Will upheld voter ID laws impact elections? Also, can Apple Pay revolutionize mobile payment? Then, confused by political speech? David Mark returns to help decipher the Washington lexicon
Will upheld voter ID laws impact elections?
As midterm elections arrive in just a couple weeks, the Supreme Court has upheld a voter ID law in Texas that requires voters to present one of seven types of identification at the ballot box. The law had been challenged by Attorney General, Eric Holder. Proponents of the law say that it is a popular measure in line with practices that serve the state’s interest of protecting the integrity of elections, whereas critics attack it because they believe it will disenfranchise approximately 600,000 Texans who do not have one of the required ID cards and are mostly African American or Hispanic. No explanation came with the Supreme Court’s majority decision, although it is known that Justices Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Kagan dissented.
The order comes in the midst of a larger battle over similar laws in various states. Within the last month, the Court let North Carolina terminate same-day voter registration and Ohio curtail the availability of early voting, although it blocked a recently enacted law in Wisconsin as early-voting had already commenced. Soon, voter ID laws in several states will get their first, large-scale test.
Do you think that these voter ID laws are unfair? Are the laws addressing real cases of voter fraud? How do you think these laws will shape the outcomes of the election?
TODAY is the deadline for voters to register to vote in the November 4th election. Registration forms can be completed online at www.lavote.net.
Registration status can also be verified at the site. Voter registration forms are available at libraries, post offices and many government offices and can be dropped off at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's headquarters at 12400 Imperial Highway in Norwalk. For any issues with voting, call 866-OURVOTE or 888-VeYVota (Spanish).
Registration events will be held at UCLA and Cal State Los Angeles from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Guest:
Hans A. von Spakovsky, Senior Legal Fellow and Manager of the Election Law Reform Initiative at The Heritage Foundation - a think tank described as advocating conservative public policies.
Myrna Pérez, Deputy Director of the Brennan Center's Democracy Program and lead attorney for several of the plaintiffs in the case, including the Texas NAACP and the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus.
Can Apple Pay revolutionize mobile payment?
Apple Pay launches today. It’s the tech giant’s proprietary mobile payment system that’s available on iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. More than 500 financial institutions and retailers are on board, including the big credit card companies. Consumers can use it to pay at brick-and-mortar stores and online purchases alike. It basically lets users store card data on their phones, and they simply wave their phones in front of a reader to pay for something. Because credit card information is encrypted during the entire payment process, the reasoning goes that it’s more also secure.
The technology Apple Pay uses is called Near Field Communication (NFC), a kind of short-range wireless communication. The technology isn’t new, but with Apple Pay’s vote of confidence, it’s certainly going to go mainstream. Because NFC transmit information within a very short range, many security experts believe that the technology is fundamentally safe. Someone who wants to steal your information would have to stand very, very close to you, for instance.
But Apple Pay is entering a crowded mobile payment space. Would Apple Pay become the dominant player in this market? How safe is it? Can Apple revolutionize mobile payment the way it did to the cellphone? Would you use Apple Pay?
Guests:
Menekse Gencer, founder and owner of mPay Connect, a mobile payment consultancy based in San Francisco. She has written extensively on mobile money on behalf of such organizations as The World Economic Forum and The InterAmerican Development Bank.
Maria Aspan, senior editor at Inc. magazine who’s been covering the digital wallet space. Her latest piece for the magazine looks at why Apple Pay might not take off.
Chris Carlis, security researcher and expert. He specializes in penetration testing, where he deliberately breaks into a device or software to identify vulnerabilities.
Hit flick 'Dear White People' explores odd man out experience
In the new movie “Dear White People,” the lives of four black students at an Ivy League college converge after controversy breaks out due to the ill-conceived theme of the campus humor magazine's annual Halloween party. The sharp satire looks at the experience of being a minority and feeling like a fish out of water. While the movie focuses on race, every day we experience being the odd man out, either because of religion, ethnicity, sex, sexuality, education, economics, the options are endless.
When have you experienced truly being the odd man out? How did you handle it? What about the majority that surrounded you?
Guest:
Shereen Marisol Meraji, reports on race for NPR Code Switch
City of Berkeley considers lifting pet restrictions for apartment hunters
Pet owners searching for a place to live in Berkeley may soon have one less thing to worry about during the hunt for an apartment.
Lawmakers in Berkeley are considering a unique new law that would prevent landlords from restricting tenants from having pets. City councilman Jesse Arreguin, who proposed the law, says the pets would have to be well-behaved and easily accommodated, and tenants would have to take responsibility for any damage the pet caused. Arreguin’s proposal would allow landlords to evict a tenant if a pet is a danger to other tenants or is causing a lot of damage.
Landlords often make exceptions on pet bans for emotional-support animals for people who claim mental illness, but Arreguin says these exemptions often confuse other tenants. He says his proposal would make this process easier for both landlords and tenants, who would be required to tell a landlord up front if they have a pet. Arreguin also says that it would cut down on the city’s homeless pet population, as tenants would no longer have to give up their furry friends to the city’s animal shelter because they couldn’t find a pet-friendly place to live.
Landlords in Berkeley aren’t exactly thrilled about the idea. They say repairs such as scratched floors, clawed-up carpets, and lingering pet odors often costs more than what the tenant’s security deposit covers, which leaves them left to cover the difference. City council is expected to vote on the measure Tuesday but may refer it to the housing and animal commission, which would mean it might not return to the council for a full vote for a couple of months.
Guests:
Jesse Arreguin, Berkeley City Councilmember representing District 4. He is behind the proposal that’d ban landlords from turning away tenants with pets
Albert Sukoff, past president and a member of the board of director at the Berkeley Property Owners Association
Confused by political speech? David Mark returns to help decipher the Washington lexicon
Dog Whistles, Walk-Backs, and Washington Handshakes is the new dictionary for a political vocabulary that was created to leave you bewildered. Authors Chuck McCutcheon and David Mark want readers to understand that a simple phrase or choice of words has a very calculated meaning. Expressions such as "I want to spend more time with my family," "regular order," "job creators," "my good friend," "elections have consequences," and "common sense" seemingly lose their common sense meanings in the hands of seasoned politicians and pundits.
For example, "snowflake" is not your conventional miniature crystalline ice structure but rather a news story that fades away quickly without delving into the pros and cons of policy. Then there is the expression, "distraction from the real issues," which politicians use when they really wish you asked a different question that didn't hit so close to home. Without McCutcheon and Mark, even the heavy peruser of politics would have a difficult time with expressions like "hardship porn" - verbal descriptions by political candidates of grueling tasks, activities, or adversities they have had to overcome that qualifies them for office, often done in the context of one-upmanship.
The action-phrase "vote your conscience" is a call for politicians to vote for the public interest instead of their political self-interest; what do you think about the phrase "speak your conscience?"
Guest:
David Mark, Author, Dog Whistles, Walk-Backs, and Washington Handshakes (ForeEdge - University Press of New England); previously authored Going Dirty: The Art of Negative Campaigning.