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Oral arguments in a federal lawsuit charging MCRI and the State of Michigan with violating the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were heard on August 17, 2006 with attorneys presenting their closing arguments on the morning of August 18, 2006. The case was heard by U.S. District Court Judge Arthur Tarnow, who promised to rule on the matter by September 8, 2006, to give officials enough time to print up the ballot. During the first day of the hearing, hundreds of protesters picketed outside the courthouse chanting among other things, "Racist fraud, hell no! MCRI has got to go!" The lawsuit was filed by Operation King's Dream, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Detroit City Council, American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee, Michigan Legislative Black Caucus, Keep the Vote No Takeover, AFSCME Locals 207, 312, and 2920, and UAW 2200 as well as several individual voters. Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm submitted an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs. |
On August 29, 2006, the case was decided with Judge Tarnow, a Democratic judicial appointee, refusing to remove the initiative from the ballot. However, Judge Tarnow declared that "MCRI engaged in systematic voter fraud by telling voters that were signing a petition supporting affirmative action." However, because the case was not decided on these grounds, this statement is legally characterized as "dicta"—judicial commentary that is not relevant to the outcome of a case. Tarnow also found the testimony of Jennifer Gratz (MCRI's executive director) in the court to be evasive and misleading. His stated reason for refusing an injunction to remove the MCRI from the ballot was the MCRI "targeted all Michigan voters for deception without regard to race." He ruled that the Voting Rights Act was not violated because it "is not a general anti-voter fraud statute, but rather prohibits practices which result in unequal access to the political process because of race." |
Luke Massie, national co-chair of the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration, and Immigrant Rights & Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary (BAMN) announced that the plaintiffs would appeal Tarnow's decision to the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, saying "It makes no sense to conclude there was fraud and allow the vote to go forward." The 6th Circuit rejected the appeal in mid-September. |
On November 27, 2006, Proposal 2 was certified officially by the Michigan Secretary of State to have passed by a margin of 58% to 42% (2,141,010 "Yes" votes to 1,555,691 "No" votes). The last reported poll of October 15, by The Detroit News, showed MCRI to have up to a 50–41% lead. In another Free Press—Local 4 Michigan poll conducted by Selzer & Co. Inc. of Des Moines between October 8 to October 11 of 643 likely voters, it was shown that 41% were in favor of the MCRI, while 44% opposed the measure, and 15% of the voter poll were undecided. The poll had a margin of error of 3.9% making the poll a statistical dead-heat. Another poll, from mid-September 2006, showed MCRI was up 48–37 with 15% undecided, with the pollster admitting that his previous polls had not used the exact language of the proposal until the Sept. poll. The entire polling process highlighted an ongoing debate about the scientific value of modern phone polling on questions of race or controversial social issues where the polled members of the public may be "embarrassed" by social desirability bias to give a truthful response about their intended vote for fear that they will be identified. The effect, which was predicted by several Michigan political consultants and even some pollsters themselves, represents a new concern in polling accuracy. |
In July 2005, the Michigan State Board of Canvassers declined to certify the MCRI proposal for Michigan's November 2006 ballot after hearing allegations that a significant number of signatures were obtained by telling supporters of affirmative action that the petition was likewise, in support of affirmative action. Counter-allegations were made by MCRI supporters that the allegations were fabricated and that the Board of Canvassers' decision-process itself was being improperly influenced by politics because Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer was "giving orders" to the two Democrat-appointed members of the Board, and backed up by the linked videotape shot by MCRI Treasurer and publisher Chetly Zarko. Despite the deadlocked vote by the Canvassers and their inability to certify the petition as a result, in October of the same year the Michigan Court of Appeals ordered the board to certify the petitions. |
On December 14, 2005, in Lansing, Michigan, while attempting to comply with that court order to certify the petitions, the board's four members were scheduled to make the final vote to certify the petitions for the November ballot. However, the meeting attended by hundreds of Detroit high school students. The crowd began to shout "No voter fraud," until they became so loud that the members left the room adjourning until 2pm. Chanting, "They say Jim Crow! We say hell no!," the emotion-surged crowd of students continued until a table was overturned in the commotion and the Lansing police came in to control the situation. Opponents of MCRI labeled their own conduct "civil disobedience" while proponents argued it crossed the line into outright violence and intentional intimidation. Video of the situation can be seen here. |
