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Voter Suppression: A Problem finding a solution or a solution trying to find a problem?
By: Insight News Reporter Jessica L. Chavers

                                        

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 In 2011 the house committee of elections passed a new bill that is being called voter suppression act of 2011.

This Bill requires that all voters must present a government issued ID before casting their ballot.

Forty-one states introduced the new law which Democrats are saying is targeted towards minorities,  elders, and college students.

 Kristin Rodgers is senior journalism student at the University of Memphis who was told by an election official that she could vote, but when she went to the polls she was told a different story.

"She told me that as long as I went to early vote that it would put me back active in the system," said Rodgers  but she still couldn't vote.

Rodgers said that she had high hopes in voting in this election and that she cried when she was told that she could not vote because it means that much to her.

Several Republicans declined interviews but Democrat city-councilman Edmund Ford Jr. said he understands that there would be a few individuals that will not vote but its not right for an upstanding citizen to be denied. " Don't punish the tens of millions individual who are upstanding citizens and don't deny them the opportunity to vote."

Similar Links: Courts Block GOP Voter Suppression Laws,  Election chief Disputes Voting Histories Claim

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St.Jude 14th Annual Survivors Day Conference

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By:Insight News Reporter Jessica L.Chavers

The 14th annual survivors day conference was hosted at St. Jude it was a homecoming for the people who founded the cures and the ones saved by them. The event included a panel of experts who came to discuss cancer and its research that has developed over the years. One of the leading experts Dr. Leslie Robinson at  said, Once your a St.Jude patient your always apart of St.Jude. 
" St. Jude brings in a number of patients from all over the country once a patient is here and treated of their cancer they go back to their communities but they still have that link ," said Robinson, " that bond and frankly that need to come back to where they were treated."

Along, with the experts there was a panel of childhood survivors from all walks of life that were brought together by St.Jude. Among the survivors was Dwight Tosh the 17th patient to enter St.Jude when its doors opened in 1962. Tosh commented on how it felt to walk back through the doors of St.Jude after 50 years, “ If somebody had told me 50 years ago, that I would be back here on the stage, talking about being a survivor I mean it seemed like something at that time probably  would be impossible.”

The event included award-winning lead singer of the band Alabama,Randy Owen, a fellow cancer survivor. The conference live chatted with an online audience who asked questions directed towards the panel during the entire event.

Simliar Articles: Yahoo Article , Alsac Article

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97-year-old fights for her right
By: Insight News Reporter Jessica L. Chavers

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In Dorothy Coopers 97 years she has seen a lot. One thing that she did not think she would see was being denied her voter ID.
 Cooper said " she sort of felt let down," when being denied her voter ID.
 She later made national headlines and prime-time t.v. because of the incident.
Cooper was married twice and since her maiden name  "Alexander" and not Cooper was her marriage certificate  the clerk denied her her free voter Id. With the help of local officials like Paul Smith she was able to get her ID.  Smith said that it was a long battle but in the end it was worth it.
" We had to fight very hard to get her to register to vote even though she had been a life long voter, said Smith." Cooper said that she has voted in every election except for one and that she is excited about the upcoming election and shes a proud Democrat whose tired of doing interviews.

Similar Links: ThinkProgess.org   CNN