" Advocates Baffled By DOJ Approval of Controversial Voter Verification Law" (GA Voter Verification)

[KoKo]

(edited for copyright purposes-proud patriot Moderator Democratic Underground)

Advocates Baffled By DOJ Approval of Controversial Voter Verification Law
by: project vote
Sat Aug 28, 2010 at 14:00
Cross-posted at Project Vote's blog, Voting Matters

A two-year battle in the courts concluded this week when the Department of Justice approved Georgia's controversial voter verification system that was originally struck down in 2009 as inaccurate, unreliable, and worst of all, discriminatory against people of color and naturalized citizens. The decision leaves voting rights advocates dismayed as to why the DOJ would allow the state to implement this arguably overzealous and potentially disenfranchising procedure.

"Systematic Purging" of Voters in 2008 Without Preclearance

The story of Georgia's "citizen-check" procedure goes back to October 2008, when the state was sued by voting rights groups who claimed the procedure not only violated the Voting Rights Act, but inappropriately amounted to a systematic purging of voters just before the presidential election.

Due to its history of Jim Crow-era discriminatory voting practices, Georgia is one of 10 states required to seek federal approval or "preclearance" under the Voting Rights Act before changing election rules. In 2009, the DOJ refused to grant preclearance to Georgia's flawed system of matching Social Security and driver's license numbers that erroneously flagged thousands of otherwise eligible voters as "potential non-citizens."

Typographical errors and an outdated driver's license database were named the primary causes of systematic failure, though the DOJ further criticized the time-sensitive hurdles that "potential non-citizens" had to go through in order to prove their eligibility to vote. The DOJ also noted the system's discriminatory impact on a disproportionate number of African American, Latino, and Asian American citizens.

(snip)

http://www.projectvote.org/blog/?p=836

[nosmokes]

1. Damn. And I woulda swore we had a Democratic admin.

Or maybe Beck's insane ramblings-nah, nevermind.

[COLGATE4]

2. Just one more example

of the Obama administration governing as if they were "Republican Lite". Incredible.