OpEdNews » Life and Death Struggle Against Voter Suppression: TX Senator Gallegos Blocks Voter ID Bill

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Tag(s): Election Law; Election Reform; Voter Disenfranchisement; Voter Fraud; Voter ID Laws; Voting Integrity
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May 27, 2007 at 01:02:56

Life and Death Struggle Against Voter Suppression: TX Senator Gallegos Blocks Voter ID Bill

by Project Vote Page 2 of 2 page(s)

www.opednews.com

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While many have seen Rove’s fingerprints in creating the elaborate tale of voter fraud as a pretext for voter suppression, Greg Gordon at the McClatchy Newspapers shows some of how the politicization of the Justice Department was accomplished. In a Sunday report, Gordon shows how former Department of Justice official . Hans von Spakovsky spent much of his four years there “in a crusade against voter fraud.” Under a pseudonym, von Spakovsky wrote a law journal article about the importance of photo ID to prevent voter fraud, further saying there was “no evidence” that such ID was a burden on minorities. He has also been linked to controversial voter ID cases in Georgia and Arizona. Von Spakovsky then allegedly sped up the approval process for controversial voter ID bills in Georgia and Arizona, citing his own law journal article as support for the laws. He did this,despite objections by career staff “who believed that Georgia's law would restrict voting by poor blacks and who felt that more analysis was needed on the Arizona law's impact on Native Americans and Latinos.” He also attempted to influence the federal Election Assistance Commission's research on voter fraud and voter ID laws: “A House panel revealed last month that the fraud study's central finding - that there was little evidence of widespread voter fraud - had been toned down to say that 'a great deal of debate' surrounded the subject,” wrote Gordon. Von Sparkovsky has been given a recess appointment to the Federal Elections Commission and has a confirmation hearing scheduled for June 13th.

In Other News:

Florida Governor Charlie Crist signed two significant bills Monday, “eliminating electronic voting machines in favor of paper ballots and making Florida's presidential primary among the earliest in the nation.” The new law requiring paper records won't be in effect for the new Jan. 29 presidential primary, but is expected to be implemented for the fall 2008 elections, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Florida League of Women Voters called the bill mandating paper-based voting systems “deeply flawed” in Thursday's Palm Beach Post. The bill was inundated with numerous “objectionable amendments” just days before the end of session, including provisions that “stifle” voter registration drives by “grassroots organizations,” an issue that is “similar to prior years' legislation that the League of Women Voters is challenging in court.”

Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner announced a new voter registration program to get young people to vote, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Under the pilot program that will reach 147 high schools in several counties, all graduates will receive a voter form and letter encouraging them to register. “The goal is to expand the program statewide next year, depending on the response, Brunner said,” hoping to register 10% or more graduates.

Wisconsin State Rep. Joe Parisi introduced legislation to fully restore voting rights of felons who have completed their sentence, a proposal Assembly Republican Scott Suder called “dead on arrival,” according to the Wisconsin Radio Network. Current law restores former felons' voting rights after completing probation or parole.

Erin Ferns is a Research and Policy Analyst with Project Vote’s Strategic Writing and Research Department (SWORD).

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www.projectvote.org

Project Vote is the leading technical assistance and direct service provider to the civic participation community. Since its founding in 1982, Project Vote has provided professional training, management, evaluation and technical services on a broad continuum of key issues related to voter engagement and participation in low-income and minority communities.

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2 comments

Professor Bagnolo is a Renaissance man: Cultural Anthropologist, Architectural designer, painter, writer, novelist, theologian. As a child prodigy, abed with polio for almost two years, with an off the charts IQ, reading at the graduate level by 5th grade, offered an opportunity to skip three grades at age 8.Later He was a recipient of an Art Institute scholarship at age 11, a Ford Foundation Fellowship in Anthropology and in Painting and a merit scholarship in art, and was appointed a Graduate ...

to see more of bio, click on member name
Professor Emeritus Peter BagnoloProfessor Bagnolo is a Renaissance man: Cultural Anthropologist, Architectural designer, painter, writer, novelist, theologian. As a child prodigy, abed with polio for almost two years, with an off the charts IQ, reading at the graduate level by 5th grade, offered an opportunity to skip three grades at age 8.Later He was a recipient of an Art Institute scholarship at age 11, a Ford Foundation Fellowship in Anthropology and in Painting and a merit scholarship in art, and was appointed a Graduate ...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Felons

Viva Gallagos!!

