Here's the face of the Voter ID case in Indiana: "Preemptive doctrine" on voting rights
The Supreme Court is set to rule on this case by June in Indiana just in time to purge the voting rolls and disenfranchise as many voters as possible before anyone has a chance to doing something about it. Well, Valerie Williams and Mary-Jo Criswell are prime examples of why it's completely bogus and must be defeated at all costs.
In April 2006, a federal judge upheld Indiana’s law on voter identification, the strictest in the nation, saying there was no evidence that it would prevent any voter from having his ballot counted. But on Election Day last November, Valerie Williams became that evidence, according to lawyers in a case that will be argued Wednesday before the Supreme Court. After Ms. Williams grabbed her cane that day and walked into the polling station in the lobby of her retirement home to vote, as she has done in at least the last two elections, she was barred from doing so.
The election officials at the polling place, whom she had known for years, told her she could not cast a regular ballot. They said the forms of identification she had always used — a telephone bill, a Social Security letter with her address on it and an expired Indiana driver’s license — were no longer valid under the voter ID law, which required a current state-issued photo identification card.
“Of course I threw a fit,” said Ms. Williams, 61, who was made to cast a provisional ballot instead, which, according to voting records, was never counted. Ms. Williams — who has difficulty walking — said she was not able to get a ride to the voting office to prove her identity within 10 days as required under the law, and her ballot was discarded...read on
But the decision will effect more than just the voter-identification issue. It will be pushed through as many states as the GOP can muster.
In the 1980s and ’90s, the Supreme Court came up with a test for assessing any law that placed hurdles before voters. The justices ruled that courts must weigh the value of the law to the state against the burden it placed on voters.
How the court applies that test in this case could set the standard for challenges to election rules across the country. The decision could affect a range of other voting-related rules being imposed by states, including ones involving the handling of provisional ballots, new restrictions on voter registration and the methods states can use to purge voters from registration rolls.
You can see the entire scam now. And what does the Bush administration say about it?
The Bush administration, arguing in favor of the law in a brief filed with the Supreme Court, suggested it was not necessary to prove fraud was actually taking place, given the importance of preventing such fraud.
BushCo. is implementing a preemptive doctrine on voter fraud where none exists and Republicans are determined to get this passed. This case has been decided right down party lines so I don't expect the Roberts Court to rule in favor of Democracy. We've had to fight for the right to vote since this nation was born and we must continue that struggle.
gop could NEVER win an election without cheating.
The Supreme Court this term will decide a set of voter identification cases which could well determine the outcome of the 2008 election. In a narrow legal sense, the cases will address the constitutionality of new voter ID laws in Indiana and other states. But more important, the Roberts Court will decide whether to rubber stamp an essential tactic in the all-out Republican war to suppress the votes of minority - and likely Democratic - Americans.
For the details, see:
"Supreme Court Test for GOP Vote Suppression Strategy."
What a perverted SOB the 'god' who 'looks over' the GOP must be!
The cheating lying Republicans lead by the gangster Bush have been hacking, rigging, fixing and stealing elections for the last eight years. As Big Eddie Schultz says, "They're brutal and will do anything to win."
Below are some comments which I penned three years ago:
We need to stage thousands of 21st century versions of the 1773 revolutionary Boston Tea Party across America by dumping all the electronic computerized voting machines and electronic computerized vote tabulating machines into the nearest body of water.
By James K. Sayre
Dump all the electronic computerized voting machines and electronic computerized vote tabulating machines into the nearest body of water. Return to the use of traditional hand-counted paper ballots in all future elections to restore our American democracy. As long as there are electronic, computerized voting machines and electronic computerized vote tabulating machines, there will Republican thugs, hackers and riggers ready to resteal, rig and hack any and all future elections.
On 6 January 2005, Senator Barbara Boxer and some thirty Representatives challenged the Ohio electoral vote in the special joint session of Congress, but they were barely scratching the surface of massive Republican election fraud across the country on November 2, 2004. This Presidential election was the most fraudulent in the past one hundred years.Widespread systematic premeditated voter disenfranchisement occurred in Ohio, Florida, New Mexico and many other states.
In the November 2004 Presidential election, some thirty million votes were cast electronically without any auditable paper trails. These insecure, hackable voting machines were built and operated by Diebold, ES&S, Sequois, Triad and SAIC, five secretive right-wing Republican voting machine manufacturers. About 3/4s of all our votes were then tabulated on insecure, hackable electronic tabulating machines by Diebold and ES&S, with proprietary (secret) software. Throw in the highly accurate exit polls which pointed to a landslide Kerry victory on November 2 and you have the perfect electoral fraud storm.
