Millions Blocked from Voting in U.S. Election

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Millions Blocked from Voting in U.S. Election

Post by Siji »

The title of the article is misleading in my opinion, but still an interesting read..

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=s ... gn_vote_dc
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Millions of U.S. citizens, including a disproportionate number of black voters, will be blocked from voting in the Nov. 2 presidential election because of legal barriers, faulty procedures or dirty tricks, according to civil rights and legal experts.

The largest category of those legally disenfranchised consists of almost 5 million former felons who have served prison sentences and been deprived of the right to vote under laws that have roots in the post-Civil War 19th century and were aimed at preventing black Americans from voting.

But millions of other votes in the 2000 presidential election were lost due to clerical and administrative errors while civil rights organizations have cataloged numerous tactics aimed at suppressing black voter turnout. Polls consistently find that black Americans overwhelmingly vote for Democrats.

"There are individuals and officials who are actively trying to stop people from voting who they think will vote against their party and that nearly always means stopping black people from voting Democratic," said Mary Frances Berry, head of the U.S. Commission on Human Rights.

Vicky Beasley, a field officer for People for the American Way, listed some of the ways voters have been "discouraged" from voting.

"In elections in Baltimore in 2002 and in Georgia last year, black voters were sent fliers saying anyone who hadn't paid utility bills or had outstanding parking tickets or were behind on their rent would be arrested at polling stations. It happens in every election cycle," she said.

In a mayoral election in Philadelphia last year, people pretending to be plainclothes police officers stood outside some polling stations asking people to identify themselves. There have also been reports of mysterious people videotaping people waiting in line to vote in black neighborhoods.

Minority voters may be deterred from voting simply by election officials demanding to see drivers' licenses before handing them a ballot, according to Spencer Overton, who teaches law at George Washington University. The federal government does not require people to produce a photo identification unless they are first-time voters who registered by mail.

"African Americans are four to five times less likely than whites to have a photo ID," Overton said at a recent briefing on minority disenfranchisement.

Courtenay Strickland of the Americans Civil Liberties Union testified to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights last week that at a primary election in Florida last month, many people were wrongly turned away when they could not produce identification.

BLACKS' BALLOTS REJECTED

The commission, in a report earlier this year, said that in Florida, where President Bush (news - web sites) won a bitterly disputed election in 2000 by 537 votes, black voters had been 10 times more likely than non-black voters to have their ballots rejected and were often prevented from voting because their names were erroneously purged from registration lists.

Additionally, Florida is one of 14 states that prohibit ex-felons from voting. Seven percent of the electorate but 16 percent of black voters in that state are disenfranchised.

In other swing states, 4.6 percent of voters in Iowa, but 25 percent of blacks, were disenfranchised in 2000 as ex-felons. In Nevada, it was 4.8 percent of all voters but 17 percent of blacks; in New Mexico, 6.2 percent of all voters but 25 percent of blacks.

In total, 13 percent of all black men are disenfranchised due to a felony conviction, according to the Commission on Civil Rights.

"This has a huge effect on elections but also on black communities which see their political clout diluted. No one has yet explained to me how letting ex-felons who have served their sentences into polling booths hurts anyone," said Jessie Allen of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University.

Penda Hair, co-director of the Advancement Project, which seeks to ensure fair multiracial elections, recently reported that registrars across the country often claimed not to have received voter registration forms or rejected them for technical reasons that could have been corrected easily before voting day if the applicant had known there was a problem.

Beasley said that many voters who had registered recently in swing states were likely to find their names would not be on the rolls when they showed up on Election Day.

"There is very widespread delay in the swing states because there have been massive registration drives among minorities and those applications are not being processed quickly enough," she said.
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Post by Winnow »

Democrats need the convict vote! Something to be proud of.

Kerry: I'd like to thank all of the ex cons out there for putting me into office.
"African Americans are four to five times less likely than whites to have a photo ID," Overton said at a recent briefing on minority disenfranchisement.
It's not a minority issue. Asian americans are probably 2X more likely to have an ID than whites. Aren't caucasians minorities yet? I can't wait to start complaining about everything!
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Post by Siji »

Winnow wrote:Kerry: I'd like to thank all of the ex cons out there for putting me into office.
Bush: I'd like to thank the supreme court for putting an ex con into office.
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Post by Marbus »

Siji that comment is halarious :)

But I don't want to focus on the elections... Maybe I need to do more research but I thought that you couldn't vote if you were a felon in any state... seems logical to me and SHOULD be a deterrant... yes I can hear the people who fell off the left side saying "but they just made a mistake, now they are being punished twice... they were so young an didn't understand the crime" Well ok... so... they still comitted the crime right? Ignorance isn't an excuse... If you are convicted of a felony... you can't vote, if you want to vote... then don't comit a felony... simple. I don't see the arguement in this... Yes they went to jail and now can live their lives again because they paid their retribution... but they still can't vote.


