HOME | BIO | MUSIC | JOURNEYS BY DJ | STUDIO BLOG | POLITICAL BLOG | BOOKING INFO | CONTACT

Some updates from around the Web on voters and voting rights issues:

Florida
Missing absentee ballots, problems with electronic voting machines, a bogus list on inelgible felons, and 11,000 lawyers make for one gigantic mess come Tuesday. Some highlights:

Chaotic handling of absentee ballots has turned Broward County -- a Democratic stronghold north of Miami that supporters of Sen. John F. Kerry believe could tip the election in their favor -- into a pre-election flash point. Broward County Elections Supervisor Brenda Snipes -- who took over the job after Gov. Jeb Bush (R) removed the previous supervisor for botching an election -- blamed the post office for losing 58,000 absentee ballots. Later, she lowered the figure to 6,000. Whatever the figure, U.S. Postal Service officials say they have done nothing wrong and are scrambling to get replacement ballots to voters. More than 2,400 replacement absentee ballots from Broward County and an additional 5,600 from the Democratic bastion of Palm Beach County -- many with out-of-state addresses -- were dropped off late Saturday, long after mail carriers were gone, a Postal Service spokesman said. "There's no way in hell those people are going to get their ballots in a timely fashion," spokesman Gerry McKiernan said. "They should get their act together over there."... Upstairs, lawyers for both parties are haggling over disqualifying absentee ballots, foreshadowing what will be an aggressive effort to question votes. Eric Buermann, who was chief counsel to the Bush campaign in Florida in 2000, said some concessions were being made for elderly voters with wobbly signatures. "We're compassionate challengers," he quipped... Poll-watcher signup lists in several counties show the GOP plans to monitor all or most predominantly African American precincts but far fewer predominantly white precincts, said Rep. Kendrick Meek, Kerry's Florida campaign chairman. "It's beyond coincidence," he said.

Seems the Secretary of States office (a Gov. Bush political appointee) delivered more absentee ballots to the Post Office, but they arrived AFTER the mailing deadline on Saturday, meaning that they won't arrive in time to be of any use to voters this election.

Ohio:
Looks like a state court has limited the number of party representatives that can be stationed at each polling place on election day. Originally the GOP had planned to send as many as 4 people to some locations, all in an effort to ensure the those voting are truly legit. I'll say it again - one party is sending people to help citizens vote. The other is sending them to question voter legitimacy. As Thomas Jefferson once said,

"Men by their constitutions are naturally divided into two parties: 1. Those who fear and distrust the people, and wish to
draw all powers from them into the hands of the higher classes. 2. Those who identify themselves with the people, have confidence in them, cherish and consider them as the most honest and safe, although not the most wise depositary of the public interests. In every country these two parties exist, and in every one where they are free to think, speak, and write, they will declare themselves."

I don't think its too hard to figure out what he'd say about this.

A challenger can contest a person's right to vote if the prospective voter is not: a citizen; at least 18 years old; voting in the county where he or she lives, or a resident of the state for at least 30 consecutive days before the vote. If a challenge is lodged at the polling place, then poll workers — two Democrats and two Republicans, with one designated "judge" of the polling place — ask the voter a series of questions to determine whether he or she is entitled to vote. The Democratic Party has consistently said that its challengers would take on the role in name only and that they would not try to bar anyone from voting. They said they would focus instead on ensuring that no one was illegitimately deprived of the right to vote. "We'll be watching the watchers," said Timothy M. Burke, co-chairman of the Hamilton County Democratic Party in Cincinnati.

Remember also that this comes after the rejection by the courts of an effort by the GOP to challenge 35,000 voters prior to election day. Seems the GOP sent registered mail to various addresses around the state, and those that didn't accept it the mail were deemed by the GOP to be fraudulently registered. Among the list? GIs serving in Iraq and registered Dems who didn't feel the need to head to the post office to pick up mail from the Republican Party. The story may have a happy ending though. Aside from getting busted, the woman who signed the ridiculous challenge forms may face criminal prosecution.

