Voting rights groups in Ohio are being lauded for their oversight efforts which uncovered massive errors in the state's recent bid to remove hundreds of thousands of voters from its rolls. The inspection, which was carried out primarily by nonprofit volunteers, found that more than 40,000 voters were mistakenly included on the state's to-be-deleted list.
"It definitely showed that Ohio's registration system needs a major upgrade," Jen Miller, the director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, told Cheddar on Monday. "We can't be using a policy as severe as a purge when we can't even be sure that our purge lists are correct."
In an unusual move, this past August Ohio's Secretary of State Frank LaRose publically released a list of 235,000 voters that were set to be deleted from the state's registry. By reviewing the long spreadsheet, the League of Women Voters and several other groups uncovered gross inaccuracies, including the inclusion of Miller's name.
Yet Secretary LaRose, a Republican, has praised the process, saying his office undertook the most transparent review of Ohio's voting rolls to date. "Because of our collaboration with outside organizations, the proper safeguards are in place to ensure any eligible voter will have the opportunity to have their voice heard," LaRose said in a statement after revising the list.
The list maintenance process, as it's officially called, is legally mandated in Ohio and seeks to clear the state's system of deceased residents, inactive voters, or people who have moved out of state. Voter purging, however, has become a major issue nationwide as Republican-led initiatives in several states have sought to remove voters through controversial registration requirements, which critics say primarily target minority or Democratic voters.
Other oversight groups that participated in the review include the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, All Voting is Local, and the Fair Elections Center.
Jack Hunter, editor of Rare Politics, discusses Bannon's 10-hour testimony before the House Intel Committee yesterday where he cited executive privilege to avoid answering questions about his time in the West Wing. Hunter also digs into the government shutdown that will take place at the end of the week if the House and Senate are not able to agree on a plan to extend government funding.
A look at the business of marijuana on Cheddar Cannabiz. Vermont awaits the Governor's signature on a bill making recreational marijuana legal. A former Brooklyn D.A. prosecutor has a new crime series. Facebook announce changes are coming to messenger. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies plunge as some countries call for more regulation. The White House releases the results of President Trump's health exam.
Vermont could be the next state to change it's current marijuana laws. Vermont Governor Phil Scott planning to sign a bill to legalize marijuana for those 21 years or older. This will make Vermont the first state to do so through legislation. Montpelier, Vermont Mayor John Hollar explains how this could impact the growing market.
An emergency alert warning of an inbound ballistic missile was blasted out to Hawaii residents on Saturday, causing chaos for 38 minutes before being retracted. Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa represents the first district of Hawaii, and calls the false alarm unacceptable.
John Hollar, Mayor of capital city Montpelier, says that although cannabis is being legalized in Vermont, more needs to be done on a federal level.
This Changes Things: Advice for the executives and leaders of tomorrow, brought to you by American Express OPEN. On Between Bells: the Aziz Ansari controversy, Hawaii's false alarm, and Aaron Carter. With Entrepreneur, CinemaBlend, and more.
As DACA's fate heads into a crucial week, it's still unclear whether the president fully grasps the key numbers and definitions behind the divisive issue. FactCheck.org's Robert Farley joins Cheddar to break down exactly how many people DACA affects and what it really means.
Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D-HI) says that it was "really pandemonium" and wonders whether the state was prepared for a catastrophe of this magnitude.
Facebook's COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter's CEO Jack Dorsey are set to leave Disney's board in March due to a conflict of interest. Bitcoin hits a new low, and could CBS and Viacom be headed towards a reunion? Plus, one of the "The Walking Dead" stars join us to discuss what viewers can expect from this season. Now that the Detroit Auto Show is underway, we'll tell you what to look out for.
Tech giants such as Facebook, Google and Twitter will once again face Congress this week to testify in the Russian election meddling investigation. Daniel Ives, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Technology Research at GBH Insights and Scott Kessler, Director of Equity Research and Analyst at CFRA join The Long and The Short to discuss which platform will be affected the most from this trial.