After the protest, the election panel again failed to certify the petitions with a vote of 2–1, falling short of the required three votes. Republican board members Katherine Degrow and Lyn Banks voted in favor with Democrats Paul Mitchell voting no and Doyle O'Connor not voting. |
The meeting received considerable media attention because of the protest. In the months following the controversial board meeting, Mitchell resigned from the board and O'Connor was charged with contempt of court; however the charges were dismissed after O'Connor sought disclosure of improper communications between the chief judge and the Republican leadership of the Legislature. O'Connor later testified against the MCRI at the August 17 federal court hearing, relaying how he had witnessed two African-American women circulating the anti-affirmative action petition in Detroit telling signers that it was in support of affirmative action. |
Proponents of the MCRI claim that the initiative will make illegal only those programs and policies, affecting university admissions, public employment, and contracting, that grant "preferential treatment" based on gender, race, or ethnicity. These claims were disputed by some opponents who cite California's Proposition 209, alleging that the language of that proposal outlawed "all affirmative action policies" and programs, and MCRI's language is nearly identical. Proponents counter this argument by arguing that while MCRI is nearly identical to California's amendment, neither MCRI or 209 outlawed "all" or any "affirmative action." They point to programs such as California's use of socio-economic indicators, outreach targeted at the 150 lowest scoring high schools, and traditional anti-discrimination enforcement as some among many race-neutral types of "affirmative action". On March 7, 2007, however, the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, which had previously fought against Proposal 2, issued a report at the behest of the Governor, taking the position that Proposal 2 did not eliminate "all" affirmative action. In their summary of a 63-page report, Linda Parker, chair of the Commission, now agreed with Proposal 2 advocates, "With this Report, the Commission and Department confirm that Proposal 2 does not mean the end of equal opportunity or diversity in Michigan,". The Report explicitly cites the difference between "preferential treatment" and "affirmative action". Proponent of Proposal 2, Chetly Zarko, argued that this "flip-flop" by the Commission not only proved MCRI was correct all along about the legal issues and difference, but that it disproved the Commission's report alleging "fraud" in signature-collection since the Commission had previously alleged in its June 2006 fraud-allegation report that petitioners "should" have used the words "affirmative action" in their presentation.. |
Several groups have challenged the constitutional amendment since its passage. |
On November 8, 2006, BAMN called a press conference announcing that they had launched a second lawsuit against Proposal 2 in conjunction with United for Equality and Affirmative Action and Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, claiming that it violates both the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the First Amendment as affirmed by the Supreme Court decision, "Grutter v. Bollinger". |
That same day, about 2,000 students gathered on the diag at the University of Michigan where University President Mary Sue Coleman gave a speech in which she promised U-M would go to court to defend its efforts to promote diversity, even though the people of Michigan had voted against affirmative action. Two weeks later, on November 21, Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell said he was considering having the city file a federal lawsuit to overturn Proposal 2. |
On December 19, U.S. District Court Judge David Lawson ruled that the state's three largest public universities—the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Wayne State University—could delay implementation of Proposal until July 1, 2007. The universities had filed a lawsuit seeking the delay, charging fairness in admissions, in response to BAMN's lawsuit in which all three universities were named as defendants. The Center for Individual Rights has asked the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn Judge Lawson's ruling and force the universities to adhere to the ban on affirmative action immediately. |
On December 29, a 3-judge panel of the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals lifted Judge Lawson's injunction granting the 3 universities the July 1 implementation delay and ordered them to implement Proposal 2 immediately. |
The city of Lansing has also filed a lawsuit to delay implementation of Prop 2 until July 2007. In Detroit, Matt Allen, a spokesman for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said the city illegally "will continue doing business as it has been" in spite of the statewide ban on affirmative action. |
Another lawsuit has been filed in federal court by the NAACP and the ACLU to block the ban on affirmative action. |
On January 4, 2007, the Center for Individual Rights filed a lawsuit in Washtenaw Circuit Court, asking a judge to order the University of Michigan to immediately comply with Proposal 2, and abandon their affirmative action programs. The case was resolved on January 29 when Eric Russell, whom the Center for Individual Rights was representing voluntarily withdrew the lawsuit. |
