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According to Rasmussen Reports Voters Take a Dim View of ‘Antifa’ Protesters

ANTIFA

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Voters are even more critical of the so-called “antifa” protesters who surfaced again this past weekend in Charlottesville and Washington, DC and continue to think they’re chiefly interested in causing trouble.

Continue reading According to Rasmussen Reports Voters Take a Dim View of ‘Antifa’ Protesters

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U.S. Supreme Court Rules Dead People Do Not Have a Right to Vote

old paramus reformed church

June 13,2018
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Washington DC , The U.S. Supreme Court sided with the state of Ohio Monday upholding its practice of purging people from registration rolls if they fail to vote. In a 5-4 decision, in a case know as Husted v. A. Philip Randolph the court ruled Ohio could continue to remove individuals from voter rolls if they had not voted in two federal elections and have not responded to a confirmation notice or updated their registration.

The plaintiffs in the case, Husted v A. Philip Randolph Institute, argued the Ohio law violated the National Voter Registration Act – that “just as you have a right to vote, you have a right not to vote” – claiming the state’s purges risk disenfranchising eligible voters.

Voter rolls have been a point of contention for years .Many critics claim inactive voter rolls create opportunity for voter fraud .

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Public Interest Legal Foundation  : Non Citizens Voting in New Jersey

VOTE_theridgewoodblog

 

Public Interest Legal Foundation found numerous enforcement flaws for the National Voter Registration Act (Motor Voter)

September 13,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) today released Garden State Gotcha: How Opponents of Citizenship Verification for Voting Are Putting New Jersey’s Noncitizens at Risk of Deportation.

After a six-month review of New Jersey county voter registration files, the Public Interest Legal Foundation found numerous enforcement flaws for the National Voter Registration Act (Motor Voter) that unnecessarily expose noncitizens to future naturalization challenges and even deportation without clearly-justified reforms.

616 admitted and officially recorded noncitizens in 11 counties engaged on some level with the NJ voter registration system;
Nine percent of aliens self-reporting their status also cast ballots prior;
76 percent of noncitizens found in the system admitted their immigration status at the outset;
75 percent of noncitizens were invited to register while receiving driver’s licenses or in other government transactions like community college admissions or public schools; and
Six counties, including one “sanctuary county”, claimed to have never seen noncitizens registered or applying to vote.

“New Jersey offers eye-opening lessons,” PILF President and General Counsel J. Christian Adams said. “A limited inquiry found that hundreds of noncitizens are documented throughout voter records, typically because a bureaucrat offered them an application. Some were even asked after presenting a Green Card. That broken system is propped up by an honor code proven repeatedly to fail. Many illegally voted. Some claimed they didn’t know they were registered until an immigration agent called. All will likely face an inquiry if they decide to become Americans.”

“It’s time to have a serious discussion about modernizing our Motor Voter law and determine how we can verify citizenship in the process,” Adams added. “Anyone who disagrees exposes Americans to vote dilution and helps write one-way tickets for deportees.”

In the absence of regular data-sharing arrangements between federal officials and the State, the ability of election officials to identify aliens on the voter rolls in real time is almost nonexistent. Voter registrars are stuck waiting for noncitizens to contact them, usually in a panic, admitting to registering despite their ineligibility. Such reactionary maintenance was typically due to pending naturalization applications.

“New Jersey’s only defense to alien registration is the hope that aliens who get on the voters rolls will self-report,” the new PILF study notes. “Without proactive verification mechanisms built into the voter registration application process, cascading negative consequences are sure to follow for eligible and ineligible voters alike.”

After reviewing thousands of pages of voter records, Motor Voter arises as a contributing factor for why so many alien residents are getting trapped in the voter registration system.

Years of official and third party pressure on state agencies to register more voters has apparently driven some offices to become overly aggressive in offering applications to those that do not qualify.

No uniform protections were apparent for noncitizens to be shielded from voter registration after they presented identification clearly documenting their ineligibility.
The current, two-year voter record retention cap can create difficulties for naturalization applicants required to show proof of previous activity.

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Reader asks Why all of a sudden this hysteria of pushing for affordable housing. Whose agenda is this?

Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco

If you voted for Obama or any Democrat in New Jersey it is your Agenda 

This is such bullshit. Why all of a sudden this hysteria of pushing for affordable housing. Whose agenda is this? Why stuff nice towns and villages with buildings that are out of character? Why force villages that people have worked very hard to build and live in to bring low income families who will certainly affect the quality of life? Why urbanize beautiful places that residents are so proud of and care so much about ? This will destroy these places and will provide no value to anyone. If you want affordable housing build in places that are already messed up such Hackensack, Rutheford etc. I am sure I am not the only who is stressed out about this nonsense.

