Alabama closes DMV offices in counties that are 75% black

It must be impossible to embarrass white legislators these days. Now that Alabama requires an approved photo ID in order to vote this is what the state comes up with.

They make no pretense of even trying to be fair and don't apparently think there is any damage to their reputations by coming up with yet another scheme to keep black people from voting.

The Supreme Court should have never done away with the provision of the voting rights act that required some states from basically getting permission to change voting laws before they went into effect.  I guess Gerrymandering isn't sufficient.

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/10/alabama-to-stop-issuing-drivers-licenses-in-counties-with-75-black-registered-voters/

othershoe1030 wrote:It must be impossible to embarrass white legislators these days. Now that Alabama requires an approved photo ID in order to vote this is what the state comes up with.

They make no pretense of even trying to be fair and don't apparently think there is any damage to their reputations by coming up with yet another scheme to keep black people from voting.

The Supreme Court should have never done away with the provision of the voting rights act that required some states from basically getting permission to change voting laws before they went into effect.  I guess Gerrymandering isn't sufficient.

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/10/alabama-to-stop-issuing-drivers-licenses-in-counties-with-75-black-registered-voters/

I didn't know the DMV was the only place to get a photo ID.

So they're closing 31 satellite offices.  Ten (roughly 1/3) of these offices happen to be in counties with a 75% black population.  

Where are the other twenty-one offices (roughly 2/3) being closed? And what are the racial demographics in those counties?

What about major cities such as Birmingham & Mobile?   Don't they have large black populations?  Are they closing those DMV offices?  

http://www.wsfa.com/story/30166803/dmv-offices-closing-will-not-affect-receiving-voter-id-card wrote: ...   Each of the satellite offices that are closing were only open part-time and are not owned by the state. The driver license examiners who worked at the satellite offices will be reallocated to full-time staff at district driver license offices effective Wednesday, ALEA said in a release.

State officials say the combined efforts of the 31 part-time satellite locations that are closing accounted for less than five percent of all of the Alabama driver license transactions ALEA performs. They said the busiest of all of the satellite locations did fewer than 2,000 transactions in 2014.     ...    

othershoe1030 wrote:The point is that closing these offices makes it more difficult for people to get the required ID. There may be other offices that provide this service but again, the point must be mentioned that the fictitious argument that photo ID prevents voter fraud is just laughable. It is of course just a another way to keep poor people from voting.

The cost of implementing the ID law is a government expense that, under any other circumstances Alabamians would totally reject. These are the people who would rather eat dirt than pay taxes and yet they are fooled into spending money on needless programs like this.

DMV charges for photo ID's. County offices throughout Alabama, including counties without a DMV office, offer free photo ID's.

Alamaba also has a mobile unit that provides ID's,  free ID's. So what is your point, other than one source of fee for service ID's being  eliminated ?

Wow - how many threads are you all going to start on this and still get your facts skewed by a false race card? Sal started one called "Alabama being Alabama Again", BoF started another and here we have a third. All three leaving out the important facts that show this affects everyone in Alabama.

Again, Paul Harvey's The Rest of The Story:

"In January 2016, a further 12 offices will close. By March, all but four offices in the entire state will shut their doors.

The offices that will remain open, ALEA said, are Huntsville, Montgomery, Mobile, and Birmingham.

"Unfortunately, what citizens can expect are longer lines, oftentimes scheduling way in advance to get an opportunity," said ALEA Secretary Spencer Collier. "Probably the worst is that some... are going to have to travel a significant distance to be able to get that driver's license service."

For those needing to renew existing licenses, you are able to do so online."

Copyright 2015 WAFF. All rights reserved.
http://www.waff.com/story/29869389/alea-to-begin-closing-drivers-license-offices-4-to-remain-open

Salinsky wrote:It's the disparate effect that this will have on specific demographics that's the outrage.

But, you know that.

The Justice Department will be taking a close look at this one.

