« previous | MUCK HOME | next »
Dems Introduce Bill to Prevent Voter Suppression Tactic
A new bill introduced by Democrats in the Senate today would make Republican attempts to challenge voters' eligibility based on the time-tested technique of using returned mail illegal.
The voter suppression technique, which has come to be known as "caging," has been practiced by Republicans for decades, but received additional attention for its role in the U.S. attorney firings scandal. 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. (We ran down the evidence that Griffin was involved in a 2004 scheme to block African-Americans in Florida from voting in a story this June.) Those questions, along with the circumstances of Griffin's appointment, eventually led to his resignation.
The Caging Prohibition Act was co-sponsored by 12 Dem senators, including Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), John Kerry (D-MA), and presidential candidates Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Barack Obama (D-IL).
The bill would prohibit challenges to voters based solely on returned mail -- so-called "caging" or challenge lists are made by sending mail marked "do not forward" out to voters. In 1982, a federal judge in New Jersey issued a consent decree banning the targeting of racial minorities with challenge lists, but that hasn't stopped the practice. In 1990, for example, the Republican Party of North Carolina and Sen. Jesse Helms' (R-NC) campaign sent 125,000 postcards to mostly black voters to compile a challenge list. Ohio in 2004 was yet another example. And in September, McClatchy reported that both Ohio and Florida had passed laws that would in effect streamline the Republican tactic.
Comments (18)
Anonymous wrote on November 5, 2007 5:47 PM:Whitehouse = RI
Anon wrote on November 5, 2007 6:08 PM:How long before the GOP turns this issue back on our hapless, inept Dems and it goes down in flames?
Who will start the pool? I will say 6 days.
Duck Soup wrote on November 5, 2007 6:09 PM:Roveco caged. It was illegal. They should be investigated and prosecuted. Exactly the wrong thing to do is to pass a law against it and thereby admit the legality of Roveco's lawbreaking was unclear. Come on Democrats. Get strong already. You are a mile behind the people and the Republicans are just a step behind you. Let's start catching up already. Impeach that madman Cheney already!!! Let's go go go go. Wake up lollipops. Don't just sit there and get licked.
A Concerned American wrote on November 5, 2007 6:32 PM:Kudo's to Greg Palast, the reporter who tried for 3 and a half years to get the mainstream media to put before the American People the fact that he had over 500 RNC emails proving the illegal caging activities of Karl Rove and Tim Griffin.
Right after John Conyers met with Greg Palast in NY, the next day, USA Tim Griffin resigned. Americans want him prosecuted! Passing a new law prohibing the practice is fine, but we shouldn't ignor the fact that these public officials have violated the public's trust.
A Concerned American wrote on November 5, 2007 6:34 PM:Kudo's to Greg Palast, the reporter who tried for 3 and a half years to get the mainstream media to put before the American People the fact that he had over 500 RNC emails proving the illegal caging activities of Karl Rove and Tim Griffin.
Right after John Conyers met with Greg Palast in NY, the next day, USA Tim Griffin resigned. Americans want him prosecuted! Passing a new law prohibing the practice is fine, but we shouldn't ignor the fact that these public officials have violated the public's trust.
Spasm wrote on November 5, 2007 6:56 PM:I received a notification from the Registrar of Voters in my area (Berkeley, Ca) stating I did not choose a qualfied party when registering to vote (wrong). This is for the absentee ballot and the Primary Election in Feb 08 here in Calif. I have to send the letter back filled in with the name of one of the two parties noted: The American Independent Party or the Democratic Party.
Naturally it came in an envelope marked in bold RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED.
Two days after receiving the letter the newspapers said a 'clerical error' inadvertantly sent out 234,000 of these notices areawide. We're supposed to ignore them, said the news report. Calling the Registar of Voters yields a recorded message saying 'disregard the letter, a new one will be sent out promptly'.
What the....
