The Arkansas Project — Voter Fraud

Voter ID Veto Override Delayed Despite 77% Support

March 29, 2013 Nic Horton 7 Comments

Two days ago, the Senate overrode Governor Beebe’s veto of the voter ID bill, SB2. The House was scheduled to vote on the override yesterday, but the vote was delayed. On Twitter, Rep. Stephen Meeks -- who carried the bill on the House side -- told me the vote was delayed due to a “LONG calendar.” A previous tweet from Rep. Meeks said the issue was not being brought up in order to allow legislators to get home early for Easter weekend. Perhaps, however, there is more to the story. On … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2013 General Assembly, Gallery, Voter Fraud, Voter ID Tagged With: 2014, 77%, AP, Arkansas, attorney general, Bryan King, davy carter, election reform, house, legislature, Pew poll, Policy, Politics, senate, speaker, Stephen Meeks, voter fraud, voter ID

$400,000 For Sweet Potato Research? Yam Right!

March 26, 2013 Nic Horton 3 Comments

There are several remarkable aspects of Governor Mike Beebe’s veto of SB2, the voter ID bill, yesterday. It looks like Beebe threw a bone to the gubernatorial base -- which suggests that the base is in need of stimulation. It is also intriguing to see a governor veto a bill that passed with bipartisan support in both chambers and is supported by large majorities of Democrats, women, African-Americans, and even crusty old white guys. But most importantly: how odd it is to see a governor use the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2013 General Assembly, Arkansas Democrats, Arkansas Legislature, Gallery, Voter Fraud, Voter ID Tagged With: abuse, Arkansas, fraud, Jack Crumbly, legislature, Mike Beebe, Policy, Politics, SB2, sweet potatoes, UAPB, veto, voter fraud, voter ID, waste

Voter ID Bill Clears Final Hurdle, Heads to Governor

March 19, 2013 Nic Horton 3 Comments

Today, the Senate Rules Committee convened to consider whether or not the voter ID bill required a supermajority vote. The House Rules Committee met on this issue last week and ruled that the bill, SB2, did not require a supermajority vote. The full House then passed the full bill and sent it to the full Senate to concur in amendments. Advance Arkansas Institute's Dan Greenberg appeared before the Senate Rules Committee today to offer his opinion: Amendment 51 supplies conditions for … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2013 General Assembly, Gallery, Voter Fraud, Voter ID Tagged With: 89th general assembly, AAI, Arkansas, Dan Greenberg, Democrats, legislature, Republicans, voter fraud, voter ID

A Final Note on Voter ID

March 15, 2013 Dan Greenberg 2 Comments

Voter ID, as amended, passed out of Senate Committee yesterday and will successfully pass the Senate next week. (It already passed the Senate once.) But the Arkansas Times's description of voter ID, and of me, suggests that a response is in order. More precisely, yesterday one of their writers, Lindsay Miller, accused me of being a “cynical policy wonk.” If you’re curious about why he thinks that, read the article. Regrettably, even after you read it, you’ll still be curious. That is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Voter Fraud, Voter ID Tagged With: Arkansas, Arkansas Times, Dan Greenberg, Lindsey Miller, Policy, Politics, voter fraud, voter ID

Rep. John Walker Says Voter ID Means Black Legislators Aren’t Really Legislators

March 13, 2013 Nic Horton 7 Comments

Today, the Arkansas House passed SB2, the Voter ID bill, by a vote of 51-44. This is a victory for proponents of election integrity. More importantly, it’s a victory for the people of Arkansas, who have a right to fair, honest elections. The day was not without tomfoolery, however. Just after noon, the House Rules Committee considered whether or not the bill required a supermajority vote (see our previous coverage here). They correctly determined that it did not, and the bill was … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2013 General Assembly, Arkansas Legislature, Gallery, Voter Fraud, Voter ID Tagged With: Arkansas, Election, John Walker, legislature, Reform, voter fraud, voter ID

Why Voter ID Does Not Require a Supermajority Vote

March 12, 2013 Nic Horton 5 Comments

Since the voter ID bill cleared House committee last week, opponents of election reform have been scrambling to derail it. I wrote last week about their unwittingly hilarious attempts to stop voter ID due to the cost. Keep in mind: the cost of the bill, by the state’s own estimates, is 0.0065% of the state’s annual Medicaid budget. After the hysteria over the bill’s cost died down, the liberal blogosphere began heating up with speculation that the bill (SB2) was not legitimately passed by … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2013 General Assembly, Arkansas Legislature, Voter Fraud, Voter ID Tagged With: advance arkansas institute, Arkansas, Democrats, election reform, legislature, Policy, Politics, Rep. Jim Nickels, voter fraud, voter ID

Representative Richey’s Drive By

March 7, 2013 Nic Horton Leave a Comment

Rep. Richey driving by the polls, presumably without identification.

Now that election reform is only one hurdle away from becoming law (assuming no veto from our veto-happy governor), some lawmakers are pulling out all the stops to make sure that voters are as terrified as possible about the bill’s ramifications. Today in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, state Rep. Chris Richey (D-Helena) said he doubted people [who forgot their IDs] would return to the polls to show them: I might just go ahead and drive past the polls because it's not going to be worth my … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2013 General Assembly, Arkansas Legislature, Gallery, Voter Fraud, Voter ID Tagged With: Arkansas, Chris Richey, Democrats, Helena, legislature, voter fraud, voter ID

Will Voter ID Bankrupt Arkansas?

March 6, 2013 Nic Horton 3 Comments

This morning, the House State Agencies Committee passed Sen. Bryan King’s voter ID bill (SB2) out of committee. It will now go to the full House for consideration and will then likely head to the governor. The bill would require Arkansas voters to present identification before voting. Given that overwhelming majorities of Republicans, Democrats, men, women, whites and blacks support the measure, critics of common-sense measures to protect election integrity have been relegated to criticizing … [Read more...]