Wisconsin:
Seems they're stealing a page from the Ohio playbook. 37,000 voters challenged here as well, some for simple clerical errors like a missing apartment number. Of course the GOP says its all about preserving the integrity of the electoral process. Why then are they only submitting lists in heavily Democratic areas? If you're going to stand on principle, stand on principle.

In conjunction with the Milwaukee County district attorney's office, the city attorney's office began reviewing the 5,619 names Friday. It found many cases where an address does not exist but also hundreds where it believes an address does exist.

It's real simple. If the list isn't 100% accurate, it cannot be accepted in bulk. Submit a real verifiable list and I have no problems with it whatsoever. Submit one full of errors and the whole thing must guy. Citizens are innocent until proven guilty in this country.

Nevada:
Aside from the previously reported voter registration scandal, seems the state is now having some problems with its list of ineligible felons.

New Hampshire:
Ralph Nader has completely lost it. Despite all of the documented cases of fraud and GOP assistance in his efforts to get on state ballots, he's taken to calling the Dems "fascists". Amazing ho a lifetime of good work can be tarnished in so short a time.

Once, he criticized the group -- made up mostly of students -- for the low turnout. He told them they were less politically involved than their parents. "We need to reassert the sovereignty of the people and take back Washington, D.C., and we're the only campaign that has a dedicated 40-year history of pressing for the subordination of corporate power to the sovereignty of people," he said.

I wonder what he'll be saying Wednesday morning when the media are reporting one of the highest young voter turnout levels in US history?

South Carolina:
In Columbia, someone is sending out fake letters that appear to be from the NAACP warning that voters who come to the polls on Tuesday risk arrest for unpaid parking tickets, child support, and other violations. Thanks to Josh Marshall for the heads up on this one.

W. Virginia:
Phone calls traced directly to offices of the Republican Party have been made to hundreds of registered Democrats telling them that they aren't registered or are unable to vote this year. Legal action was initiated in mid-October and the GOP was warned but the calls have continued. Kudos to Atrios for the heads up.

Nationwide
Several stories here...

First two Federal judges are expected to rule today on when and how parties will be allowed to challenge voters' qualifications on election day. Apparently this isn't the first time the GOP has been nailed on this. Back in 1982 they signed a consent decree in NJ where they agreed to refrain from "ballot security activities … where racial or ethnic composition" was a factor. Then, 5 years later, it was expanded to require the party to get the court's permission before undertaking a ballot security program nationwide. The ruling still stands, and it could be held to apply not just in Ohio and Wisconsin but nationwide.

Common Cause reports that over 53,000 citizens have called their voter alert line for assistance, with over 8,500 from Florida alone.

The College Republican National Committee is getting hammered for some sketchy fundraising activities. Seems they targeted senior citizens with multiple mailing from multiple names, raking in hundreds and thousands of dollars from unsuspecting individuals. Click the link and read the story - it's a real stomach turner.

And last but certainly not least... Don't forget the Bush administration's recent efforts to prohibit citizens from suing over infringements of voting rights. Seems they think that should be their job, not ours.

Hey TJ... Looks like we need you again...

"Men by their constitutions are naturally divided into two parties: 1. Those who fear and distrust the people, and wish to draw all powers from them into the hands of the higher classes. 2. Those who identify themselves with the people, have confidence in them, cherish and consider them as the most honest and safe, although not the most wise depositary of the public interests. In every country these two parties exist, and in every one where they are free to think, speak, and write, they will declare themselves."
-- Thomas Jefferson

Which side are you on?

UPDATE: Publius has an post on why GOP voter suppression efforts often have the reverse effect. Considering I've spent the last two weeks reading 2000+ pages on the history of the US civil rights movement, you'd think I'dve caught that one. Ah well. As always he's on the case.

--------