Voter Registration Down Among Hispanics, Blacks
Republican voter suppression in effect. They want you have as many hurdles as possible, scare as many old people and minorities. The poll tax is essentially back.
Except this is a nationwide trend, as the Washington Post article notes, and voter ID laws have only been passed in a few states (and in some of those few, the laws have not gone into effect, because they require clearance from the Justice Department, which they have not received, e.g., Texas and South Carolina).
The article also identifies decreased early voting as a dilemma; however, as previously discussed on this blog, reducing the early voting period doesn’t really effect voter turnout, and in fact, early voting may actually decrease turnout.
And among those asked about the issue, such as Antonio Gonzalez of the William C. Velasquez Institute, the explanation seems to be job losses and home foreclosure, which have lead to dislocation/migration (which in turn has lead to a decrease in voter registration because people have re-registered).
(Source: politicalwire.com)
