anti-illegal- immigration initiative
Hooray! Good for the Star, they got one right!!
Posted on 05/06/2005 6:23:06 AM PDT by Kokojmudd
Pima County turned down 59 percent in last 2 weeks By C.J. Karamargin ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Failure to provide proof of citizenship is forcing Pima County election officials to reject an unprecedented number of voter registration forms.
Over the last two weeks, the county has rejected 59 percent or 423 of the 712 registration forms it has received from prospective new voters, said Registrar of Voters Chris Roads.
"We rejected none during the same period last year," when six times as many people were registering because of the presidential election, Roads said. "There was nothing in the law that required a rejection."
New this year are the citizenship requirements contained in Proposition 200, the anti-illegal- immigration initiative passed by Arizona voters last November.
Since the proposition went into effect in January, new voters have been required to prove they are citizens with a passport, a birth certificate, naturalization papers, tribal documents or a driver's license issued after October 1996. Voters who submit registration forms to change their name, address or party affiliation are exempt.
Most voter registration forms rejected by the county since April 20, when officials started keeping track, were submitted by new voters who provided no valid proof of citizenship whatsoever, Roads said. Eleven people provided incomplete driver's license information.
The ranks of rejected voters include 61-year-old Rachel Everett of Ajo. She moved to Pima County from Yavapai County in March and promptly registered to vote. But the registration form she picked up from the post office didn't ask for anything like a driver's license number and she didn't provide it.
"I just figured the law hadn't taken effect yet," said Everett.
Like other prospective voters who submitted forms without proof of citizenship, Everett received a letter from the county informing her that she would not be registered until she complied with the law.
"I'm going to Xerox my driver's license and send it to them," she said.
Everett's experience is not uncommon. New voter registration forms that include Proposition 200's citizenship requirements are awaiting approval from the U.S. Justice Department and are expected to be available in mid-June, Roads said.
State elections officials expect the new forms to go a long way in making sure people know what is needed to join the state's 2.6 million voters.
"We recognized there was going to be some potential confusion," said Assistant Secretary of State Kevin Tyne. "People are still learning about the new rules."
Judi White, chairwoman of the Pima County Republican Party, praised county officials for notifying voters their registration forms are incomplete but said that puts the responsibility on voters to re-register with the needed documentation.
"I would just hope they take the necessary steps to register properly," White said.
Paul Eckerstrom, chairman of the county Democratic Party, expects many voters to give up in frustration. As an opponent of Proposition 200, he remains convinced that its citizenship requirements are unnecessary because few if any illegal entrants have ever been prosecuted in Arizona for voting. The initiative's "real intent," he said, was to make it difficult for voters - especially those inclined to vote Democratic - to cast a ballot.
"It's anti-American, anti-democracy," Eckerstrom said. "It's just another obstacle for voters to deal with. The whole idea behind this thing is to suppress voter turnout."
But Kathy McKee, the founder of a citizens group that put Proposition 200 on last year's ballot, rejected that. The goal was never to make it difficult for Arizonans to vote, she said, but simply to make sure those who do vote are U.S. citizens.
McKee said she was "just astounded" that new voter registration forms are not available six months after more than 1 million Arizona voters gave Proposition 200 their blessing.
"I don't understand why the new forms aren't out there. How long does it take to design a voter registration form?" McKee said. "It's a shame people are being inconvenienced. Shame on the government bureaucracy for not having the forms available."
Audrey Adkisson got a small taste of the bureaucracy when she registered to vote last month. The 24-year-old charter school teacher from New Mexico filled out a voter registration form at a Tucson Motor Vehicles Division office when she obtained her Arizona driver's license.
But because she did not include her license number, the county sent Adkisson the same letter it sent Everett. Adkisson said she is frustrated because she handed the form to someone at MVD who could have informed her then of the citizenship requirement.
"It could have been fixed at that point," she said, adding that she will eventually re-register. "At least they make it easy by giving you a self-addressed, stamped envelope."
Smoothing the process somewhat for county election officials is that, compared with last year, it's a rather slow time for voter registration.
Between Jan. 1 and May 5, Roads' office has received 10,489 valid voter registration forms. Over the same period last year, as voters were gearing up for the county's open-space bond election and the presidential contest, 60,688 valid forms were received.
In both years, Roads said, more than 70 percent of the voters submitting registration forms did so to change their name, address or party affiliation.
● Contact reporter C.J. Karamargin at 573-4243 or at ckaramargin@azstarnet.com.
"Paul Eckerstrom, chairman of the county Democratic Party, expects many voters to give up in frustration. As an opponent of Proposition 200, he remains convinced that its citizenship requirements are unnecessary because few if any illegal entrants have ever been prosecuted in Arizona for voting. The initiative's "real intent," he said, was to make it difficult for voters - especially those inclined to vote Democratic - to cast a ballot.
"It's anti-American, anti-democracy," Eckerstrom said. "It's just another obstacle for voters to deal with. The whole idea behind this thing is to suppress voter turnout."
Yeah, following the rules is always "anti-democracy" if you're a rat.
"the county has rejected 59 percent or 423 of the 712 registration forms it has received from prospective new voters" The author says that as if its a bad thing. Citizens will figure it out, get the documentation and register. Non-citizens will not. This is a GOOD thing, not a bad one.
Ping.
ping
anti-illegal- immigration initiative
Hooray! Good for the Star, they got one right!!
>>Over the last two weeks, the county has rejected 59 percent or 423 of the 712 registration forms it has received from prospective new voters, said Registrar of Voters Chris Roads. <<
Now, watch them try it in another county.
And why is that? I'll bet he would have been against "persecuting (read prosecuting)) these people. Now even fewer will be prosecuted because they won't be allowed to register in the first place.
"The initiative's 'real intent,' he said, was to make it difficult for [illegal] voters - especially those inclined to vote Democratic - to cast a ballot."
Freudian slip - he knows the illegals will vote for those who pander to them the most.
B-b-b-b-ut how are the 'rats going to win, without the illegal alien vote?
Ohhhmygosh. We should have no trouble winning the war against the invasion if this statement indicates the IQ level of those who support it.
If there have been no prosecutions in the past for non-citizens voting illegally, and all of those people aren't eligible to vote, wouldn't that PROVE THE LAW IS NECESSARY?
I keep saying it: Arizona Governor Janet and Attorney general Terry won't be happy until the coyotes who bring the illegals across can drive them straight to Democrat headquarters so they can register to vote and apply for state benefits.
[["It's anti-American, anti-democracy," Eckerstrom said. "It's just another obstacle for voters to deal with. The whole idea behind this thing is to suppress voter turnout." ]]
Nooooo, the whole idea behind this is to suppess ILLEGAL ALIEN voter turnout.
Protect our borders and coastlines from all foreign invaders!
Be Ever Vigilant!
Minutemen Patriots ~ Bump!
Great News, huh. I had to look twice when I saw this was from the Star also.
Just maybe, Napolitano will lose in the next election.
Well, This aught to piss off the dead voter block.
Prop. 200 bouncing new voter sign-ups
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