Sunday vote OK; meeting canceled (Mecklenburg)

[wildeyed]

Mecklenburg County commissioners canceled today's special meeting on Sunday voting, but the five polling places will be open this weekend as scheduled.

snip....

"The only reason that we would have had the meeting (Friday) is to allow people to talk about it, and to demonstrate and to make noise and try to motivate their voters through the event by claiming that they were somehow deprived of their rights to vote," Cox said Thursday. He added that he had announced the special meeting the day before to meet a required 48-hour public notice rule.

Cox and the four other Republican commissioners started a two-day brouhaha Tuesday night, when they voted not to accept a $55,992 state grant for Sunday voting and early voting at two college campuses. They argued that local and state elections boards did not follow proper procedures in adding those times and dates to a previously approved early-voting plan.

snip....

That was exactly the reason to cancel it, said Republican Bill James.

"The reality is that canceling the meeting will deny the wacko black fringe an organizing point," he said. "We would have just had 500 NAACP groupies showing up."

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/special_packages/election2004/voters_guide/9983522.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

That wacky Bill James is at it again. Here is my idea for a bumper sticker: 500 NAACP Groupies can’t be wrong: Bill James gotta go! :-)

[physioex]

1. Sounds like blatant racism....

How do these people get away?

[yellerpup]

2. Just couldn't take the heat, could they?

What a dumb@%*# for making the NAACP remark. What constituency is he trying to appeal to? Good work keeping on the pressure turned on high. Let's hope lots of people vote for Kerry on Sunday! :kick:

[wildeyed]

3. That isn't the half of it.

When I get around to it, I will post some of the email replies he sent to people about the Sunday voting. He is a true mouth breather.

[Jane Eyre]

4. Great day at the polls today, thanks to Bill James!

I think that the Democratic Party needs to give a special GOTV award to Bill James and the Republican County Commissioners. Voter turnout today was awesome!

I was at a poll in one of the more Republican area of town, and the wait was 2 1/2 hours at the peak. Polls in more Democratic areas reported waiting times of over 4 hours! And I have to say, the D/R split seemed to be about 50/50 even in the area where I was. LOTS of Democratic volunteers out talking to voters at the polls.

Bill James was wrong about Sunday voting being only for black voters, there were lots of white folks out today too. Minority turnout was high, though, thanks to Bill James! Not a single "black wacko" or "NAACP groupie" in sight though...

Voters were lined up all the way around the Board of Elections. It was amazing.

[wildeyed]

5. It looks like it backfired on them.

What on earth was Samuelson thinking in the first place?

And now they will have to do Sunday voting again b/c it was such a huge success. :kick:

[yellerpup]

6. Did you see the Observer article this morning (10-25-04)

Where people stood in line for 3 hours to vote on Sunday? Ooooh, so exciting! Yes, backfired in a BIG way! :kick: