Voter Purging: A Legal Way for Republicans to Swing Elections?

[babylonsister]

Voter Purging: A Legal Way for Republicans to Swing Elections?

By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet. Posted September 11, 2007.

Now the Department of Justice, like the Republican Party, wants fewer registered voters in 2008.


The Department of Justice's Voting Section is pressuring 10 states to purge voter rolls before the 2008 election based on statistics that former Voting Section attorneys and other experts say are flawed and do not confirm that those states have more voter registrations than eligible voters, as the department alleges.

Voting Section Chief John Tanner called for the purges in letters sent this spring under an arcane provision in the National Voter Registration Act, better known as the Motor Voter law, whose purpose is to expand voter registration. The identical letters notify states that 10 percent or more of their election jurisdictions have problematic voter rolls. It tells states to report "the subsequent removal from rolls of persons no longer eligible to vote."

"That data does not say what they purport it says," said David Becker, People for the American Way Foundation's senior voting rights counsel and a former Voting Section senior trial attorney, after reviewing the letters and statistics used to call for the purges. "They are saying the data shows the 10 worst voter rolls. They have a lot of explaining to do."

"You are basically seeing them grasping at whatever straws are possible to make their point," said Kim Brace, a consultant who helped the U.S. Election Assistance Commission prepare its 2004 National Voter Registration Act report, which contains the data tables cited by the Voting Section letter to identify the errant states.

The Justice Department would not comment for this report, despite repeated requests.

The 10 states receiving Voting Section purge letters are Iowa, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Vermont. Since 2005, the Section has also sued six other states or cities -- Indiana, Maine, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Pulaski County, Arkansas -- where purging voter rolls was part of the resulting settlement. Only Missouri fought a Voting Section suit, winning in federal court, although that decision has been appealed.

more...

http://www.alternet.org/rights/62133/

[Mnemosyne]

1. Needs a

:kick:

[riqster]

2. Everybody looks at the Black Boxes

...but they are just one piece. The entire election system has been hijacked, from the time a voter signs up to the time their vote is (hopefully) counted. The Black Boxes are, to some extent, a useful diversion for the Reeps, because while we are looking at them, our right to even USE said boxes is being taken away via voter registration.

My county wanted to purge me, even though I have never missed an election in my life.

[Stevepol]

3. Glad to be Rec #5.

[mod mom]

4. Here's an example from Lucas Co OH in '04:

from Blackwell's Investigation of the county we learn:

-October 4, 2004 was filing deadline for new voter registrations. At that point there were approximately 20,000 unprocessed voter registration applications with less than a month before the election. One mail tray containing 4,500-7,000 (estimates vary) unprocessed “Project Voter” registrations were discovered on or about October 18, 2004.

SOURCE: SOS Investigation pg 10


from the OH SOS web site:


***Of interest here is information obtained from the SOS website entitled ElectionsVoter/results 2003 and 2004 which show the # of registered voters number change from ‘03-’04 was 11,947 in Lucas County: reg voters 2003 in Lucas=288,190 ; registered voter in 2004=300,137.

So what happened? Either the registrations were never processed or a shit load of voters were purged from the lists. Bernadette NOE (wife of convicted felon TOM NOE who among other things was charged w money laundering for bush/cheney '04) was Chair of the Lucas County BOE at the time.

[mod mom]

5. Here is a little background on the Noes-if anyone is interested:

Noe to Republicans: You Scratch My Back, I'll Donate Money to Your Campaign




Noe Attended White House Strategy Session With Ken Mehlman and Possibly Karl Rove, While His Wife Was an Ohio Elections Official. According to emails released by Ohio Governor Bob Taft's office, Thomas Noe used his influence to obtain a coveted invitation to a White House ceremony honoring the Ohio State University football team. The emails also revealed that Noe attended an "Ohio political strategy session" with Ken Mehlman and Collister "Coddy" Johnson, Bush's campaign manager and field director. Karl Rove was also listed as a possible attendee of the meeting. At the time, Noe's wife Bernadette was an elections official in Lucas County Ohio, an area that experienced extreme voting difficulties during the 2004 election, causing Secretary of State Ken Blackwell to ask for her resignation.

