Here is the MN Statute: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes... who is eligible,wages because of the absence. 204C.04 EMPLOYEES; TIME OFF TO VOTE. Subdivision 1.Right to be absent. Every employee who is eligible to vote in an election has the right to be absent from work for the time necessary to appear at the employee's polling place, cast a ballot, and return to work on the day of that election, without penalty or deduction from salary or wages because of the absence. An employer or other person may not directly or indirectly refuse, abridge, or interfere with this right or any other election right of an employee. Subd. 2.Elections covered. For purposes of this section, "election" means a regularly scheduled election, an election to fill a vacancy in the office of United States senator or United States representative, an election to fill a vacancy in nomination for a constitutional office, an election to fill a vacancy in the office of state senator or state representative, or a presidential nomination primary under chapter 207A. § Subd. 3.Penalty. A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor, and the county attorney shall prosecute the violation. Regarding wage workers I've not heard of any problems with this and the statute makes it sound like wage workers are paid for their time off to vote. I've never dealt with this as an owner in my company it doesn't apply to me. This doesn't seem to be much of an issue but it might also be one of the reasons that MN is either at the top or near the top of voter participation every election.
Remember - America NEVER INTENDED FOR EVERYONE TO VOTE! It started as WHITE MALE LAND OWNER Rocket River
You are right about it being no more expansive than the decision to allow the federal government to regulate weed, but that was also incorrectly decided. Scalia doesn't like drugs, so he set aside his disdain for expansive reading of the commerce clause to suddenly care about stare decisis and say he was bound by Wickard v. Filburn to say that growing pot for your own consumption is interstate commerce. That is why Clarence Thomas is a better justice than Scalia. The Constitution was not meant to be flexible in interpretation, it was meant to be flexible by amendment. The arguments for reading **** into it that isn't there are always less valid than the arguments against doing that. Hopefully Kavanagh and Gorsuch and Barrett will follow the Thomas line.
They have early voting and absentee voting. There are no lengthy wait times using either of those options, and you can fill in your absentee ballot at any time when not working. Those problems only exist if you force them upon yourself. Edit: Oops, sorry for double post, meant to put this in with the other one.
Agree to disagree about the Constitution. The Framers and the subsequent Amendeders weren't a monolith. Anyhow, it's the weekend. Basketball first, this later.
What does this have to do with voter access? Having an ID does not give you the greater ability to vote when you close polling places and lower take away the hours you can vote in a day or the actual days you can vote.
Georgia is doing away with absentee voting and curtailing the days and hours you can early vote and a lot of other states are trying to do the same. So yes those problems do exist and will get worse under these laws. Do you agree that people handing out water and chairs at polling places is a problem?
early evidence suggests that Kavanaugh follows the Roberts line and Gorsuch enjoys going it alone unpredictably
They are not doing away with absentee voting, according to the article I read. That was one of the earlier proposals, but what ended up passing allowed early voting and no excuse absentee voting. No. But then I also don't think any form of electioneering at polling places is a problem. I can see why disallowing some forms but allowing other forms could be considered problematic. Ultimately, I just see it as a non-issue, especially as the same article I referenced above allowed for polling places to provide self-service water to voters that were waiting. Pretty much everything that people whine about as an "impediment to voting" or "voter suppression" seems trivial to me. Even if only in person voting was allowed, and only between 9 and 5, and it required government ID, and no one could provision you while you wait, it seems like such a minor inconvenience. Edit: when I say the article I read, I am referring to the WSJ article that was posted above. I was required to vote absentee, because there were not enough registered voters in my area to justify opening the polling location. Lines and ID requirements are not what keeps people from voting, apathy is.
I really don't understand what is so hard about getting a proper ID, no matter where you live. Sure, it might take some effort, but it's not an impossible task. I can't imagine not having an ID. Maybe what they need is more outreach centers, where people can get help one way or another to make it easier for those having such a hard time.
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/...cans-absentee-voting-state-legislature-478074 The law also adds an ID requirement to the process for requesting an absentee ballot, after previously only requiring voters to sign an application. It also narrows the time window during which ballots can be requested. It also restricts the use of drop boxes in the state, mandating that each county have at least one drop box but then limiting any additional drop box totaling the “lesser of either one drop box for every 100,000 active registered voters in the county or the number of advance voting locations in the county.” The law also requires that the drop boxes be located either at the office of the board of registrars or ballot clerk or inside early voting locations — and that they are closed when early voting isn’t being conducted. So if these things are trivial why make them into law?
