From NDOL:
| ....Based on scattered and largely anecdotal reports of improper registrations in minority neighborhoods, the Ohio GOP, exploiting an obscure 1953 law, has already challenged 35,000 new voters in heavily Democratic areas, forcing already overwhelmed election officials to hold hearings on each challenge (ironically, given the Bush-Cheney campaign's efforts to convince voters that re-electing the president is essential for the morale of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, these challenges appear to disproportionately affect active duty personnel overseas). But the real Ohio outrage may occur on November 2 itself, when the GOP plans to send "volunteers" (reportedly being paid $100 for their time) into 8,000 (largely Democratic) precincts with instructions to challenge as many voters as possible. You don't have to be partisan or paranoid to suspect the aim is less about detecting ineligible voters than about making the experience of voting as slow and unpleasant as possible. That's "voter intimidation" by any definition.
It's all the more egregious because Republicans have already won a decision from the courts in Ohio and in Florida as well that the "provisional" ballots that HAVA requires for challenged voters can be thrown out by election officials if they turn out to be cast in the wrong precinct -- a technical violation of election laws at worst.... |
So, pull up an easy chair this November 2 evening and watch the circus unfold before your eyes. And get ready as the circus evolves into a revolution if Bush steals another one. If there's a revolt coming, I'm going, so I hope there are restrooms there.
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