Voter Registrations Hit Snag Over Citizenship Check Box

NY Times ^ | 10/2/04

[ambrose]

---

October 2, 2004

Voter Registrations Hit Snag Over Citizenship Check Box

By FORD FESSENDEN

tiny check box about citizenship on voter registration forms has touched off the latest battle over voting rights in Florida, where Gov. Jeb Bush's administration has advised election supervisors to reject applications on which the box is blank.

Election officials say thousands of people across the country who registered to vote this year failed to check the box, which is a requirement of the 2002 Help America Vote Act. But most forms also require a signature on a statement making the same affirmation. The League of Women Voters has urged states to accept applications with the oath but without the check, and recently Ohio and a few other states decided to do so.

But last week, Dawn Roberts, director of the Florida Division of Elections, sent to county election officials a copy of a legal opinion by a lawyer for the secretary of state concluding that both affirmations had to be made, or the registration would be rejected and returned to the applicant. It was up to individual counties whether to enforce the opinion.

Jenny Nash, a spokeswoman for Florida's secretary of state, Glenda E. Hood, said the problem had arisen mainly on forms filed by third parties on behalf of potential voters. Dozens of groups have crisscrossed Florida this election year, registering record numbers of new voters, many of them in minority and low-income neighborhoods.

"To be frank, a voter does have the responsibility to properly fill out the registration form," Ms. Nash said.

America's Families United, a nonpartisan civil rights group in Washington, filed suit on Thursday against the Duval County Board of Elections to get a list of citizens whose registrations have been rejected. A state judge threw out the suit yesterday.

Judith Browne, a lawyer for the group, said it had lists from Orange and Miami-Dade Counties, and would try to get the forms updated before registration closed on Monday. Ms. Browne said elections supervisors had told her that most of the county officials would follow the advice of the state's lawyer.

Before filing the suit, America's Families United had urged Governor Bush to tell supervisors to accept the registrations without the checkbox, called the ruling "ridiculous."

"Checking off a box doesn't add any additional qualification," Ms. Browne said. "It's technical, it's nonsensical and it's yet another obstacle that stands in the way of someone voting for the next president."

Officials in Miami said yesterday that they had decided to register people who had signed the oath but not checked the box, as long as they had no other problems on the form. Most of the 1,300 who had failed to check the box also had other problems that made their registrations unacceptable, and only 40 were added, said Seth Kaplan, spokesman for the Miami-Dade supervisor of elections.

Last spring, Arizona passed a requirement saying that both the checkbox and the oath had to be completed, and registrations are returned if they do not comply, Deputy Secretary of State Kevin Tyne said.

In Ohio, Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell told county officials on Sept. 9 that they should accept registrations even if the boxes were not checked. Some counties have kept records of those, and said they would add the names to the rolls. Others said they had returned cards to applicants and had not kept copies.

"We applauded the ruling in Ohio," said Kay Maxwell, president of the League of Women Voters. "By signing, you are saying you are a citizen."

Sam Reed, the secretary of state in Washington, sent out a memorandum telling local registrars to accept applications with unchecked boxes, as long as the oath was signed.

In Nevada, Clark County's elections director, Larry Lomax, has come up with a novel solution: Voters will be allowed to vote if they sign a statement attesting to their citizenship when they show up at the polls.

"We try to be inclusive," Mr. Lomax said.

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[Luircin]

Ohio is letting non-citizens vote?! I am abruptly ashamed of my state.

[js1138]

40 good registrations out of 1300? And this in democrat Miami?

[TheLurkerX]

What a great idea, because non-citizens always tell the truth about their citizenship. And I'm sure Ohio will do whatever it takes to meticulously check the truth of all those signed statements. Let's use the honor system to weed out people who are already flaunting our laws. Bravo, Ohio.

[Bogolyubski]

It's not just Ohio. Only 19 states require proof of citizenship for voter registration. Thanks to liberals and the Republicans who roll over and play dead (like the French so many love to ridicule), there are probably hundreds of thousands - even millions - of non-citizens voting in our elections. I'll give you three whole guesses as to which party they vote for in overwhelming numbers - and the first two don't even count.

