Purging Voter Rolls--One Hollywood Liberal At A Time
By Nicole Belle Wednesday Nov 05, 2008 2:00pm
AP:
Many Americans endured long lines to vote. Tim Robbins had to get a court order before he was allowed to cast his vote for president.
The 50-year-old actor's voting woes began Tuesday morning when he ran into trouble at his polling station: His name was missing from the registration rolls. He said his name was nowhere to be found on the books at a YMCA in downtown Manhattan, where he'd previously voted in presidential elections.
"I had been voting there for years," he said in a telephone interview. "I have not moved, I have not changed party affiliations. There's no reason why it shouldn't be in the rolls. So I was given a paper ballot and filled it out, but I wanted my vote to be registered there — and I don't trust paper ballots."
Robbins, who lives with partner Susan Sarandon and has been registered to vote in New York since 1988, said he doesn't trust paper or affidavit ballots because "oftentimes those things get lost or thrown away." So he did not submit his and asked to speak to a supervisor.
"I stayed in the voting place and asked to see someone from the Board of Elections and told them I wasn't going to leave until someone from the Board of Elections came and explained to me why I wasn't being allowed to vote — why my name had been taken off the voter rolls."
The supervisor said a police officer had been called over, he said, "at which point, I said to him, `Are you trying to intimidate me?'" The police at the location said he had "every right to be there," said Robbins, well-known as a liberal activist who even played a candidate running for the Senate in "Bob Roberts," a 1992 film he also wrote and directed.
Police said there was no police involvement.
After hours of waiting, Robbins said he was told to visit the board's downtown office, which confirmed what he knew to be true: He's a registered voter. A judge then issued a court order allowing him to vote — and that he did, at the same location where his trouble began.
It ended up taking five hours for Robbins to vote. While it's somewhat tongue-in-cheek to say that of course someone as outspoken as Robbins would be stricken wrongly off the voting rolls, it's something else he said that should give pause: according to Robbins, 30 others got the same message. How many of them would have the wherewithal or the free time to fight for their right to vote as Robbins did? How many others in other precincts experienced the same? Never underestimate the importance of that one vote.
Login or Register to post comments.
Ironic
Wow! ...that was quick! he got to vote later on that day at least...
for some reason I think, (if this happened to me), I would'a hadt'a wait a couple of days...
I trust Tim thanked the judge! I'm sure he did. (thats what I call service) ...only in N.Y. I guess?
says it all.I'm sure there were countless people who had the same trouble. Just one more check on the list of things that need change.
Better get the techs on the phone because the site is loading really really slow, just like it does before something breaks and it won't load at all.
You would think if they were purposely purging voters they wouldn't purge someone so well known and with so many resources.
having the same problem,POP. I thought it was my computer.
Maybe they are purging progressive far-left websites....
I've been having the same problem. Slow load times, sometimes the browser locks up.
to the site monitors.
On election day tuesdays (all judges) should report to their local polling stations in order to expidite this process on a mass scale.
If a judge were "on hand" (next time this happens to someone) maybe they wont have to wait 5 hours like Mr. Robbins did.
at least the election wasnt close enough for DIEBOLD to rear its ugly head again!
"Refuse provisional ballots. They're throwing those out. They can throw those out. If that's your last resort, take it, but fight in the polling place to vote. It's your right as an American. You have every right to vote if you're registered. And if you're not on the rolls and something went wrong, document it. Video cameras at polls are going to be an effective way to fight this election day."
Tim Robbins Oct 24, 2008 Real Time With Bill Maher
How eerie is it that this happened to him after he made this statement, a statement he professed in very strong and patriotic manner.
If some smartass was aware of Robbin's comments and tried to make him look like a hypocrite by accepting a provisional ballot. There is little reason for me to believe this was a coincidence, and Robbins is a pretty high profile guy.
I'm glad he toughed it out and did the right thing, Tim has been leading by example from day one and he led by example this time too.
In the process he reminds us all to be vigilant about our voting rights.
Let's not forget the Election Reform issue in the years to come. We need to solve these problems of purges and prosecute those who play dirty and deal in trickery. We need to get out of private corporations running our elections with private software to count our votes. We need paper and pen ballots and open source software if needed. We need random audits and all that.
Hope this stays at the forefront of the Progressive movement in our Country.
of the time,way way back(sarcasim on) just after the Iraq invasion. Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon had been invited to The Baseball Hall of Fame for a screening of 'Bull Durum'(sp?) on the eve of the induction ceremonies. But when they came out against the invasion,the Tool in charge of The Hall recinded the invitation,and did so publicly in a news release,basicly calling them traitors. Ahhh...Those were the days.
MSNBC is currently reporting that Norm Coleman's supposed margin of victory over Al Franken in MN stands at a mere 476 votes.
How hard is it to believe that probably a far greater number than this of Democratic voters in MN were disenfranchised in some way yesterday through rank Republican skullduggery?
The fate of this nation cannot be decided by vote suppression. Fight, Al, fight! Make sure every ballot is hand-counted and every provisional ballot included before you let them get away with this!
476 votes? Amazing. I hope, I REALLY hope, that the count is NOT accurate, and that there is a recount.
for Minnesota - it is state law when the margin is under .5% that a recount is mandatory. I live in St Paul and our Secretary of State Mark Ritchie is already setting up the hand recount. It will start in a couple of weeks and take a few weeks to complete. We have no electronic voting here - only paper ballots that are put through an optical scanner - so there is a complete paper trail. A hand recount will show the true intent of the voter; if a voter circled Al Franken's name instead of filling in the oval next to his name, then a hand count will determine the voter's intent and the vote goes to Al. The same would apply to Coleman or the third party Barkley. So, we won't know for about a month.
