The law, co-sponsored by Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), will make it easier for American military service members and citizens overseas to vote and make sure that their votes are counted. By some estimates as many as one in four ballots requested by voters overseas was not counted during the 2008 election. The law takes effect in 2010.

Specifically, the legislation will make voter registration applications, absentee ballot applications and blank ballots available electronically, require that ballots are sent to overseas voters no less than 45 days before Election Day, and eliminate the requirement that military and overseas ballots be notarized (in the states that still require it). It will also give more Americans the opportunity to use the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot, which is currently available online and can serve as a “back-up” measure, if a local absentee ballot does not arrive in time.

The Pew Center on the States has a good write up on the issue. Read it here.

Fannie Lou believed in democracy. When she first learned that Blacks could vote, she did not wait. She raised her hand to go down to Indianola, Mississippi to register to vote. Though her first attempts were unsuccessful, the experience moved Fannie Lou to act. Despite the loss of her job as a sharecropper, multiple beatings, and threats to her life, Hamer became involved in voter registration drives and helped form the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, which challenged the all-white Mississippi delegation to the Democratic National Convention. In 1964, Hamer took her case to the Convention. Speaking to the Credentials Committee, she famously challenged the Party to live up to its ideals, asking “Is this America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, where we have to sleep with our telephones off the hooks because our lives be threatened daily, because we want to live as decent human beings, in America?” Hamer’s words and presence at the Convention led the DNC to change its rules in 1968 to require equal representation within state delegations to its national conventions.

Fannie Lou served as a Mississippi delegate to the Democratic National Convention, and continued to work to expand the rights of women and people of color until her death in 1977. She is buried in her hometown of Ruleville, Mississippi, where her tombstone, adopting her signature line, reads, “I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

The spirit that Fannie Lou ignited in our country decades ago continues to grow today. As millions of voters prepare to go to the polls in Virginia and New Jersey to cast their ballots, the Democratic National Committee stands strongly committed to meaningful and comprehensive election reform that will guarantee every eligible American - regardless of race, ethnicity, geography, disability, language, political party, gender, economic status or education - the constitutional right to equal participation in the political process.

Today, we remember a pioneer. A woman who dared to expand democracy for all people.

Read the DNC Resolution in Support of Accurate, Open and Transparent Elections in the United States of America.

Republican lawmakers, who control both houses of the Legislature, have proposed sweeping changes to the state’s election laws, including new procedures on registering voters, and requiring voters to use a provisional ballot if they move shortly before an election.

The rules would also prevent anyone, including those with video or audio equipment, from getting within 100 feet of a line of voters, even if that line is outside a polling place. This would also prevent anyone from offering legal advice to voters in line.

Many Democrats in the legislature are opposing this legislation along with voting rights groups whose voter drives would be prohibited.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_wTLzJKt1I

Transcript:

OLBERMANN: It was less than one week ago when Senator John McCain on national television warned the nation about a grave threat to democracy, maybe even quote "destroying the fabric of democracy." So, in our third story tonight, why have McCain and Sarah Palin stopped sounding the trumpet on this grave threat over the last few days? No, he didn't just forget. McCain's charge was that the national grassroots group, ACORN was committing widespread voter fraud, disenfranchising voters by registering fictional voters and Barack Obama had helped to fund ACORN. As we have explained previously, some part-time workers have been accused of ripping off ACORN because fictional voters do not vote.

But, there may be other reasons McCain has dropped the voter fraud rhetoric, namely new reports that McCain himself has funded not one, but two Republican owners of voter registration firms, both of whom are embroiled in very real charges of very real and concerted efforts to disenfranchise real voters.

First, meet Mark Jacoby. Yes, that would be a mug shot. He was arrested Saturday night in California on two counts of perjury and two counts of vote fraud. The charge that: Jacoby registered a fake address in California, so he would be legally eligible to register other voters in the state.

Mr. Jacoby's company is YPM, Young Political Majors. And YPM was no stranger to vote fraud claims before even Jacoby's arrest. Prosecutors in L.A., Ventura and San Bernardino counties are investigating Jacoby's company after dozens of voters accused YPM of "slamming," which is registering them as Republicans without their knowledge. The Los Angeles Times finding YPM registered more than 80% of its new Republicans without their knowledge or by misleading them.

So why does or what does YPM have to do with McCain? YPM makes money by registers not voters, but Republican voters specifically. Working not only as a subcontractor for the California Republican Party but also, according to the Ventura County Star, for the voter registration bounties offered by another man, Steve Poisner, a multimillionaire who offered YPM $5 for every new Republican registered. Like a bounty. He also happens to be the California co-chairman of the McCain campaign.

McCain cannot claim ignorance to YPM's track record. Jacoby is based in Arizona where a number of ballot initiatives may not be on the ballot after YPM gathered signatures for them and some of those signatures failed to pass muster with local election officials. And YPM was publicly accused of vote slamming before. In 2004 in both Florida and Massachusetts.

And then there is Nathan Spruill, former head of the Arizona Republican Party. He, too, now in the vote registering business and a serial denial of whistleblowers, who not only accuse him of slamming voters into the Republican Party but also claim he has torn up Democratic registrations in Oregon, Nevada, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Real registrations of real voters. Real Americans who thought they were registered, and may very well have been denied their right to vote in the real elections of 2004.

