DOJ overturns local voters
The Washington Times‘ Ben Conery writes this morning that the US Justice Department has determined that the Democrat Party is the official party of Black Americans. The town of Kinston, North Carolina voted last year to make their local elections completely nonpartisan – meaning that there would be no party affiliations for local candidates. The Obama Justice Department has overturned the will of the voters;
The Justice Department’s ruling, which affects races for City Council and mayor, went so far as to say partisan elections are needed so that black voters can elect their “candidates of choice” – identified by the department as those who are Democrats and almost exclusively black.
The department ruled that white voters in Kinston will vote for blacks only if they are Democrats and that therefore the city cannot get rid of party affiliations for local elections because that would violate black voters’ right to elect the candidates they want.
Now, I’m no Constitutional scholar, but since when does the Justice Department have the responsibility of judging local voters and how they conduct local elections? Since when does eliminating party affiliations require the adjudication of political appointees? Just in case you think there’s something nefarious cooking in the Justice Department a spokesman explains the DOJ decision;
Justice Department spokesman Alejandro Miyar denied that the decision was intended to help the Democratic Party. He said the ruling was based on “what the facts are in a particular jurisdiction” and how it affects blacks’ ability to elect the candidates they favor.
“The determination of who is a ‘candidate of choice’ for any group of voters in a given jurisdiction is based on an analysis of the electoral behavior of those voters within a particular jurisdiction,” he said.
Again, speaking from a common sense perspective and not from any particular field of study, since when is the Justice Department charged with ignoring the equal protection clause? It sounds to me like the DOJ is creating an affirmative action program for candidates.
Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden, Politics
This is the same DOJ that refused to prosecute armed New Black Panther Party members that were standing outside a polling center in Philly for purely voter intimidation purposes.
So, this is a surprise to who?? When has this administration cared about the Constitution or Bill of Rights?
Wow having to choose a candidate based on their beliefs and actions rather than their political party…who would have thunk it. I find this a little insulting, you are too dumb to figure out who to vote for so we will make sure that you know who is the democrat.
Read the entire Washington Times article. It is the same PERSON who refused to prosecute the New Black Panther Party that decided this. And, she did it for expressly racial purposes.
So just where does the DOJ get the authority to intervene in a local election within a state? isn’t this a 10th Amendment violation?
And concur with OldTrooper. This just sucks to high heaven and shows that the whole idea of an imperial presidency has taken route and is flourishing in the Obama administration.
And to think that the liberals called GWB an Imperialist……. Get used to it folks; until we evict this Charlatan, it will be his way or no way. And he isn’t sitting alone, having Botox Nan and Harebrain Reid on his side.
GOD save the USA
“Learned all I need to know about Islam on 9/11!”
Why do local elections fall under federal jurisdiction? Shouldn’t that be a local matter? Why does the DOJ have anything to say about this?
Why does the DOJ have anything to say about this?
I could be mistaken, but this is SOP for states south of the Mason-Dixon. Whether it’s a leftover from Reconstruction or an extension of the Civil Rights era, I’m uncertain. In Georgia, the state has had to submit redistricting plans, changes to voter registration law, apportionment changes, polling changes, voter ID laws, and anything else related to elections to the Federal district courts for DOJ approval. I assume it’s the same for most Southern states. Unless I’m wrong, this NC decision is probably a holdover from that same thing.
This is well and truly scary. I am running for city council in my small town of Owatonna right now, and I can’t imagine the federal government getting involved in a local race.
In my race, which is non-partisan, there are four of us that are likely Republicans, one likely independent, and one probable Democrat. If the DOJ ruling applied to Owatonna, would that mandate a primary election so that only one Republican could be on the November ballot?
The fact that there is a law giving the federal government the authority to do this is dumb. The fact that the DOJ is actually acting on it is dumb and scary.
“state has had to submit redistricting plans, changes to voter registration law”. And, “voter ID laws”. This is the authority that Holder used to throw out Georgia’s voter registration law requiring photo ID to vote. I don’t know what the authority is, or if it is still in effect but, this allows the Feds to virtually set any rules they want. So, ACORN, come on down. SEIU, go ahead you guys, you can get all the dead people to vote you want.
Oh, aye, this is certainly the new, “post-partisan” era.
There are so many things wrong with this, I’m not even sure where to start. 10A issues aside, the DoJ is explicitly telling us that black voters aren’t capable of determining which candidate will best represent them. Miyar’s last sentence above even admits that the ruling was made for the express purpose of protecting the Dem vote. They aren’t sure voters will vote for Dems based on platform, so they have to rely purely on party-recognition and the “Reps hate blacks” propaganda. Flippin’ wonderful.
Honestly, this is even worse than implicitly condoning the NBPP thuggery. Now I need some time with a punching bag.
A lot of folks are pissed about this issue…they forget that over two thirds of this town is black,and the majority of THEM voted for non-partisan elections…lots of unhappy folks here,both black and white,democrat and republican.Stronge hope that the city will appeal this ruling.Only time and politics will tell…I’m sure A.I. is spinning in his grave!
Claymore: Yeah, you’re correct. It is a holdover from the reconstruction era. All changes regarding voting rights have to go through the DOJ. Stupid in this day and age, but true. The sad part is that the DOJ is telling people they are too ignorant to know who to vote for.