Jan. 9–10: BAMN held a press conference at Cass Tech High School in Detroit announcing that their appeal of the Federal Appeals Court decision overturning the delay of the ban on affirmative action. The next day, after placing holds on admissions, the University of Michigan announced that they will comply with the ban on affirmative action. Hours later, Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens responded to BAMN's appeal of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision overturning the delay of Proposal 2's implementation and ordered all briefs due by January 17. U-M, Wayne State, MSU, and Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm all filed briefs in support. Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox urged Stevens to deny the injunction. On January 19, the Supreme Court denied BAMN's appeal without comment. |
On Thursday, February 15, BAMN submitted 2,000 petitions to the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan demanding that there be no drop in minority enrollment. The following Tuesday, on February 20, the Michigan Student Assembly, the elected student government of U-M passed a resolution demanding that there be no drop in underrepresented minority student enrollment. |
On Friday, July 1, 2011, the Federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held the amendment unconstitutional on the grounds that it "reorders the political process in Michigan to place special burdens on minority interests," and thus violates the 14th Amendment. Attorney General Bill Schuette then announced that he would appeal the ruling and ask to have the case re-heard "en banc," by all active judges rather than a panel of three. |
On Thursday, November 3, 2011, the Equal Justice Society and more than a dozen other organizations announced that they had filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, urging the court to strike down Michigan's Proposal 2 as unconstitutional. The brief authors argue that Proposal 2 violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution by creating procedural barriers for people of color. |
On 16 November 2012, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals sitting en banc upheld the earlier ruling that the Initiative is unconstitutional. Supporters announced their intention to appeal to the Supreme Court. |
On March 25, 2013 the Supreme Court granted a writ of certiorari, agreeing to hear the case. Arguments were heard during the Supreme Court term beginning in October 2013. |
On April 22, 2014 the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative as Constitutional. |
On Friday, February 16, 2007, the University of Michigan released admissions data showing that, in a period that includes the time after Proposal 2 was implemented, minority admissions of primarily lower test scores declined 25% from the same period a year before. The data also show that in the period immediately before Proposal 2 was implemented, minority admissions was up 55% from the same period in 2006. A spokeswoman for the university, Julie Peterson, has said that since the numbers aren't final and since so many minority students applied early, the drop cannot necessarily be attributed to the amendment itself. |
Notable endorsers of the MCRI include: |
Notable opponents of the MCRI include: |
= = = Attachiamenta bonorum = = = |
Attachiamenta bonorum, in ancient law books, denotes an attachment of chattels to recover a personal debt or estate. |
= = = Boulders Beach = = = |
Boulders Beach is a sheltered beach made up of inlets between granite boulders, from which the name originated. It is located in the Cape Peninsula, near Simon's Town towards Cape Point, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is also commonly known as Boulders Bay. It is a popular tourist stop because of a colony of African penguins which settled there in 1982. Boulders Beach forms part of the Table Mountain National Park. |
These African penguins are only found on the coastlines of Southern Africa - (South Africa & Namibia). These penguins are currently on the verge of extinction. As a result, the penguins are under the protection of the Cape Nature Conservation. |
Although set in the midst of a residential area, it is one of the few sites where this vulnerable bird ("Spheniscus demersus") can be observed at close range, wandering freely in a protected natural environment. From just two breeding pairs in 1982, the penguin colony has grown to about 3,000 birds in recent years. This is partly due to the reduction in commercial pelagic trawling in False Bay, which has increased the supply of pilchards and anchovy, which form part of the penguins' diet. |
Bordered mainly by indigenous bush above the high-water mark on the one side, and the clear water of False Bay on the other, the area comprises a number of small sheltered bays, partially enclosed by granite boulders that are 540 million years old. |
The most popular recreational spot is Boulders Beach, but the penguins are best viewed from Foxy Beach, where newly constructed boardwalks take visitors to within a few meters of the birds. It is also a popular swimming beach, although people are restricted to beaches adjacent to the penguin colony. |
= = = Henry Thomas (American football) = = = |
Henry Lee Thomas Jr. (born January 12, 1965) is a former professional American football player who played defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). His nickname was "Hardware Hank." He played for the Minnesota Vikings for the first eight seasons of his career. He attended Louisiana State University, where he played college football for the LSU Tigers football team. Thomas twice was selected to the Pro Bowl. He joined the Detroit Lions in 1995, where he played two seasons, before finishing his career with four seasons with the New England Patriots. |
= = = Conrad Baker = = = |