Laws not allowing felons to vote are ridiculous. If creatures like the Bushites: Rove, Rumsfeld, Robertson, DeLaye, Bush, Frist, and the rest can vote, then even Satan should be allowed the vote, for his crimes were far less than theirs.

Haiving committed a felony, has aboslutely NOTHING to do with treasonous acts. Let us disallow from voting only those who have impeded and or sinned against our Sacred Bill of Rights, Constitution, Freedom, those who have sent our citizens into harm's way for personal, corporate reasons. That would be everyone in congress who voted for the war, who voted for the Patriot Act, The Millitaary Commission's Act of 2006, everyone working for G W Bush, the staff of Fallwell's "law school," most of the Justice Department, at least 3 members of the Supreme Court, most especially the actions of Ant'ny Scalia and a number of generals, the cabinet, most members of many of the nations law enforcement agencies, the Drug corporations, doctors, hospitals and clinics, the oil companies, energy trading companies, America's utilities, the makers, sellers and users of: pesticides/herbicides, solvents, and explosives and automatic weapons and those who permit and promote. their use for "sports" and... Jeeps that leaves just some of us ordinary citizens.

Oh, one more thing. If anyone fails to vote let us suspend their citizenship until they prove themselves worthy of that privilege.

by Professor Emeritus Peter Bagnolo (144 articles, 1 quicklinks, 95 diaries, 1311 comments) on Sunday, May 27, 2007 at 7:58:10 AM

DOB -- September 20, 1940. Became active in civil rights and peace movements in 1962. Active in socialist and antiwar movements -- 1963-69. Active in Gay Liberation from 1969 to present.
rhalfhillDOB -- September 20, 1940. Became active in civil rights and peace movements in 1962. Active in socialist and antiwar movements -- 1963-69. Active in Gay Liberation from 1969 to present.

REMOVE THIS EVIL DESPICABLE MAN

There ought to be a civil rights movement of felons denied with mass sit ins at polling places, etc. I am opposed to the above suggestion of making voting compulsory or denying people their right to vote for the sweeping and multitudinous reasons suggested above.

But my main comment is about Steven Biskupic, the U.S. Attorney in eastern Wisconsin. He was on the Rove/Gonzalez list of attorneys to be fired but he got off the list by prosecuting innocent citizens.

He prosecuted Georgia Thompson, an employee of the state travel office on trumped up charges of directing a state travel contract to a company that had contributed to the Democratic Governor. When Thompson's appeal reached the appelate court, the court commented on the lack of any evidence supporting Thompson's conviction and ordered her freed from prison that same day. Meanwhile, Thompson had served four months in prison and lost her house.

Citizens of a free society are supposed to be able to go about their business without having the fear that the state will single them out for a show travel and conviction as was done in the former Soviet Union and other dictatorships. Biskupic's false and political prosecution strikes at the very foundation of that right. Georgia Thompson should be given the money to buy an even better house plus punitive damages for the ordeal she has suffered. Steven Biskupic should be removed as the U.S. Attorney, disbarred and sentenced to at least ten years in prison for that trumped up prosecution alone.

But there's more. In accord with the Bush Cheney Administration policy of cutting down the number of veterans who received service connected disability, Biskupic prosecuted a 62 year old Vietnam veteran for fraud after he applied to retroactively move back the time he was eligible for benefits. He had contracted Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after seeing another service member crushed to death in the wheel well of a plane during the 1960's. The VA hearing examiner ruled that he was eligible for benefits from an earlier date. But Biskupic obtained another trumped up conviction and the veteran has now been in jail for over four months, awaiting his transfer to prison

The Republican administration tried to suppress the minority vote by alleging that there was massive voters fraud. Biskupic prosecuted 14 voters for voting before their probation ended, obtained five convictions and some of those voters are now in prison serving several year terms.

Remove, disbar and prosecut this evil despicable man before he can prosecute and imprison more innocent citizens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Robert Halfhill

by rhalfhill (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 310 comments) on Sunday, May 27, 2007 at 9:39:22 PM