voter suppression
Oct. 29th, 2004 01:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jfbTwo general types of voter suppression seem to be getting the most play in blogs. (I'm omitting "collecting registrations, then throwing them out," because it's so last week.)
First, fraudulent leaflets or mailings go out, attempting to convince voters (Democratic voters) not to show up at the polls. For example, a leaflet from the nonexistent "Milwaukee Black Voters League" says it's illegal to vote if you've "ever been found guilty of anything". Over the top? For sure. And yet it'll still keep some people away. In a more sophisticated variation, here's a letter "from" the Lake County (Ohio) Board of Elections advising newly registered voters that they "may run the risk of being illegally registered", and if so, won't be able to vote.
Second, Republicans challenge voter registrations (and, in a few days, votes) by name. In Summit County, Ohio, 976 registrations were challenged because the voters in question didn't accept registered mail from the Republicans. (These challenges were thrown out, but just facing the challenge requires a court appearance.) In Atkinson County, Georgia, a man asked a the voter registrar for a list of all Hispanic voters, and then challenged 95 of them.
These are four of many reported incidents.
I'm a diehard voter, with time and resources. If I hear about some reason not to go to the polls, I'll investigate it. If my registration is contested, I'll fight it. But in a nation with 50% voter turnout, you know there are a lot of people on the fence about whether to show up at all. These efforts are about pushing them off the fence.
First, fraudulent leaflets or mailings go out, attempting to convince voters (Democratic voters) not to show up at the polls. For example, a leaflet from the nonexistent "Milwaukee Black Voters League" says it's illegal to vote if you've "ever been found guilty of anything". Over the top? For sure. And yet it'll still keep some people away. In a more sophisticated variation, here's a letter "from" the Lake County (Ohio) Board of Elections advising newly registered voters that they "may run the risk of being illegally registered", and if so, won't be able to vote.
Second, Republicans challenge voter registrations (and, in a few days, votes) by name. In Summit County, Ohio, 976 registrations were challenged because the voters in question didn't accept registered mail from the Republicans. (These challenges were thrown out, but just facing the challenge requires a court appearance.) In Atkinson County, Georgia, a man asked a the voter registrar for a list of all Hispanic voters, and then challenged 95 of them.
These are four of many reported incidents.
I'm a diehard voter, with time and resources. If I hear about some reason not to go to the polls, I'll investigate it. If my registration is contested, I'll fight it. But in a nation with 50% voter turnout, you know there are a lot of people on the fence about whether to show up at all. These efforts are about pushing them off the fence.
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no subject
Date: 2004-10-30 08:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-30 08:52 pm (UTC)Your Queens story reminds me of this one: The Republicans in Philadelphia made a last-minute attempt to move five polling places (http://www.pnionline.com/dnblog/extra/archives/001073.html), and were unusually direct about their motivation: "It's predominantly, 100 percent black. I'm just not going in there to get a knife in my back."