In 2002, the Republican Party staged their test run of controlling the new Diebold computerized paper-trail-free electronic voting systems that were installed in every precinct in the State of Georgia. It worked like a charm. Two popular Democratic incumbents, the Governor Roy Barnes and Senator Max Cleland, were both "defeated" by Republican challengers. The Democrats were both ahead by several points in both the pre-election voter opinion polls and in the election day exit polls, yet the Diebold voting machines declared the two Republican challengers as winners. The local media claimed to be "amazed" by this election "upset." They should have been horrified and outraged. These elections were stolen electronically. There was no paper trail, no recount was possible and for good measure, Diebold Corporation "accidentally erased" the disputed 2002 election returns data from their computer hard disk drives a few days after the election. How convenient, how clean, how slick and how crooked is Republican election theft in the 21st century.
Australia, Canada and many other nations use the traditional hand-counted paper ballots in their national elections. Canada completes an honest vote count by hand, usually within 24-hours of the closing of the voting booths. Can't we Americans wait for a few hours to get an honest, open, legitimate election vote count?
We will never get our democracy back until all the computerized voting machines are unceremoniously dumped into the nearest body of water. Traditional hand-counted paper ballots will restore our democracy and help end this national nightmare of Tsunami Bush.
23 January 2005
I don't think it could hurt to make Voting Reform a key news story on this site.
www.getitstraightby2008.org
www.verifiedvoting.org
Our country needs it.
I think that I'm having a vision of the future...
5-4 decision in favor of cheating Americans out of their right to vote.
First of why was her provisional ballot not counted? If it was due to the total number of provisionals not being enough, even if all were cast for a single person, to alter the outcome then there was no harm in not counting it. If it was otherwise I'd like to hear the reason it wasn't counted.
I live in Hudson County New Jersey and we have significant voting issues. People have come to the polls only to see someone had voted under their name already. We had one case of people being driven into my town and given a name to vote under. A person I know witnessed this and followed one of the illicit voters into the poll and when the person gave the name he shouted "no you're not". The person fled and the person I know gave chase and caught the guy. He wasn't prosecuted.
All of this could have been prevented by requiring some sort of ID. Believe me the parties will do their darndest to make sure all of these people get IDs and can vote, even if it's provisionally.
well indianas a shitty little bunch of baptists red neck nascar dickwads with a church on every corner and more crooked politicians then they have in dc, how do i know that? i live in this red piece of shit state!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There is no voter fraud per se. It's all about preventing people from voting. But it's easier to cheat if they simply don't count votes, as we all know that republicans/conservatives are in the minority. I would challenge anyone to show evidence of a plot to STUFF ballot boxes. It just doesn't happen.
And for those morons who try to prop up the "Kennedy in Chicago" exmple, that had nothing to do with Kennedy. That was put up by the Daly machine to get a local candidate elected in the district.
These voter ID laws are totally unconstitutional. There are no conspiracies by individuals to vote more than once, or to sneak in and vote while not registered. Hell, I'd be happy if we could get the goddamn REGISTERED voters to show up! If you live here legally, you should be able to vote. The voter ID does NOTHING to prevent voter fraud. It only benefits the minority party by shaving off voters en masse, which by simple math benefits the minority. It's that simple. Nevertheless, I am of the opinion that the Supreme Court will uphold them, just as they upheld the appointment of our current maniac-in-Chief in 2000. I do hope I'm wrong.
I repeat, this will do NOTHING to prevent voter fraud and will only remove legitimate voters from the electoral process.
tyree @ 8:
I could live with Indiana not casting any electoral votes this year. Would you arrange that?
below_me @ 1:
I hate to argue, but you people are wrong to blame it on voting. Yes there is fraud and probably alot of it. In the end the problem isn't the fraud. Look at 2004 election results:
On Election Day, Bush soundly defeated Kerry and was elected to a second term. Unlike 2000, when he lost the popular vote to Gore, Bush won the popular vote in 2004, increasing his vote tally by more than 3.5 million. Bush won more than 60 million votes or 51 percent of the total cast in the largest turnout in a presidential contest since 1968.
This was AFTER the incompetent, non-english speaking, career failure had already screwed the nation up for 4 years!!!! More than 60 million voted FOR him.
There has always been this argument that the constitution doesn't guarantee the right to vote. Well it should. So I suggest some lawmaker should introduce a constitutional amendment to make sure it specifically does.
