Look Out! Political Post!
Sep. 27th, 2004 08:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
flummeryYeah, I don't do them often, but this particular story is causing little throbby veiny things to go all pulsy in the forehead...
The story starts here: With a New York Times Story (registration required, but free) about the sweeping registration campaign the Democrats are working on in swing-vote States such as Florida, and Ohio. Democratic areas have shown a registration increase since January of 250%, as compared to only 25% in Republican areas.
And then we continue to this story that notes that the Ohio Secretary of State has issued an order to the election boards to strictly enforce a rule that requires all new voter registrations to be submitted on 80 pound stock paper. That's right. You submit the registration on the wrong weight paper, and, while the elections board will try and contact you in time to let you know you have to re-submit... don't count on being able to vote if they don't get back to you in time.
This, despite the fact that under the 1971 Federal Voting Rights Act, Section (a)(2)(B) [No person acting under color of law shall] deny the right of any individual to vote in any election because of an error or omission on any record or paper relating to any application, registration, or other act requisite to voting, if such error or omission is not material in determining whether such individual is qualified under State law to vote in such election.
This story was pulled together over at Atrios' Blog, but it bears repeating. If you're a newly registered voter in Ohio? Double check your registration.
ETA: This article on why the rule was originally on the books, and why it is no longer needed.
The story starts here: With a New York Times Story (registration required, but free) about the sweeping registration campaign the Democrats are working on in swing-vote States such as Florida, and Ohio. Democratic areas have shown a registration increase since January of 250%, as compared to only 25% in Republican areas.
And then we continue to this story that notes that the Ohio Secretary of State has issued an order to the election boards to strictly enforce a rule that requires all new voter registrations to be submitted on 80 pound stock paper. That's right. You submit the registration on the wrong weight paper, and, while the elections board will try and contact you in time to let you know you have to re-submit... don't count on being able to vote if they don't get back to you in time.
This, despite the fact that under the 1971 Federal Voting Rights Act, Section (a)(2)(B) [No person acting under color of law shall] deny the right of any individual to vote in any election because of an error or omission on any record or paper relating to any application, registration, or other act requisite to voting, if such error or omission is not material in determining whether such individual is qualified under State law to vote in such election.
This story was pulled together over at Atrios' Blog, but it bears repeating. If you're a newly registered voter in Ohio? Double check your registration.
ETA: This article on why the rule was originally on the books, and why it is no longer needed.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-09-27 05:51 pm (UTC)http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3693354.stm
Florida officials tell him to fuck off here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3695538.stm
no subject
Date: 2004-09-27 05:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-27 06:02 pm (UTC):shakes head:
no subject
Date: 2004-09-27 06:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-27 07:04 pm (UTC)Gah! I can't believe they're getting away with this shit.
There's also a recent Salon article on Voter Terrorism (http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/09/21/intimidation/index_np.html), about the highly organized efforts to keep minority voters away from the polls.