Conrad Baker (February 12, 1817 – April 28, 1885) was a state representative, 15th Lieutenant Governor, and the 15th Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from 1867 to 1873. Baker had served in the Union Army during the American Civil War, rising to the rank of colonel but resigned following his election as lieutenant governor, during which time he played an important role in overseeing the formation and training of states levies. He served as acting-governor for five months during the illness of Governor Oliver Morton, and was elevated to Governor following Morton's resignation from office. During Baker's full term as governor, he focused primitively on the creation and improvement of institutions to help veterans and their families that had been disaffected by the war. He also championed the post-war federal constitutional amendments, and was able to successfully advocate their acceptance. |
Conrad Baker was born in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, on February 12, 1817, the son of Conrad Baker, a Presbyterian minister, and Mary Winternheimer Baker. He worked on the family farm until age fifteen and attended common school. He then enrolled in Pennsylvania College in Gettysburg where he studied law, but quit before graduating. He continued to study law in the office of Thaddeus Stevens. He met Matilda Escon Sommers and the couple married in 1838. They had two children. Baker was admitted to the bar in 1839 and opened his own office in Gettysburg. |
Bakers closed his practice in 1841, and moved his family west to settle in Evansville, Indiana. He opened a new law office there, and took an interest in the city's civics. In 1845 he ran as the Whig candidate for representative of Vanderburgh County in the Indiana House of Representatives. He served one one-year term before returning to his practice. He was elected to serve on a county court in 1852 but resigned in 1854. His brother, William Baker, had also become active in the local politics, and served four terms as major of Evansville during the same time period. |
Baker was outspokenly anti-slavery, and following the break-up of the Whig party, he joined the newly formed Republican Party in 1854. At the state convention in 1856, he was nominated to run as lieutenant governor on the ticket with Oliver Morton a governor. The election was one of the most divisive in state history, with both sides making scathing attacks on the other. Despite the party's merger with several other third parties, the Republicans lost the election and Baker returned to his law practice in Evansville. |
Baker's wife, Matilda died in 1855, and Baker remarried in 1858 to Charlotte Frances Chute. The couple had two daughters and one son. He was in Evansville when the American Civil War began, and was part of a large crowd that gathered to discuss the event. He took the podium and delivered a speech calling on the crowd to take an oath of allegiance to the Union, which was administered by his brother, the Mayor. He then called on all the able-bodied men to follow him to war. Baker and his brother began actively recruiting a full regiment of men to serve in the war, and he was promoted to serve as Colonel of the 1st Regiment Indiana Cavalry. |
Baker led his regiment in defensive and garrison duty across the western theater of the war, and remained in regular communication with Governor Oliver Morton, who has become governor a few months earlier. Baker was most involved in coordinating supplies, and became a valuable organizer. Morton soon promoted him to serve as provost marshal of the state, and ordered him to return to Indianapolis to oversee operations. There he oversaw the formation of dozens of state regiments, tens of thousand of men, the shipment of tons of supplies, the distributions of weapons, and the management of the state arsenal. |
Baker left the army in 1864 to run again as Lieutenant Governor on the ticket with Oliver Morton and was elected with a 20,000-vote majority. Morton took a period of poor health in 1865 after suffering a paralytic stroke. He continued his duties briefly, but decided to attempt to seek a cure to the paralysis. He left the state and left Baker to serve as acting governor for five months until his health recovered. When Morton was elected to the Senate in 1866, Baker succeeded him as governor. While completing Morton's term, he began to advocate school reform. His primary goal was to improve the quality of teachers, which he sought to do by creating incentives to encourage teachers to consider their job as a permanent career. At that time, teaching was considered a temporary position by most teachers, until they could find a superior job elsewhere. The General Assembly accepted his plan and passed legislation to enact it. |
In 1868, Baker was reelected to the position of governor, defeating Thomas Hendricks by 961 votes, the closest in state history. During his administration, a women's prison was built, and a soldiers' home to assist the returning veterans and the Indiana State Normal School in Terre Haute were constructed. Other school institutions were built during his term using federal funding provided by the land-grant system. Along with private donations, the money was used to start Purdue University. Baker signed the law to create the school in 1869, and it opened just after his term ended. Another of Baker's acts as governor was to establish the governor's portrait collection. The assembly agreed to spend up to $200 per portrait for the creation of the collection. Baker then hired painters and sought out the families of the former governors to procure photos and paintings from which official portraits could be created. |