I do see that more Blacks have comitted felonies than whites so... that means we need to continue or increase our educational opportinities to inner cities (which are often predomiantly black) to teach them that doing X today can effect your entire future... I don't think that message really gets out to ANYBODY enough though... Personal Responsibility.

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Post by Xzion »

Siji wrote:
Winnow wrote:Kerry: I'd like to thank all of the ex cons out there for putting me into office.
Bush: I'd like to thank the supreme court for putting an ex con into office.
damn, somebody just got PWNED!
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Post by Winnow »

Xzion wrote:
Siji wrote:
Winnow wrote:Kerry: I'd like to thank all of the ex cons out there for putting me into office.
Bush: I'd like to thank the supreme court for putting an ex con into office.
damn, somebody just got PWNED!
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Post by Midnyte_Ragebringer »

In total, 13 percent of all black men are disenfranchised due to a felony conviction, according to the Commission on Civil Rights.
Hmmm. Who's fault is this? Of course the libs will blame the white man for holding the black man down and forcing him into a life of crime. LOL
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Post by Sylvus »

Midnyte_Ragebringer wrote:
In total, 13 percent of all black men are disenfranchised due to a felony conviction, according to the Commission on Civil Rights.
Hmmm. Who's fault is this? Of course the libs will blame the white man for holding the black man down and forcing him into a life of crime. LOL
okay, so we've got muslims and black people covered, who's next, midnyte?
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Post by miir »

What about the queers?
You can't forget the queers!
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Post by kyoukan »

omg imagine a queer black muslim. midnyte's brain would explode, unable to contain so much hatred.
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Post by miir »

:wink:
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Post by Sirton »

How about the military over seas...I remmeber Gore supressing there votes in Florida. :roll:

Also the report in Florida said the most supressed vote was Republican Blacks.

And happen to remember while the highly republican pan handle was still voting....The media called Florida for Gore. Which caused approx. 10,000 voters to not vote.

Ohh and look what the Democratic Party is doing to Nader.
Heh thought it was the Democrats that made the Jim Crow laws :P
Last edited by Sirton on September 22, 2004, 5:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Sueven »

Actually, Gore and Lieberman specifically dropped the challenge to the military votes in Florida (votes recorded on ballots which republican officials had illegally tampered with) out of respect for the military. So you're totally wrong.
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Post by Midnyte_Ragebringer »

Sirton wrote:How about the military over seas...I remmeber Gore supressing there votes in Florida. :roll:
Whole divisions in Afghanistan and Iraq have yet to recieve their absentee ballots. But, you won't get as much press for Military personnel being disinfrachised as minorities being disinfranchised.
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Post by Sirton »

He dropped it, but was attempting it.
How about the military over seas...I remmeber Gore supressing there votes in Florida.
I should of put trying to supress.
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Post by Midnyte_Ragebringer »

Sylvus wrote:
Midnyte_Ragebringer wrote:
In total, 13 percent of all black men are disenfranchised due to a felony conviction, according to the Commission on Civil Rights.
Hmmm. Who's fault is this? Of course the libs will blame the white man for holding the black man down and forcing him into a life of crime. LOL
okay, so we've got muslims and black people covered, who's next, midnyte?
Covered? Your wish to make a broad label. I have expressed my distaste for muslim who terrorize and blacks who are felons. Gosh this makes me so racist. Boy you have a lot of growning up to do.
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Post by Kelshara »

Also the report in Florida said the most supressed vote was Republican Blacks.
So they blocked the one black republican from voting? 8)
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Post by Metanis »

I would support a requirement that all voters present a valid ID that matches a name on the voting rolls. I would even go further and suggest that names on the voting rolls be cleansed every 4 years (after the national elections) so dead people and frauds get eliminated. For example, it's documented right now that 50,000 people are illegally registered in both New York and Florida.

The current system just begs to be manipulated and thus hurts the whole process. We've got 3rd world countries with cleaner elections than we do.
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Post by Kelshara »

heh you don't have to show a valid ID? Wow.. back home we get mailed a "voting card" a few months before the election. We have to bring that and ID to the election place, and once there they verify the card and the ID up against a registry to make sure everything checks out.
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Post by Siji »

Midnyte_Ragebringer wrote:Whole divisions in Afghanistan and Iraq have yet to recieve their absentee ballots. But, you won't get as much press for Military personnel being disinfrachised as minorities being disinfranchised.
That's unfortunate. I'd wager a bet that the majority of the soldiers over in those areas would vote against Bush. Especially the ones that have been held past their tour of duty with no release date in sight.
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Post by Winnow »

This will bring up big brother stuff and tracking paranoia, but we should have a fingerprint recognition or retinal scanning ID system in place for voters to be identified with before they cast their ballot.
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Post by masteen »