McCain's connection? This year Huffington Post reports a joint committee of the GOP and McCain campaign paid $175,000 for, quote, "registering voters" to the Lincoln Strategies Group, the voter registration company headed by Nathan Spruill.

So, why isn't anybody investigating Nathan Spruill? Since the days of John Ashcroft, Democratic members of Congress have asked the Justice Department to investigate real voter suppression, Congressman John Conyers specifically including Nathan Spruill in one of his responses last year. The stone walling in stark contrast to the Justice response-time on Republican claims of voter fraud. Last week, leaking word of its ACORN investigation the day after McCain pointed his finger at ACORN; previously pressuring prosecutors to pursue Republican claims about voter registration fraud; and firing some prosecutors who refused to do so, including most famously New Mexico's David Iglasius, who later revealed the Justice Department knew those claims in 2004 were bogus.

Talking Points Memo reported some of the same Republican operatives pushing voter fraud claims this year were at the heart of some of those bogus claims. According to one Republican Party operative's 2004 email, "I believe the voter ID issue should be used at all levels. You are not going to find a better wedge issue."

"We've made it clear that we don't and won't tolerate voter registration fraud," said DNC Communications Director Karen Finney. "But this exposes the absolute hypocrisy of John McCain and the Republican Party and their same-old Washington tactics. Over the past few weeks we've heard John McCain denounce voter fraud on the campaign trail while the RNC hurls false attacks, so the question is: where is the outrage now?"

"One month ago I called on state and local law enforcement authority to investigate a report that voter fraud being committed by a firm hired by the Republican Party of California called the Young Political Majors," said CA Democratic State Party Chairman Art Torres. Most importantly, what did the McCain campaign and the Republican National Committee know about this voter fraud ahead of time? These are the same "repeat offenders" we've had collecting signatures for the Republican party… in 2004, 2006, and 2007. The California Republican Party and the National Republican party need to immediately terminate its relationship with YPM or any other firm that is committing voter fraud."

"The Republican National Committee, the Republicans, the McCain campaign have been hammering away for weeks with the same old Washington politics, said DNC Legal Counsel Joe Sandler. "In fact, none of the charges that they've been talking about have actually panned out. In Montana they were forced to withdraw challenges, baseless challenges to 6,000 new voters. On a call yesterday, the RNC's communications director was forced to admit that he was unable to come up with a single example, of actual voter fraud. And today, on another McCain campaign press conference call, Florida Governor Charlie Crist, said he did not believe that voter fraud would be an issue, a problem of any kind in the state of Florida this year. It's the height of hypocrisy for the Republicans to harp on this theme."

The following are the facts on the McCain campaign and RNC's connection to Questionable GOP Operatives:

MCCAIN CAMPAIGN STEERED $175,000 TO COMPANY NOTORIOUS FOR SUPPRESSING THE VOTE:

McCain's Campaign Directed $175,000 To Lincoln Strategy, Whose Managing Partner Nathan Sproul Has Been Investigated On Multiple Occasions For Suppressing Democratic Voter Turnout. "John McCain's campaign has directed $175,000 to the firm of a Republican operative accused of massive voter registration fraud in several states. According to campaign finance records, a joint committee of the McCain-Palin campaign, the RNC and the the California Republican Party, made a $175,000 payment to the group Lincoln Strategy in June for purposes of 'registering voters.' The managing partner of that firm is Nathan Sproul, a renowned GOP operative who has been investigated on multiple occasions for suppressing Democratic voter turnout, throwing away registration forms and even spearheading efforts to get Ralph Nader on ballots to hinder the Democratic ticket. … That Sproul would come under the employment umbrella of the McCain campaign -- the Republican National Committee has also separately paid Lincoln Strategy at least $37,000 for voter registration efforts this cycle -- is not terribly surprising. Sproul, who has donated nearly $30,000 to McCain's campaign, has been in the good graces of GOP officials for the past decade despite charges of ethical and potentially legal wrongdoing." [Huffington Post, 10/20/08]

Lincoln Strategy Is Paid By California Republican Party/V8 Committee That Is Funded By McCain Victory California. Lincoln Strategy is paid by the California Republican Party/V8 committee that has been funded by McCain Victory California. McCain Victory California is a joint fundraising committee of the RNC, the McCain campaign and the CA GOP. [FEC]

MARK JACOBY ARRESTED ON "SUSPICION OF COMMITTING VOTER REGISTRATION FRAUD:"

Young Political Majors Owner Mark Anthony Jacoby Arrested On "Suspicion Of Committing Voter Registration Fraud." "Mark Anthony Jacoby, who owns the firm known as Young Political Majors (YPM), was arrested after allegedly registering himself to vote, once in 2006 and again in 2007, at an address where did not live. An investigation by the Secretary of State's Election Fraud Investigation Unit revealed that Jacoby twice registered to vote at the address of a childhood home in Los Angeles although he no longer lived there. The Secretary of State's fraud unit and the Ontario Police Department arrested Jacoby near an Ontario hotel just before midnight Saturday […] On October 3, the Public Integrity Unit of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office charged Jacoby with four felonies: two counts of voter registration fraud and two counts of perjury. A warrant was issued for his arrest and bail was set at $50,000." [California Secretary of State Press Release, 10/19/08]

