Registered to vote? KA, MI, and LA begin questionable purge.

[Stark]

Ha, of course! Sorry about that.

In the US - with non-compulsory or responsibilty to vote - is there much support for the idea that 'if you can't work out the ballot form your vote doesn't count anyway'? In AU, the goverment has a legal responsibility to make sure everyone has equal access to voting and that everything is clear, since it's a responsibility of all to vote. In the Us though, this isn't the case, so I'm curious about the attitudes here.

[Stormbringer]

Ender, what do normal US ballots look like? Obviously I've never seen one, but I'm curious how they compare to AU ballots (which are simple as hell but have explanitory shit all over them anyway).

No such animal. The elections are run at the state and/or local level so ballots and methods very pretty drastically. I've seen a number of different ones and most have been embarrassingly simplistic.

In the US - with non-compulsory or responsibilty to vote - is there much support for the idea that 'if you can't work out the ballot form your vote doesn't count anyway'?

I've been an election worker a couple of times and every last effort is made to help people. You help some one as much as they need and as long as they need. Believe me, that can be a drawn out and at times cartoonish process but it's done.

That said, the initiative in asking for help remains with the person voting. Some people though don't ask for help for whatever reason and wind up making mistakes.

[Invictus ChiKen]

I've been thinking, with all these voter purges and all would it be a good idea to register Republican and then just vote democrat to be protected from a purge?

[Darth Wong]

I've been thinking, with all these voter purges and all would it be a good idea to register Republican and then just vote democrat to be protected from a purge?

Their tricks are not targeted at people who registered Democrat (as far as I know), but at entire demographics which they suspect will tend to vote Democrat.

[Stormbringer]

I've been thinking, with all these voter purges and all would it be a good idea to register Republican and then just vote democrat to be protected from a purge?

If you're genuinely concerned the best thing to do is make sure in advance that you're properly registered and where you're supposed to vote. A lot of these schemes rely on the voter doing nothing or having already actively screwed up. The people behind these purges, if they are actually ill intentioned as claimed, are acting on existing conditions rather than simply running a purge. You're first line of defense is not stupid games with party registry, which can backfire on you in primary elections I might add, but rather being informed and contentious.

[The Dark]

I've been thinking, with all these voter purges and all would it be a good idea to register Republican and then just vote democrat to be protected from a purge?

I registered with no party affiliation. I don't get to vote in the primaries, but so far the candidate I preferred has won every primary since 2000.

[Invictus ChiKen]

I registered with no party affiliation. I don't get to vote in the primaries, but so far the candidate I preferred has won every primary since 2000.

You prefer Bush!?

[Invictus ChiKen]

You prefer Bush!?

Ghetto Edit: At least that is the only one I can think of that meets all the criteria.

[Uraniun235]

He could have preferred Gore and Kerry. They won their primaries.

[Invictus ChiKen]

He could have preferred Gore and Kerry. They won their primaries.

Yes but he said EVERY primary since 2000. An if you count McCain as Bush winning the '08 Primaries that leaves only on candidate.

[Grandmaster Jogurt]

He could have preferred Gore and Kerry. They won their primaries.

Yes but he said EVERY primary since 2000.

And the obvious IMPLICATION is that he meant every primary that he would have voted in had he registered for a party.

[The Dark]

I registered with no party affiliation. I don't get to vote in the primaries, but so far the candidate I preferred has won every primary since 2000.

You prefer Bush!?

To be honest, I thought he was the worst candidate and least likely to be elected.

Dammit.

[Ender]

Obama files suit over alleged voter suppression plan

On afternoon conference call, Obama and Michigan Democratic officials say they’re seeking an injunction to block alleged “caging” by the state GOP — using home foreclosure lists to seek to block residents from voting.
Obama counsel Bob Bauer: “It is an absolute attack on their right to vote” and a “completely false and completely illegal basis” to challenge votes.
“This is a standard operating procedure within the Republican party that’s been under legal challenge.”
Listen to a clip of the call here.
The Macomb party chair denies the comments attributed to him.