What I know is it affects everyone in the state. It's wrong on many levels and really has nothing to do with race. I would say it has more of an impact on poor folks (whatever their color) in rural areas who may not have suitable transportation or enough money to travel to one of the ultimately 4 locations. But Alabama has always been a screwed up state.

Salinsky wrote:It's the disparate effect that this will have on specific demographics that's the outrage. ....

Disparate effect? The numbers (as we know them thus far) neither prove nor disprove that.

Seeing as how only 1/3 of the offices being closed have been identified as being in predominantly "black" counties .... I can only assume the other 2/3 of the offices being closed are in predominantly white or more equally mixed counties.

Sounds to me like it's easily possible that as many (or more?) whites as blacks could be affected statewide by these closures. Where's the disparate effect in that?

If I had to guess any disparate effect would probably be more rural-area/small-town vs urban than anything.

http://www.alabamavoterid.com/getFreePhotoVoterID.aspx

Salinsky wrote:Voter ID laws are targeted at disenfranchising minority voters.

This has been openly admitted by republicans on more than one occasion.

Let's just drop the pretense and try a little intellectual honesty for a change.

Oh .... so it's intellectual honesty you want. Okay .... let's do this!

What evidence is there this particular decision to close some satellite DMV offices in Alabama was deliberately motivated to disenfranchise minority voters? What evidence is there it will affect blacks more than whites?


Here's the entire list of offices:  https://localtvwhnt.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/driver-license-release-september-2015.pdf


So I went to wikipedia to get the demographics of each county (rounding up/down & not counting other minorities)  ... then I did a little rough math and this is what I found.

Baldwin County - 85% white, 9% black
196,000 population
166,600 whites affected
17,640 blacks affected


Bibb County - 75% white, 22% black
23,000 population
17250 whites affected
5060 blacks affected


Bullock County - 23% white, 70% black
11,000 population
2530 whites affected
7700 blacks affected

Butler County - 54% white, 43% black
20,000 population
10800 whites affected
8600 blacks affected


Chambers County - 58% white, 38% black
34,000 population
19720 whites affected
12920 blacks affected


Cherokee County - 92% white, 5% black
26,000 population
23920 whites affected
1300 blacks affected


Choctaw County - 56% white, 43% black
13,000 population
7280 whites affected
5590 blacks affected


Clay County - 82% white, 15% black
13,000 population
10660 whites affected
1950 blacks affected

Cleburne County - 94% white, 3% black
15,000 population
14,100 whites affected
450 blacks affected


Coosa County -64% white, 34% black
11,000 population
7040 whites affected
3740 blacks affected


Crenshaw County - 74% white, 25% black
14,000 population
10360 whites affected
3500 blacks affected

Escambia County - 62% white, 32% black
38,000 population
23560 whites affected
12160 blacks affected


Fayette County - 87% white, 12% black
17,000 population
14790 whites affected
2040 blacks affected

Franklin County - 90% white, 4% black
32,000 population
28,800 whites affected
1280 blacks affected

Geneva County - 86% white, 10% black
27,000 population
23220 whites affected
2700 blacks affected

Green County - 17% white, 82% black
10,000 population
1700 whites affected
8200 blacks affected

Hale County - 40% white, 59% black
16,000 population
6400 whites affected
9440 blacks affected


Henry County - 66% white, 32% black
17000 population
11220 whites affected
5440 blacks affected


Lamar County - 87% white, 12% black
16,000 population
12920 whites affected
1920 blacks affected

Lawrence County - 78% white, 13% black
35,000 population
27300 whites affected
4550 blacks affected

Lowndes County - 25% white, 76% black
11,000 population
2750 whites affected
8360 blacks affected

Macon County - 16% white, 82% black
21,000 population
3360 whites affected
17220 blacks affected

Perry County - 30% white, 69% black
11,000 population
3300 whites affected
7590 blacks affected

Pickens County - 56% white, 42% black
20,000 population
11,200 whites affected
8400 blacks affected