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Rasmussen : Voters Rate Bill Clinton’s Behavior Toward Women Worse Than Trump’s

DONALD J

Thursday, October 13, 2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Hillary Clinton jumped on the release last week of an 11-year-old video in which Donald Trump makes graphic sexual comments to say it shows her Republican rival’s demeaning attitude toward women. But Trump countered that Clinton was an enabler who allowed her husband, former President Bill Clinton, to sexually assault women for years. Voters tend to agree with Trump that Bill Clinton’s behavior was worse, but not surprisingly there’s a sharp partisan difference of opinion.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 43% of Likely U.S. Voters say allegations by women who claim to have been sexually assaulted by Bill Clinton are worse than Trump’s graphic sexual comments about women. Twenty-eight percent (28%) say Trump’s comments are worse, but nearly as many (26%) think the behavior of the two men is about the same.

Rasmussen also reports that the full results from Sunday night’s debate are in, and Donald Trump has come from behind to take the lead over Hillary Clinton.

The latest Rasmussen Reports White House Watch national telephone and online survey shows Trump with 43% support among Likely U.S. Voters to Clinton’s 41%. Yesterday, Clinton still held a four-point 43% to 39% lead over Trump, but  that was down from five points on Tuesday and her biggest lead ever of seven points on Monday.

Rasmussen polls also show most Republican voters still think top GOP leaders are hurting the party with their continuing criticism of Donald Trump and are only slightly more convinced that those leaders want Trump to be president.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 57% of Likely Republican Voters believe it is bad for their party that top Republicans continue to criticize Trump, but that’s down a bit from 62% in June. Twenty percent (20%) feel the continuing criticism is good for the party, up from 15%, while 16% now say it has no impact. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

But while 66% of Republicans felt top party leaders didn’t want Trump to be president four months ago, just 51% feel that way now. Still, only 27% believe party leaders want a Trump presidency, compared to 20% in the previous survey. Twenty-two percent (22%) are now unsure of what their party leaders want.

Among all likely voters, only 17% believe most top Republican leaders want Trump to be elected president. Sixty-two percent (62%) disagree, while 21% are not sure. These findings are little changed from June.

Thirty-four percent (34%) of all voters say it’s good for the GOP that its top leaders continue to criticize Trump, up from 26%, while 42% say it’s bad, down from 50%. Seventeen percent (17%) say such criticism has no impact on the party.

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Great debate Streaming tonight at 9pm

Great Debate 2016
September 26,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, if you are looking to follow the great debate tonight on line here are some options for streaming and social media .Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump will square off at 9 pm Eastern at Hofstra University.

Of course all of the networks and major cable outlets have an online presence, so of course they are streaming the debates along with digital-first outlets like Buzzfeed News, The Daily Caller, Huffington Post, Politico, and Yahoo. Telemundo, theWall Street Journal, and Hulu will stream it, too.

Also look for Facebook Live broadcasts from journalists and those packed into Hofstra. Twitter will use the same live streaming system it uses for Thursday night football, trading sacks for fact checks and leaning on Bloomberg for footage. The candidates won’t be wearing Specs, but Snapchat will compile Live Stories for bite-sized debate nuggets. YouTube will feature coverage from NBC News, PBS, Fox News, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, and Telemundo.

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8 YEARS AFTER HOPE AND CHANGE, VOTERS ARE ANGRY, ANXIOUS

Obama-Golf

BY JULIE PACE
AP WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT

ARVADA, Colorado (AP) — Eight years ago, Barbara Conley was one of the millions of Americans swept up in Barack Obama’s promises of hope and change when he accepted the Democratic nomination at a packed stadium a few miles from her home in the Denver suburbs.

But those optimistic days are almost unrecognizable to Conley now.

https://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CAMPAIGN_2016_EVENING_IN_AMERICA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-07-16-07-56-19

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2016’s Most Patriotic States – WalletHub Study

uncle_sam_old_school_theridgewoodblog

June 30,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

 

Ridgewood NJ, With the Fourth of July just days away, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its list of 2016’s Most Patriotic States as a follow-up to its recent look at the Best & Worst Fourth of July Destinations.

To identify the country’s patriotic hotspots, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 12 key metrics such as military engagement, voting habits and civic education.

