Over the past few years, dozens of states have passed restrictive voter ID and other voter suppression laws that could disenfranchise an estimated 21 million eligible voters, mostly people of color, young voters and senior citizens. The United Steelworkers (USW) just posted three videos of people—including a former congressman—who have recently been denied the right to vote because of new state laws.

From corporate defections to a challenge to its tax-exempt status, “the American Legislative Exchange Council [ALEC] has gone from a little-known acronym to a political fireball.”

The extremist American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has announced it is disbanding its task force that developed and pushed the rash of voter suppression and “stand your ground ” laws passed in recent  years by Republican-controlled state legislatures. But don't believe that ALEC is backing off its attacks on workers, their wages and their unions. Meanwhile, the group continues to lose key members, with two more major companies severing ties with the right-wing group

The exodus from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) continues as the glare of a hot spotlight exposes the group’s radical agenda that ranges from voter suppression to union busting and immigrant bashing. Candy maker Mars Inc. and Arizona's largest energy company are the latest corporations to sever ties.

Missouri State Rep. Mike Colona (D) is a former member of American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). He calls the group’s agenda “radical and extreme.” With a hotter spotlight on ALEC’s extremist agenda, some major corporations are severing their ties.    

Donna Gratehouse, who blogs at Democratic Diva and elsewhere on all things Arizona, sends us this.

The past few weeks have not been kind to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). and it couldn't happen to a more deserving bunch of people. Rising GOP superstar and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is in furious denial and damage control mode over multiple reports of the striking resemblance of bills he is pushing in his state to ALEC model legislation. A nationwide petition effort by Color of Change to persuade major corporations to drop their support of ALEC appears to be wildly successful, with companies such as Coke, Pepsi, Kraft Foods and others saying adios to the organization.

Color of Change chose ALEC's attacks on the voting rights of minorities as a main issue for its campaign because it is one of the most insidious ways that ALEC achieves its harmful goals. And my state, Arizona, has been at the forefront of ALEC's voter suppression agenda.

Pennsylvania has become the latest state to pass a voter ID law in the Republican-led nationwide effort to deny the vote to millions. H.B. 934, which Gov. Tom Corbett signed into law last Wednesday, will effectively disenfranchise 691,000 Pennsylvanians who do not currently have a driver’s license, according to a 2006 Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) estimate. African Americans, seniors, people with disabilities, the working poor and students are twice as likely as others to lack ID. Voter ID bills introduced across the country would disenfranchise more than 21 million eligible voters.

What has caused the sudden obsession over “voter fraud” that has seized Corbett and other Republican politicians all across the country?

The better question is not “what” but “who.” And for whom.

Donna Gratehouse, who blogs at Democratic Diva and elsewhere on all things Arizona, sends us this.

Members of the community, including union members, met with four Democratic Arizona legislators at a public hearing to call attention to the package of harsh anti-worker bills making their way quickly through the Legislature this session. The anti-union bills would  prohibit collective bargaining and voluntary paycheck deductions for union dues for public-sector workers. Another bill, considered a pet project of Gov. Jan Brewer’s office, would strip state employees of their civil service protections and turn them into at-will political patronage hires.

Donna Gratehouse, who blogs at Democratic Diva and elsewhere on all things Arizona, sends us this.

Imagine a plant in your state announcing it was closing and taking 5,000 jobs with it. That is the shock to the economy that Arizona can expect with budget bills introduced yesterday by the Republican tea party majority legislature. The bills were rushed through committee hearings with less than 24 hours notice to the public. The 5,000 state jobs cut or lost through attrition is just the start of it. Here are some other lowlights of the GOP proposed budget:

Donna Gratehouse, who blogs at Democratic Diva and elsewhere on all things Arizona, sends us this.

Nick  Martin of TPM reported this week that one of the worst in a package  of anti-union bills before the Arizona Legislature was “on life support.”