It's just a teeny bit on the ironic side that we are fighting to bring free elections to Iraq while we allow fraudulent ones to go on here. Until the "motor voter" act is repealed, it will only get worse.

[Dat Mon]

Citizenship...now theres a hateful divisive concept. Gaia the Mother Goddess decrees that all peoples of earth be earth citizens...free to move about at will, cross borders, and vote whenever and wherever they choose. Power to the earth people and all that..

[Rabble]

If someone cannot properly fill out a simple voter registration form can they be trusted to choose a candidate??

[NewRomeTacitus]

It's obvious at this point that voter fraud will be the focal point surrounding this election. How can the Republican Party defend itself when they've done all it can to let this problem devolve to this point? It is far past time for a crackdown on document fraud (we put holograms in driver's licenses, why not Social Security cards?) Like Jesse Ventura used to say when he was a wrestling announcer, "It's all over but the cryin'!" Short-sited idiocy apparently rules. I'm backing the Constitution Party after this farce. It's time for a Third Party to step up.

More related stories from the past few days:

Census: Anglos No Longer Majority In Denver

Mexican Women flocking to Holland.

Voter registration up in state (MI) but fraud suspected ("thousands appear to be fraudlent")

Demographic scales are tipping in Denver, elsewhere (American's quickly becoming a minority)

Drug-resistant staph striking the healthy

Minorities majority in more areas

Texans Hispanic Heritage Day

Minorities are now the majority in Orange Co., CA)

Scheduled downtime for systems upgrades this weekend - fundraiser will start next week (Major F.Y.I.)

National ID Legislation by US Congress (122+ replies)

New Latino Community Poll Underscores Stakes of Presidential Debate

MS Hospital will not treat non-emrgency patients in ER beginning Oct 4.

Al Qaeda seeks tie to local gangs

[Exigence]

If someone cannot properly fill out a simple voter registration form can they be trusted to choose a candidate??

Note that they probably didn't fill them out. This was a "voter drive," obviously led by the Dems. They can't seem to get it right in FL. They want to encourage voting... they just can't find enough people bright enough to punch out a chad or check a box. Sad commentary on the lack of respect they hold for the whole voting process.

[ApplegateRanch]

Shame on you!

Mother Gaia does not have nasty, divisive, artificial "borders".

Only nasty, Right Wing Reactionaries believe in artificial "borders" to seperate peace-loving happy peoples from freely mingling with each other.

[Happy2BMe]

You can expect to see those same headlines (Americans become minority over Latinos) for the next 15 years when the Latino will actually out-populate non-Latinos.

It's a fact that nothing short of militarily sealing the border with Mexico can change.

And the president said last week (echoing the ATF chief, Asa Hutchinson) it was impossible to militarily seal the Mexican border.

Asta la vista, baby.

[devolve]

My info is that the US Department of Justice and the FBI are co-ordinating voter fraud problems and reports with local registrars and DAs.


As this is a federal criminal felony I wonder who many of either party will attempt to slip in fraudulent voters with a 5 year federal prison sentence hanging over each case of voter fraud.

A crooked voter will get 5 years per fraudulent vote and there is no early parole in federal prisons.

Therfore any person who voted illegally 3 times on November 2nd or bu absentee ballot would be facing 15 years in a federal prison with no chance of parole.

Kinda makes slicksters and scammers in both parties think again.

Will an illegal alien love doing 5 years of hard time in a federal prison for voting just once illegally?

2004 will be the beginning of the end of voter fraud schemes and scams.

Two members of ACT are now awaiting trial for voter fraud on federal charges.

Then the state gets a bite at their apple to add more years in the state pen when then finish their 5 year federal stretch.


About time.

South Dakota is a federal target for voter fraud as is Ohio and Florida and Pennsylvania.


Also big fines on top of the 5 year prison sentences per each illegal vote.