They are designed to suppress voting and if they still lose, take over the process. If you want integrity and democracy, go with HR1, For the People Act Voting rights[edit] The bill would require states to offer same-day voter registration for federal elections and to permit voters to make changes to their registration at the polls. It would require states to hold early voting for at least two weeks and would establish automatic voter registration[15][3][2] for individuals to be eligible to vote in elections for federal office in the state. Under the automatic voter registration provision, eligible citizens who provide information to state agencies (including state departments of motor vehicles or public universities) would be automatically registered to vote unless they opt out of doing so. The bill would also expand opportunities to vote by mail and would make Election Day a federal holiday. The bill would require states to offer online voter registration,[3][15] which has already been adopted in 39 states and the District of Columbia; under the bill, states would be required to establish a system to allow applications to be electronically completed, submitted, and received by election officials, and to allow registered voters to electronically update their voter registration information. The bill would establish criminal penalties for persons who "corruptly hinder, interfere with, or prevent another person from registering to vote" and for voter deception or intimidation (the bill would specifically "prohibit knowing and intentional communication of false and misleading information – including about the time, place, or manner of elections, public endorsements, and the rules governing voter eligibility and voter registration – made with the intent of preventing eligible voters from casting ballots"). The bill would instruct the Election Assistance Commission to adopt recommendations for states on the prevention of interference with voter registration. The bill would also authorize 16- and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote in advance of their becoming 18. A 2019 proposal by Representative Ayanna Pressley to amend the bill to actually allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote did not succeed. The bill would also prohibit the practice of voter caging[15] and restrict the practicing of voter-roll purges by limiting states' ability to remove registered voters from the rolls and setting conditions for when they could do so. Specifically, the bill would require states to obtain certain information before removing voters from the rolls, and would prohibit voter purges from taking place less than six months before an election. The bill prohibits any person from communicating "materially false" claims meant to prevent others from voting 60 days before an election and compels the attorney general to correct such misinformation. The bill also requires elections officials to timely notify any voter tagged for removal from the rolls and give them an opportunity to contest the removal or seek reinstatement of their registration. It also restores voting rights to felons who complete prison terms. The bill contains various provisions to promote voting access for people with disabilities and provisions to strengthen the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) by providing additional protections for military and overseas voters. To ensure UOCAVA compliance, the bill would "require all states ... to send uniformed service and overseas voters' ballots at least 45 days before a federal election (provided a request was received at least 45 days before the election); require states to use and pay for express delivery and return of ballots if they fail to send ballots to uniformed and overseas voters by that deadline; [and] extend the guarantee of state residency for voting purposes to all spouses and dependents of absent servicemembers (current law extends the guarantee of residency only to servicemembers themselves)." The bill would create a cause of action allowing the attorney general or a private party to sue if a state violates these provisions, and would require states to sent reports to Congress documenting "the availability of absentee balloting for servicemembers and overseas voters, how many ballots were transmitted, and how many were returned." .. Election security[edit] The bill contains election security provisions, including a voter verified paper ballot provision mandating the use of paper ballots that can be marked by voters either by hand or with a ballot marking device and inspected by the voter to allow any errors to be corrected before the ballot is cast. The bill would also require state officials to preserve paper ballots for recounts or audits, and to conduct a hand count of ballots for recounts and audits. The bill would require the voting machines used in all federal elections to be manufactured in the U.S. ..
Yet for some mysterious reason Republicans have made it a policy priority to pass laws restricting when and how people vote. Weird.
A number of reasons: Typical sources of ID tend to be government-provided (ie. Drivers license, State ID), which require an in-person trip to a state licensing office (eg, in CA is a state DMV office). And usually during week days or working hours. Usually requires either an appointment, a long (measured in hours) wait, or even both. Not only very inconvenient, but if you are a working person barely making ends meet, time away from work is worse than inconvenient. And or scheduling via a computer, which requires ownership of or at least access to a computer. Offices tend to be concentrated in population centers so rural locations are fewer and farther between. And many offices were closed for budget or political reasons. So, access to transportation is required. Add to that many immigrants and minorities have a fear or distrust in the government, especially law enforcement, so less likely to go to government offices where law enforcement is present. And add to that government provided ID requires government provided documentation of identification like birth records which might not be available (lost, never received). Usually needs to have a permanent address, which needs to be documented (eg, bring in bills with that address). And, IDs usually need to be updated a regular intervals, so each of the above gets repeated continually. So... the ID problem is difficult to solve. Do you automatically give people an ID at time of birth and legal entry into the country? Do you provide a way to receive an ID online with away to provide everyone access to computers? Do you provide many more places to get IDs (stores, pharmacies)?
It's hard for many, but not impossible. It might not be convenient, and you might have to take off work, but if you live here and are legal to vote, you have to have some type of legal documentation. Fear of government should be a motivating reason to ensure you have a legal ID to cast a vote and vote against those you fear most. Can we do more to make it easier? Sure, but saying it's not possible is just another way of saying it's too much hassle. The easiest solution moving forward is to give them an ID the minute we grant them citizenship, or give them the legal right to live here and vote.
You asked why, I provided a list. The degree of difficulty is enough to reduce voting. Which is what one party is counting on (hence the sudden rush to suppress voting in republican states). And that very group of people would reject the provision of ID cards at birth and moment of citizenship. Just as they would oppose any other step to make getting the card simple. That said, no way, including the ones listed above, would make it easy for some. Again, something one party is counting on...