Here in KW, they don't even ask for your voter reg card. If you don't have a valid photo ID, you ain't voting. I feel the pain of all those fucks with no DLs who DRIVE TO THE POLLS ILLEGALLY AND ARE THEN DENIED THEIR VOTE. ](*,)
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Post by Marbus »

They check our IDs here in Arkansas and sometimes even check to make sure we have shoes on as well! 8)

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Post by Sionistic »

Im pretty sure all Florida requires is a valid id ie: driver licence
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Post by Aruman »

Siji wrote:
Midnyte_Ragebringer wrote:Whole divisions in Afghanistan and Iraq have yet to recieve their absentee ballots. But, you won't get as much press for Military personnel being disinfrachised as minorities being disinfranchised.
That's unfortunate. I'd wager a bet that the majority of the soldiers over in those areas would vote against Bush. Especially the ones that have been held past their tour of duty with no release date in sight.
Well, that's all well and good that you want to pin that on President Bush, but unfortunately, it's a military regulation and not White House policy that governs ETS freezes.

Nice try though.
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Post by kyoukan »

Aruman wrote:Well, that's all well and good that you want to pin that on President Bush, but unfortunately, it's a military regulation and not White House policy that governs ETS freezes.

Nice try though.
lol I like extra syrup with my waffles please, dumbass.
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Post by *~*stragi*~* »

You think Bush has no pull over that?
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Post by Deward »

There is no ID requirement in Wisconsin. They just mark your name off the list.

I don't think preventing blacks from voting is why blacks aren't voting. I think it has more to do with poverty level affecting voting. I grew up a very poor white kid in the projects. I can't remember a single year growing that I knew anyone that ever voted regardless of race. My father is 49 years old and has yet to vote in any election. What is the incentive to vote when all you hear is negative campaigning and you are just getting poorer every year? I have voted in every election since I turned 18 but I am sure a lot of poor people don't bother.
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Post by Siji »

Aruman wrote:
Siji wrote:
Midnyte_Ragebringer wrote:Whole divisions in Afghanistan and Iraq have yet to recieve their absentee ballots. But, you won't get as much press for Military personnel being disinfrachised as minorities being disinfranchised.
That's unfortunate. I'd wager a bet that the majority of the soldiers over in those areas would vote against Bush. Especially the ones that have been held past their tour of duty with no release date in sight.
Well, that's all well and good that you want to pin that on President Bush, but unfortunately, it's a military regulation and not White House policy that governs ETS freezes.

Nice try though.
Excuse me Sir Intelligence, but please point out where I said it was Bush that was telling soldiers they couldn't go home when their time was up? However since you brought it up, it is Bush that is keeping America in Iraq. And it is because of this mixed with the dropping enrollment of new people into the military and piss poor military planning, that people are not being allowed to leave. So in essence, he is ultimately responsible. Do the words Commander In Chief ring any bells?

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Post by Aruman »

Siji wrote: Excuse me Sir Intelligence, but please point out where I said it was Bush that was telling soldiers they couldn't go home when their time was up? However since you brought it up, it is Bush that is keeping America in Iraq. And it is because of this mixed with the dropping enrollment of new people into the military and piss poor military planning, that people are not being allowed to leave. So in essence, he is ultimately responsible. Do the words Commander In Chief ring any bells?

plzdrvthru
1. Your statement implied that the soldiers would not vote for President Bush because of their extended tours, therefore blaming President Bush for their extensions. President Bush has nothing to do with recruiting/retention.

2. Dropping enrollment? Where are you getting your information from? You have direct information from all of the recruiting organizations within the military? I would go so far as to say a large percentage enlist because they feel the need to do something to help. Not everyone believes we are wasting time or making unnecessary sacrifices in Iraq.

The US military is voluntary, not a draft. People who enlist know full well that they could become involved in armed conflicts. Anybody who enlists and believes otherwise is probably a moron.

Extended tours are to be expected in times of war. You seem to believe it is an exception to the rule.

3. Piss poor military planning? What qualifies you to judge? Your experience? Put your expertise to use and tell us how you would defeat the insurgents.

4. Yes, the Commander in Chief is just that. He does not plan the strategy. He approves or disapproves the plans developed by the military.

In more simplistic terms: The President points, the US military punches.

plzdrvthru?

Sorry, don't see how that is relevant to anything except penchants for dewdspeak.
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Post by Aruman »

Stragi wrote:You think Bush has no pull over that?
No, without a draft he doesn't. Do you really believe changing military enrollment happens overnight? I doubt you do.

People have to be trained to replace those that leave. It's a revolving door to a point. A buildup of military enrollment takes time without a draft.

As the operations in Iraq go on, ETS holds and extended tours will gradually decline to almost zero as more people enlist to stabilize the enrollment requirements for all of the US commitments.
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