Top 20 Most Patriotic States
1 Virginia 11 North Carolina
2 Alaska 12 Vermont
3 South Carolina 13 Idaho
4 Colorado 14 Wyoming
5 Georgia 15 Maine
6 Hawaii 16 Mississippi
7 Montana 17 New Mexico
8 Alabama 18 Wisconsin
9 Washington 19 Missouri
10 New Hampshire 20 South Dakota

Key Stats

  • Red states are more patriotic, with an average ranking of 22.5, compared with 28.3 for blue states (1 = Best).
  • Alaska has the highest number of veterans per 1,000 residents, 100.8, which is two times higher than in New York, the state with the lowest, 45.5.
  • Georgia has the highest percentage of residents who enlisted in the military (non-prior service), 0.063%, which is three times higher than in North Dakota, the state with the lowest, 0.022%.
  • Minnesota has the highest percentage of residents who voted in the 2012 presidential election, 74.37%, which is two times higher than in Arizona, the state with the lowest, 37.98%.
  • Utah has the highest volunteer rate, 45.2%, which is three times higher than in Louisiana, the state with the lowest, 18.2%.
  • Vermont has the highest number of Americorps volunteers per 100,000 residents, 58.91, which is eight times higher than in Virginia, the state with the lowest, 7.42.

For the full report and to see where your state ranks, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/most-patriotic-states/13680/

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Village of Ridgewood Publishes Primary Election Results Fact Sheet

Vote Ridgewood NJ

file photo by Dana Glazer

June 8,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Village of Ridgewood Publishes Primary Election Results Fact Sheet . Check who voters in your neighborhood voted for .

RIDGEWOOD PRIMARY ELECTION RESULTS

Click Here

 

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League Of Women Voters Of Ridgewood Reminds Voters of Primary Election

Vote Ridgewood NJ
file photo Dana Glazer
June 2,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The League Of Women Voters Of Ridgewood wishes to remind registered voters who have de-
clared affiliation with a political party (currently only Republican and Democratic parties qualify for primary elections) of the upcoming New Jersey Primary Election on Tuesday, June 7.

If you are an unaffiliated voter, you may declare a political party at the polls the day of the primary election. It is now however too late to change from one party to another.(must be done at least 55 days before the primary election) Polls are open from 6:00am-8:00pm.

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Donald Trump could amass most primary votes in GOP history

trump trumpkins

By Bob Fredericks

April 27, 2016 | 11:15pm

Donald Trump will likely wind up winning the most primary votes of any GOP presidential candidate in modern history, the author of the influential Smart Politics blog told The Post on Wednesday.

After convincing victories in Tuesday’s primaries in five East Coast states, Trump has roughly 10.1 million votes, about 200,000 more than Mitt Romney got during the entire 2012 primary campaign.

And with the primaries ahead — including in populous states such as California, New Jersey and Indiana — the former “Apprentice” ­reality TV star should easily break the modern record of 10.8 million held by George W. Bush in 2000, according to blogger Eric Ostermeier, a political science professor at the University of Minnesota.

https://nypost.com/2016/04/27/donald-trump-could-amass-most-primary-votes-in-gop-history/

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Voters in the Dark on North Jersey Casino Royale Plan

casino_royale_1967_596

Voters in dark on key details of casino expansion referendum

When New Jerseyans decide in November whether to approve two new casinos in the northern part of the state, they’ll likely have only a vague notion of what they’re voting on. Wayne Parry, Associated Press Read more

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Lame Duck NJ Redistricting Scheme Raises More Questions than It Answers

Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi

In the days prior to Christmas, two hastily called Judiciary committee hearings were called in an effort to change the NJ State Constitution, ensuring one party control of the State in perpetuity. Practically no notice was provided, no information was shared, no questions were answered and no experts testified. Regardless of your political leanings, anyone who favors open, transparent, good government should reject what transpired. So far the Star Ledger and the Daily Record editorial boards have denounced this political gamesmanship. Below please find an Op Ed piece regarding this issue.

Lame Duck Redistricting Scheme Raises More Questions than It Answers

By Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll and Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi

Schemes hatched in lame duck sessions of the Legislature should always give reason for pause, but changing voting rights without considerable public discussion is reckless. A proposed constitutional amendment with a significant but unknown impact on the voting rights of New Jersey’s citizens deserves more than the hasty, slapdash, non-transparent treatment the Democrats are giving this measure.

Ignoring the Legislature’s responsibility to hold fact-finding hearings, Chairman John McKeon dismissed concerns about fast-tracking the proposal changing the way the state redraws its legislative districts. “The people of New Jersey will have the opportunity to vote on whatever is on the ballot,” he said at last week’s Assembly Judiciary Committee hearing.

We did not support this plan in part because the sponsors couldn’t answer basic questions. How can voters make an informed decision about a constitutional amendment when the Legislature itself does not fully understand it?

What’s the rush? Legislative districts won’t be reconfigured again until 2021. When the 1966 Constitutional Convention considered the standards used today, it met for three months and had 14 meetings full of expert testimony. Additionally, there were six meetings specifically on apportionment. In this process, the Democrats are advancing a plan after only two brief committee meetings with no expert testimony and only one member of the public commenting.

