Brennan Center: Tens Of Thousands May Be Prevented From Voting In November

[kpete]

Posted on Wed, Sep. 13, 2006email thisprint this
Voting rights center says voters may be prevented from casting ballots
By James Rosen
McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON - Leaders of a voting-rights center that successfully sued Florida, Washington, Ohio and other states over their election laws said Wednesday that tens of thousands of eligible voters will be prevented from casting ballots in November.


Michael Waldman, executive director of the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University Law School, said federal and state voting changes since the disputed 2000 presidential election have produced new threats to eligible voters.


Several states have overreacted to the 2002 Help America Vote Act, passed by Congress to prevent a repeat of the 2000 stalemate, by passing draconian laws and imposing rigid regulations on voter registration, Waldman said.


"Most of the significant voter suppression in this country happens not on Election Day, but before Election Day," he said.


Waldman cited serious problems in a dozen states:

more at:
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/15511911.htm

[Greeby]

1. Like Greg Palast keeps telling us

If they're gonna prevent 6 million people from voting, we need to get six million more new voters to the polls

[mod mom]

2. HAVA was nothing but a GOP ploy to funnel tons of $ to partisan

corporations (who will funnel back to the campaign coffers of the GOP all while being able to steal the vote electronically.Just look at some of the cast of characters who were the architects: Bob Ney (former Chair of the House Administration Committee) and Jack Abramoff.

[Fovea]

4. Why haven't Abramoff and New

been handed over to the Native tribes for justice?

[TechBear_Seattle]

3. What successful lawsuit in Washington?

The only election lawsuit that comes to mind are the (expletives -- many of them -- deleted) yahoos who got our blanket primary overturned.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

5. Henry Hydes' HR 4844 - where are the advocacy groups/orgs?

voter id bill, HR 4844 - sponsored by Henry Hyde will be "marked-up"
in committee this morning and is slated for a fast-track vote on the House floor


Here are excerpts of the League of Women Voters' statement regarding HR 4844

We believe that H.R. 4844 would turn back the clock and erect unnecessary barriers to voter participation. Many Americans simply do not have the documentary proof of citizenship and photo ID that would allow them to exercise their right to vote if H.R. 4844 were to become law. ...

In our modern society, where many of us travel by air or bank with credit cards, it is easy to assume that everyone has appropriate ID or can prove their citizenship. But it is a more difficult problem than one might think. For example, older women are substantially less likely to have ID than others, and getting that ID in order to vote could be a major burden. People who were born outside of hospitals are among those who can face problems in getting birth certificates or other proof of citizenship....

For a citizen of voting age, the passport application fee is $55. The security surcharge is $12. The execution fee is $30. The total is $97. For native-born Americans, a certified birth certificate is required, with its accompanying costs.
Under at least one proposal, every voter would be required to prove their citizenship before voting in 2008 - more than 100 million Americans would need to prove their citizenship...

http://www.lwv.org/AM/Template.cfm?Sectionfiltered=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=5904

HR 4844 here
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d106:h.r.04844: