Ferguson Mo...... Maybe a possible case of voter disenfranchisement

[rsmith6621]

I was thinking about these facts the past 24 hours.

16% of City Council is Black

0% of the School Board is black

Of the 56 PD Officers only 3 are black.


So out of 6 Council members only one is black, these are elected positions so why could that be. I think that voter disenfranchisement has taken place and they have given up on the possibility that the community could represent them ethnically. Something is wrong when 67% of the city population are black and this is the representation they get at the elected city level.

It must be tough for the black community have an identity other than the fact that they stereotypically are just worthless, criminals and not contributing to the city's values.

It would be interesting to review the voting stats of Ferguson to see if there is something there that has created this environment.

Or is it that both Republicans and Democrats have failed to engage the community?

Lets get this conversation rolling.

[BronxBoy]

1. Or it could be that they didn't vote...

I'm Black so I'm not trying to be snarky. But the citizens have to bear some responsibility for the face of their government. And please understand that I am not in any way suggesting that these events are the fault of the residents

[CatWoman]

6. agreed

Rev. Al spoke to that during the church rally this past weekend.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

13. I was just about to say that

Didn't he mention 12% turnout, or am I mis-remembering?

[ripcord]

15. Maybe it is time for massive voter regitration drives

It worked before to make changes, maybe it can again.

[AndyTiedye]

19. Maybe the Rest Couldn't get to the Polls Without Getting Arrested

My guess is that the police are out in force on Election Day and are arresting black folks for anything or nothing if they try to vote.

[brooklynite]

24. Just an observation that you have absolutely no evidence that this happened

[HooptieWagon]

26. No, its quite likely.

In 2013, over 24,000 warrants were issued for a city with a population of only 21,000. When you register to vote, you have to give your address. Also, very likely there are threats of arresting people who do show up to vote.
IMO, theres probably a good deal of voter suppression there, on top of some apathy.

[elehhhhna]

18. 24000 warrants in a town of 21000 people. How many CAN't vote?

How often were the cops present at the polling places threatening to arrest people with outstanding warrants?

get my drift?

[loyalsister]

2. timing of the elections

April of odd years is when city officials are elected. That weird timing leads to a very low voter turn out.

[gollygee]

3. What is their reason for that?

Because on the surface it looks like they are wanting low voter turnout.

[loyalsister]

8. It doesn't look like that was the original intent

Ferguson holds municipal elections in April of odd-numbered years. In doing so, the town is hardly unique. Approximately three-fourths of American municipalities hold their elections in odd years, a Progressive-era reform intended to shield municipal elections from the partisan politics of national contests, but one that has been shown to have a dramatic effect on reducing turnout.

Ferguson also holds nonpartisan elections (where party labels do not appear on the ballot), another Progressive reform, and one that has been shown to reduce both what citizens know about candidates as well as their likelihood of voting. These consequences are worse for people with less education and less income.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/08/15/how-ferguson-exposes-the-racial-bias-in-local-elections/

[whereisjustice]

4. Insider wonks at core of both parties are chasing white, upper class, corporate conservatives

while liberals, minorities are presumed to vote Democratic by default. Both parties are chasing the money while taking everyone else's votes for granted.

That's why, no matter who is in power, our wages and quality of life continues to decline (except for the 1% whose quality of life is improving exponentially).

By the way, things are going to get much worse before they get better. Take a look at slums of India and China, a consequence of an oppressed majority ruled by a tiny oligarchy protected by a corrupt military/police state at their disposal. That's where we are heading.

Just in case you were wondering.

[JEB]

17. World wide corporate rule. We are nearly there already.

First they crack down on Occupy, then Blacks, Gaza, soon it will be you and your neighbors.

[boatingaccident]

5. ten fold

Your right, these people are not equal with the rich white establishment, we should increase affirmative action 10 fold until they feel enfranchised.

[JI7]

7. isn't it only in recent years that Ferguson has been majority black ?

[gollygee]

9. Yes

Interesting info here:

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/119106/ferguson-missouris-complicated-history-poverty-and-racial-tension

[JI7]

21. very informative article, pretty much seems like something that has happened across the country

and it's no surprise places are still segregated even though legally it's not allowed.

i really think black history needs to include things like what happened with housing .

[loyalsister]

10. Fairly recent due to white flight

Ferguson since the 1970s has gone from being 85 percent white to about 70 percent black, thanks to waves of flight by both races from the City of St. Louis.
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-08-15/why-ferguson-missouri-looks-like-the-inner-city

Jim Loewen also listed it as a sundown town.

[Uncle Joe]

11. I have no doubt massive disproportionate arrest warrants create a dampening effect in regards

to voting or even registering to vote.