St Clair County - 90% white, 8% black
65,000 population
58500 whites affected
5200 blacks affected

Sumter County - 25% white, 75% black
14,000 population
3500 whites affected
10,500 blacks affected

Tallapoosa County (2 offices) - 73% white, 25% black
41,000 population
29,930 whites affected
10,250 blacks affected


Washington County - 66% white, 25% black
18,000 population
11,880 whites affected
4,500 blacks affected

Wilcox County - 28% white, 72% black
13,000 population
3640 whites affected
9360 blacks affected

Winston County - 97% white, 1% black
25,000 population
24,250 whites affected
250 blacks affected




Population of all counties affected
823,000
Whites in all counties affected
592,480
Blacks in all counties affected
197,810

I might have missed/fat-fingered some numbers in my adding up the numbers (anyone feel free to add them back up for me) ... but it appears somewhere around of 70%+ of those affected by these closures are white and about 25% are black.(shhhh, don't tell the KKK)  

Seeing as how the entire State is about 65% white & 25% black .... seems the racial demographic impact of these office closures are about in line with the State racial demographics as a whole.

Disparate impact?   How so?

Well, excuse us liberals all to pieces for being just a tad touchy when it comes to voting rights. Republicans are continually scheming to cut minorities and Democratic voters out of the system by what ever means they can conjure up.

I'm sure there were other cuts to the Alabama budget that would never be considered because they would cut salaries of highly paid people in state government or otherwise inconvenience the well off. Of course the thought of ever raising income taxes on the 1% was never an option.

This is just another example of the way the game is rigged. One of these days through decades of constant struggle the playing field will be more level (never completely level of course) and the country will get over it's ingrained fear that people who don't look like them (the white majority) are actually capable of making significant contributions to society. It is pathetic to watch this death dance of white privilege going through its final century or so, however long it takes. It just makes white people look stupid.


A group of African-American lawmakers on Friday blasted a decision by Alabama officials to shutter dozens of driver’s license offices, a move that disproportionately affects government ID services in black Democratic areas of the state. Given the state’s 2011 law that requires voters to show government-issued IDs before casting election ballots, closing the offices potentially disenfranchises thousands of black and minority voters, the Congressional Black Caucus said.

“Alabama’s decision to close ID offices reminds us that 50 years after the passage of the Voting Rights Act, the fight for equal access to the polls still continues today,” the caucus said in a statement released Friday. “Having a say in our country’s Democratic process still does not exist for all.”

Since a 2013 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the section of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that required federal approval of voting law changes in states with a history of racial discrimination, members of Congress and voting rights activists have pushed for restoration of the law. They did so as some Republican-led states passed laws requiring government-issued IDs and other forms of identification at polling places.

Officials in Alabama -- which has a Republican governor and a GOP-controlled Senate and House of Representatives -- announced Wednesday.

Officials in Alabama -- which has a Republican governor and a GOP-controlled Senate and House of Representatives -- announced Wednesday a decision to shut 31 driver’s license offices because of budget cuts, Slate reported. But as the CBC noted Friday, the shuttered offices are located in rural areas and counties where more than 75 percent of the registered voters are African-American.

“Alabama’s harsh voter ID law further restricts the ability of residents to obtain the requisite identification needed not only to vote, but also to drive, get a job, or apply for a passport,” read the CBC statement.

http://www.ibtimes.com/alabama-voting-rights-congressional-black-caucus-blasts-states-dmv-office-closures-2125471

othershoe1030 wrote:[color=#0033cc] ...
But as the CBC noted Friday, the shuttered offices are located in rural areas and counties where more than 75 percent of the registered voters are African-American. ...

Did you not see my previous post?

Do you dispute those numbers? If so, I'd like to see your analysis of them that evidences disparate impact.

