorly thought out legislation just because it makes them look all big and tough.

(Side benefit: Sheriff Joe would hate it).

[cantbeserious]

46. Never Going To Happen Before The 2016 General Election

eom

[Pauldg47]

70. Your right.....

.....it's her bs.....she has hope the other BS (Bernie Sanders) has credibility.

[Pauldg47]

71. Talking the talk.

[surrealAmerican]

47. It's a great idea, but ...

... the Republicans will never agree to it. In fact, we can count on them to do everything in their power to prevent this.

The survival of their party depends on keeping people from voting.

[giftedgirl77]

48. K&R

[iamthebandfanman]

50. how can that be 'automatic'

when someone has to pick an affiliation ?

need to be working on more poll places, longer hours, and election day made a national holiday for all non-emergency services..

[okasha]

74. Easy. Don't require an affiliation upon registration.

In Texas, your voter ID gets stamped "Democrat" or "Republican" when you vote in that party's primary.

[shenmue]

51. Yes indeed!

It should happen automatically when you turn 18.

[glinda]

52. And this will happen how?

[Hekate]

53. That's a great idea. The RW has manipulated the current systems into a new Jim Crow...

...and it has to stop.

[Half-Century Man]

57. My only qualifier.

Every citizen, not currently undergoing prosecution, should automatically be registered to vote.

[fizzgig]

85. undergoing prosecution =/= guilty

why single them out?

[Half-Century Man]

92. Just to clarify, I do not mean persons serving punitive sentences.

Merely the people currently subject to immediate threat by elected officials (ie, city/state prosecutors). I see this as a safeguard against mass arrests near election times. Alternative suggestions are welcome.

Just because a citizen has made a one time mistake, made an ever escalating series of poor choices, or been driven by desperation to go beyond allowable boundaries, should not be enough to exclude them from a voice in society. The only reason laws stripping a citizen from the right to vote exist are to systematically strip a targeted group from equal representation. As has been and currently being done to African Americans, particularly the men.

To a lesser extent the fact a citizen has to actively individually seek out and register to exercise their Constitutionally granted right to express themselves through a vote, is a form of voter suppression. An automatic registry at 18 is a good idea.
As is an Election Holiday, early voting, voting by mail, and using exclusively paper hand counted ballots.

[Gormy Cuss]

88. Even those undergoing prosecution

Disenfranchisement because of arrests and convictions is part of the problem.

[spanone]

58. and she's right. we need to counter what the thugs are doing to voter's rights...

it's criminal

[awoke_in_2003]

59. I can agree with that. nt

[TBF]

60. Definitely support this! K&R nt

[MineralMan]

61. Nicely done, candidate Clinton!

Thank you. How could anyone argue against this proposal?

[DCBob]

62. Excellent..

But is it possible?

[ucrdem]

63. That's the dead-on best proposal so far this campaign.

Liking this new Hill

[TheKentuckian]

64. Absolutely!

[Gothmog]

65. The fact that HRC is building on the example of Oregon is a great idea

Automatic registration is a great idea

[LiberalElite]

66. I agree nt

[elleng]

67. SOME states have already taken significant steps in the direction of universal voting.

Martin O'Malley did THIS:

Expanded Voting Rights
While other states around the nation push stricter voter ID laws designed to limit people’s ability to exercise the right to vote, Governor O’Malley made it easier to vote in Maryland by expanding early voting and same-day voter registration.


This isn't just talk, he already did it in Maryland. He instituted early voting, established online voter registration & same-day registration for early voters.


It's WELL PAST time the Democratic Party take this matter upon itself, and promote it for EVERY state. Repugs have done THEIR thing for years.

[jwirr]

68. Very good speech and a great issue.

[Scuba]

69. K&R

[MFrohike]

72. Amen

The likely response is some drivel about states' rights. That tees up a nice reply, "why is it everytime somebody says states' rights, it's about infringing a human being's rights?"

[lovemydog]

73. Yes, and their rights under the Constitution.

Specifically Article VI & Amendments 14, 15, 19, 23, 24 & 26 and legislation like the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Why do we have such disproportionate representation? Largely because states and municipalities keep restricting voting opportunities. That must end.

[Thinkingabout]

76. It would help Democrats for many years to come

[napi21]

77. I supported that when I heard about Oregon.

The way their new Governor explained it, your State already has your birth certificate, DL, and all your other info (addy, phone, SS#, etc). Why not make use of that info and issue a voter registration instead of making you reenter the SAME INFO again! The only prob I see is having to get the individual voter pick a Party to register in. That could easily be fixed by enclosing a post card with the notice of registration that the voter would return with their choice.

[fizzgig]

86. you can manage your voter registration online in colorado

you can register, change your address and change your affiliation online. that's an easy way around that.

[PoliticAverse]

103. Under the Oregon law (which only registers those with Driver's Licenses) you are sent a postcard

with information on how to opt-out of registration and how to select a political party with their registration.

Those that don't select a party are registered as unaffiliated.

[Zorra]

80. Good. So, why hasn't President Obama dealt with this already? nt

[grahamhgreen]

81. And how bout a paper trail for votes?

[BlueMTexpat]

82. In my experience as an expat, the US right now

has become the paradigm for talking the talk but not actually walking the walk insofar as democracy goes. To some, we are nothing but hypocrites; to others, we have truly become a police state. Others are more generous, but very worried about our increasing partisanship and division.

This is a far cry from the nation where I was born and raised and that I have been proud to serve.