This would stop right wing activist judges.
tyree @ 8:
I sympathize with you, and of equal or more importance is the fact that 27 States, in
addition to Indiana, have proposed pieces of the same legislation pending in their
respective States, so many, many, many legitimate voters may very well be purged
from voting or denied that right if this becomes the Law of the Land.
Che's Lounge @ 9:
Please read this.
http://www.hudsonreporter.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=18535598&BRD=1291&PA...
I hope we get a law like this in NJ. My vote might be nullified and another's might be stolen by these tactics. It can easily be prevented if a person just has to bring a form of picture ID to the polls.
So I know for a FACT that this could prevent voter fraud if NJ is lucky enough to get it.
UG,
It is simply not a logical method to sway an election by having individuals vote using other names on the voter rolls. As you said, that one individual was easily exposed, despite the fact that he was not prosecuted. There are other much more efficient, less labor intansive ways to throw an election.
As Phoenix Woman might be quick to point out, this topic is the HEADLINE in today's dead-tree edition of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, although it's completely buried on the website.
What's the website headline? "Iranian ships harassed U.S. Navy ships. Like clockwork, Mr. Cheney...
And this is the publication that the local wingnuts refer to as the ultra-liberal "Red Star."
Riiiight.
The GOP can't win honestly, so always trots out this BS.
I'm wondering, does C&L, Bradblog or another site have a list of those 27 states? This is one of those issues where some local activism will be very important.
ConcernedCanuck @ 11:
The popular vote is NOT the basis for a candidate being elected...it is the Electoral Vote.
And in 2004, it was voter fraud in OHIO that resulted in Bush-lite being declared the
winner. Had Ohio not been declared/given to bush, he would not be in office today.
It's a win-win for the neocons - disenfranchise voters and establish further legal basis for REAL ID at the same time.
Blue Lensman @ 10:
actually although what i said about the bible thumpers and nascar dickwads are not as bad here in southern indiana , its the piss heads from indianoplis and points north that vote repishit , southen indiana tends to be more democratic but the larger population is in the north!!!!!!!!!!!!!you can allways count on the north to give indiana to the repigs!
Che's Lounge @ 9:
There is one huge problem with US elections.
The voting machines.
In EVERY democracy, save the Yoo Ess of Ey, it is people who volunteer who count the votes. The people represent various political viewpoints and parties, and they doule check themselves and each other as they count.
This results in a FOOL PROOF SYSTEM and is FREE.
Now, we in the Yoo Ess of Ey, are more advanced and so we use electronic counting machines for voting. First, this supports business, as those machines and their operational costs are NOT FREE.
And second, while "volunteer election monitors" people huff and puff and look at the counting machines as if they could use x-ray vision and see what its doing inside, no one from the government, nor volunteer "watchers" of elections is in the central server hub where votes are tabulated. And counted.
Nor will they be allowed to go there, as the central server that tabulates and (cough cough) counts the votes is in an office building of a private corporation.
Read about the glitch:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/magazine/06Vote-t.html?ex=1357275600&e...
Read about how a voting machine fails inspection:
http://www.news.com/2100-1009_3-5054088.html
Or how a CEO of Diebold publicly stated that his machines will deliver votes to bush:
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0828-08.htm
Now in any sane, normal country, things like these would be a big issue on TV, newspapers and next to a water cooler.
But this being the Yoo Ess of Ey, this is entirely normal and acceptable.
Che's Lounge @ 15:
It was not easily exposed. The guy was lucky enough to see something suspicious. If this guy had taken another route to his destination THESE MEN WOULD HAVE VOTED ILLEGALLY. I have no doubt that others illegally voted.
I worked as a challenger on a local election and I can tell you right now I know how to work the system to have you vote illegally MULTIPLE TIMES in just one NJ municipality. It's EASY because there ID is not required.
You can't tell me this doesn't happen, and there isn't a system set up to do it, because I live in a municipality where it happens!
tyree @ 20:
Identical situation here in Texas...the dipshits reside in Dallas/Ft.Worth and Houston;
the largest metropolitial regions of the State and "they" control the outcome of our
elections due to numbers whereas the majority of other portions of Texas are more
Independent and/or Dems.
voter fraud and purging of vote lists is a huge issue.
of course, there is the corporate media's stranglehold on the election process too. more than any other segment of society they decide who is "fit" to run. with bad coverage, unfavorable coverage, or complete lack of coverage they can color a candidate and crown their own king. not to say that some candidates can't get around this media-filter, for the most part we allow the media to decide who the front runner is, conduct the majority of debates, charge millions for airtime, etc.
we are a troubled nation, with our "democratic" principles under direct attack from many fronts. and, sadly, we are also filled with a population that doesn't vote, that accepts this horid situation and, generally, is apathetic and lazy. trouble with a captial T.
