How Ironic Is It? (re: Ann Coulter)

[journalist3072]

So, a thought has just occured to me regarding Ann Coulter's possibly being in legal jeopardy for voting in the wrong precint this year.

In the 2004 Presidential election, Republicans sent "vote challengers" to the battleground state of Ohio. Vote challengers who would simply walk up to someone in a precint and say "I don't think you are eligible to vote."

Not surprisingly, the Republicans sent their vote challengers to predominantly African-American and urban precints in Ohio, in what can only be described as shades of Jim Crow.

How ironic is it, that they sent vote challengers to African-American precints in Ohio (surely to help supress the African-American vote that they knew would turn out in full force), when members of their own party (i.e. Ann Coulter) don't even bother following the law and voting in the proper precint?

It was a poll worker who questioned Ann Coulter on that fateful day, not a vote challenger.


http://www.palmbeachpost.com/pbccentral/content/local_news/epaper/2006/03/29/m2a_jose_col_0329.html

[silverojo]

1. Poll worker should've asked a different question

Namely, "Are you SURE you aren't a man in drag?"

[Nikki Stone 1]

2. What would the "vote challengers" do if a voter said,

"Thanks for your input", smiled, ignored them and voted?

[journalist3072]

3. It's not really that simple

The vote challenger would NEVER allow the voter to just go ahead and ignore them and vote.

More than likely, the vote challenger would try to bring a poll worker into the process, to make the case that they don't think this person is a legitmate voter, etc.

Most of the time people who are "challenged" have to end up filling out provisional ballots.

But the other elephant in the room, is that challenging voters slows down the process.

And I think that's partly what the GOP wanted to do in 2004. They wanted to slow down the process, so people would get fustrated with the growing lines and leave the polling place without voting.

[seriousstan]

4. You are mistaken. I am a poll worker in one of those Ohio precincts.

I have been for almost 17 years. We had challengers from both parties during the '04 election. If they challenged, they had to do it through us. If we felt it had any foundation, we would ask the pertinent questions...address, name or age. We, the poll workers, then made a decision, which was FINAL! There is no higher authority than the judges. For that day, that is what we are, election judges. Even the police have to follow our orders at the polling locations.

[Nikki Stone 1]

5. Thanks for the info

nt