Jacoby Was Charged With Two Counts Of Voter Registration Fraud And Two Counts Of Perjury. "Jacoby was charged with four felonies: two counts of voter registration fraud and two counts of perjury." [AP, 10/20/08]

In 2004, Jacoby's YPM Worked For Arno Political Consultants, Which Itself Was Paid By The RNC. Young Political Majors LLC, or YPM, is a company registered by Mark Jacoby at a Town 'N Country residence...Jacoby could not be reached for comment. His company worked for a company called JSM Inc., which in turn worked for Arno Political Consultants, a Sacramento, Calif., firm that qualified 300 ballot initiatives in 20 states. The firm's largely conservative clients include the Bush/Quayle campaign, the National Rifle Association and RJ Reynolds. The company has also worked for Florida's class size amendment. The Republican National Committee hired Arno for a voter registration drive, said Mindy Tucker Fletcher, a senior adviser to the Florida GOP. Campaign finance reports show the RNC paid Arno $450,000 in one reporting period in September... Owner Bill Arno said the firm was registering voters in Florida, Ohio, Oregon and Nevada for the RNC. He declined to say what he was paid for the Florida effort, except to say he earned a monthly flat rate. [St. Petersburg Times, 10/23/04]

JACOBY'S COMPANY ACCUSED OF VOTER FRAUD IN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY:

San Bernardino County Democrats Charged That Young Political Majors Used Petition Drivers Throughout The County To Register Residents As Republicans Without Their Knowledge. "The San Bernardino County District Attorney's office is still collecting information regarding claims that a political group has fraudulently registered Democrats as Republicans to pad the voter rolls, officials said. 'To say it's under investigation is a bit of an overstatement,' said John Goritz, deputy district attorney for the public integrity unit. 'We're still receiving documents and evaluating it as it comes in.' Local Democrats have charged that a political firm, Young Political Majors, has used petition drives throughout the county to register residents as Republicans without their knowledge. The allegations arose when a substantial amount of registered Republicans were submitted to the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters over a period of just two weeks. The group's owner and operator, Arizona-based Mark Jacoby, has denied any wrongdoing." [Daily Press, 9/28/08]

YPM HAS A HISTORY OF VOTER FRAUD ACCUSATION IN CALIFORNIA, FLORIDA, ARIZONA AND MASSACHUSETTS:

Young Political Major Has A History Of Fraud Complaints Nationwide And Have Been Accused Of Voter Fraud In Massachusetts, Florida And Arizona. "A company hired by the Republican Party denies it used deceptive practices to register 70,000 new Republican voters in the United States this year. Young Political Majors, has a history of fraud complaints nationwide, most recently in California where some new Republicans allege they were tricked into changing their registration, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday. The Times said it randomly interviewed 46 of the hundreds of California voters the firm recently registered and 37 of them -- 80 percent -- said they thought they were signing petitions for tougher state law enforcement penalties, not changing political parties, the Times reported. Voters in Massachusetts, Florida and Arizona have made similar accusations against Young Political Majors, which is paid $7 to $12 for each GOP registration it secures, the Times reported." [UPI, 10/18/08]

YPM A SUBCONTRACTOR TO THE CA GOP:

Young Political Majors Is A Subcontractor Of The CA Republican Party. "The San Bernardino County Democratic Party pressed its case Wednesday that the recent surge in Republican registration in the county is fraudulent. Democratic officials gathered in front of the county registrar of voters office and accused a company that specializes in gathering signatures of duping voters into switching their party affiliation. 'I am appalled at the deceptive and probably illegal tactics used by these crews operating in our communities,' said Carol Robb, chairwoman of the San Bernardino County Democratic Central Committee. But California Republicans say Democrats are just dusting off old tactics to attack the GOP in advance of a planned celebration next month marking the county becoming predominantly Democrat. 'They were going to have a party, and now they are upset they are having to put their cake on hold,' said Hector Barajas, a California Republican Party spokesman. The county issued 7,000 voter-registration forms to Young Political Majors, Registrar of Voters Kari Verjil said Wednesday. She has turned over information to the district attorney and secretary of state. Young Political Majors is a subcontractor to the California Republican Party, Barajas said. California Grassroots Mobilization is the vendor, he said." [Press Enterprise, 9/18/08]

Young Political Majors Asked People To Sign A Phony Petition To Increase Prison Time For Sex Offenders Of Outside Of Wal-Marts And Chaffey College, According To Democrats. "Democrats are demanding an investigation into a recent surge of Republican registrants in San Bernardino County, claiming voter registration fraud belies the numbers. Members of the San Bernardino County Democratic Party are holding a news conference today to discuss their claims and urge authorities to take action. Mark Kirk, an executive committee member of the county's Republican Party, denied his party was involved in any illegal or unethical action. 'Their claims have more to do with their disappointment in the registration numbers than anything,' he said Tuesday. 'It still wouldn't make a difference. We'd still be a red county.' The county has long been dominated by Republicans. In 2002, they outnumbered registered Democrats by 60,000. That gap narrowed to 30,000 in 2006. By May, it was down to 5,000. As of Tuesday, county Registrar Kari Verjil said there were 303,531 registered Democrats and 307,132 registered Republicans. … Verjil, who turned the complaint and supporting documentation over to the California Secretary of State's Office and the district attorney's Public Integrity Unit, said she is doubtful voter registration fraud has been occurring because she hasn't received calls from upset voters. Most of the alleged voter-registration fraud occurred when members of Young Political Majors asked people to sign a phony petition to increase prison time for sex offenders outside of Wal-Marts and Chaffey College, according to the Democratic Party. Voters were either asked to sign as a Republican after being promised it wouldn't change their political party or were asked to sign in two places, one of which was a Republican registration form, Robb said." [San Bernardino County Sun, 9/16/08]

