The biggest untold story of the election; Voter Suppression

[edhopper]

it is very hard to get numbers, but if we look at States Hillary should have or could have won, and lost by narrow margins, the role of voter suppression laws cannot be minimized.
The Robert's Court overruled the will of the people and Congress and overturned the Voting Rights act.
This lead the way for the GOP to implement it's plan to stop democratic votes.
Their plan has worked and the results are Donald Trump and a Republican Senate.
This story will remain largely ignored while the pundits cry about the Dems not reaching out to white racist.

[SharonAnn]

1. Absolutely! It was significant in Florida, Wisonsin and North Carolina. DOn't know about the other

[edhopper]

2. Michigan had problems as well

http://www.salon.com/2016/11/16/voter-suppression-helped-make-donald-trump-president-now-hell-make-it-worse/

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/democracy/reports/2016/11/11/292322/voter-suppression-laws-cost-americans-their-voices-at-the-polls/

Poll workers in Michigan incorrectly told voters that they needed to show identification to vote. While Michigan does have a voter ID law, it does not require an ID to vote; instead, voters have the option of filling out an affidavit swearing to their identity. There are no hard data on how many Michigan voters were improperly turned away for lacking an ID.

And no one will look for "hard data".

[Kali_Klik]

6. Michigan

Well I had my MI Driver license, my voter registration card, and was told I "had to" fill out a affidavit in order to vote.

[yallerdawg]

10. Did you have a line behind you? How many said, "Screw that," and walked out?

The longer you have to wait in line, the more likely to stop waiting and go home - especially when we all "know" who is going to win anyway.

How many to turn an election?

[hunter]

3. Yep.

That and television "journalism."

[uponit7771]

4. YES!!! Compound the suppression numbers since 2006 and lower the turnout and boom... all polls

... are wrong in regards to her chances of winning.

The VS wasn't there for high turnout elections it was there to win the low turnout or narrow ones

[edhopper]

5. exactly

She needed to win by 5 mllion votes, not 2.

[GoCubsGo]

7. And, unfortunately, it is being spun as "the Democrats lost because they didn't show up."

I just turned off Thom Hartman, because he was spewing the "they didn't show up" nonsense. (I am pretty much done with him, but that's another story.) Yes, Thom. They DID show up. And, thousands of them found out they were purged from the voter rolls, or that they didn't have the right ID and couldn't get the right one in time, or their polling place was and they had no idea where the new on went--or it was too far away for those without transportation. Or, they have some asshole in a red ball cap threatening and harassing them at the polling place. Funny how all of that never gets mentioned...

I also find it amazing that Hillary got a near-record number of votes, and nearly 2 million more than her opponent by party members who "didn't show up."

[edhopper]

9. so true

More like stopped from showing up.

[spanone]

8. trump is a media creation. pundits will never expose him for what he truly is.

they all want to be him.

when the media started repeating non-stop that the black vote is down from 2012...not ONE pundit put 2 + 2 together....not one single solitary pundit.

i have zero faith in our complicit media...less than zero

[deurbano]

11. Ari Berman is always great on this issue:

Did Republicans Rig the Election?
Voter suppression was all too real, and 14 states—including important swing states—had new voting restrictions in place.

By Ari Berman NOVEMBER 15, 2016

https://www.thenation.com/article/did-republicans-rig-the-election/

The GOP’s Attack on Voting Rights Was the Most Under-Covered Story of 2016
This was the first presidential election in 50 years without the full protections of the Voting Rights Act.
By Ari Berman NOVEMBER 9, 2016

https://www.thenation.com/article/the-gops-attack-on-voting-rights-was-the-most-under-covered-story-of-2016/

This 99-Year-Old Man Rode His Bike to the Polls. Wisconsin Republicans Turned Him Away.
Scott Walker’s voter-ID law is disenfranchising the greatest generation.
By Ari Berman NOVEMBER 8, 2016

https://www.thenation.com/article/this-99-year-old-man-rode-his-bike-to-the-polls-republicans-turned-him-away/


There Are 868 Fewer Places to Vote in 2016 Because the Supreme Court Gutted the Voting Rights Act
Nearly half of counties that previously approved voting changes with the federal government have cut polling places this election.
Ari Berman NOVEMBER 4, 2016

https://www.thenation.com/article/there-are-868-fewer-places-to-vote-in-2016-because-the-supreme-court-gutted-the-voting-rights-act/

[edhopper]

17. at least

someone is looking as the rest of the media will coontinue to ignore.

[Cary]

12. I totally agree

I hope we get some good investigative reporting on this.

Lotsa luck on that, eh?

[oldtime dfl_er]

13. yes

Im tired of being bashed when I say this election was stolen, rigged, whatever word you want to put on it. But THIS is what I mean.

[Historic NY]

14. Its only going to get worse as the white nationalists do all they can to stay in control.

[barbtries]

15. i agree.

it's come about in fits and spurts, and nefarious law making in states like the one i live in, NC, which should have gone blue.

at the end of the day republicans actually have very little use for democracy. oh we're so fucked.

[mountain grammy]

16. I agree.