On a thread by EarlG.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1017&pid=210232

Three arrest warrants per household will definitely work to curtail people from participating in any constructive means of changing government, they will either be disenfranchised or believe they're disenfranchised and either one is effective in reducing the vote.

Thanks for the thread, rsmith.

[rsmith6621]

12. Sharpton Said Tonight

...that only 6% off blacks voted in the April 2013 election.

[Dems to Win]

14. Ferguson holds it's local elections in April

Only the most tuned-in citizens even know they are happening. Very, very low turnout. Heard it on Thom Hartmann's show.

[muntrv]

16. Speaking of voter disenfranchisement...

Tue Aug 19, 2014 at 01:21 PM PDT.

Missouri GOP Outraged About Voter Registration Booths In Ferguson


by
librarisingnsfFollow .

It seems that some citizens of Ferguson want to increase the extremely low voter participation rate in Ferguson, and the Missouri GOP (or, at least the leadership) is not happy about that effort at all.
From The New Civil Rights Movement:


In an interview with Breitbart News, Missouri RNC executive director Matt Wills expressed outrage about the reports of voter registration booths popping up in Ferguson, Breitbart reports.
“If that’s not fanning the political flames, I don’t know what is,” Wills said, “I think it’s not only disgusting but completely inappropriate.”

Wills explained that the shooting death of Michael Brown was a tragedy for everyone.

“This is not just a tragedy for the African American community this is a tragedy for the Missouri community as well as the community of what we call America,” he said. “Injecting race into this conversation and into this tragedy, not only is not helpful, but it doesn’t help a continued conversation of justice and peace.”
While the event(s) in Ferguson was very tragic, I'm glad that it has at least awakened the community of the importance of the political process and elections.
The (far) right wing site, "Daily Caller," is also doing a bit of fear-mongering of its own. From the same article:


Liberal activists — including from the George Soros-funded Center for Constitutional Rights — have promoted voter registration booths at multiple locations in Ferguson, including at the roadside memorial marking the spot where Brown was shot.
African-Americans are extremely under-represented in the racial makeup of elected officials and policemen in Ferguson. Salon gives us some of those statistics:

Ferguson is majority black, but the mayor is white, and five of the six city council members are white. For members of the community who feel their interests aren’t being represented, the first step towards changing that is registering to vote. Also, reportedly, only three of the 53 Ferguson police officers are Black.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/19/1323015/-Missouri-GOP-Outraged-About-Voter-Registration-Booths-In-Ferguson?detail=facebook

[caraher]

20. Some data

including a fact Sharpton mentioned

Ferguson’s elections are held at a time when few, if any, high-profile candidates are on the ballot contributes to an almost comically low voter turnout rate in these elections. In 2013, for example, just 11.7 percent of eligible voters actually cast a ballot.

Turnout is especially low among Ferguson’s African American residents, however. In 2013, for example, just 6 percent of eligible black voters cast a ballot in Ferguson’s municipal elections, as compared to 17 percent of white voters.

So while 2/3 of the residents are black, in the 2013 election only 40% of the voters were black.

[Raine1967]

22. I have read that local elections in Ferguson are not held in November…

Instead, they are held in April.

This isn't a matter of people not voting per say, but rather a matter of people knowing when to vote for local elections…

[caraher]

25. They are

There's no doubt that spring elections for office bring out a different electorate (and generally have tiny turnouts). The fact is that even if people know when a local election is, they often don't bother to vote unless there's also a statewide or national ballot.

It's a problem that hits the Democrats harder than the Republicans, and the lessened power in local and even state elections has helped Republicans at all levels wield more power than they've earned (for instance, with their oversized strength in state legislatures allowing them to gerrymander outrageously). In general, people need to realize that votes for sheriffs and city council matter as much as votes for presidents and senators.

[brooklynite]

23. Before we start the conversation, maybe we should actually do some research...

like, the Missouri Secretary of State (responsible for Elections) is a Democrat.

and, nobody is the locality, which has been under intense press scrutiny, has alleged a voter suppression effort.

and, Black voting has been reported to be proportionally higher in Presidential election years.

[Ecumenist]

27. Brooklynite, I understand what you're saying but the fact that the MO SOS is a Democrat

doesn't mean too much in this area of the country. Alot of time, RACISM TRUMPS party membership. Trust me, I'm a black mestiza and I've seen it with my OWN...TWO...EYES.
Remember that the GOVERNOR is ALSO democrat and alot of good that's done. Nixon ain't done shit for this situation, hell, he won't even remove the obviously biased DA....

[brooklynite]

28. I repeat my original point: there is no EVIDENCE.