Their amendment relies on a decades-old report by Dr. Donald Stokes, who served on the Apportionment Commission in 1981 and 1991. Many of his assumptions are based on demographics from almost a generation ago. No one can deny that New Jersey has changed significantly in a quarter century. Does Stokes’ modeling still hold true? Were the demographics he used in 1993 accurate on what we know today?

The amendment deviates from the report on even more critical aspects. Stokes used legislative elections to create his models and proposal, but this amendment ignores them. Instead, it relies on federal and gubernatorial elections that have little to do with drawing up legislative districts. Why exclude legislative races to determine how those districts should be drawn? That’s like using baseball statistics to figure out how football should be played.

Their plan requires only a quarter of districts to be competitive, but allows the remaining 75 percent to have no contest at all. Why not maximize the number of competitive districts? The Stokes test for determining whether a map is fair requires the popular vote across the state to be represented among the districts as a whole and be responsive to the shifts of public opinion. When electoral tides move strongly toward one party, that party should fairly quickly win an effective majority of seats. Using the 2011 legislative election returns, a fair map should have resulted with 21 Democrat and 19 Republican Senators, rather than the 24-16 split that has remained since that election.

Further, the amendment intentionally excludes the equal representation requirement in the state Constitution. Every state respects equal population requirements, the bedrock of American democracy since “no taxation without representation.” Yet, the Democrats intentionally left it out in favor of gerrymandering districts, which almost always shift groups of voters to limit the voting rights of others. They may point to the compactness requirement in the constitution, but this amendment makes federal law pre-eminent.

Why do the sponsors want to make this change? Democrats have held a legislative majority since 2001 and hold their largest majority in 40 years.

The plan was conceived behind closed-doors by Democratic political operatives with essentially a super PAC in East Brunswick. They introduced it to the Assembly Judiciary Committee on November 17, even though it was not mentioned during a previous meeting just three days earlier. With little more information than a Politico article, it passed on a party-line vote the week before Christmas.

By the end of the next day, the Democrats wanted to limit the number of members on the redistricting commission in their plan without explanation. They called the committee back the following Monday, but that meeting started four hours late after most of the media and public left. This contempt for transparency and lack of serious inquiry into this proposal’s ramifications is striking and should be a matter of serious concern to anyone who values New Jersey’s voting rights.

While parties may disagree on the result of the map every ten years, New Jersey’s electoral process has been routinely praised by academics when compared to other states. Why weren’t those experts invited to the committee hearing? Shouldn’t we know what other states do before moving forward with a constitutional amendment? Surely if this plan were all the Democrats say, there would have been a line of academics ready to back them up.

In no other profession would you first enact a policy to know what is in it. The lack of information, transparency and candor is reason enough to be concerned with where the state is headed under a Democratic majority. This constitutional amendment blindly leads the public into forever changing the way New Jersey votes.

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Is the Two Party System Doomed ?

VOTE_theridgewoodblog

N.J. campaign committees continue to see fundraising decline
By Matt Friedman | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

TRENTON —With campaign spending increasingly shifting to “independent expenditure” organizations, New Jersey’s legislative fundraising committees continue to see their contributions decline.According to numbers released Friday by the state Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC), the state’s “Big Six” fundraising committees – the finance arms of the Senate and Assembly Republicans and Democrats, and both parties’ state committees – have raised a combined $2.5 million for this election cycle and have $2.2 million on hand.

That’s the least amount raised for any legislative election year since at least 2007, though that’s in part because only the Assembly is on the ballot — the first time that’s happened since 1999. But Jeff Brindle, ELEC’s executive director, said much of that money has been or will be put into other channels.

https://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/07/nj_campaign_committees_continue_to_see_fundraising.html#incart_river

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Voters Want Aggressive Government Reform, Not Tinkering Around the Edges

VOTE_theridgewoodblog

Voters Want Aggressive Government Reform, Not Tinkering Around the Edges

By Charles S. Clark
April 24, 2015

Eroding confidence in government has shrunk the ranks of reinventing government “tinkerers,” providing an opening for a more-aggressive reform platform for the 2016 election, says a new polling analysis released Friday in a Brookings Institution paper.

Government reform themes likely to emerge during the election boil down to whether the next president should “cut federal programs to reduce the power of government, or maintain existing programs to deal with important problems,” wrote Paul C. Light, professor of public service at New York University. A second key question is whether to “winnow the federal agenda to a smaller set of priorities, or accept the current priorities and focus on reducing federal inefficiency.”

In a new analysis of demographic and ideological groupings, Light observed that “Americans are saying there is something wrong with how government works, though they may not know why, and the drivers are largely negative.” The current political campaigns against government now focus on incompetence, not sloth or the size of government as in the past.

https://www.govexec.com/oversight/2015/04/votes-want-aggressive-government-reform-not-tinkering-around-edges/111085/?oref=govexec_today_nl