DNC Announces Unprecedented Election Protection Project (Barf Alert!)

PR Newswire ^ | August 2, 2007 | DNC Staff

[2ndDivisionVet]

Democrats to conduct nationwide survey of administration of elections as part of an ongoing commitment to protecting the rights of every American

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As the 42nd anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights Act approaches, the Democratic National Committee today announced its unprecedented 50-state election protection effort to prepare for the 2008 election. When signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson said that the "right to vote is the basic right without which all others are meaningless. It gives people, people as individuals, control over their own destinies." But nearly 42 years after the signing of this legislation, the right to vote is still under assault.

Through its 50 State Strategy, Voting Rights Institute and National Lawyers Council, the DNC is conducting an in-depth nationwide survey to collect critical data on voting practices and procedures at the local level. The goal of the project is to map the often confusing and complex sets of administrative practices and decisions governing election administration in every state. Working with local election boards, the DNC is examining the election mechanics in each state, flagging potential problems and election administration issues that threaten to deprive citizens of their right to register, vote and have their vote counted. Once these issues are identified, the DNC will work to resolve potential problems well in advance of the 2008 election. Election laws, while written on the federal and state level, are often subject to interpretation at the local level. This decentralized process results in varied administration and supervision of the elections themselves, which can be potentially problematic considering that in 2008, there will be at least 13,000 elections run by localities.

No organization has ever undertaken a project of this magnitude. This project is made possible through the DNC's 50 State Strategy, which has had staff on the ground in every state for almost two years. With very specific questions, the survey covers topics such as voter registration, centralized voter databases, voting systems and absentee voting, provisional balloting, polling place procedures and Election Day preparation.

This survey is just one part of a comprehensive program on the part of the DNC to ensure that every American's right to vote and have that vote counted is protected. Data collected from the survey will be analyzed to determine the needs of each election locality and next steps for strengthening the election process in that locality. In addition to this project, the DNC will continue its efforts to resolve the identified issues throughout next year, continue to organize its network of lawyers in the states through the DNC's Voting Rights Institute/National Lawyers Council and will run the most extensive voter protection program throughout the country for the 2008 general election.

While the Democratic Party continues to work to protect every American's right to vote and have that vote counted, Republicans have aimed to create roadblocks for Americans to exercise their right to vote through restrictive voter ID laws, voter purging, and voter intimidation tactics. Under the Bush Administration's politicized Justice Department, we have seen an outright attack on voting rights. In their latest scheme, the Republican Administration has manipulated the mission of the Department of Justice, firing US Attorneys who were unwilling to pursue phony "voter fraud" cases, and politicized the Civil Rights Division -- both underscore the GOP's utter disregard for the integrity of our nation's election system.

DNC Chairman Howard Dean and DNC Voting Rights Institute Chair Donna Brazile issued the following joint statement on the DNC's effort to safeguard the vote:

"Protecting the right of every eligible American to vote is a top priority for our party. We believe that it's good for America and good for our democracy when everyone votes. Every eligible American deserves the confidence that when they go to the polls to cast their ballot they can do so without fear of intimidation or harassment, and that their vote will be counted fairly and accurately. Unfortunately, nearly 42 years after the signing of the Voting Rights Act, Americans' right to vote is still under assault. From restrictive voter ID laws to voter intimidation schemes to politicizing the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, the integrity of our nation's voting laws has been undermined. The goal of this unprecedented project is to protect and ensure our voting rights, by working now to identify and attempt to resolve election administration issues that threaten to deprive citizens of the right to register, vote and have their vote counted."

Republican Record of Denying and Suppressing Voting Rights

Bush Administration Politicizes Justice Dept., Twists Its Mission to Undercut Voting Rights for Partisan Purposes.

The Bush Administration's politicized Justice Department, under the direction of political hacks planted to twist its mission for partisan purposes, has launched an outright attack on voting rights rather than promoting voting rights. The Bush Justice Dept has aimed to create roadblocks for Americans to exercise their right to vote by approving restrictive state voter ID laws, voter purging, and voter intimidation tactics. And as is now well-known, top Justice Dept officials improperly, and illegally, pressured U.S. Attorneys to bring phony voter fraud cases against Democratic and progressive organizations and individuals, to influence the outcome of elections for the Republicans. [Washington Post, 1/22/04; Boston Globe 6/6/07; Charlotte Observer, 5/31/07]

GOP Suppression Tactics in 2006. In Maryland, just days before the 2006 general election, copies of the Election Day manual for the Maryland Republican Party were obtained; in that manual, Republican Party workers were given false information about voters' rights, were told systematically to challenge voters and were advised to threaten election judges with jail time. Also in Maryland, on Election Day, flyers were distributed in Prince George's County, by the Ehrlich/Steele Republican campaign, falsely stating that African American elected officials had endorsed the Republican candidates for U.S. Senate and for Governor and misleading voters about the party affiliation of those candidates. [Washington Post, 11/3/06; Baltimore Sun, 1/20/07]

Email from Bush Campaign in FL to RNC Includes List of Voters to Be Challenged From African-American Neighborhood. "Two e-mails, prepared for the executive director of the Bush campaign in Florida and the campaign's national research director in Washington, DC, contain a 15-page so-called 'caging list.' It lists 1,886 names and addresses of voters in predominantly black and traditionally Democrat areas of Jacksonville, Florida. An elections supervisor in Tallahassee, when shown the list, told Newsnight: 'The only possible reason why they would keep such a thing is to challenge voters on election day.'" [BBC Television News Online, 10/26/04]