Counties that are more than 70% white that had there DMV Offices closed (note: there are 14 of them):

Baldwin County - 85% white, 9% black
196,000 population

Bibb County - 75% white, 22% black
23,000 population

Cherokee County - 92% white, 5% black
26,000 population

Clay County - 82% white, 15% black
13,000 population

Cleburne County - 94% white, 3% black
15,000 population

Crenshaw County - 74% white, 25% black
14,000 population

Fayette County - 87% white, 12% black
17,000 population

Franklin County - 90% white, 4% black
32,000 population

Geneva County - 86% white, 10% black
27,000 population

Lamar County - 87% white, 12% black
16,000 population

Lawrence County - 78% white, 13% black
35,000 population

St Clair County - 90% white, 8% black
65,000 population

Tallapoosa County (2 offices) - 73% white, 25% black
41,000 population

Winston County - 97% white, 1% black
25,000 population

It appears that the white rural neanderthals that cling to their guns and religion are the peoples being repressed.

I think the difference is that in Some counties, when offices are closed the entire county is left without a single DMV office whereas in other counties offices could be closed but the county would still have one or more DMV offices serving the area? Any way you look at it this office closing business is certainly not facilitating the ability of voters to acquire the necessary documents that will allow them to vote.

Just seems way too convenient that the GOP legislators happened to pick cutting a service that would hinder the likely opposition voters to actually vote.

Nope, no other possible places to cut and certainly don't consider raising taxes.

On Wednesday, the state of Alabama announced that it was shutting 31 driver's license offices because of budget cuts. Two columns on Al.com subsequently noted that the cuts—which come on the heels of a 2011 law that requires voters to show government-issued IDs—will disproportionately affect counties in the state's largely Democratic “black belt” region.

Columnist Kyle Whitmire writes that 29 of the state's 67 counties will now lack a driver's license office—and, depending on whether you define the “black belt” as constituting 18 or 24 counties, either 12 or 15 of those newly office-less counties will be in the historically black area. Two-thirds of counties in the narrowly defined “black belt” will lack now a driver's license office (12 of 18); only one-third (17 of 49) of other counties will lack one.

Columnist John Archibald, meanwhile, observes that no Alabama counties in which more than 75 percent of registered voters are nonwhite will now have a driver's license office. Another way of framing the issue: Offices will be shuttered in the five counties whose voters most strongly supported Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election.
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley is Republican, and the state's Senate and House of Representatives are both GOP-controlled.

othershoe1030 wrote:I think the difference is that in Some counties, when offices are closed the entire county is left without a single DMV office whereas in other counties offices could be closed but the county would still have one or more DMV offices serving the area? Any way you look at it this office closing business is certainly not facilitating the ability of voters to acquire the necessary documents that will allow them to vote.

All I see is a budget cutting measure that affects blacks and whites alike ... and neither disproportionately.

othershoe1030 wrote:
Just seems way too convenient that the GOP legislators happened to pick cutting a service that would hinder the likely opposition voters to actually vote.

Evidence?

othershoe1030 wrote:
Nope, no other possible places to cut and certainly don't consider raising taxes.

You are assuming they've not made other cuts.  I don't know what else they may have cut.   Do you?

othershoe1030 wrote:
On Wednesday, the state of Alabama announced that it was shutting 31 driver's license offices because of budget cuts. Two columns on Al.com subsequently noted that the cuts—which come on the heels of a 2011 law that requires voters to show government-issued IDs—will disproportionately affect counties in the state's largely Democratic “black belt” region.

"Disporportionately"?   I think I've already disproved that ... unless you have some additional statistical evidence to the contrary.  If so .... let's hear it.

othershoe1030 wrote:
Columnist Kyle Whitmire writes that 29 of the state's 67 counties will now lack a driver's license office—and, depending on whether you define the “black belt” as constituting 18 or 24 counties, either 12 or 15 of those newly office-less counties will be in the historically black area. Two-thirds of counties in the narrowly defined “black belt” will lack now a driver's license office (12 of 18); only one-third (17 of 49) of other counties will lack one.