Baker's most difficult goal to achieve was the ratification of the post-war amendments that, among other things, banned slavery and granted blacks the right to vote. His advocacy on the issues though managed to secure each of their ratifications, with the fourteenth amendment being the last ratified in 1869. The Democrats had resigned office "en masse" when the bill was put up for a vote to deny quorum, but the Republicans went ahead to approve the amendment. When the Democrats took the legislature in the following election, they revoked the ratification of the amendments, but it was too late and the federal government, which was Republican-dominated at the time, had already added them to the constitution. |
After Baker's term as governor expired he retired from public office and reopened his law office. His new partner was his former political opponent, Thomas Hendricks. After Hendricks was elected governor in 1872, Baker took on state attorney general Oscar B. Hord and Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court Samuel Perkins as partners. The law firm was passed on to Baker's son, and has since became one of the leading law firms in the United States, Baker & Daniels LLP. |
Baker remained active in public affairs and urged the state schools to grant equal opportunities. He became fairly active in the woman's suffrage movement and delivered an address to one of their meetings. He died on April 28, 1885, and was buried in Evansville, Indiana. |
Notes |
Bibliography |
= = = Soil compaction = = = |
In geotechnical engineering, soil compaction is the process in which stress is applied to a soil causes densification as air is displaced from the pores between the soil grains. When stress is applied that causes densification due to water (or other liquid) being displaced from between the soil grains, then consolidation, not compaction, has occurred. Normally, compaction is the result of heavy machinery compressing the soil, but it can also occur due to the passage of (e.g.) animal feet. |
In soil science and agronomy, soil compaction is usually a combination of both engineering compaction and consolidation, so may occur due to a lack of water in the soil, the applied stress being internal suction due to water evaporation as well as due to passage of animal feet. Affected soils become less able to absorb rainfall, thus increasing runoff and erosion. Plants have difficulty in compacted soil because the mineral grains are pressed together, leaving little space for air and water, which are essential for root growth. Burrowing animals also find it a hostile environment, because the denser soil is more difficult to penetrate. The ability of a soil to recover from this type of compaction depends on climate, mineralogy and fauna. Soils with high shrink-swell capacity, such as vertisols, recover quickly from compaction where moisture conditions are variable (dry spells shrink the soil, causing it to crack). But clays such as kaolinite, which do not crack as they dry, cannot recover from compaction on their own unless they host ground-dwelling animals such as earthworms — the Cecil soil series is an example. |
Before soils can be compacted in the field, some laboratory tests are required to determine their engineering properties. Among various properties, the maximum dry density and the optimum moisture content are vital and specify the required density to be compacted in the field. |
Soil compaction is a vital part of the construction process. It is used for support of structural entities such as building foundations, roadways, walkways, and earth retaining structures to name a few. For a given soil type certain properties may deem it more or less desirable to perform adequately for a particular circumstance. In general, the preselected soil should have adequate strength, be relatively incompressible so that future settlement is not significant, be stable against volume change as water content or other factors vary, be durable and safe against deterioration, and possess proper permeability. |
When an area is to be filled or backfilled the soil is placed in layers called lifts. The ability of the first fill layers to be properly compacted will depend on the condition of the natural material being covered. If unsuitable material is left in place and backfilled, it may compress over a long period under the weight of the earth fill, causing settlement cracks in the fill or in any structure supported by the fill. In order to determine if the natural soil will support the first fill layers, an area can be proofrolled. Proofrolling consists of utilizing a piece heavy construction equipment (typically, heavy compaction equipment or hauling equipment) to roll across the fill site and watching for deflections to be revealed. These areas will be indicated by the development of rutting, pumping, or ground weaving. |
To ensure adequate soil compaction is achieved, project specifications will indicate the required soil density or degree of compaction that must be achieved. These specifications are generally recommended by a geotechnical engineer in a geotechnical engineering report. |
The soil type - that is, grain-size distributions, shape of the soil grains, specific gravity of soil solids, and amount and type of clay minerals, present - has a great influence on the maximum dry unit weight and optimum moisture content. It also has a great influence on how the materials should be compacted in given situations. Compaction is accomplished by use of heavy equipment. In sands and gravels, the equipment usually vibrates, to cause re-orientation of the soil particles into a denser configuration. In silts and clays, a sheepsfoot roller is frequently used, to create small zones of intense shearing, which drives air out of the soil. |