CA GOP Spokesman: Young Political Majors Is A Subcontractor Of The CA Republican Party; California Grassroots Mobilization Is The Vendor. "The San Bernardino County Democratic Party pressed its case Wednesday that the recent surge in Republican registration in the county is fraudulent. Democratic officials gathered in front of the county registrar of voters office and accused a company that specializes in gathering signatures of duping voters into switching their party affiliation. 'I am appalled at the deceptive and probably illegal tactics used by these crews operating in our communities,' said Carol Robb, chairwoman of the San Bernardino County Democratic Central Committee. But California Republicans say Democrats are just dusting off old tactics to attack the GOP in advance of a planned celebration next month marking the county becoming predominantly Democrat. 'They were going to have a party, and now they are upset they are having to put their cake on hold,' said Hector Barajas, a California Republican Party spokesman. The county issued 7,000 voter-registration forms to Young Political Majors, Registrar of Voters Kari Verjil said Wednesday. She has turned over information to the district attorney and secretary of state. Young Political Majors is a subcontractor to the California Republican Party, Barajas said. California Grassroots Mobilization is the vendor, he said." [Press Enterprise, 9/18/08]

YPM Is Paid $7 To $12 For Each Registration It Secures And Claims To Have Registered 70,000 Voters For The CA GOP. "The firm, which a Republican Party spokesman said is paid $7 to $12 for each registration it secures, has denied any wrongdoing and says it has never been charged with a crime. The 70,000 voters YPM has registered for the Republican Party this year will help combat the public perception that it is struggling amid Democratic gains nationally, give a boost to fundraising efforts and bolster member support for party leaders, political strategists from both parties say. Those who were formerly Democrats may stop receiving phone calls and literature from that party, perhaps affecting its get-out-the-vote efforts. They also will be given only a Republican ballot in the next primary election if they do not switch their registration back before then. Some also report having their registration status changed to absentee without their permission; if they show up at the polls without a ballot they may be unable to vote. The Times randomly interviewed 46 of the hundreds of voters whose election records show they were recently re-registered as Republicans by YPM, and 37 of them -- more than 80% -- said that they were misled into making the change or that it was done without their knowledge." [Los Angeles Times, 10/18/08]

MCCAIN CAMPAIGN CO-CHAIR MAJOR SUPPORTER OF CA GOP VOTER REGISTRATION EFFORTS:

Steve Poizner, The McCain Campaign's California State Co-Chair, Is Supporting The CA Fund That Is Paying Young Political Majors. "U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today announced that Steve Poizner, California Insurance Commissioner, has endorsed John McCain for president. Commissioner Poizner will serve as a State Co-Chair for the McCain campaign in California." According to the Ventura County Star, California "[s]ignature gatherers are paid from a fund partially supported by Republican gubernatorial hopeful Steve Poizner, a Silicon Valley multimillionaire who has offered Young Political Majors $5 per new GOP voter." [States News Service, 2/9/08; Ventura County Star, 10/20/08]

California GOP Chair Ron Nehring Praised Poizner For "Commitment To Building The California Republican Party." "Steve Poizner continues to demonstrate his strong commitment to the Republican Party in California. Steve led the effort to defeat Proposition 93 and protect voter-approved term limits, and has recognized the importance of party building efforts. Moreover, he has backed it up with direct support for our volunteers in the field," said California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring. "Our partnership in expanding Republican voter registration is the latest example of Commissioner Poizner's commitment to building the California Republican Party." [California Republican Party Press Release, 8/30/08]

Poizner Announced Plan With California GOP To Increase Bounty For Voter Registrations. "The California GOP and Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, the second-highest elected Republican in the state, today announced the reauthorization and expansion of the Poizner-underwritten bounty registration grant. (The original grant provided by Poizner, providing an additional $3 per verified registration, will be extended beyond the August 31 program date through the October 20 registration deadline. The CRP's existing bounty payment will also be augmented by an additional $2 from Commissioner Poizner, bringing the total available bounty to $8 per verified registration for volunteer organizations and county Republican committees. [California Republican Party Press Release, 8/30/08]

The owner of a firm that the California Republican Party hired to register tens of thousands of voters this year was arrested in Ontario over the weekend on suspicion of voter registration fraud.

State and local investigators allege that Mark Jacoby fraudulently registered himself to vote at a childhood California address where he no longer lives so he would appear to meet the legal requirement that all signature gatherers be eligible to vote in California. His firm, Young Political Majors, or YPM, collects petition signatures and registers voters in California and other states.

Jacoby's arrest by state investigators and the Ontario Police Department late Saturday came after dozens of voters said they were duped into registering as Republicans by people employed by YPM. The voters said YPM workers tricked them by saying they were signing a petition to toughen penalties against child molesters.

The firm was paid $7 to $12 for every Californian it registered as a member of the GOP.

John McCain's campaign has directed $175,000 to the firm of a Republican operative accused of massive voter registration fraud in several states.