As someone who lives in Indiana, I can tell you that this is an interesting case. The forms of identification this woman tried to use are enough for her to walk into any Indiana BMV and request her new ID card. Of course, she would be expected to pay for the new card, and that looks alot like a poll tax.
I also remember a time when I tried to get my ID card renewed from the Indiana BMV. It had been quite awhile, as I had lived in two other states before finally moving back to Indiana. I was told that I could get my ID renewed with the OLD address without any problem. I explained to the lady that I hadn't lived at that address for close to 10 years or more. She said she understood that, but that those were the rules. If I wanted to update my new address, I would have to show proof of the new address. That struck me as odd, because I didn't have to show proof for the old address -- an address that I already stated was not valid.
In order to get my new address on the ID, the proof they wanted was a 'bank statement', 'utility bill', or something like that. My immediate thought was that they wanted to make sure that credit reporting agencies knew my new address, more than anything else.
Once again we're facing important elections (which elections aren't important in a democracy?) wherein there is no guarantee that people will be allowed to vote at all and if they can vote that their ballots will be counted and honestly counted. I wrote and wrote my Congresswomen (all Dems) and nothing has been done. It seems the Democrats have no stake in an honest Democracy either. Woe is Us! The people at http://www.ballotintegrity.org/ have a list of many, many organizations who stand for voting integrity. It already seems too late to insure anything but more rigged elections.
Samson- @ 25:
I concur....it is a shame and saddening to see that "third world counties" have voter
turn outs in the 70 to 90 percent, and we(the supposed World Leader), have maybe
50 percent turn-out...and your are also quite accurate w/respect to the main stream
media deciding who will be the top two candidates in both parties.
Repugs are not stupid about stealing. Using individuals voting multiple times under the names of others' is not very efficient. Using The System to discount thousands upon thousands of votes takes far less effort and can hit whole demographics that would probably not vote for them. I'd strongly prefer more lax ID laws and take the risk of voter fraud on a small scale over the ridiculously obvious play to suppress mass quantities of voters altogether.
tyree @ 8:
There are not as many Baptists here as there are Lutherans -- which has everything to do with how the area was settled hundreds of years ago. We still celebrate "Germanfest", which should explain the Lutheran influence.
Rooth,
Yes I agree. I was not complete. Whatever method contributes to the elimination of ballots, such as caging, leads to illegally uncounted votes. My point is that it is easier to PREVENT votes than to stuff boxes or send homless people to vote in someones place. Frankly I don't have a problem with people showing proof of current residence when they vote. But the rules should be VERY loose so that people of lesser means don't have to jump through these ridiculously artificial hoops to document themselves simply to vote.
gB @ 27:
its been shown time and time again that republicans dont care how they win, they will steal this next election, in fact id say its allready been stolen!!!!!!!you just dont know it yet!!!!!!!!!!!!!this starting the election crap so soon before they used too is only for distraction , enjoy it !your being had!
Che's Lounge @ 31:
You mean like getting a driver's license or a Non-Drivers ID. Yeah real hard. You have to do it once every 5 or so years. If you can't go on your own go with a group. If the group has issues call your council person, failing that your mayor, falling that your state assembly person, failing that your state senator, failing that the newspapers. Once the paper gets involved you can be damned sure the other people mentioned on the list will race to help you.
THIS IS NOT HARD AND WILL PREVENT VOTER FRAUD.
Unless you support voter fraud I don't see why you'd oppose this.
UG @ 7:
UG, sadly provo ballots are one step above used toilet paper. Even if you are GIVEN one in the first place... there is no guarantee your jurisdiction will check your status AND count your vote...
On your anecdotal story about the vote-and-runner: OK, what was the name of the guy? Obviously if they caught him and didn't prosecute, his name has to be out there somewhere if that you know authorizes didn't charge him... Why wouldn't the GOP, clamouring for such ID laws not be researching this case and screaming about it. (NOTE: I am not calling you a liar or that your friend didn't witness this - I'm just saying if there is real fraud it should be reported and if it doesn't work at the local and state levels then go to the federal level. I'm just a little fed up with the anecdotal stuff being used to justify the creation of laws.)