With all the restrictions that some states have put on voting, we do NOT look good, especially when such restrictions specifically target the most vulnerable among us - who are supposed to have MORE protections in a true democracy. Further, Citizens' United & McCutcheon are hardly decisions that promote democracy. They also make our supposedly independent judiciary look like a corporate tool.

Anything that helps to resolve or improve voting rights for all eligible individual persons is absolutely needed.

Good for Hillary for putting the issue out there!

[Orsino]

83. Terrific stuff.

Let's add a ban on removing felons' voting rights, too.

[fizzgig]

87. there is a lot of work that needs done in reforming voting rights

and that's a step in the right direction.

i am fortunate that my state (colorado) makes it wonderfully easy to vote. all registered voters receive a mail-in ballot that can be dropped off at any number of places, extended early voting, same-day registration and an expanded list of of acceptable identification.

mailing all voters a ballot is a new thing and i can't remember if it was in place in 2012 or not, but we generally have a presidential election turnout of close to 70 percent. i'm interested in seeing what turnout looks like next year.

[Punx]

89. And the Republicans whining

About her being divisive. Really?

One thing I'm liking right now is that I don't think Hillary or Bernie is going to take any crap from the Rethugs.

[ieoeja]

91. Even Las Vegas casino workers? n/t

[Gamecock Lefty]

93. Love my Party!

I must say I love what I’m hearing out of all our Dems. I’ll say it – our party rocks!

Now let’s get a liberal Congress and a liberal Supreme Court and I can be happy!

Go Hillary, Go Bernie!

[valerief]

94. Can we get rid of those damn vote-flipping machines, too?

And the gerrymandering?

[samsingh]

95. repugs don't want this - i don't think they'll win any more elections

[raouldukelives]

96. K&R nt

[NCTraveler]

98. K&R.

[azureblue]

99. and a national voting day holiday

NT

[Dont call me Shirley]

100. Who is going to push for that to be enacted before 2016?

[PoliticAverse]

101. There's not going to be automatic voter registration in the US of everyone that turns 18.

Unlike in some countries, Federal, state and local governments in the US don't maintain a database of all residents and
their age and location.

This is the reason the Selective Service law requires 18 year old males to register instead of registering them automatically.

Note that countries which have 'automatic registration' either have national ID cards for all residents or laws requiring
residents to register with local authorities.

[Fumesucker]

102. Sounds like a great idea

[99th_Monkey]

104. I'm supporting Bernie, but give Hillary huge kudos for making this an issue

in the 2016 campaign. This is an issue that has gone largely ignored by the
media and by Democrats in general.

Thank you Hillary Clinton!

[Fearless]

105. Now if she'd follow with universal health care, universal education, and so on...

[DFW]

107. I detect Howard Dean's subtle hand in this

He has been quietly advocating voter rights for a LOOOOOOOOONG time, and now that he has Hillary's ear, I think he has convinced her that it is a can't-lose issue for any Democrat, and one Republicans can only oppose publicly by showing their hand as being against the right of every citizen to vote. If every citizen is automatically registered, and in a national data base, the right can't whine about needing to disenfranchise citizens from their voting rights to protect against voter fraud--something that was a fake issue to begin with.

This is an issue every Democratic candidate will gladly get behind. Hillary can bask for a few days, but the second Sanders and O'Malley are asked for their views, their answers will be "well DUH!" whereas Republicans, whose prospects for winning close elections will drop by half or more if such a policy becomes law, will all oppose it without saying why. Oh, they'll put forth reasons, of course, but they won't be very coherent. CNN (Conservative New Network) would probably go something like this:



Interviewer: "You're in the Degradation Room.

"Senator/Madam Secretary/Governor, you have come out in favor of universal voter registration for all American citizens. Why, and why now?"

Sanders/Clinton/O'Malley: "Too many Americans have been--and are still being denied--their right to vote, with the justification being anything other than the real reason: because they might vote Democratic. Sure, this proposal will benefit Democrats, but the only reason this is so is because the only ones trying to deny certain citizens their right to vote have been Republicans. If their policies are so wonderful, let them win elections with legitimate majorities of the voters. If not, they should improve their policies until the voters like them better than ours. But don't hide behind disallowing people to vote and then saying the people have spoken in your favor while you are forbidding some of them from speaking at all."

Interviewer: "OK, (generic Republican oaf), you have heard the Democratic argument for universal voter registration. Why do you oppose it?"

Generic Republican oaf: "Well, Wolf, it's obvious that this is not an attempt to get more Americans to vote, but really a rgtsxtl grbssch against the Republican Party, and this is borne out by the fact that a Fox poll showed that 127% of Americans przeszablxk sjrblax glrbbung, and libbruls are just ignoring it."

Interviewer: "Well, you certainly do have a valid point there, no question about it. We're out of time, so we'll have to leave it at that............"

[chev52]

108. Big deal

This voting issue is an easy one for her. It won't cost her any campaign contributors and it probably won't pass anyway. I'm waiting for her to come out against Transpacific Partnership.

[djean111]

109. Here in Florida, it is easy to register to vote. The real, actual problem is being ABLE to vote.

Voter suppression is the problem. The GOP does not care how many people are registered. They throw registered voters off the rolls almost at will, and challenge voters at the polls. Everybody being registered sounds awesome, and is actually not all that difficult. What needs to be addressed is students trying to vote and being told they have to go home, the quite onerous ID requirements when reporting to vote, things like that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_suppression_in_the_United_States

Voter suppression in the United States includes various techniques, legal and non-legal, used to deny eligible voters the right to vote. Voter suppression varies by state, local government, precinct, and election.

This is real feel-good and all, but, like others have asked, what is Hillary's stance on the TPP?