[Stormbringer]

Obama files suit over alleged voter suppression plan

On afternoon conference call, Obama and Michigan Democratic officials say they’re seeking an injunction to block alleged “caging” by the state GOP — using home foreclosure lists to seek to block residents from voting.
Obama counsel Bob Bauer: “It is an absolute attack on their right to vote” and a “completely false and completely illegal basis” to challenge votes.
“This is a standard operating procedure within the Republican party that’s been under legal challenge.”
Listen to a clip of the call here.
The Macomb party chair denies the comments attributed to him.

Extremely dickish of the GOP but comparing the rolls of voters to that of those you know moved makes a lot of sense. Probably hard to get a legal injunction against it if the GOP is smart.

[Durandal]

No, the challenge is, in fact, illegal. From http://www.michiganmessenger.com/4076/l ... -your-vote

“You can’t challenge people without a factual basis for doing so,” said J. Gerald Hebert, a former voting rights litigator for the U.S. Justice Department who now runs the Campaign Legal Center, a Washington D.C.-based public-interest law firm. “I don’t think a foreclosure notice is sufficient basis for a challenge, because people often remain in their homes after foreclosure begins and sometimes are able to negotiate and refinance.”

And on another note ... why are the parties allowed to challenge voter eligibility at all? If the impartial poll workers have determined that someone is eligible to vote, why would anyone want to defer to a bias challenger with an agenda who's liable to pull dirty tricks like this?

[Ender]

On the upside I registered another 15 people to vote today, and since school started we've gotten over 800, with another 1200 over the summer in county.

Of course I also got something like 30 people pretending they couldn't hear me, 2 kids arguing that voting is stupid because of the electoral college, and 6 outright "fuck you"s.

[Stormbringer]

No, the challenge is, in fact, illegal. From http://www.michiganmessenger.com/4076/l ... -your-vote

“You can’t challenge people without a factual basis for doing so,” said J. Gerald Hebert, a former voting rights litigator for the U.S. Justice Department who now runs the Campaign Legal Center, a Washington D.C.-based public-interest law firm. “I don’t think a foreclosure notice is sufficient basis for a challenge, because people often remain in their homes after foreclosure begins and sometimes are able to negotiate and refinance.”

Unless that guy is the judge in the case, and he's not, then he's merely giving an opinion. They can indeed challenge voters and the questions is whether foreclosure is a sufficient grounds for the challenge.

That said, a challenge does not mean the voter is disqualified. They can cast a provisional vote and that will be counted provided they are in fact eligible.

And on another note ... why are the parties allowed to challenge voter eligibility at all? If the impartial poll workers have determined that someone is eligible to vote, why would anyone want to defer to a bias challenger with an agenda who's liable to pull dirty tricks like this?

One of the biggest reasons that anyone can challenge a vote is because the state and local governments can only do so much, both legally and for time and budget reasons. The rosters depend heavily on the citizen in question actually doing some work and there can be mistakes. I've worked as a election volunteers and believe me voters can do all sorts of things like not changing an address when they vote and all sorts of things like that.

As for why the parties are a allowed to, it's because they have a legitimate interest in the legality of election voting. This is not a noble tactic, in fact it's downright mean, but that's not the same as illegal or unethical. These people can certainly vote and at some point the onus is on the voter to make sure they're properly registered. They shouldn't be allowed to cast illegal votes simply because it's mean.



PS: The polls, at least in Michigan, employ a two-man system precisely to prevent the possibility of biased poll workers. The system is definitely not built on blind trust of anyone.

[Stark]

On the upside I registered another 15 people to vote today, and since school started we've gotten over 800, with another 1200 over the summer in county.

Of course I also got something like 30 people pretending they couldn't hear me, 2 kids arguing that voting is stupid because of the electoral college, and 6 outright "fuck you"s.

I'm not sure what the situation was, but people seriously respond with aggression to the idea of registering to vote? It's not like you're selling biblical prophecy or condo time-shares....