You da man.
Sorry , but I don't believe this is a coincidence.
Way to hang in there and insist!
Meantime,
Sarah Palin is a thieving whore.
www.MacYapper.blogspot.com
(reflected) fame at last.
My alias is chosen from Tim's movie of the same name attacking Christian conservatives. (Ironic, really, since on at least three occassions on this site I've been accused of being an Evangelical Born-Again Christian and I've lost count of the times I've been accused of being a GOP operative).
you have been 'accused of being an Evangelical Born-again Christian' nor a 'GOP operative' here. We would have just labeled you a whacko and moved on.take your pity party back into your own world. wrong site,'Bob'. and by the way,'bob'. The term 'christian conservative is an oxymoron' and offensive to me as a christian If you know scripture,as i do, there can be no such thing.And one more thing-Your using the term 'ironic' is not valid in the English language. I'd use 'I am a liar a fool and in need of an education'.
Nice display of Christian values.
So much for my trying to be respectful of your high blood pressure (on an earlier thread).
No worries. I'll still accept your abject apology for your unprovoked personal attack whenever (if ever) you come to your senses.
My name also did not appear on the rolls, despite having been mailed a confirmation letter WHICH I BROUGHT to the polling place. I was told my name wasn't listed. I showed them the letter. I called the county and was told I was registered. The poll worker talked to them and confirmed I was registered. But because I was not listed on the "blue pages" (the most recent poll), I was told I would have to vote provisionally. There was no other process. "If you're name's not on the rolls, you have to vote provisionally."
Screw that. I left, and made another five or six calls to the county, trying to find someone who would allow me to cast a regular vote. I was told that I was a "late registrant" because I had sent in my registration the last day possible (which wouldn't have been necessary had my registration been properly filed the first time, which is a whole 'nother story). They also told me that the final rolls had been printed and mailed to the pollworkers before the "late registrants" were added into the system.
Excuse me, but I registered ON TIME. That makes me an ON TIME registrant, not a "late" registrant.
Again, I was told to file provisionally. I called back and talked to someone else. They said it would be possible to go downtown and vote there. But after checking with their superiors I was again told that I could vote there, but again, it would have to be provisional ballot and that I should do it near me.
So should I have hired a lawyer at this point? Maybe. But I'd been told I needed to vote provisionally EVEN THOUGH THEY SAID I WAS REGISTERED like six times, so I just went and did it that way. I was told that several other people had registered but had to vote provisionally as well.
I wonder how these provisional votes may have affected non-presidential outcomes. Prop 8 for example.
But they assured me that provisional ballots would be counted on election day. "Every vote is counted" they promised me.
I do hope my vote was counted.
W
Waldo - and anyone else in Los Angeles County who tried to vote at your assigned poll but whose name was MIA from the roster - You are in good company - thousands(!), in fact.
The election protection group Work the Vote LA, http://www.workthevotela.org, needs to hear from you ASAP! Please go to the site, download and print the PDF of the Incident Report Form, fill it out and fax or mail it as shown at the bottom of the form. Please give us as much factual info as possible,including your precinct #; also address and phone number (very important so the Board of Supervisors can't brush you off as "heresay").
We had monitors on the ground and several poll workers who reported suspiciously high numbers of provisional ballots piling up throughout the day,some as high as 35-50%-! The heaviest groups affected appear to be college students and new registrants.
And FYI: NOT TRUE that provisionals are included in the Election Day tabulation. They are not. The Registrar has up to 28 days to count them.
Consequently, We have urged the "No on 8" Campaign, in particular, not to concede defeat just yet.
Los Angeles County is the largest in the USA, with a population larger than 41 states. We had half a million new registrations,plus something like 85% turnout this election. Help us "Do the Math": Please file an incident report ASAP and supply us with the proof we need to demand election integrity.
helping people get this sort of court order. Robbins' sort of case is an easy one, once you get in front of the judge. The problem was with the poll workers who did not tell him about this option. In my upstate county I can honestly say that they are much better about this (even the Republicans). It is unlikely, in Syracuse anyway, that he would have to wait hours before he was instructed to go to the board of elections. Once there, he probably could have walked out with his order in maybe 10-15 minutes.
... after the General Election in November, a Confirmation Postcard notice will be mailed to those voters who have not voted in any election for a period of four (4) consecutive years and whose registration has not been changed in any way during that time.
Voters who receive such a notification postcard must respond to the postcard within 15 days of the date of the notice in order to remain on the Active Voter File and continue receiving sample ballots and other election material.
Note: I suppose if the postcard is not responded to, it may be returned to them by the Post Office which tells them they do not live there any more.
I would not blame the Registrar of voters unless the above does not apply.
"How many of them would have the wherewithal or the free time to fight for their right to vote as Robbins did?"
If they're not a name like Tim Robbins, they would've been arrested and treated like criminals just for being screwed by the system and the weasel supervisor that called the police would feel like a hero for restoring order to our defective voting system.
It's time to start agitating in all 50 states for online statewide databases of registered voters, to be used as the primary determinant of proper voter registration.
Each voter should be able to see, days before going to the polls, whether he/she is properly registered. Each poll worker should have an internet-connected laptop in front of him/her, to access THE SAME DATABASE on election day.
And no purging of registrants from that database should be allowed within 90 days of an election.
Databases can/should be cross-correlated among the states to prevent duplications. A voter who moves within 90 days of an election and re-registers should be required to change his/her address in the database.
Lots of other details need to be spelled out.
But it's a no-brainer. It's time, and far past time.
Login or Register to post comments.