On your last part, unless both parties are forcing state or county governments to give FREE ID's to their citizens (and I know of no case in any jurisdiction where this is happening) then this is nothing more than a poll tax. If the state is requiring it, they THEY can pay for the creation of valid ID's... maybe the charitable GOP would be kind enough to chip in since they want this so much. You know... to stop fraud and for the good of the democracy... that is if it's not just a backhanded way to suppress voting.
Batocchio @ 17:
So true. In Minnesota, you don't need photo ID, can register at the poll on election day and use anything like a utility bill or a registered voter who is a neighbor to prove you live in that precinct. Voter fraud is checked after elections and dealt with. We have very little of it - usually some sort of mix-up.
gB @ 27:
Well, at least in some precint polls, the number of "poll watchers" is being doubled and/or
tripled, so hopefully w/more trained bodies to view/witness us casting ballots, some
of the previous fraud will be discourgaged/eliminated.
tyree @ 20:
Ahhh, that brings back fond memories (I grew up in Bloomington), but don't expect me to move back anytime soon!
Aeon @ 30:
and as larwence welk yoused to say, ana one ana two lets do the beer barrel polka !!!!!!!!
I like the way when he ask for a show of hands, someone is always slow, as if someone off camera is telling them or if they where told when to raise their hand and kind of forgot until everyone else did!
UG @ 23:
And you have reported this to the state AND federal authorities? Prepare a statement, get to a local effing FBI office and report it! Don't walk, run!
"Unless you support voter fraud I don’t see why you’d oppose this."
Oh please. Spare me your trollish baiting. The voter ID laws will NOT prevent voter disenfranchisement. They only make it MORE DIFFICULT for people to vote. Voter fraud is NOT the issue here. Eliminating votes (and voters) IS the issue.
UG @ 33:
It's a poll tax... unless the state provides the ID for free... pure and simple. Charge for a drivers license, sure, because that is an additional priviledge, but voting is (or should be) a right. If state government or GOP wants that mandate... they have to pay for it.
I notice no outcry from you about the illegal removal of servicemen and minorities from voter rolls... does that mean you are for illegal voter purges as I hear no solution from you on that? Just because you say, "I have an idea for a law to fix something" and I don't agree with your specific solution, does not mean anyone is for the crime your law fights. That's childish.
RppPolyp @ 40:
They know already! At the last election we had sheriff's' and lawyer from the attorney general's office at every polling station to help prevent fraud. People claimed intimidation because of that!
One election work repeated that one person who was challenged and would have to vote provisionally declined because without a ballot number "they couldn't get paid". This was said in front of one of the ADA. The ADA wanted a statement but the person quickly shutup.
again this link
http://www.hudsonreporter.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18535598&BRD=1291&PAG...
"According to Branciforte, two Caucasian men were standing in a semi-circle of about seven men, and were holding an envelope and handing out 3x5 index cards."
AND
"According to a police report, the 51-year-old gray-haired man gave the police his name and said that he lived in a homeless shelter in Jersey City.
However, he had signed the book with a different name, the name of registered voter Kevin Logan, according to the police report."
If ID were required to vote this homeless guy never would have been hired to vote illegally. Home many of the other people hired to vote got through? How many other votes were stolen? How many votes were illegally nullified by this fraud?
Getting ID takes some effort but is not hard. If ID leads to cleaner elections why isn't everyone for it?
As demographics and the public disgust for GOP policies and corruption overtake the Republican party, we're going to see more of these shenanigans to steal elections. The Federal Courts are now 60-40 Republican with the Supremes decidedly right wing. The only thing that will stop it are 150 million dems and independents screaming bloody murder until things change.
get ready for more foul play from the gop bastards this election year.
they can not will legally, so they will pull out all their slimy low life tricks to try and win.
UG @ 43:
Sorry, it will seem like I'm picking on you and I did read your article but...
Good question, but do you know why I don't believe the push for ID is purely for "cleaner elections?" Answer:The GOP objection to motor voter laws.
Here was a perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone... get your ID AND get registered (and have a document republicans are demanding now in order for you to vote.) The objection from republicans was astounding...
RppPolyp we've had motor voter* for over 10 years now. Given that isn't it reasonable to start asking for ID at the polls to protect the integrity of the process.
I've given a real world instance how it would prevent fraud. Is the person, Kevin Logan, who's vote the man was paid to steal not worth protecting? If not please write Kevin Logan and tell him why his vote isn't worth protecting.
