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Rig the Vote: Wisconsin Has Best Election Practices in the U.S., So Why Are They Under Attack?

Wisconsin is one of the highest-performing states in the country when it comes to election administration, but some state Republicans are falling behind a partisan national effort to attack the state's voting procedures and narrow access to the ballot box. "Rig the Vote," a new report from the Center for Media and Democracy and Citizen Action of Wisconsin, examines how proposed changes to Wisconsin's voting practices threaten the state's free and fair elections and are part of a cynical national effort to manipulate the electoral system for partisan gain.

Judge’s Controversial Ruling in Defense Authorization Case Goes to Court Today

Katherine Forrest is a federal judge in New York appointed by President Obama to fill the spot vacated by bank battler Jed Rakoff when he went on senior status. Within months of taking the job, Forrest blocked the president and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta from enforcing aspects of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012. The plaintiff, Chris Hedges, and groups objecting to the policy -- including the Center for Media and Democracy -- argued that the law is so broadly written that it could be used to permit the military to arrest U.S. citizens and detain them indefinitely for exercising their freedom of speech and of the press.

Wisconsin's "Shameful" Gerrymander of 2012

The GOP's partisan redistricting process has come under renewed scrutiny in recent months, with gerrymandered maps helping Republicans hold Congress despite receiving fewer votes than Democrats, and state legislators discussing plans to rig the presidential election by awarding electoral votes according to those contorted boundaries. But out of all the states re-drawing Congressional boundaries along partisan lines after the 2010 elections, Wisconsin's gerrymandering may have been the most egregious.

What Is Visa Hiding? Majority Shareholders Thwart Effort to Require More Disclosure of Money Spent on ALEC

ALEC brochure lists VISA as a major underwriterA majority of Visa shareholders rejected an effort to require the company to provide more disclosure about its role in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and related lobbying activities. Boston Common Asset Management, an investment firm focused on socially responsible investing, and the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA), a religious organization that affirms the inherent capacity for good in human beings, filed a resolution to require the company to disclose all payments used for lobbying purposes, including payments to groups like ALEC. In all, over 100 million votes were cast in favor of the resolution -- 37% -- but that substantial outpouring of support for greater transparency accounted for less than a majority of the votes cast by Visa shareholders.

GOP Vote Rigging Stalls in Virginia and Florida but Pushes On in Wisconsin and Michigan -- Why?

Virginia's governor has come out against a partisan effort to reallocate electoral college votes by Congressional district, but the plan is far from dead in other states, with governors in Wisconsin and Michigan voicing support for similar measures. The split between Virginia and other states on this issue may not be explained entirely by cooler heads prevailing -- it might be part of a political calculation about how best to elect a Republican president in 2016.

ALEC Has Opposed "Popular Vote" Efforts Which Would Protect Against Partisan Rigging of Electoral College

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has actively lobbied against state plans to implement a national popular vote for president, urging state legislators to preserve the Electoral College -- which GOP legislators are now trying to rig to ensure the the next president is a Republican. In late 2011, ALEC officially changed its policy on the Electoral College to implicitly support allocating electoral votes by congressional district.

Americans for Prosperity Provides "Grassroots" for Controversial Wisconsin Mining Bill

David Koch's Americans for Prosperity (AFP) chapter in Wisconsin is throwing its support behind a proposed mine in the state's far North. A mining bill -- almost identical to the one that failed last year in the Wisconsin State Senate -- was reintroduced this week in the state legislature. What changed? Republicans picked up two more Senate seats in 2012, which may give mining supporters the slim margin they need.

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