Determination of adequate compaction is done by determining the in-situ density of the soil and comparing it to the maximum density determined by a laboratory test. The most commonly used laboratory test is called the Proctor compaction test and there are two different methods in obtaining the maximum density. They are the standard Proctor and modified Proctor tests; the modified Proctor is more commonly used. For small dams, the standard Proctor may still be the reference. |
While soil under structures and pavements needs to be compacted, it is important after construction to decompact areas to be landscaped so that vegetation can grow. |
There are several means of achieving compaction of a material. Some are more appropriate for soil compaction than others, while some techniques are only suitable for particular soils or soils in particular conditions. Some are more suited to compaction of non-soil materials such as asphalt. Generally, those that can apply significant amounts of shear as well as compressive stress, are most effective. |
The available techniques can be classified as: |
The construction plant available to achieve compaction is extremely varied and is described elsewhere. |
Soil compactors are used to perform test methods which cover laboratory compaction methods used to determine the relationship between molding water content and dry unit weight of soils. Soil placed as engineering fill is compacted to a dense state to obtain satisfactory engineering properties such as, shear strength, compressibility, or permeability. In addition, foundation soils are often compacted to improve their engineering properties. Laboratory compaction tests provide the basis for determining the percent compaction and molding water content needed to achieve the required engineering properties, and for controlling construction to assure that the required compaction and water contents are achieved. Test methods such as EN 13286-2, EN 13286-47, ASTM D698, ASTM D1557, AASHTO T99, AASHTO T180, AASHTO T193, BS 1377:4 provide soil compaction testing procedures. |
= = = Landstinget = = = |
Landstinget was the upper house of the Rigsdag (the parliament of Denmark), from 1849 until 1953, when the bicameral system was abolished in favor of unicameralism. Landstinget had powers equal to the Folketing, which made the two houses of parliament hard to distinguish. |
Originally, membership and the electorate was restricted, and the members were largely conservatives. Membership of the house was then restricted to certain sectors of society: only males with a certain net worth could hold a seat. In 1915, these restrictions were removed, and a few new members were appointed by the existing members. |
Ting (old Norse: þing) means assembly. It first came into being during Viking times and was formed by the freemen of the community, and it generally numbered about a hundred men. Tings were necessary in the clan-based society of Northern Germany and Scandinavia, because they allowed for inter-clan wars to be resolved or prevented through the mediation of the ting. It also served as the place for religious rites and trade negotiations. |
Landstinget is also the Danish name for the modern Parliament of Greenland. |
Under the Constitution of 1849, the requirements for the right to vote was the same for the two houses, however the requirements for electability were stricter for Landstinget; candidates were limited to those of age 40 and above and they were required to have a substantial income. The house originally had 51 members, all elected indirectly. The voters elected a group of electors for each constituency, and the electors elected the members of the house. The members were elected for a term of eight years; however, terms were staggered so that half of the seats were up for election every four years. |
With the Constitution of 1866, the electoral system was reformed. The number of seats was increased to 66 of which twelve were appointed by the king for a period of twelve years, and one by the Faroese Løgting. The remaining 53 were elected indirectly. |
In Copenhagen, half the electors were elected by the voters paying the largest amount of tax, and the other half by all the voters. In the rest of the country, one elector was elected by the voters in each parish in the countryside and half as many electors were elected in the market towns by the same system as in Copenhagen. Then for each elector elected in the parishes and the market towns, one elector was found among those that paid the greatest amount of tax in the parishes. As the main direct tax of the time was based on real estate and its value as farmland, this system greatly favored manor owners. The result was a conservative majority lasting 35 years, until the 1902 election. |
The next reform of the electoral system came with the Constitution of 1915, and the first election under this system was the 1918 election. Women were given the right to vote, the number of seats was increased to 72, the number of constituencies was reduced to seven, and the system of royally appointed members was replaced by 18 members elected by the resigning Landsting for a period of eight years. |
Although a 1939 referendum that would have replaced Landstinget with another chamber—the Rigsting—and simplified the legislative process, failed due to a low voter turnout, the bicameral system and thereby Landstinget was abolished when the current constitution was approved in a 1953 referendum. |
= = = M. Clifford Townsend = = = |
Maurice Clifford Townsend (August 11, 1884 – November 11, 1954) was the 35th Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from 1937 to 1941. During his term he led relief efforts during and after the Great Flood of 1937. |