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Voter_Registration_Act_of_1993
I'm afraid the Republican machine will do anything to marginalize Democratic or Independent voters. Last Presidential election, I was nearly pushed out from voting as well. I need braces to walk, you see, and our local polling station initially insisted I stand in a very long line. Now - I cannot stand for hours on end, so I raised holy hell. Eventually I was allowed inside – but poll workers made it clear they would not make that concession again. I use the absentee voting system now – but I’m forced to request that ballot every single election cycle – even the local ones. If I forget to call sufficiently in advance (at least 8 weeks) – I don’t get my ballot. It’s screwed up. Now - I’m on the ball – and I usually know when an election is imminent – but what about everyone else? I’m sure most people just say to hell with it and don’t vote. The amount of things that need fixing in our country is staggering. It will take years to address all these issues. Thank god there are so many of us willing to do the heavy lifting required.
these poll taxers will do anything to keep Chicak School economics cultists in power
Well you know you can never be too careful with having your citizens keep solid i.d. to vote. Who knows how many terrorist cells are out trying to vote for a Democrat and we would never know.
Doggiebobo @ 18:
Ok, I understand. How do you explain Hillary's stand right now as opposed to popular vote? Is that not somewhat similar?
tyree @ 20:
Indiana is a red state but Indianapolis is not. If so, how would a poor liberal Democrat like the late great Julia Carson have been repeatedly elected to congress from Indianapolis. But now that Indianapolis' only newspaper, the Indianapolis Star, was purchased by Garnett, the editorial pages are filled with Charles Krauthhammer and Jonas Goldberg and Cal Thomas etc., with no counter opinions. The Democratic Mayor did get defeated in this past election by a Republican, largely because the media blamed Peterson for the property tax increase. I do what I can to educate people here, but it is an uphill battle.
And although it is a hopeless cause to get support for him in this state, I still believe.
Dennis Kucinich 08
RppPolyp @ 42:
Good point. NJ does charge $24 for an ID. In that case how about requiring the voter registration card freely issued to voters. It doesn't have a picture so won't be as useful but ti definitely would cut down on vote theft.
I agree voting is a right and using a system that makes it easy to steal another's vote is criminal.
"I notice no outcry from you about the illegal removal of servicemen and minorities from voter rolls"
Okay here it is, outcry. I am outraged at this. This is just as bad as allowing a person's vote to be stolen.
I've personally seen how easy it is to steal a vote in Hudson County, NJ and that's why I'm commenting on this particular issue. I've also taken time off of work to be a poll challenger to help protect the integrity of the system. Given that experience I'm telling you there is almost no vote protection in NJ.
Wow - that is just horrible and I hope that the Supreme court will see the error of how this law was written.
The GOP can't win at the ballot box, it can only win in court, where they can get a friendly judge to rule in their favor. It happened in 2000, it happened in 2004, and it will happen in 2008, if they can pull it off. If America would just address that one problem- election rigging- all of our other problems would practically solve themselves.
The Fat Lady Sings @ 48:
I don't know what state you live in, but I don't think that matters. The recently (last 4 years) passed law 'Voter Access' (??? not sure of the actual name) should have fixed this issue that you had.
I know that the literature sent out by my state for voting states explicitly that if you have mobility issues, the poll workers are subjected to bringing a ballot out to you (if you're in a car) and, if necessary, help you fill it out. Period, end of sentence.
I'm going to see what I can do to become a poll watcher/worker this election. Because I have NO problem going out in -15F temps to help a handicapped person fill out their ballot. (my mother was confined to a wheelchair for 4 years and had mobility problems for 55 years prior to that.)
We'll never have a real Supreme Court (instead of a Bush Clan Lapdog Society) until we start over completely fresh. Fire the lot of them on Feb 09, and replace them with intelligent, independent jurists who know the meaning of "Rule of Law".
No doubt Clarence Thomas will vote for any law that disenfranchises many minority voters through phony i.d. requirements. If that isn't a "high tech lynching," then I don't know what is.
If the issue is truly accurate identification, why not government financed ID cards with an honest effort to register all voters with mobile voter vans that print ID's at the site with visual records at the voting site to confirm those who have lost their cards. It would be important that all records be for voting only. It would seem that it's the governments obligation to prove fraud instead of assuming it.
The republician's wrap themselves in a flag to hide their hard on with which they intend to screw the have less' and have nothing's.
I can sympathize with this lady. I had similar trouble in 2004 and 2006.