Columnist John Archibald, meanwhile, observes that no Alabama counties in which more than 75 percent of registered voters are nonwhite will now have a driver's license office. Another way of framing the issue: Offices will be shuttered in the five counties whose voters most strongly supported Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election.  

14 of those counties are overwhelmingly white.  70%+ of affected persons are white.   How many of those counties went Republican in the 2012 election?

othershoe1030 wrote:
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley is Republican, and the state's Senate and House of Representatives are both GOP-controlled.

So?   Because they are Republicans they must automatically be racists with nefarious plans to "keep the black man down"?

Wasn't it Governor Bentley who ordered the Confederate flag be taken down.  Wasn't it Governor Bentley who allocated millions in State money for economic development in Alabama's "black belt" counties?

Please note the Republican party currently has an African-American, an Indian, a woman, and a Latino in their field of Presidential candidates. (and Carson & Fiorina are polling #2 & #3 currently last I saw)  

What does the Democrat Party have?   A few old white guys & one old white woman.   So, which is the party of diversity?

Unless I misunderstood... the large cities are the ones that will maintain services? What are those demographics?

othershoe1030 wrote:[color=#0033cc]
.... I'm sure there were other cuts to the Alabama budget that would never be considered .....

Think the the DMV is all they're cutting?

Whole lotta cuttin' goin' on https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1VSNG_enUS644US656&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=alabama+budget+cuts&tbs=qdr:m

Don't know if all this will come to pass, but from what I've heard this is some of what the legislature was proposing (& mind you, Gov Bentley was not for all of this)
5 State parks closed;
prison funding cut; cancer research cut;
District Attorney budgets cut;
senior services cut;
15 State run ABC liquor stores to close (ouch! wonder if their in "predominantly black counties? Now this could be racist!);
State Police to be cut (100 troopers to be laid off);
19 National Guard armories to close;
Environmental management agency cuts;
Dept of labor cuts;
MedicAid program cuts;
etc
Also proposed were new taxes on cigarettes, car titles, car rentals and the business privilege tax.

I don't know what all finally passed, or even if it's all a done deal ... 'cause I don't really keep up with Alabama politics. But to say the closing of the DMV offices is racist is just nonsense. The numbers prove that. Some of these counties, you know, have only 10,000 to 20,000 people in the entire county ... that's the size of a small town. And the State is going to provide mobile service to those counties periodically as well. Other larger counties, as someone mentioned may have another DMV office elsewhere in the county. It's just budget cutting. The State can't print money like the Federal government can.

Good job Ghost following up and finding the truth of things....

If so, I'd like to see your analysis of them that evidences disparate impact.


You have to be kidding.......there should be voter registration cards issued and folks should simply have to show the same on election day, but a system on election day which attempts to restrict voting(Alabama Poll taxes and literacy tests) and you think the analysis is the disparity of issuance of DL.......you cannot handicap stupidity.....there just are no strokes to be allocated.

2seaoat wrote: If so, I'd like to see your analysis of them that evidences disparate impact.


You have to be kidding.......there should be voter registration cards issued and folks should simply have to show the same on election day, but a system on election day which attempts to restrict voting(Alabama Poll taxes and literacy tests) and you think the analysis is the disparity of issuance of DL.......you cannot handicap stupidity.....there just are no strokes to be allocated.

You can handicap stupidity with ignorance... you prove that every time you play the race card.

http://www.alabamavoterid.com/getFreePhotoVoterID.aspx

Photo ID....it doesn't have to be a drivers license.

Remember when you go to the ER, admitted to a hospital, see a new doctor, open a bank account, apply for welfare / medicaid, rent a car, rent or buy a house, cash a check, pick up a controlled medication........you have to show a photo ID. Sniff sniff , but it is so unfair to make someone show a photo ID to vote!!!!

I have to show my ID to vote....and have for the pat 10-15 years.

http://www.alabamavoterid.com/downloads/AlabamaPhotoVoterIDGuide.pdf