FLORIDA
Voter Registration ends in Florida Oct. 6th. Click HERE, to go to the Florida Division of Elections and register. Avoid the Partisan bum’s rush!
Blogged by Brad Friedman on 9/18/2008 12:55PM
McCain/GOP ‘Voter Caging’ Underway in Florida
Local Democratic Party Chair Seems Clueless About Republican Attempt to Disenfranchise His Voters…
From the St. Petersburg Times…
[…The mailings sent to registered Democrats appear to be classic “caging” letters, marked as “Do Not Forward”, so that they will then be returned to the GOP if there is any problem with delivery. Those returned letters will likely then be used as a basis to challenge the legitimacy of those particular voters on Election Day….
The first-class GOP mailing has a “Do not forward” instruction on the envelope, meaning they will be returned to the GOP if a recipient has had mail forwarded, perhaps to a summer address, or has moved.
Letters returned as undeliverable can be compiled into “challenge lists” of unverifiable addresses and can be used to challenge voters’ eligibility during early voting or on Election Day. The vote suppression technique is known as “vote caging.”
Aside from the troubling points spelled out above, and amplified by former Republican vote-rigger Allen Raymond last night on MSNBC (Allen suggests this effort will be done everywhere by the GOP this year), there’s this disconcerting comment from the supposedly Democratic Party chair in Hillsborough County:
Hillsborough Democratic Party Chairman Michael Steinberg said it makes no sense for Republicans to question the party affiliations of Democratic voters. “I don’t understand their logic,” he said.
You “don’t understand their logic,” Mr. Steinberg? What rock have you been living under? The same one Dems in the U.S. Congress have been living under, in regard to the practice of vote caging, perhaps? The same one that Bob Woodward and the Washington Post have been inexcusably living under?…..]
MICHIGAN
Last day to Register for the General Election is Oct. 6th. Click HERE, to get registration information and an application. Deal directly with the state. Find out what you need at the polls.
Conyers Demands ‘Immediate Halt to Republican Vote Suppression Efforts’
U.S. House Judiciary Chair Announces Hearings, Requests ‘Full Scale Investigation’ by DoJ Into Recent Reports of GOP ‘Vote Caging’ Schemes…
The chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, Rep. John Conyers’, is calling on the John McCain campaign to “immediately halt Republican vote suppression efforts,” as seen recently in Michigan — where a county GOP chair announced his intention to use home foreclosure lists to challenge voter eligibility at the polls on Election Day — and elsewhere.
Advancement Project And ACLU Sue Michigan Secretary Of State Over Unlawful Voter Purging (9/18/2008)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org
[…Under one voter removal program, the Michigan Department of State, which administers both driver’s license and voter registration records, immediately cancels the voter registrations of Michigan voters who obtain driver’s licenses in other states instead of issuing the appropriate confirmation of registration notices and following the required voter removal procedures mandated by the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA). According to the Department’s own estimations, over 280,000 voters per year are removed from the rolls in this manner.
Under the second voter removal program, a Michigan state law requires local clerks to nullify the registrations of newly-registered voters whenever their original voter identification cards are returned by the post office as undeliverable. Detroit elections officials report that nearly 30,000 voters per year in that city alone are removed from the rolls as a result of this state election law, which violates the NVRA and other federal and state laws. The NVRA permits voters to remain on the voter rolls for at least two federal elections after voter registration cards are returned….]
TEXAS
Last day to register is Oct. 6th. Information is HERE. Verify your registration online under “Am I Registered?”, and pdf a copy of the page, it you think you will need it. Request a voter application.
Casbeer Calls On Governor, SOS To Protect Voting Rights Of Evacuees
By Vince Leibowitz on Sep 17, 2008 in 2008
Glad to see Earnie Casber (D-Oglesbe) in HD 59 is on this. You can read the full press release here, in Capitol Annex’s Pressroom. Also, check our our post on this subject here.
Secretary Of State’s Office Says It Is Too Early To Speculate On How To Accommodate Voters Displaced By Ike
By Vince Leibowitz on Sep 17, 2008 in 2008
In the wake of a terrible natural disaster less than 60 days before the most important election in a generation, the office of the Secretary of State–Texas’ top election official–had this to say about how Texas may accommodate voters displaced by Hurricane Ike:
[Randall Dillard, spokesman for Secretary of State , said displaced voters will be accommodated.
“It’s too early for us to start speculating,” said Dillard, suggesting satellite polling places could be set up or displaced residents could vote by mail.
Really? The election is less than two months away and it is too early for the state’s top election official to get off her ass and figure out what to do? Oh, I’m sorry, “to start speculating.” Hope Andrade should resign immediately. If she doesn’t, Governor Perry should fire her.]
E-mail ballots can be sent to military abroad
By Kelley Shannon / Associated Press
Article Launched: 09/19/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT
[..Those very service members are defending the ideal of representative democracy, she said. “It’s a tragedy when they are disenfranchised from the right to vote,” Van de Putte said.
Republican Rep. Frank Corte of San Antonio joined her in pushing the legislation last year.
Once the Nov. 4 election is complete, the pilot program’s results will be presented to the Legislature for review.
The Secretary of State’s Office is giving counties until the end of September to decide whether to participate. So far, 16 counties are taking part, agency spokeswoman Ashley Burton said….]
http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_10504256?IADID=Search-www.elpasotimes.com-www.elpasotimes.com
Obama Volunteers To Make Calls Into Key TX House Districts
by: kath25
Fri Sep 19, 2008 at 01:27 PM CDT
CALIFORNIA
Last day for the postmark on you registration to be received by the State is Oct. 20th. Click HERE, to download an application.
Exclusive: Dept. Of Veterans Affairs Continues To Violate Law, Block Voter Registration Drives for Wounded Warriors
Blogged By John Gideon, VotersUnite.Org
[Despite last week’s agreement by the Dept. of Veteran Affairs to follow federal law — after months of pressure from vet groups, members of Congress, and the public — and relent to allow voter registration drives on the department’s federal facilities, The BRAD BLOG has learned that the department is continuing to block non-partisan groups access to our wounded warriors in order to sign up voters. With most voter registration deadlines for the general election just one month away, the continuing stonewall, in this case by the San Francisco VA, continues to outrage.
The non-partisan Veterans for Peace organization has now been forced to file an emergency motion with the court in order to gain access. They contacted us this morning with the following statement…]
I Own My Vote, Just Say NO Deal, PUMA PAC, The Denver Group
Grab and Keel 
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