2004: I went to vote but was turned away because:
The name on my ID didn't match what they had in the book (my last name had 2 letters inverted) but the address in the book matched my ID. Fine, it was a typo I can accept that, mistakes happen. But the guy that had the book was my next door neighbor who I had know since I was born, yet he wouldn't let me vote because my name was different in the book.
So I got a form to correct the mistake, typed it up and sent it off. This wouldn't happen in 2006, would it?
YEP! it did, same typo and same next door neighbor working the book as in 2004. I was turned away again. So I sent in another copy of the correct information and I called them to tell them of my situation. They assured me that it would be fixed in time for November.
I am going to call until it is fixed. This is bullshi*
This happened in Indiana btw.
RandyR @ 59:
The issue is not accurate identification, it's all about geting the people into the White House that will do exactly what they're told to do by the banks, the oil companies, the weapons manufacturers, etc. Right now they're running the country, and they're going to fight tooth and nail to keep it that way. Even if it means executing (p)Residential Directive 51.
Ralph Nader: "Things Are a Lot Worse than We Thought!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIO-tCPSfHA
Kevin @ 61:
Did they let you vote provisionally when you asked?
And this happens all over. When I moved into my town about 9 years ago they had trouble reading my registration and spelt my last name with an "a" instead of an "o". I called up to verify my registration and was told I wasn't registered, I was just under a misspelling. So I registered A SECOND TIME. It took EIGHT years to remove the duple.
Everytime I voted I pointed out the dupe to them and still it took 8 years to fix it.
UG @ 33:
You are failing to recognize that there are problems with this setup. First of all, you must pay for these IDs/Licenses. If you can't afford to buy one, then you can't vote. And if you must pay in order to vote, that's a poll tax, and that's illegal.
Furthermore, there is a problem when it comes to the homeless, or those who are living with friends or parents in order to get by. If you have no address, you essentially can't vote. And if you are staying with your parents or friends, you can't provide the BMV with a utility bill with your name on it to prove where you are staying. In other words, if you aren't paying bills, you can't vote. Again -- a type of poll tax.
For the record, Indiana charges $13.00 for a state-issued ID card.
My grandmother passed away a little over a year ago, and I can tell you that she had a hell of a time making ends meet at 82 years old. She retired and had a pension and social security, but she still had difficulty when it came to buying groceries. My mother had to help out a number of times, especially during the cold winter months -- when the heating bills were higher. Those higher heating bills literally took food from my grandmother's mouth.
An 82 year old in my grandmother's situation should not have to decide whether they would rather buy an ID card to vote, or a dozen cans of soup to get them through the end of the month.
UG @ 53:
Handshake... fine, that's reasonable and no reason you can't have a FREE voter ID w/ photo in these technological times. My objection is the state requiring something extra for me or anyone to exercise the right to vote and charging OR making it any harder to legally vote...
BTW: Not that you can't fake an ID...
One additional point on the vote stealing thing there in Hudson Co... how did they know which names to pick? I mean, those shadowy figures with the note cards could have given out names of voters who already voted and when the faker came in they would be found out. Not the smartest scam (unless they knew who had voted and not, then you have a bigger elections scam than just fakers.)
I don't think the Court is going to side with Bush this time, because they'd want the most expedient election possible, and their "less government" mentality has actually backfired on the Republicans more often than not.
Yes, if it costs money to get a current ID or Driver's License as a requirement to vote, it is in fact the equivalent of a poll tax and should be prohibited on that issue alone. The government lawyers have to know this and by ignoring this fact are themselves in possible violation of law as no caveat could stand.
This is a prime example of corruption at the highest levels of the government.
Doggiebobo @ 28:
Funnily enough, in a lot of those countries voter identification is the norm and no one raises a problem about it.
Eduardo @ 70:
The problem isn't with identifying yourself. The devil is in the details.
If you can't afford the ID, then the state should pay for it. Better yet, the state should pay for all IDs, and only charge for drivers licenses.
And if you are living with friends or relatives and don't have a 'utility bill' with your name on it and address, how do you prove where you are living? If you're homeless and living under a bridge, do you get an ID card with the bridge's address on it? Or do you want to tell homeless people and people who are living with friends/relatives "Sorry, but in order to have fair elections, you must give up your right to vote."?
The Supreme Court will likely decide, once again, against the American voter and move to disenfranchise anybody whose vote might threaten to upset the apple cart of the those who have bought and paid for a majority of the justices.