Maurice Clifford Townsend, known as Clifford to his friends and family, was born on a farm in Blackford County, Indiana to David and Lydia Glancy Townsend on August 11, 1884. He had one sister, Myrtle, and the two were raised on a country farm. After completing high school in 1901 he worked as a teamster in the oil fields during the Indiana Gas Boom, and later in a factory. In 1907 he entered Marion College in Grant County. After working as a teacher for six years to pay for his education, he graduated in 1907. He then taught in the common schools, and served as school superintendent for different counties between 1909 and 1919. |
He entered politics as a representative in the Indiana House in 1923. His single term in the legislature was focused mostly on reforming the state's tax code, an issue he worked on up through his term as governor. In 1928 he ran an unsuccessful campaign for Congress, but was defeated. He then returned to education, serving again as a school superintendent and on the executive committee of the Indiana's Teachers Association in 1929. Townsend's experience in education made Paul V. McNutt consider him as a candidate for Lieutenant Governor and helped him to win the nomination at the state's Democratic convention in 1932. |
He was elected the 33rd Lieutenant Governor on the Democratic ticket and served from 1933 until 1937. The position of Lieutenant Governor was dramatically altered during his term. Previously, the position received only a token salary, only required active work during legislative sessions, which amounted to sixty days every two years. The position was granted significantly more power after the passage of the 1932 Executive Reorganization Act when the position was made head of the state's agricultural department and assigning him other administrative duties. The change put a large number of patronage jobs under his control. |
Townsend's mother placed his name in nomination for governor at the 1936 Democratic state convention. His nomination though, was a tough battle. The Democratic Party was split between three strong faction, with McNutt supporting Townsend, powerful senator Sherman Minton supporting Pleas Greenlee, and the chairman of the state party supporting Kirk McKinney. The fight at the convention was bitter, and a fist fight broke out before the final vote took place. In the end McNutt's control over the party machine determine the nomination in favor of Townsend. The popular McNutt campaigned heavily on Townsend's behalf in the general election. Republicans again made gains in the General Assembly, but Democrat kept the majority and Townsend won the election, defeating Republican Raymond Springer by over 180,000 votes. |
Townsend was inaugurated January 11, 1937. The state was immediately beset with a disaster as the Great Flood of 1937 began. Within a week, every community on the Ohio River was destroyed and hundreds of thousands were homeless. In the early stages, he coordinated evacuation efforts, routing all available trains to carry people to safety as flood waters rose. Thousand of relief workers and the national guard were called out to help rebuild. The disaster remains the second worse to have ever hit the state. Indiana was the only state affected by the flood, and there were no drownings reported. Harry L. Hopkins of the National Relief Administration said, "No state was better managed during the flood than Indiana." |
Before the flood relief was completed, a large strike broke out in General Motors factories across the state. Violence broke out in Anderson and the National Guard was called out by Townsend to restore order and protect the factory. The strike prompted Townsend to request the creation of the state Division of Labor to provide voluntary mediation in union strikes. Steel workers in Gary launched a strike in 1937, and the division successfully prevented it from turning violent. |
As the end of his term neared, the former state party chairman Frederick Van Nuys, who had been elected Senator again, attempted take control of the party from the McNutt-Townsend faction. The battle was primarily over who would control federal patronage jobs. President Franklin Roosevelt intervened after Van Nuys opposed his plan to stack the United States Supreme Court, and used his own influence to have Van Nuys defeated in his reelection bid. Townsend at first agreed to go along with Roosevelt's plan, but after McNutt decided it would be to harmful to the state party, Townsend changed his mind, much to Roosevelt's chagrin. |
In the mid-term elections, Republican took the control of the Indiana House of Representatives, 51 to 49. The Republicans blocked Townsend's proposed new social programs, and attempted to roll back many of his predecessor's programs. The Senate blocked the bills from passage, and the session ended in deadlock. Only a few pieces of legislation were passed: the driver's license examination became required by law, pensions for the state's firemen were approved, free textbooks were authorized for public schools and the state ordered school buses to be painted yellow for safety's sake—this last starting a nationwide trend. |
After Townsend left office, he extricated himself from internal politics of the state party, and did not involve himself in the selection of his successor. During World War II Townsend used his farm experience in government service, directing the Office of Agricultural War Relations, the Agricultural Conservation and Adjustment Administration, and the Food Production Administration. In 1943 he resigned from federal service and returned to Indiana to manage his farms in Blackford and Grant counties. Townsend was the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate in 1946, but was defeated by William E. Jenner. He died November 11, 1954 from a heart attack, and was buried at the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Hartford City, Indiana. |