Citizen Scholar

The Heritage Foundation just released its Election Integrity Scorecard and VA placed 15th. Sounds good, right? Not if you consider how Heritage rates election integrity...

First and foremost, anyone paying attention to American politics over the last several years knows that "election integrity" has become a catchphrase for stringent voting requirements. And making access to the polls difficult for American citizens is blatantly undemocratic.

So let's look at their methodology. The first criterion is Voter ID. Heritage claims that strict voter ID laws lead to higher turnout and that academic studies support this. This is false, and you can see this ACLU fact sheet (with sources) for evidence: https://www.aclu.org/other/oppose-voter-id-legislation-fact-sheet

Then there's "accuracy of voter registration lists." The underlying claim here is that deceased or relocated individuals have not been removed from voter lists and that can lead to voter fraud. However, there is little evidence this actually occurs...

There is evidence that registration lists are purged of eligible voters though (see resources by the Brennan Center). GA is perhaps the most infamous case, but the practice is more widespread. The Heritage scorecard does not take this practice into account.
https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/ensure-every-american-can-vote/vote-suppression/voter-purges

Heritage also considers absentee voting a pathway to voter fraud. Again, they offer no sources to support this claim. Want to see a massive list of studies suggesting otherwise?
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/resources-voter-fraud-claims

Then there are a host of smaller "infractions" that also lack evidence of a link to voter fraud. Automatic registration, for example, is common throughout the world and used for selective service in the US, but for some reason contributes to voter fraud.

Lastly, just look at the pattern above. Notice a partisan bias? It doesn't take an elections scholar to figure out what's going on here. The Heritage scorecard is based on one, unspoken principle: Voting shouldn't be easy.

You can follow me on Twitter to keep up with my election day escapades!

The first-ever Citizen Scholar public lecture is now up on YouTube! Check it out!

Uyghurs Under Siege: Cultural Genocide in Western China The first-ever public lecture by Citizen Scholar focuses on the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Uyghurstan.Follow Citizen Scholar!Twitter: : Citiz...

I'm very happy to announce our inaugural public lecture on Sept 18 at the Al Madina School of Richmond! The mass detention of Uyghurs is one of the greatest humanitarian crises on the planet today and I'm humbled to educate the folks of Richmond on the issue.

We're gearing up for our first public lecture and my prep material came in the mail today!

At the Chesterfield Collaborative for Equal Justice Rally this morning!