On Saturday, the U.S. Supreme Court restored a Republican-supported law in Arizona banning political campaigners from collecting absentee ballots filled out by voters. In New Jersey, a federal judge decided against the Democratic National Committee in a complaint it brought against the Republican National Committee, ruling that the RNC’s poll monitoring and ballot security activities did not violate a legal settlement. But in a ruling hailed by voting rights advocates, a federal judge late Friday ordered county elections boards in North Carolina to immediately restore registrations wrongfully purged from voter rolls.
All of this comes as this year’s presidential election is the first in half a century to take place without the full protection of the Voting Rights Act. In 2013, the Supreme Court struck down crucial components in Section 5 of the act in a case called Shelby County v. Holder, when it ruled that states with histories of voting-related racial discrimination no longer had to “pre-clear” changes to their voting laws with the federal government. For more, Amy Goodman is joined by Ari Berman, author of the recent article, “There Are 868 Fewer Places to Vote in 2016 Because the Supreme Court Gutted the Voting Rights Act.”
Across the nation, almost 6 million people are prohibited from voting as a result of state felony disenfranchisement laws. Three-quarters of those now prevented from voting have been released from prison and are living in their communities either under probation, on parole or having completed their sentences. African Americans have been disproportionately impacted by the laws. Florida has the highest number of disenfranchised voters—where nearly one in four black adults is disenfranchised. Meanwhile, in Vermont and Maine, prisoners can vote from jail. How will this impact tomorrow’s election?
Meawhile, with the presidential election just a day away, Amy Goodman continued her conversation with Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore, the director of “Roger & Me,” “Fahrenheit 9/11,” “Bowling for Columbine,” “Sicko,” “Capitalism: A Love Story” and “Where to Invade Next.” He has just released a surprise new film titled “Michael Moore in TrumpLand.” On Thursday afternoon, we spoke with Michael Moore about his new film, in which he suggests that the election of Donald Trump will herald the end of the United States.
Democracy Now! is a national, daily, independent, award-winning news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez.
Eric has begun the early pre-order phase of the 2017 annual edition. You can read his full letter about it here. Or, go straight to the purchase page. (If you’re a Core Community or Backstage Pass member, please email us at cs@planetwaves.net for your discounted price.)