POed Lib wrote on November 5, 2007 7:01 PM:Dems should turn the tables and do this to Repukeliscum districts in OH. That would be fun.
philbert wrote on November 5, 2007 8:15 PM:I say Dems get punked (by their own good ol' Bush Dogs) after much wringing of hands and fretting. I'm in for 11 days.
James Gundlach wrote on November 5, 2007 8:58 PM:I have done a lot of work on racial differences in good versus bad addresses for jury challenge work. I have discovered that the "Motor Voter" law has made for more bad, but not necessarily illegal, voter registration addresses for low income and minority voters. What happens is that if someone moves, say from apartment 45 to apartment 285 of the same complex so they are still in the same voting district and they continue to vote, the postal service will soon return their mail addressed to their address listed at the registrar's office but the registrar will not attempt to check the address until they have not voted in two consecutive federal elections. Prior to "Motor Voter" all addresses were more likely to be periodically checked and updated. Now, this kind of local move can make an active voter a likely candidate for a caging challenge.
michael wrote on November 5, 2007 9:30 PM:What I really want to know is why this outrageous tactic by repukes wasn't addressed 20 years ago? Why wasn't it all over the front pages during the 2000 election dispute? Why wasn't it addressed after 2000? Why in the f@ck wasn't it brought out until rove jr was appointed as the USA for arkansas? Why? I don't freaking get it and why wasn't this gd bill introduced last year?????? When I first heard about this practice, I absolutely could not believe it. WTF
No wonder there is minimal voter turnout for elections. Repukes have been doing everything in their power to prevent people from voting. When will some of these criminals go to jail? This is an outrage.
Unfortunately , as pointed out above this bill will get nowhere and that truly is a crime.
Bart wrote on November 5, 2007 10:44 PM:Harry Reid will never let this see the light of day.
He is the most disloyal Dem in the Senate. Just last week he lifted Sen. Ron Wyden's hold on a horrible Bush nominee for Interior Dept. while Wyden was home in Oregon. If Reid is loyal to anyone, it's Bush & Cheney...sad to say.
judyinnm wrote on November 5, 2007 11:04 PM:Voter registration requires one's street address, to establish one's voting district. But, if you do not receive mail at the street address, but at a post office box, and there is no mail receptical at the street address, it does NOT mean you're not a legal voter, just because mail sent to the street sdress gets returned. I know, because if I were a minority, I'd be a prime candidate for "caging".
The right to vote should be one of those innocent-until-proven-guilty things - assume I have the right to vote, unless you can prove otherwise.
What would it be like to have a Whitehouse in the White House?
chabuka wrote on November 5, 2007 11:17 PM:B.F.D...I'll huff and I'll puff..but I will never blow your (brick) House down...
ihatebeets wrote on November 5, 2007 11:18 PM:Anon - I bet it will only take until the President, in his most petulant tone, accuses the Democrats of, once again, wasting time on these meaningless resoultions. And, once again, the Democrats will cave in muttering apologies to the President while promising to do what the people who overwhelmingly elected them in 2006 to do...well, maybe next time.
Jake D wrote on November 6, 2007 5:44 AM:Is it O.K. to have people vote who are not legally registered?
Troll Patrol wrote on November 6, 2007 8:51 AM:We remind tpm that a certain troll (@5:44) was previously banned - for that see comments section of post at our name.
The banning was for then and for the future. (the future is now!)
RJ wrote on November 6, 2007 12:28 PM:Wow, John Kerry's only 4 years late!
One has to wonder why Kerry didn't have this brain fart right after he lost the 2004 election.
Could it be that it might have passed? Nah..........oh, wait.
erica wrote on November 6, 2007 1:46 PM:Not that I'm suggesting the Dems should engage in this process, but if they did, they should send these letters to the homes of Republicans who "live" in Florida--in the middle of summer. All those poor little DNF letters, languishing in those empty Florida villas and condos while their owners escape the heat in the Northern climes....
That'd wipe out a few thousand Florida Republican votes right there.
(If I'm wrong about how this would work just let me know.)