Charlotte, NC just voted to cut early vote hours, despite the court ruling

[wildeyed]

saying that the change in the voting laws was racially discriminatory. The Board of Elections is controlled by the party that is in power at the state level. Right now in NC that is the GOP, even though Charlotte area is solidly Democratic and progressive. We are also one of the 10 fastest growing cities in the country. We have MORE citizens than in 2012, yet they cut our early vote hours significantly.

This is an example of how rules are used to subvert the will of the people. The GOP is shoving their agenda down Charlotte's throat AGAIN. Their puppet Governer Pat McCrory is in serious trouble and they know that Charlotte will deliver NC to the blue column in the GE if we have a strong voter turnout. So they are pulling out these stale dirty tricks AGAIN.

Local scuffles like this are really important. It is important that progressives see and understand what is going on here and in other battleground states.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article95843437.html

I want to also highlight how very important activist involvement is at this stage of the game. We PACKED the house with pro-early voting advocates. Standing room only and out the door. I got there early. The local political beat reporter was there with a notepad taking notes for a column that would be buried somewhere in the back pages of the local section. Once they saw how many people showed up and the energy that was there, the photographers and TV cameras started showing up. We were on every local news broadcast and are currently the top story on the Charlotte Observer website. Activist citizens made that happen. Now everyone in the city who flipped on the local news or peeked at the paper this morning knows what they did.

There is another important BOE meeting in Durham County tomorrow night at 6:30. If you are local, be there!

If you are out of state, kick a few $$$ to one of the groups fighting the good fight. NC NAACP and Democracy NC are two that come to mind.

If you are interested in the background of the woman who pushed the bad early voting plan through, see my thread in the NC group. Looks like she is buddies with some serious GOP heavy hitters.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10696541

[TonyPDX]

1. Face it. North Carolina can never be counted on to do the right thing.

[wildeyed]

4. No. The NC GOP cannot be counted on to do the right thing.

Duh. It is the GOP who is subverting the rules to disenfranchise the actual CITIZENS of NC. Also, remember when Obama won NC? Was that right enough for you? What about Reverend Barber and the coalition that has been fighting for justice and equality for ALL NC citizens for well over a decade? Are we right enough?

Seriously, enough with the broad brush.

[TonyPDX]

16. I hope your optimism is correct. My time there, and correspondence with friends who

still live there, cause me to feel otherwise.

[wildeyed]

17. You can feel however you want,

but you cannot argue with the facts. Fact that 2010 was the first time in decades that GOP controlled the state house. Fact that before the 2010 takeover, NC had some of the most progressive election law in the nation, including same day registration and publically funding campaigns. Fact that in 2008, we gave our electoral votes to Obama. Fact that this state has a strong progressive tradition going way back. For instance, in the late 1800s, poor white farmers and black North Carolinians banded together to for the Fusion Party and controlled the state legislature.

So your statement "North Carolina can never be counted on to do the right thing" is just wrong. Unless your definition of right is very different from most who frequent this site.

[MoonRiver]

2. Send in the National Guard!

Force those bastards to allow people to vote!

[Iliyah]

3. In your face voter suppression.

[workinclasszero]

15. In the land of the free...

Oh wait.....

[Blue Idaho]

5. It's about damn time

We standardized voting regulations across the country. States have proven they cannot be trusted with the responsibility of protecting our right to vote.

[brooklynite]

6. I wish someone would try to suppress MY early voting options...

New York doesn't have any

[geek tragedy]

7. vote suppression is something NY has elevated to an art form nt

[brooklynite]

8. Disagree...we're just "old school" and incompetent

[geek tragedy]

9. low turnout favors machine politics and especially city unions nt

[wildeyed]

10. The single person who spoke against early voting used Alabama and NY

as shining examples of states without early voting that she thought NC should emulate We tried to be polite, but it was such an epically clueless comment. The entire 100+ early vote supporters in the room snorted in unison.

[barbtries]

11. i'm in Durham.

your story is very persuasive. i will try to make it tomorrow

[wildeyed]

12. Yay!

The group here in Charlotte was pretty inspiring.

[barbtries]

13. it's not at a good time because of things going on at work.

but i know i should do it.

[Maru Kitteh]

14. I used to live in Willow Spring, just south of Raleigh

So thank you for going. I most assuredly would go were I still there.