According to campaign finance records, a joint committee of the McCain-Palin campaign, the RNC and the the California Republican Party, made a $175,000 payment to the group Lincoln Strategy in June for purposes of "registering voters." The managing partner of that firm is Nathan Sproul, a renowned GOP operative who has been investigated on multiple occasions for suppressing Democratic voter turnout, throwing away registration forms and even, once, spearheading efforts to get Ralph Nader on ballots so as to hinder the Democratic ticket.

More from the Sproul file:

Indeed, Sproul's history is filled with allegations of political misdeeds. During the 2004 election, Sproul & Associates (the former name of Lincoln Strategy) was accused of attempting to destroy forms collected by Democratic voters in Nevada. That same year in Oregon, Sproul & Associates allegedly instructed canvassers to only accept Republican registration forms in addition to destroying those turned in by Democrats.

In Minnesota, meanwhile, Sproul's firm was accused of actually firing workers who brought back Democratic registration forms, while other canvassers were allegedly paid "$13 an hour, with the $3 bonus for every Bush, undecided or Ralph Nader voter registration." Similar problems related to Sproul & Associates popped up in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Staff at the Hillsborough County Democratic Party offices in Tampa have been getting barraged with phone calls from party members who have received what they say are deceptive mailers.

Some of the mailers sought support for Republican presidential candidate John McCain; others simply asked for a donation to the Republican National Committee. Most of the voters who have received them are elderly and registered Democrats, local party officials said.

"I still don't understand their angle," said Michael Steinberg, the county Democratic Party's executive committee chairman. "Frankly, it doesn't really make any sense."

One possibility, he suggested, was "vote caging." By sending the mailings to registered voters in envelopes that can't be forwarded, groups can compile lists of voters who might have moved or are part-time residents. Those lists could then be used to challenge the voters' registration and prevent their absentee ballots from being counted in the general election.

An editorial in the St. Petersburg Times calls the mailings some of the "sleaziest campaign tactics."

It apparently uses incorrect or fraudulent voter identification numbers, and it arrives on official-looking forms titled "voter registration tracking forms.'' One of its devious aims appears to be to build lists to challenge the eligibility of legitimate voters. Such an effort to confuse older voters is contemptible, and McCain should denounce it.

RNC-Funded Company Trashed Voter Registration Forms in 2004: "Voter's Outreach of America aka 'America Votes' is responsible for ripping up democratic voter registrations in Nevada. According to the investigative report, hundreds and perhaps thousands of individuals who think they are registered to vote actually are not. The organization has reportedly left Nevada and gone to Oregon. Full transcript of story attached... Well, the company [Voter's Outreach for America, aka America Votes] has been largely, if not entirely funded by the Republican National Committee. We should also point out that similar complaints have been received in Reno, where the registrar there has asked the FBI to investigate. It's a complicated story and we'll have a lot more tonight and I think in the days ahead." [KLAS Las Vegas Channel 8, 4pm news, Oct. 12, 2004]

Republican Admits Systematic Challenges of Black and Hispanic Voters in 2002. "In the 2002 antifraud experimental run, hundreds of Republican activists slipped on their green vests and tested out the role of poll monitor. In Milwaukee, the volunteers contested the residency of some black voters and in the Hispanic communities they questioned the nationalities of others. Overall, not much came of it. Even Mr. Graber [Wisconsin Republican Chairman] concedes there were 'few reports of trouble.' But he says the "dry run" two years ago has better prepared the party for the challenges today." [Wall Street Journal, 10/22/04]

Republicans Tried to Scare Hispanic Immigrants From Voting. State investigators have linked a Republican campaign to letters sent to thousands of Southern California Hispanics warning them they could go to jail or be deported if they vote next month, a spokesman for the attorney general said. In fact, immigrants who are naturalized U.S. citizens can vote. [USA Today, 10/19/06]

Florida Election Officials Sought To Purge African-Americans From Voter Rolls. Florida Officials Struck Over 2,000 Eligible Voters From Voting Rolls, 62% Were Democrats, More Than Half Were Black. An analysis by the Miami Herald found that the Florida Division of Elections had improperly included 2,119 voters who were on a list of more than 47,000 felons potentially ineligible to vote in the November elections. Florida law requires convicted felons to request clemency in order to regain their right to vote. Of the 2,119 people on the list, 62% were registered Democrats, almost half were Black and less than 20% were Republican. Only sixty-one Hispanics were included on the list of over 47,000 felons though they comprise 11% of the prison population, a politically significant fact for the November elections since Hispanics in Florida vote overwhelmingly Republican while Blacks vote Democrat. [Miami Herald, 7/2/04; Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 7/7/04, 7/8/04; New York Times, 7/10/04]

Native Americans Told "To Go Home" In June Primary. Poll workers demanded identification from Native Americans in South Dakota's June primary, and they illegally turned away Native American voters from the polls when they did not have it. The state's elections auditor sent out a memo to state poll workers stating that all voters must have IDs, but did not widely disseminate information that said that voters could sign an affidavit in lieu of showing identification. State Democrats say that the actions by poll workers were an extension of a wider move by the GOP controlled state legislature to suppress Native American turnout. The law requiring voters to show identification was passed in 2004. One South Dakotan voter turned away from the poll was told by an elections worker that "if she didn't' have a photo ID, she could just turn around and home." [Argus Leader, 6/11/04]