In 2005 RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman Vowed to Challenge Voters at the Polls. During an appearance on behalf of the GOP gubernatorial candidate in Virginia in 2005, RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman vowed to "do whatever we can to help make sure Jerry Kilgore becomes the next governor of the state" - including, according to the AP "having poll workers on hand to challenge voter eligibility." [AP, 05/26/05]

RNC-Funded Company Trashed Voter Registration Forms in 2004: "Voter's Outreach of America aka 'America Votes' is responsible for ripping up democratic voter registrations in Nevada. According to the investigative report, hundreds and perhaps thousands of individuals who think they are registered to vote actually are not. The organization has reportedly left Nevada and gone to Oregon. Full transcript of story attached... Well, the company [Voter's Outreach for America, aka America Votes] has been largely, if not entirely funded by the Republican National Committee. We should also point out that similar complaints have been received in Reno, where the registrar there has asked the FBI to investigate. It's a complicated story and we'll have a lot more tonight and I think in the days ahead." [KLAS Las Vegas Channel 8, 4pm news, Oct. 12, 2004]

Republican Admits Systematic Challenges of Black and Hispanic Voters in 2002. "In the 2002 antifraud experimental run, hundreds of Republican activists slipped on their green vests and tested out the role of poll monitor. In Milwaukee, the volunteers contested the residency of some black voters and in the Hispanic communities they questioned the nationalities of others. Overall, not much came of it. Even Mr. Graber [Wisconsin Republican Chairman] concedes there were 'few reports of trouble.' But he says the "dry run" two years ago has better prepared the party for the challenges today." [Wall Street Journal, 10/22/04]

Republicans Tried to Scare Hispanic Immigrants From Voting. State investigators have linked a Republican campaign to letters sent to thousands of Southern California Hispanics warning them they could go to jail or be deported if they vote next month, a spokesman for the attorney general said. In fact, immigrants who are naturalized U.S. citizens can vote. [USA Today, 10/19/06]

Florida Election Officials Sought to Purge African-Americans From Voter Rolls. Florida Officials Struck Over 2,000 Eligible Voters From Voting Rolls, 62% Were Democrats, More Than Half Were Black. An analysis by the Miami Herald found that the Florida Division of Elections had improperly included 2,119 voters who were on a list of more than 47,000 felons potentially ineligible to vote in the November elections. Florida law requires convicted felons to request clemency in order to regain their right to vote. Of the 2,119 people on the list, 62% were registered Democrats, almost half were Black and less than 20% were Republican. Only sixty-one Hispanics were included on the list of over 47,000 felons though they comprise 11% of the prison population, a politically significant fact for the November elections since Hispanics in Florida vote overwhelmingly Republican while Blacks vote Democrat. [Miami Herald, 7/2/04; Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 7/7/04, 7/8/04; New York Times, 7/10/04]

Native Americans Told "To Go Home" in June Primary. Poll workers demanded identification from Native Americans in South Dakota's June primary, and they illegally turned away Native American voters from the polls when they did not have it. The state's elections auditor sent out a memo to state poll workers stating that all voters must have IDs, but did not widely disseminate information that said that voters could sign an affidavit in lieu of showing identification. State Democrats say that the actions by poll workers were an extension of a wider move by the GOP controlled state legislature to suppress Native American turnout. The law requiring voters to show identification was passed in 2004. One South Dakotan voter turned away from the poll was told by an elections worker that "if she didn't have a photo ID, she could just turn around and home." [Argus Leader, 6/11/04]

Armed, Plain Clothes Police Officers Intimidated Elderly Black Voters in Orlando. Plain clothes police officers, revealing their side arms, made house calls to elderly, black voters who voted in Orlando's mayoral race in March 2003. The voters were in large part campaign workers or volunteers that helped to organize and get out the vote, mainly using absentee ballots, for African- American Mayor Buddy Dyer. Dyer won with just under 51% of the vote. His challenger, Ken Mulvaney and other defeated candidate alleged that Dyer aide, Ezzie Thomas, the 73-year old head of the Orlando League of Voters, filled out multiple absentee ballots on behalf of black voters. These actions came in spite of the fact that in May 2003 the Florida Dept of Law Enforcement had concluded "that there was no basis to support the allegations of election fraud."[Bob Herbert Column, New York Times, 8/16/04, 8/20/04; AP, 7/17/04]

Convicted Republican Phone Jammer Blamed GOP "Culture" and Was Afraid to Push Back on RNC Official. As he finished serving a prison sentence for "jamming Democratic phone lines in New Hampshire during the 2002 US Senate race," Allen Raymond told the Boston Globe that the "scheme reflects a broader culture in the Republican Party that is focused on dividing voters to win primaries and general elections. He said examples range from some recent efforts to use border-security concerns to foster anger toward immigrants to his own role arranging phone calls designed to polarize primary voters over abortion in a 2002 New Jersey Senate race." The scheme led to "the convictions of Raymond and two top Republican officials, and a Democratic lawsuit that seeks to determine whether the White House played any role." Allen said "he got caught up in an ultra-aggressive atmosphere" and that "he had been reluctant to turn down a prominent official of the RNC, fearing that would cost him future opportunities from an organization that was becoming increasingly ruthless." [Boston Globe, 06/10/2006]

Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee, http://www.democrats.org. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

SOURCE Democratic National Committee

[jmaroneps37]

To the rat, “election protection” means he finds a way to cheat Republicans that he can get away with.