Conyers Pushes Bill to Ban GOP Vote Suppression TacticAnticipating the 2008 election, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) has introduced a bill to ban “vote caging,” the term for a time-tested GOP vote suppression technique.
To “cage” voters, operatives send out a mass mailing with “do not forward” labels. Those names attached to addresses that bounce back are put on a challenge list, which is then used to challenge those voters when they come to the polls. GOPers in states all over the country have used the technique for decades, especially targeting mostly African-American areas. Timothy Griffin, the former aide to Karl Rove who replaced one of the fired prosecutors in Arkansas, was forced to defend his role in an alleged 2004 caging scheme when he worked for the Republican National Committee.
A number of powerful senators are backing a similar bill in the Senate, including Sens. Barack Obama (D-IL), Hillary Clinton (D-NY), and Patrick Leahy (D-VT).
You can read the text of Conyers’ bill here. A bullet point summary provided by his office is below.
The bill:
* Provides that the right to register to vote or vote shall not be denied by election officials if the denial is based on voter caging and other questionable challenges not corroborated by independent evidence.* Prohibits persons other than election officials from challenging a voter’s eligibility based on voter caging and other questionable challenges.
* Requires that any voter challenge by persons other than election officials be based on personal, first-hand knowledge.
* Designates voter-caging and other questionable challenges intended to disqualify eligible voters as felonies, crimes eligible for fines up to $250,000, five years imprisonment, or both.