Noe Was "Man to See" in Northwest Ohio For Republicans. For nearly a decade, Thomas Noe has been the Republican Party's man to see in northwest Ohio, a confidant of governors and a prodigious fund-raiser for legislators, judges and just about every Republican statewide elected official.

Noe was Regional Chairman of Bush-Cheney Campaign and Frequently Spoke with Rove. As a regional chairman of the campaign, Mr. Noe had frequent contact with Karl Rove, the architect of the President's re-election. And Ohio, it turned out, was the pivotal state in the election, narrowly pushing President Bush to victory.

Bush Thanked Noe for "His Leadership". On October 29, 2004 at a campaign rally in Toledo, Ohio, Bush singled out Noe for his work on the campaign. Bush said, "I want to thank the grassroots activists. I want to thank my friends Bernadette Noe and Tom Noe for their leadership in Lucas County." After the speech, Bush and the first lady met with Noe and his wife backstage, to thank them for their "work on the campaign."

Noe was Pioneer for Bush's Reelection and Raised at Least $100,000. According to FEC filings Thomas Noe joined the elite ranks, and gained the access, of the Bush Pioneers, raising at least $100,000 for Bush's reelection campaign.
Noe Under Federal Investigation for Making Illegal Donations to Bush Campaign. According to FEC regulations, individuals can only donate $2,000 to a presidential candidate in the primary and another $2,000 in the general election. Noe is under investigation for possibly laundering additional contributions through other individuals, to skirt campaign finance rules. According to the Toledo Blade, "Gregory A. White, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, confirmed that his office, in conjunction with the FBI, is looking into Mr. Noe, who was chairman of the Bush-Cheney campaign in northwest Ohio. 'We have publicly confirmed the investigation of Mr. Noe in relation to some campaign contributions,' Mr. White said last night. He said the investigation has been ongoing for a couple of months, but declined to comment on its details. Officials with the U.S. Justice Department in Washington are aware of the investigation, Mr. White said."
Noe Was Bush Pioneer and Opened His Own Wallet for Bush. According to FEC filings, Thomas Noe has donated thousands of dollars to National Republican politicians. Besides raising at least $100,000 for Bush's reelection and becoming a Bush Pioneer, Noe also donated his own money to the Republican political machine. During the 2004 election Noe donated $2,000 to the Bush-Cheney campaign and $2,000 to the Republican National Committee. Also, in 2000, Noe donated $1,000 to the Bush-Cheney campaign.

Noe Was Recommended to Coinage Advisory Committee by Hastert and Nominated by Secretary of Treasury John Snow. On April 23, President Bush signed into law the "American 5-Cent Coin Design Continuity Act of 2003" (Public Law 108-15), which established the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC). According to a Treasury Department press release Noe was recommended by Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL) and nominated by Snow.


Noe Was a Long Time Contributor to National Republicans. Noe has been donating to National Republicans for years. Noe has donated $21,000 in the past two years to Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) and has donated to Republican Representatives Deborah Pryce GOP Conference Chairwoman, David Hobson Assistant Majority Whip, and Paul E. Gillmor Deputy Majority Whip. Noe and his wife also gave $5,000 a piece to the CARE political action committee and Ohio's 17 Star PAC. These PAC's have donated money to various national Republicans including Senator John Thune (R-SD), Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA). Noe has also donated to the Republican National Committee.





Voinovich Administration Approved Ohio's $25 Million Investment in Noe's Coin Scheme. "In the 1990's, Mr. Noe, 50, was chairman of the Republican Party in Lucas County, which includes Toledo. His wife held the same position until last year. He was a friend of Gov. George V. Voinovich, now a senator, whose administration first approved a $25 million investment in Mr. Noe's rare-coin funds in 1998." Noe also, has given $21,000 in the past two years to Voinovich.

http://www.democrats.org/a/2005/10/noe_to_republic.php