E.J. Dionne: Attack on Right to Vote is Underway Across the Country

2012
How states are rigging the 2012 election (By E.J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post/Opinions) An attack on the right to vote is underway across the country through laws designed to make it more difficult to cast a ballot. If this were happening in an emerging democracy, we’d condemn it as election-rigging. But it’s happening here, so there’s barely a whimper… In part because of a surge of voters who had not cast ballots before, the United States elected its first African American president in 2008. Are we now going to witness a subtle return of Jim Crow voting laws?

KENTUCKY
Kentucky gubernatorial campaigns say religion isn't an issue (By Jack Brammer, Lexington Herald Leader/Kentucky.com) Their stances come as former Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson apparently is the first person of the Jewish faith in Kentucky to run for the office of lieutenant governor. He is running with Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear, who is seeking re-election… Lexington attorney Gatewood Galbraith, who is trying to get enough signatures to run this fall as an independent candidate for governor, said he does not expect religious affiliation of any of the candidates to be an issue in the race.

EDUCATION REFORM
Why American students lag in test scores - Unlike the U.S., high-performing nations have clear, shared standards and pay their teachers well (By Marc Tucker and Jerry Weast, Baltimore Sun) The top-performing countries differentiate their educational spending to give the hardest-to-educate students more resources and support than other students. The U.S. is alone among industrialized countries in providing the most money for the students who have the most advantages.