What I read and see in the news....
"...Conservatives have valiantly tried to assert that voter ID laws, trimming the early voting days and even eliminating early voting on Sundays was a prudent and practical decision that had nothing to do with black, Hispanic and young voters, or anyone else.
But anyone with half a brain could see that the GOP was desperate to upend the coalition that proved so pivotal to Obama in 2008. All over the country GOP-led legislatures and governors rushed to pass voter ID laws, only to see federal courts reject a number of them that clearly weren't thought through properly.
In Ohio, the voter suppression tactics were outrageous. After public pressure mounted to stop the practice of extending early voting in GOP-leaning counties and cutting them in Democratic-leaning counties, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted had no choice but to equalize early voting periods.
Such decisions, frankly, ticked off black activists, politicians, and civil rights groups to the point their voter registration campaigns went into overdrive. I talked to officials in multiple states, and the anger could be heard in their voices. Social media played a role as every new voter suppression effort was exposed, setting off a litany of complaints.
In Florida, Republicans stopped allowing early voting on the Sunday before Election Day, with no explanation as to why. In 2008, black churches marched a massive number of congregants to the polls, led by their slogan, "Souls to the Polls." The GOP clearly didn't want to see that happen again.
Obstacles like these rekindled the feeling among many African-Americans of the tactics enacted during the civil rights movement to keep blacks from voting. So pastors, deacons and laymen pushed and prodded their members to cast absentee ballots, and pushed hard for their members to stand in lines that during the early voting period can last as long as eight hours.
In Ohio, activists hit the salons, barbershops, recreation centers and churches to rally voters to do their civic duty. Black radio stations were enlisted in the battle to protect the sanctity of the ballot.
Even when the networks were calling the election for President Obama on Tuesday, Florida residents were still standing in line to vote, some places in the rain, doing their part to push back.
According to NAACP president and CEO Ben Jealous, the organization registered 432,000 voters, a 350% increase over 2008....read
GOP voter suppression fueled black turnout - CNN.com