Dem Bill Would Crack Down On Voter Caging

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Dem Bill Would Crack Down On Voter Caging
By Zachary Roth - March 5, 2009, 2:26PM
The 2008 election may be over, but the voter suppression wars that went along with it certainly aren't.

Eleven Democratic senators led by Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island today introduced a bill designed to make GOP operatives think twice about launching indiscriminate challenges on people's right to vote. The bill would outlaw challenges to voting eligibility that are based on unreliable information.

The bill appears targeted at the GOP's "caging" tactic -- in one manifestation of which, Republicans in Michigan and other states considered challenging the eligibility of voters who were on a list of people whose homes were subject to foreclosure.

It would also appear to cover the GOP effort we reported on in New Mexico last fall, in which the state party publicly announced its intention to challenge 28 mostly Hispanic voters, based on a grab-bag of suspicions. All of those voters were later shown to be valid.

Whitehouse said of the bill:
Last year's historic election proved that the right of an eligible voter to cast his or her vote is essential to our democracy.

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