As a political science professor, Larry Little tries to foster civic engagement in his students. Instead, his wrong-headed approach last week is providing ammunition to those who want to suppress the vote.
Little teaches American government at Winston-Salem State University. Last week, he invited Democratic City Council candidate Derwin Montgomery to speak to his class. Sounds OK, perhaps, except that Montgomery used his visit to campaign, then arranged transportation to the Winston-Salem elections office for students who wanted to vote. Those students left class early, apparently with the professor's blessing.
It gets worse. It turns out that Little and Montgomery are friends, and Little served as an adviser to Montgomery's first City Council campaign in 2009. That might explain how Montgomery got access to Little's students that his opponents, Joycelyn Johnson and Phil Carter, didn't.
Montgomery defeated Johnson, then a longtime incumbent, in that 2009 race. He did so by getting Winston-Salem State students to flood the polls, with hundreds registering and voting the same day. Johnson complained at the time that many of those student voters were not properly registered.
Winston Salem State is part of the UNC system, which limits political activity on its campuses. Its chancellor, Donald Reaves, has created a committee to investigate the incident. The committee should declare that what Little and Montgomery did was wrong and determine an appropriate punishment for Little.
At a time when voting rights are being restricted by the N.C. legislature and local election boards, the professor has done a disservice to the cause of civic participation. Republicans have been especially seeking to limit student involvement in elections -- at Elizabeth City State, Appalachian State and elsewhere. The incident in Little's classroom, rather than creating good citizens, fuels the statewide voter-suppression movement.
-- Taylor Batten
I do not see how this story will help the voters suppression bent?
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly the type of voter fraud the Disturber and the left claims doesn't exist.
ReplyDeleteLittle and Montgomery should both be in prison.
Um, Earth to Garth - you do realize the Observer was the one who just broke this story, right?
ReplyDeleteAnd while it exposes an activity that shouldn't have happened, that doesn't take away from the Republican's voter suppression efforts, such as trying to close down the Asheville voting precinct that had the highest democratic turnout in the state. Or forcing students, who tend to vote predominantly democratic, to return to their homes to vote. Or claiming voter fraud at the polls is a problem when it virtually doesn't exist anywhere. Etc, etc, etc.
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ReplyDeleteArchiguy,
ReplyDeleteIt was the Winston-Salem Journal that broke the story yesterday at 1PM:
http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/article_a92b52ba-1588-11e3-8aeb-0019bb30f31a.html
BTW, at least 30 states have voter ID laws, many passed by Democrat-led legislatures.
And I wonder if this "professor" explained to his students that by law they have to TRANSFER their voter registration from their true home precinct TO their school-area precinct. My guess is that dozens if not hundreds were dual-registered, and voted in BOTH locations.
"Professor" Little's info page at WSSU, since I know the Observer won't print his picture:
https://wssu.edu/college-arts-science/departments/social-sciences/facultystaffpages/little-larry/little-larry.aspx
Hmmm... looks like "Professor" Little is a Black Panther, so he learned vote-rigging from the best.
http://yesweeklyblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/winston-salem-black-panthers-to-be.html
There is going to be a tremendous backlash for all the evil the Repugnant ones continue to bring to bear on the young, the poor, and the minorities. I see this political party out of existence in the next 20 years and totally forgotten except in history books where our kids will read about their reprehensible acts during this period. Good riddance Repugs. You won't be missed. You brought nothing but fear, lies, and hate to this country so that you could line your pockets. You're singing your last song fat lady. Don't let the door hit you in the posterior on your way out.
ReplyDeleteThanks Deep and Wide it is great to see that, work with each other spirit democrats long for now.
ReplyDeleteJust imagine how things will be once we are back to the halcyon days like back when democrats ruled for over a hundred years.
North Carolina Finds 2,214 Registered Voters over the Age of 110
ReplyDelete"North Carolina voters roll shows that the Tar Heel State has 2,214 voters that are 110-years-old. Most of these voters are Democrats and most seem to live in four Democrat-controlled counties. Some of these aged voters have already voted absentee.
Two voters -- and, yes, they've already voted in early voting -- are over 150! One in Gaston County is 154 and another in Granville County is an astonishing 160!"
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/10/23/No-Car-Finds-2-214-Registered-Voters-110-Years-of-Age-Older