Talk about a double whammy. Voters in Michigan who have already gone through the difficulty of losing their homes, may now face the threat of losing their right to vote. This has to do with an effort by Republicans in Michigan to take advantage of the high numbers of foreclosures in the State. In order to register and vote, residents must have a permanent address. However, those who have lost their homes are obviously temporarily displaced. The Republicans are preparing lists of foreclosed homes.... in an effort to challenge voters on election day. They may also attempt to send mailings to these homes, knowing that the mailings will be sent back w/ "return to sender".... this could also be a pretext to disqualify voters. It should be no surprise that many of the targeted voters will be African Americans - standard M.O. for Republican strategists who use voter suppression to give Republican candidates an advantage.However, there is no law requiring anyone to be a homeowner in order to vote. Many of these voters may not remember to re-register (with all the hectic and tragic events in their lives)....and Republicans may attempt to make it difficult for these voters to do so, even if they try. If these voters are temporarily living with family or friends, then that should suffice. But this is why we need national standards on voting... that would put an end to this kind of trickery. The current system of 50 separate and unequal voting systems is inadequate and leaves open too many opportunities for voter suppression, intimidation, caging, destroying ballots, disqualifying legitimate registrations and other trickery.
Democrats have had to file a lawsuit to stop Republican dirty tricks in Michigan.
Hear/Watch report from Democracy Now
Amy Goodman also talks with Professor Andrew Hacker about voter Suppression nationwide.
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A Few Previous Posts On This Topic
Watch an Excellent Video On Caging
McCain Camp Sends Out Bogus Ballot Applications
Rikyrah Posts About Voter Suppression
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