Armed, Plain Clothes Police Officers Intimidated Elderly Black Voters In Orlando. Plain clothes police officers, revealing their side arms, made house calls to elderly, black voters who voted in Orlando's mayoral race in March 2003. The voters were in large part campaign workers or volunteers that helped to organize and get out the vote, mainly using absentee ballots, for Mayor Buddy Dyer. Dyer won with just under 51% of the vote. His challenger, Ken Mulvaney and other defeated candidate alleged that Dyer aide, Ezzie Thomas, the 73-year old head of the Orlando League of Voters, filled out multiple absentee ballots on behalf of black voters. These actions came in spite of the fact that in May 2003 the Florida Dept of Law Enforcement had concluded "that there was no basis to support the allegations of election fraud."[Bob Herbert Column, New York Times, 8/16/04, 8/20/04; AP, 7/17/04]

Convicted Republican Phone Jammer Blamed GOP "Culture" and Was Afraid to Push Back on RNC Official. As he finished serving a prison sentence for "jamming Democratic phone lines in New Hampshire during the 2002 US Senate race," Allen Raymond told the Boston Globe that the "scheme reflects a broader culture in the Republican Party that is focused on dividing voters to win primaries and general elections. He said examples range from some recent efforts to use border-security concerns to foster anger toward immigrants to his own role arranging phone calls designed to polarize primary voters over abortion in a 2002 New Jersey Senate race." The scheme led to "the convictions of Raymond and two top Republican officials, and a Democratic lawsuit that seeks to determine whether the White House played any role." Allen said "he got caught up in an ultra-aggressive atmosphere" and that "he had been reluctant to turn down a prominent official of the RNC, fearing that would cost him future opportunities from an organization that was becoming increasingly ruthless." [Boston Globe, 06/10/2006]

In addition, Republicans used these claims of “so called” voter fraud to push harmful voter ID legislation and to aggressively pursue U.S. Attorneys and organizations that were not on their side of the issue. According to McClatchy News Service, “The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division turned traditional voting rights enforcement upside down with legal policies that narrowed rather than protected the rights of minorities.”

Below are excerpts from the story:

GOP links to vote-fraud push
By GREG GORDON

“A New Mexico lawyer who pushed to oust U.S. Attorney David Iglesias was an officer of a nonprofit group that aided Republican candidates in 2006 by pressing for tougher voter identification laws…

“That strategy, which presidential advisor Karl Rove alluded to in an April 2006 speech to the Republican National Lawyers Association, sought to scrutinize voter registration records, win passage of tougher ID laws and challenge the legitimacy of voters considered likely to vote Democratic.

“Public records show that the two nonprofits were active in at least nine states. They hired high-priced lawyers to write court briefs, issued news releases declaring key cities 'hot spots' for voter fraud and hired lobbyists in Missouri and Pennsylvania to win support for photo ID laws. In each of those states, the center released polls that it claimed found that minorities prefer tougher ID laws. With $1.5 million in combined funding, the two nonprofits attracted some powerful volunteers and a cadre of GOP-allied attorneys. Of the 15 individuals affiliated with the two groups, at least seven are members of the Republican National Lawyers Association, and half a dozen have worked for either one Bush election campaign or for the Republican National Committee…”

To read the entire article visit: http://www.miamiherald.com/509/story/156993.html

According to the article, Schlozman removed experienced attorneys under false pretenses and was blatant about his desire to fill the division with loyal Republicans. In some instances Schlozman intimidated employees who had not voted for President Bush. At one time he stated that his motive for firing a minority woman was to “make room for some good Americans.”[The Washington Post , 6/21/07]

Democratic National Committee Voting Rights Institute Chair Donna Brazile issued the following statement:

“It has become more and more evident that the practices of the Bush Administration and its highly politicized Justice Department are not merely isolated incidents, but a part of a larger pattern designed to do away with law and order in favor of Republican ideology. This Administration has shown a consistent disregard for the law by working to erode fundamental civil and voting rights of the American people who they were hired to serve. Americans deserve a Justice Department that will be a force against injustice and discrimination. Democrats are working to restore ethics in our government so that everyone regardless of partisan affiliation is guaranteed equal rights under the law.”

Recent reports make clear that this coordinated campaign included the politicization of government agencies and government reports, and the targeting of U.S. Attorneys who were deemed to be "insufficiently aggressive in pursuing voter fraud cases." [New York Times, 4/12/07] In April, the New York Times reported that political appointees at the EAC politicized expert studies to marginalize experts who found "virtually no evidence of any organized" voter fraud, but found real evidence of ongoing voter intimidation and suppression. [New York Times, 4/11/07; New York Times, 4/12/07] At the same time, concerns raised by career professionals in the states and at the national level were ignored or marginalized in order to facilitate the Administration's political objectives. In the Minnesota case, the "former head of the voting section of the Justice Department's civil rights division" was told "not to do anything" without approval from a Bush Administration political appointee despite concerns from lawyers for the state's U.S. Attorney's office that the voting rights of Native Americans were being infringed upon. [LA Times, 5/31/07] Now, the Republican Minority Leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, is trying to slip an amendment into the Senate immigration bill to impose harsh voter ID requirements nationwide. [League of Women Voters, 5/24/07] And in her recent testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, ex-DOJ staffer Monica Goodling said that Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty knew about the involvement of Acting U.S. Attorney Tim Griffin in “vote caging,” a process of systematically removing voters from the registration rolls. A full fact sheet on "vote caging," which is considered a crime, is included below.

