Thursday, September 11, 2008

Voter Supression

Given the huge success the Obama campaign has had registering voters, it should be no surprise the the GOP is going to do everything they can to prevent these Americans from voting. This is a cowardly, shameless and despicable tactic, which I guess is why it comes so naturally to them.

The game starts by having not enough polling places and voting machines in urban (i.e. Democratic) precincts. If that can't be arranged, the next step is intimidating voters through misinformation and threats. Examples include posting fake notices of polling places and election dates, and announcing that
if you have parking tickets outstanding, or are late on child support payments, you will be arrested if you vote. I heard one today that if public university students vote outside their home districts, they might have problem with residency status for their tuition. These are all lies.

If intimidation fails, the Republicans send challengers to the polls to claim that voters are ineligable. The Chairman of the Macomb County GOP just announced a new tactic of using foreclosures to challenge legal residence - that if you live in a house being foreclosed on, you can't vote.

The truth is, you can vote even if you are homeless, but the challenge will gum up the process and cause long lines to get even longer - another way to discourage voters who can't stand around for hours waiting.

Democrats don't do this; only the Republican patriots engage in this pathetic tactic.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Their faith in democracy seems so shallow.