It will be up to a future Court to declare most of this Court's work and findings to be in grave error, the result of it being deeply corrupted.
It's a pathetic and sad time when the thing that you can most expect from the Supreme Court of the United States in any decision is injustice and betrayal of the Court's duty to the Constitution.
Call me cynical, but it is the Court which has trained me to become the cynic.
I live in Indiana, and in the last election a lady that lives up the street from me (she is a Republican) asked me for my id when I went in to vote. I showed it to her and she checked her book, but told me that was her neighborhood and she didn't know me. She asked me which house I lived in. I gave her the names of my neighbors and she shook her head and said she still didn't know where this was. I gave her my address and pointed out it was correctly listed on my license and in her book. She finally let me through. I voted and left. I later came back with my wife so she could vote. The old bitty started barking at me when I walked in the door that I 'COULDN'T VOTE AGAIN'. I told her I wasn't there to vote again, I was there to make sure she didn't try to pull the same shit with my wife.
tyree @ 20:
Not to interfere with your false notions of where all the Democrats are in the state, but Kerry won 4 counties in Indiana in 04. Lake (the 2nd most populous county in the state) and LaPorte counties in the far north, Marion county (the piss heads from Indianapolis), and Monroe county (Bloomington, go figure).If you want to be pissed at parts of the state for voting Rethug, look at the rural areas. Really, if you want to be pissed about the state going Rethuglican, how about getting pissed at the candidates who repeatedly ignore this state.
how dumb are the gops to piss off a red state. if they thought the minority votes would go to hillary, they must be having a mejor attack with the finding that Obama has a lot of white republican support.
Can anyone tell me why you have to "register" to exercise your right to vote?
Do you also have to register to go to a protest?
How about we keep the ID though state ID's MUST be free, and you should be able to fill out a form, and mail it in to get one. Present said ID at polling place for onr voting session.
Is there a reason our party wouldn't stand up for this? The effect would be devastating to the wingers. No more vote challenges - period.
On election night 2000, my friend and I were walking his dogs. We lived near the polling place. We had to stand by and watch while our ballots were taken out of the polling place and put into a truck mounted shredder, by men in blackwater uniforms.
I have spoken out about this for years. That night I was not physcally able to do anything about it since I was physically unable having just had cancer surgery. I was not even supposed to be out of bed yet.
I have been placed on the no fly list, my so called friends are by the wayside and called me crazy. I have had a warrentless search of my home and god knows what else 'they' have looked into.
besides this has anyone read about Sibel Edmunds article in the Times UK?
Our very own congress, FBI, CIA and diplomatic corp were selling nuke plans and files to Turkish agents to pass on to Pakistan , while enroute who the hell else got copies.
We are in trouble folks
Robert P @ 77:
Duh! I forgot to note that I lived in the poorer minority , mostly Democratic voting part of Fort Lauderdale. The search of my home took place in North Carolina where we moved in hopes of a fairer shake and to get work.
Everything in the house had been gone thru, It was not a robbery as tvs, money on the dresser, computers were looked into and moved, but not taken.
perhaps they should offer free ID cards at the ballot. It doesn't take long for a ID to be made, and as Justice Stevens says, they should start the process right at the balloting booth. The voters bring in what they need to show their identity such as Social Security cards and bills like that woman who was challenged, then they get in line to take their picture and then a temporary ID card is given to them, while the real one is mailed home. These voters took an extraordinary effort to get to the polling place, it is only fair to make voting easy for them.
It's the perfect storm there. The GOP claims that the cost isn't too much, it's only $20. Well as one poster said up there, $20 can mean the difference between eating for weeks and getting an ID to show at the polls. Why isn't the GOP calling for the IDs to be made free and widely available? Because, it's personal responsibility at work again. They claim that it is the voter's responsibility to go fork over the cash and to get to the polling place, easily passing the buck onto the voter, because they know it's easier said than done. 17 miles to the county seat (there are other more isolated places in more rural areas), from a town that may not be served by a bus line and even if it were the Greyhound ticket could also be calculated into this modern day poll tax. If the GOP were truly serious about this ID law, it would call for every town and village or hamlet whatever to have a place where you could get a state-issued ID for free.
Yes, we all know the GOP is truly concerned about the integrity of our elections, because only the elderly and the minorities of our country commit voter fraud, never mind Diebold...
Poll taxes are unconstitutional. Next thing you know, they'll be asking voters to fork over money for signed affidavits to prove identity and next thing you know, they'll be asking voters to fork over money just to enter the polling place.../sarcasm
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