Please thank these protesters!

[Scuba]

In North Carolina yesterday, student activists Bryan Perlmutter and Molly McDonough were arrested in solidarity with the NAACP at the NC statehouse in protest of North Carolina's SB 667, ironically named the "Equalize Voting Rights Act."

The bill would raise taxes on parents whose kids register to vote on their college campus.

Essentially, NC's Republican supermajority wants to discourage young people from voting them out in the next election.

[DreamGypsy]

1. Thanks, Molly and Bryan! Keep fighting. Here are more details...

...on North Carolina SB 667:

Senate Bill 667, known as "Equalize Voter Rights," would remove the tax exemption for dependents who register to vote at any address other than their parents' home.

"If the voter is a dependent of the voter's parent or legal guardian, is 18 years of age or older and the voter has registered at an address other than that of the parent or legal guardian, the parent or legal guardian will not be allowed to claim the voter as a dependent for state income tax purposes," the bill says.

The measure would affect only state income tax, so it wouldn't have much effect on out-of-state students. But it could effectively cut student voting in counties like Watauga and Orange, where college voters have been a key part of the Democratic Party's dominance.

The bill would also require voters to have their vehicles registered at the same address as their voter registration. That also could cut down on college student registration, since many students maintain their vehicle registration in their home counties.

So, the bill apparently (no pun intended) will eliminate the parental deduction for 18 year old living away from home for employment reasons as well as educational reasons.

Of course, maybe the author of the article is misinterpreting the intent of the bill. Since parents may be relying on the deductions to pay for the education of their children, perhaps the Republicans are just trying to ensure that no one in North Carolina will receive more that a high school education.

But, maybe the goal is voter suppression...things get a little bit worse:

The same provisions on student voting have also been rolled into a larger omnibus bill, Senate Bill 666, which would also shorten early voting days, ban early voting on evenings and weekends and prohibit same-day registration.

<snip>

"In these tough economic times, we need to be proactive in finding ways to save money. One day of early voting in North Carolina costs $98,000. Our counties bear this cost exclusively. Cutting back early voting from seventeen to ten days does this by saving roughly $686,000 per election. This money would be better used to hire teachers and first responders," Cook said.

"We are simply equalizing the playing field for all voters in our state," the statement said.

Jay DeLancy of the NC Voter Integrity Project also voiced support for the student voting restrictions, citing a case in which college students in Buncombe County changed the outcome of a race for a county commission seat in 2012.

"That race showed how easily college students can be manipulated like pawns," DeLancy said in a press release. "These bills will protect students from such abuse."

The unmitigated nerve, students actually changing the outcome of an election by exercising their state controlled privilege to vote.

[barbtries]

3. one of the most fundamental RIGHTS of a democracy.

oh, yeah, republicans got no use for democracy. rotten bastards.

[barbtries]

2. thank you!

they're beautiful.