Louisiana Sec. of State Ater seeking lawsuit against FEMA for displaced voter information

NOLA ^ | 12/20/05 | MELINDA DESLATTE

[Libloather]

Ater seeking lawsuit against FEMA for voter information
12/20/2005, 5:41 p.m. CT
By MELINDA DESLATTE
The Associated Press

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Secretary of State Al Ater's plans to sue federal officials for data outlining the locations of Louisiana residents scattered by hurricanes Katrina and Rita were put on hold Tuesday after receiving new promises the information would arrive this week.

Earlier in the day, Ater told lawmakers he was asking Louisiana's attorney general to file the lawsuit because the Federal Emergency Management Agency provided a list last week of 936,000 names of displaced Louisiana residents that lacked crucial information.

Some of the names were repeated multiple times with different addresses, and Ater said the list didn't provide any addresses outside of Louisiana — where thousands of people evacuated after Katrina struck Aug. 29 and where the secretary of state's office has been unable to contact them and notify them of their voting rights.

But Ater spokeswoman Jennifer Marusak said FEMA officials acknowledged in a meeting later in the afternoon that the computer disk didn't include all the information it was supposed to have and agreed to send a new list with the complete information.

"There was a technical error, so the information will be provided," said FEMA spokeswoman Nicol Andrews.

**SNIP**

Gov. Kathleen Blanco indefinitely postponed the Feb. 4 mayoral and city council elections in New Orleans after Ater said it was impossible to hold an election then.

Part of the problem, according to Ater, was state officials couldn't even track down voters to give them information about the election. He said it also wasn't possible to provide the required number of voting precincts and commissioners to work the machines in areas most heavily damaged by Katrina.

[Libloather]

Louisiana Secretary of State Al Ater gestures during a news confreence in New Orleans Monday afternoon Dec. 19, 2005. The only thing worse than missing the original Feb. 4 election date for New Orleans mayor and city council is holding an election that would be deemed invalid, Ater said. Ater said he wants to hold an election as soon as possible, but noted that organizing what he described as a proper election was going to take time. The earliest realistic date for an election would be in April or May. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

[Old Sarge]

Let's be candid (preaching to the choir, I know, but...):

The DNC voting base left southern LA, most will never return. If the elections are held on schedule, not enough Democrat voters will be there to ensure the liberals' retention of power.

The Left feels comfortable and powerful enough that they can openly declare their intentions - on the national, international, and now the state, stage.

[GOPrincess]

Since when is FEMA responsible for voter registration info?

Is it possibly the responsibility of Louisiana voters to file a change of address?

Good grief.

The childishness of LA politicos is beyond belief.

[RouxStir]

That pretty much sums it up.

By the way, when was the last time that the government tracked you down, when your were out of town, to make sure that you voted in elections taking place during your sojourn?

Oops, I forgot. They only do that if you are a Democrat.

[msnimje]

organizing what he described as a proper election was going to take time.

This is Democratic code for "awake the dead and drive them to the polls."

[Tzimisce]

And still they're going to postpone elections. I thought people had a right to privacy? A right to not be tracked and watched by our government? These are the same people paranoid about the Patriot Act - but apparently if it means they get voted out of office, the government can do anything it wants.

How about they just drop the charade and elect themselves nobles to rule indefinitely?

[GeronL]

It was an emergency, people were sent to shelters. Getting their voter info was not anywhere near the top of the priorties

[de Buillion]

I really would like to know exactly what is behind this- Do the La officials want their displaced voters to be eligible to vote in LA even tho they're in TX, MS, or MA? This DOES seem to be a real problem, however it seems to me that displaced voters should vote only in their current state of residence, IF REGISTERED! I believe that according to most of the state laws, they are eligible to vote in their state of residence. For instance, I can't move from my current state (TX) to a nieghboring state and continue to vote in TX elections, unless I am military.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

Is it possibly the responsibility of Louisiana voters to file a change of address?

That would require a token of personal responsibility and destroy the whole system. It must ALWAYS be someone else's fault.

[Recovering_Democrat]

The DNC voting base left southern LA, most will never return. If the elections are held on schedule, not enough Democrat voters will be there to ensure the liberals' retention of power.

Yup. And the conservatives, people who work and care about building the community, are the majority of those who are coming back. 'Rats may well be doomed in Louisiana.

And that, as Martha Stewart would say, is a good thing.

[WasDougsLamb]

That would require a token of personal responsibility and destroy the whole system. It must ALWAYS be someone else's fault.


------They let the people sending out those checks know where they were at fast enough. LOL

[Mind-numbed Robot]

They let the people sending out those checks know where they were at fast enough. LOL

Apparently multiple times. Maybe the check list and the registered voters list is the same. :-)

Some of the names were repeated multiple times with different addresses,...

I think the Dems should reconsider whether they are helping themselves or not. I know the intent is to send out absentee ballots but is it even legal to vote for those who don't return?

Whoa! What is wrong with me? We are talking about Democrats here! What does legal matter?

[Mike Darancette]

Secretary of State Al Ater's plans to sue federal officials for data outlining the locations of Louisiana residents scattered by hurricanes Katrina and Rita were put on hold Tuesday after receiving new promises the information would arrive this week.

Wouldn't that be an invasion of those peoples' right to privacy?