Donna Brazile (DNC Voting Rights Institute), Virgie Rollins (DNC Black Caucus), Ramona Martinez (DNC Hispanic Caucus), Bel Leong-Hong (DNC AAPI Caucus), Maria Cordone (DNC Seniors Coordinating Council), and Frank LaMere (DNC Native American Coordinating Council) issued the following joint statement:

"The American people deserve leaders who respect the right of every eligible voter to cast his or her vote and to have that vote counted. The Bush Administration has systematically worked to undermine that right by politicizing essential federal voter protections, downplaying voter suppression tactics, and promoting discriminatory voter ID laws that disenfranchise American voters. The assault on voting rights is easily the most disturbing and inexcusable example of the Bush Administration's unbridled willingness to use the American government for the benefit of narrow partisan interests. The same voters targeted by these Republican efforts, whether Hispanic, African American, AAPI, or Native American, are all among those serving with honor in Iraq and Afghanistan. They shouldn't have to fight for their right to vote when they come home.

"The list of tools that Republicans have used to enhance their electoral prospects at the expense of our right to vote reads like a shameful litany from past eras: restricting access to voter registration, improper attempts to purge voter lists, the use of voting machines that leave no verifiable audit trails, criminal phone jamming schemes, discriminatory voter ID laws, inconsistently administered elections, and now we find out, politicizing the Department of Justice. These Republican schemes are not just undemocratic, they're un-American. The time has come for Republicans to stop playing politics with our fundamental right to vote, and for President Bush, Mitch McConnell, and the Republican Party to apologize to the American people."

Below is a DNC Research fact sheet on "Vote Caging"

“CAGING” AND THE US ATTORNEY SCANDAL

In her recent testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, Monica Goodling was asked briefly about “caging.” Both in her opening remarks and in response to questioning by Linda Sanchez, Goodling said that Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty knew about the involvement of Acting U.S. Attorney Tim Griffin in “vote caging,” a process of systematically removing voters from the registration rolls. McNulty had previously denied knowing of the scheme. Not mentioned in the testimony is the fact that caging voters is a crime.

Goodling told the committee:

• As explained in more detail in my written remarks, I believe the deputy was not fully candid about his knowledge of White House involvement in the replacement decision, failed to disclose that he had some knowledge of the White House's interest in selecting Tim Griffin as the interim U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Arkansas, inaccurately described the department's internal assessment of the Parsky Commission and failed to disclose that he had some knowledge of allegations that Tim Griffin had been involved in vote caging during his work on the president's 2004 campaign. [Testimony of Monica M. Goodling before the House Judiciary Committee, 5/24/2007]

RNC NATIONAL CHALLENGE STRATEGY

National Republican Party Gatherings Spent Planning Challenge Strategies. “At national party gatherings, Republican state chairmen have been comparing notes, exchanging ideas and sharing results from trial runs of antifraud poll-monitoring efforts during the 2002 campaign and a myriad of special elections.” [Wall Street Journal, 10/22/04]

Republican Admits Systematic Challenges of Black and Hispanic Voters in 2002. “In the 2002 antifraud experimental run, hundreds of Republican activists slipped on their green vests and tested out the role of poll monitor. In Milwaukee, the volunteers contested the residency of some black voters and in the Hispanic communities they questioned the nationalities of others. Overall, not much came of it. Even Mr. Graber [Wisconsin Republican Chairman] concedes there were ‘few reports of trouble.’ But he says the "dry run" two years ago has better prepared the party for the challenges today.” [Wall Street Journal, 10/22/04]

Republican Intimidation Strategy Aided by Top Party Leaders. “The Republican antifraud campaign is being shepherded by the Republican National Committee headquarters, with help from throughout the party. Attorney General John Ashcroft has asked U.S. attorneys to meet with top election officials and make themselves available for fraud investigations on Election Day if necessary. Some Republican secretaries of state have issued regulations to ensure votes -- mistakenly or intentionally -- cast in the wrong precincts aren't counted, but judges recently struck down those rules, saying they run counter to the intent of a new federal law aimed at removing technical obstacles to voting. Republican voters and state lawmakers also have pressed, with mixed results, to require new voters to show identification to ensure that an imposter isn't able to cast a fraudulent vote.” [Wall Street Journal, 10/22/04]

RNC CREATES CHALLENGE LIST IN FLORIDA

Email from Bush Campaign in FL to RNC Includes List of Voters to Be Challenged from African-American Neighborhood. “Two e-mails, prepared for the executive director of the Bush campaign in Florida and the campaign's national research director in Washington DC, contain a 15-page so-called ‘caging list.’ It lists 1,886 names and addresses of voters in predominantly black and traditionally Democrat areas of Jacksonville, Florida. An elections supervisor in Tallahassee, when shown the list, told Newsnight: ‘The only possible reason why they would keep such a thing is to challenge voters on election day.’” [BBC Television News Online, 10/26/04]

“Caging” List Generated from RNC Mailing. “The list was a listing of returned mail that came from a mailing that the Republican National Committee sent to new registrants in Duval County encouraging newly registered Republicans, Democrats and independents to vote Republican.” [LA Times, 10/28/04]