A private group is also now offering $1000-$5000 each as a reward or bounty for every person turned in and nailed for vote fraud.


ACLU is going nuts over this!

Newspaper Friday said 10 people have already been arrested here on this same voter fraud scam.


I know some PI's and Re-Po guys getting in on this new income bonanza.


It works for me!

[Elsie]

"To be frank, a voter does have the responsibility to properly fill out the registration form," Ms. Nash said.

DUH!

[William Terrell]

Election officials say thousands of people across the country who registered to vote this year failed to check the box, which is a requirement of the 2002 Help America Vote Act.

Why would someone not check the citizenship box? Because they are not citizens, of course. And who might that be? Illegal aliens, of course.

Dozens of groups have crisscrossed Florida this election year, registering record numbers of new voters, many of them in minority and low-income neighborhoods.

And just which "minority and low-income neighborhoods" would that be?

"Checking off a box doesn't add any additional qualification," Ms. Browne said. "It's technical, it's nonsensical and it's yet another obstacle that stands in the way of someone voting for the next president."

It's "adds" the "additional qualification" of being an American citizen to vote, my dear. "Someone" to vote for the next president? Who are those "someones", sweetiepie?

Most of the 1,300 who had failed to check the box also had other problems that made their registrations unacceptable, and only 40 were added, said Seth Kaplan, spokesman for the Miami-Dade supervisor of elections.

Wonder what some of those "other problems" were? Filling the registeration out in Spanish, perhaps?

"We applauded the ruling in Ohio," said Kay Maxwell, president of the League of Women Voters. "By signing, you are saying you are a citizen."

What? How can signing a registration form, where you have not declared you are a citizen, be saying you are a citizen?

"We try to be inclusive," Mr. Lomax said.

LOL

[Fatalis]

Census: Anglos No Longer Majority In Denver

Anglos were probably never the majority in Denver. Or Iceland, or Italy, or Ireland. LOL Anglos are English. I also wouldn't worry to much about whites being a minority because all of the scary stats are loaded because lots of Latinos or Hispanics are white too.

[Regulator]

Only 19 states require proof of citizenship for voter registration

About to be 20, when Arizona passes Prop. 200.

[Regulator]

lots of Latinos or Hispanics are white too

Gosh, is that why they need affirmative action?

[MegaSilver]

Anglos were probably never the majority in Denver. Or Iceland, or Italy, or Ireland. LOL Anglos are English.

At times, all white Americans are considered "Anglos" by the pinheaded press because we're the main perpetrators of "Anglo-American" culture.

I also wouldn't worry to much about whites being a minority because all of the scary stats are loaded because lots of Latinos or Hispanics are white too.

Most Cuban and South American immigrants to the U.S. are white. Mexicans, however, who make up the majority group of Hispanic immigrants (at least 58% of legal Hispanics/Hispanic-Americans are Mexican, plus nearly all of the 1-3 million illegal immigrants who come here each year are from Mexico). And even the white Latinos often tend to cluster in areas like Miami.

Should we be worried? Liberal orthodoxy says no. But if heavy multiracialism is really so great, why are fourth-, fifth- and higher-generation [overwhelmingly] white Americans fleeing the places where Mexicans have clustered?

[Fatalis]

But if heavy multiracialism is really so great, why are fourth-, fifth- and higher-generation [overwhelmingly] white Americans fleeing the places where Mexicans have clustered?

Is it that simple? LOL how do you know they aren't fleeing multiculturalism and multilingualism and how do you know that only the whites are leaving?

[Getsmart64]

"Is it that simple? LOL how do you know they aren't fleeing multiculturalism and multilingualism and how do you know that only the whites are leaving?"

Dude...it's not called "white flight" for nothing...I know...I was raised in Dade County FLA.....the present Dade Co. is NOT the same Dade County where I was raised...go to your local Winn Dixie...Walmart...K-Mart...or any number of other stores and ask for help finding an item....after asking for help finding an item...ya need to ask for help finding an employee that can speak English.....