Lisa Pruitt over at the always-interesting Legal Ruralism discusses the effects of the Supreme Court's decision this week that the state of Indiana can require people to show government-issued photo IDs before being allowed to vote. The Court acknowledged that there should be some appeal with such paperwork, and the justices approved a plan that would have citizens cast a provision ballot at the county clerk's office within 10 days of the election.
"While such a journey might seem 'no big deal' to city dwellers," Pruitt writes, "it will impose a hardship on many rural voters." During oral arguments, Chief Justice John Roberts, a Hoosier, said this made sense because "county seats aren't very far for people in Indiana." Fine, because Indiana has 92 counties. Kentucky has 120. Short trips.
But what about California, a huge state divided into just 58 counties? "Makes one wonder what distance would be considered 'excessive' in the eyes of our urban-dwelling Supreme Court Justices," Pruitt writes.
A scholar in upstate New York takes the measure of rural stereotypes by looking at his own family, then reflects on Barack Obama's messages, 2004 and today. 
Just because you petition your government doesn't mean your government does what you want. 
After the big boys got through slicing up the pie, there was nothing left to increase spending in the farm bill on developing the economies of rural communities.
Hispanic Americans are less likely to vote than are Blacks, Asians, and non-Hispanic Whites, largely because they haven't registered. Two North Carolina groups are trying to change that in the state's rural eastern counties.
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