Monday, October 07, 2013

AZ AG Tom Horne declares that AZ voters will be subject to a 21st Century version of "Separate But Equal"

One of the darkest parts, if not *the* darkest part, of US history, was the enslavement of Africans here from the inception of the country (during the colonial period) through the end of the Civil war (mid to late 19th Century).

One can argue about choosing the next darkest part (the genocide of Native Americans could go here), but any credible short list must include the post-slavery period that lasted from the end of the Civil War until the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

That era was defined by the doctrine of "separate but equal".  That doctrine so institutionalized discrimination against African Americans that, in practical terms, they were "free" without having the freedom to fully participate in, and benefit from, society.

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne is doing his best "Back to the Future" move, trying to bring the "good ol' boy" days back to Arizona.

From the Arizona Republic, written by Mary Jo Pitzl -
Arizona will have a two-track voting system for the 2014 election, under a new state policy underpinned by an opinion from the state attorney general.

Arizonans who registered to vote using a federal form will only be allowed to vote in federal races next year. People who registered to vote using Arizona’s state form — which requires proof of citizenship — will be able to vote as usual, casting ballots in everything from local races to state contests to congressional races.

Attorney General Tom Horne’s opinion comes in the wake of a June U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down part of state voter-approved law that required proof of U.S. citizenship as a pre-condition to voting.

In his official opinion (available at the link contained in the quoted text), he also declares that voters who register with the federal form aren't allowed to sign petitions, either. 

Countdown to the next lawsuit that Arizona will lose (and Arizona's taxpayers will pay for) in 3...2...1...

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