Caging Email Sent to RNC Research Staff. The Republican email that included the “caging list”, originally from Kelly Porter with the Republican Party of Florida, was sent from RNC Research Director Tom Griffin to several other members of the RNC research and political staff. The header of the email reads:

• From: Tim Griffin - Research/Communications [mailto:tgriffin@rnchq.org] Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2004 6:34 PM To: kporter@rpof.org; Lindy Landreaux - Political [mailto:LLandreaux@rnchq.org]; Miriam Moore - Research/Communications [mailto:MMoore@rnchq.org]; Victoria Newton - Research/Communications [mailto:VNewton@rnchq.org]; Shawn Reinschmiedt - Research/Communications [SReinschmiedt@rnchq.org]; rkammerdiner@rnchq.org; sshiver@rpof.org; bdoster@georgewbush.org Subject: Re: caging

RNC Response to BBC Reports:

“First, caging is a commonly used term in the political process by which someone opens a large amount of mail and logs it into a database. This is routinely done when an organization receives a great deal of mail from a fundraising appeal or returned mail from a mailing to a large number of people. The reporter was not familiar with this term or this process and did not seem to understand it even after it was explained to him. Second, the list was a listing of returned mail that came from a mailing that the Republican National Committee sent to new registrants in Duval County in Florida, encouraging newly registered Republicans, Democrats and Independents to vote Republican. Voter registration has been a heavy concentration of both parties this year and both national and state Republican parties have been reaching out to new registrants for the upcoming election. The Duval County list was created to collect the returned mail information from the Republican National Committee mailing and was intended and has been used for no purpose other than that.”
-- Mindy Tucker Fletcher, Senior Advisor to the RNC

SIMILAR LISTS USED FOR CHALLENGES IN WI & OH

Ohio Republican accusations proved false and will be rejected. Today, the Columbus Post Dispatch reports, “many of the 35,427 challenges the Ohio GOP filed Friday against newly registered voters statewide will be rejected.” The Republican accusation was based on returned mail from a computer-generated mailing which they tried to prove the addresses where invalid, but it turns out the computer program itself was faulty. The GOP has withdrawn all 4,718 challenges filed in Hamilton County and about two-thirds of the 4,219 challenges filed in Franklin County, admitting these were invalid accusations. [Columbus Post Dispatch, 10/25/04]

Republicans File Last Minute Challenge in Wisconsin. “State Republicans filed a last-minute complaint Wednesday with the Milwaukee Election Commission claiming that 5,600 city addresses on the voter rolls may not exist. . . . The Republican Party of Wisconsin checked the addresses of more than 300,000 people registered to vote in the city with a software program also used by the U.S. Postal Service.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/27/04]

Wisconsin Republicans Conducting Background Checks on New Voters. “Wisconsin Republicans are conducting background checks on roughly 100,000 newly registered voters and training more than 50,000 volunteers to monitor precincts on Election Day and lodge challenges against voters they view as questionable.” [Wall Street Journal, 10/22/04]

Wisconsin “Election Integrity Program” a National Model. “The project, informally called the Election Integrity Program, is a model for similar efforts Republicans are launching nationwide to counter the massive voter-registration efforts conducted by Democratic-leaning groups this year. Both parties have pushed get-out-the-vote campaigns, and efforts to prevent election fraud. But while Democrats have grabbed headlines by filing lawsuits to protect voter access to the polls, Republicans have been working just as feverishly to make voter fraud a top priority.” [Wall Street Journal, 10/22/04]

CHALLENGE LIST REJECTED IN NEVADA

GOP Challenge Rejected in Nevada. “A late challenge to 17,000 Democratic voters in Clark County by a former Republican operative was blocked Monday when Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax said all would be eligible to participate in the Nov. 2 election. Dan Burdish, a Republican businessman and former state party executive director, challenged the voters in the 3rd Congressional District on Friday, arguing that as "inactive voters" they do not live at the address associated with their voter registration. The county designates voters as inactive when it cannot deliver mail to the voter. After a certain amount of time as inactive, voters are purged from the rolls. The purge has already been done in Clark County this year, but all inactive voters countywide may vote if they provide an updated address to the county.” [Las Vegas Review-Journal, 10/12/04]

CHALLENGES EXPECTED IN FLORIDA & COLORADO

Republicans Prepared for Challenges in FL and CO. “Republicans have also filed plans in Florida and Colorado to place watchers who can challenge voters in those key states on Election Day.” [Washington Post, 10/29/04]

RNC HISTORY OF USING CHALLENGE LISTS TO DISENFRANCHISE VOTERS

RNC Used Similar Tactics in 1981. “In 1981, the Republican National Committee sent letters to predominantly black neighborhoods in New Jersey, and when 45,000 letters were returned as undeliverable, the committee compiled a challenge list to remove those voters from the rolls. The RNC sent off-duty law enforcement officials to the polls and hung posters in heavily black neighborhoods warning that violating election laws is a crime.” [Washington Post, 10/29/04]

1986 Challenge List Targeted Blacks in Louisiana. “In 1986, the RNC tried to have 31,000 voters, most of them black, removed from the rolls in Louisiana when a party mailer was returned. The consent decrees that resulted prohibited the party from engaging in anti-fraud initiatives that target minorities or conduct mail campaigns to "compile voter challenge lists."” [Washington Post, 10/29/04]