This Needs To Go Viral: Please Pass This Email To Everyone

[orleans]

i just transcribed the opening of this show--please, GET THIS OUT TO EVERYONE!

URGENT: SEND THIS EMAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW AND HAVE THEM SEND IT TO EVERYONE THEY KNOW

BEFORE YOU VOTE YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS

From Ring of Fire with Mike Papantonio and Robert Kennedy Jr. Sept. 20, 2008)

Bobby: “There are about 30 scams the republicans are deliberately using, particularly in the swing states to get democratic voters off the rolls. These scams originate in the so-called Help America Vote Act which was passed after the Florida debacle in the year 2000. It was originally suggested by democrats and republicans but it was passed by a republican congress with a republican senate and a republican president. And instead of reforming what happened in Florida it basically institutionalized all the problems that happened in Florida. And institutionalized a series of impediments that make it very difficult for democrats to register, for democrats to vote and then for democrats to have their vote counted.

“One of these requirements under HAVA is called “the perfect match” and what that does is little known but it is devastating. A quarter of the voters in Colorado have just been removed from the rolls because of this--just this one scam. And what it does is they use a computer system to compare your registration application to all other government records of you in the state. So they’ll look at your social security records, your motor vehicle records and any time you’ve had any interaction with the government and if there is any information on your voter registration that is different than the information on another government record that they find they remove you from the voting rolls.

“For example, if I registered as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and yet my motor vehicle license said Robert Frances Kennedy Jr. I’d be removed from the rolls. If your initial is different, if you leave an initial out, if you leave a “Jr.” out, if you leave a hyphen out in your name. And what they’ve done is a study in New York that said 80% of the errors are errors that were done by state clerks who are taking down this information. And particularly immigrant communities that people tend to vote democratic, people have names…spell Muhammad with an “o” instead of a “u” (crosstalk)

Pap: “Are the democrats suing to stop this?”

Bobby: “No, the democrats are doing nothing to stop it. In New Jersey, which is a swing state, 300,000 voters in New Jersey were just sent letters saying that they are now ineligible to vote. New jersey is nice enough to actually notify them--most states will not even notify them. And New Jersey intends to send out 870,000 letters so that is three quarters of a million people off the voting rolls in a state that could decide this vote by 50,000 votes. And these are democrats that are being pushed off the rolls.

Bobby: “Let me tell you about one other of these scams people should know about. If you’re a newly registered voter--and of course the democrats have done these gigantic registration drives--12 million people on registration--if you’re a new voter you MUST include your license or some other state I.D. when you come to vote. What that means is that if you’re a college kid (and college kids now--they’re sending in absentee ballots--they’re not going to the voting place, they do everything online or they do everything remotely--they don’t dream of going to the precinct house voting on election day and waiting in a long line) so if they send in the absentee ballot and they don’t include a color copy of their license their vote is going to be thrown into a trash can. And none of these people know this because you have had to read the law in order to know it. So there is no notification for when you fill out your registration form, so all of those 12 million people that the democrats have registered: those ballots are going to be just thrown out.

Pap: “And if democrats won’t talk about this how the hell’s anybody gonna know about it? I’m involved with this kind of thing every day--I didn’t know that until you just told me. The media is not talking about it. How in the hell is somebody gonna find this out? It’s just incredible.

Bobby: “Hopefully--Obama is getting 66 million dollars a month--hopefully somebody in the democratic organization is going to pay some attention to this before election day.
http://airamerica.com/content/broadcast-ring-fire-2008-...
(it is the first thing they discuss in the show)

(Bobby has a piece that he worked on with Greg Palast that will be in the October 17 issue of Rolling Stone)

THIS IS FROM HAVA (HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT)
2) Requirements.-- (A) In general.--An individual meets the requirements of this paragraph if the individual-- (i) in the case of an individual who votes in person-- (I) presents to the appropriate State or local election official a current and valid photo identification; or (II) presents to the appropriate State or local election official a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of the voter; or (ii) in the case of an individual who votes by mail, submits with the ballot-- (I) a copy of a current and valid photo identification; or (II) a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of the voter. (B) Fail-safe voting.-- (i) In person.--An individual who desires to vote in person, but who does not meet the requirements of subparagraph (A)(i), may cast a provisional ballot under section 302(a). (ii) By mail.--An individual who desires to vote by mail but who does not meet the requirements of subparagraph (A)(ii) may cast such a ballot by mail and the ballot shall be counted as a provisional ballot in accordance with section 302(a).
http://www.fec.gov/hava/law_ext.txt
(that means your vote will be thrown out!)

REMEMBER:
1. VOTE
2. VOTE IN PERSON (IF POSSIBLE)
3. DON'T VOTE EARLY (IF POSSIBLE)
4. VOTE ON A PAPER BALLOT (NO MACHINE IF YOU HAVE A CHOICE)
5. BRING AN "VALID" I.D. (IF POSSIBLE)
6. IF YOU HAVE TO VOTE ABSENTEE ENCLOSE A COLOR COPY OF CURRENT LICENSE OR OTHER OTHER "VALID" (STATE?) I.D. OR OTHER DOCUMENTATION LISTED ABOVE.

let's not get fucked over again!

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. Why not vote early?

We have Advanced Voting in Kansas and we tell everyone to Advance Vote. No lines, no wait. And you can have a paper ballot.

[orleans]

4. my understanding on the downside of early voting is that some

places only allow you to early vote on machines
and if you vote early you're not part of the "presence" we need to show on election day, and not a possible tally for exit polling

[barbiegeek]

34. DONT EMAIL--OBAMA WANTS US TO EARLY VOTE

Dont send. Obama wants us to early vote. They are pushing early voting. I'm a precinct captain for the campaign. If you sent this them send a retraction.

[aquart]

2. Why is a state with a Dem governor doing this?

[orleans]

7. doing what? n/t

[WhiteTara]

3. what state is that and who

is Bobby?

[orleans]

6. bobby is bobby kennedy jr.

and the requirement section at the end that i listed is from hava (help america vote act) which i just edited for clarity--it effects all states as far as i know.

[WhiteTara]

22. thanks

I'll look into this with our election board and let you know their planned action! That is sweeping. I thought it might have been RFK jr, but I had to ask.

[EFerrari]

5. To "vote in person" we need to add, "and in a group if possible".

Make it hard for the cheaters to challenge your vote. Go with one or more friends if you can!

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. LOL what's the story on that sig pic?

[EFerrari]

10. Those are all the Latin American leaders that got together last week

to support Evo Morales and thumb their noses at BushCo.

ETA: BushCo has been backing a violent insurrection in Bolivia. Morales kicked out our Amabassador, Bush kicked out his, Chavez recalled his and sent home the American. Even Honduras chimed in to support Evo.

[druidity33]

29. i see a lot of Democrat Blue in that pic...

and three red ties. One of which is i think on Hugo Chavez on the far left (he looks like he's dancing).

[muriel_volestrangler]

38. Remember - the USA is the only country in the world in which 'red' currently means 'right wing'

for everyone else, red is the colour of the left.

[gblady]

9. so, the county I live in in WA state....

has been voting by mail in ballot for a few years...
there are no polling places...

I have never heard anything about mailing in a driver's license or other ID with my vote
does that mean my past votes weren't counted???

How would I find out this information from my county???

[gblady]

11. I will check at my local district

office when I go to volunteer this week.
I'll copy this info and take it in and see what they can tell me.

[orleans]

13. i'd be interested in hearing what they tell you.

is it "optional" that states or counties can set aside absentee ballots without an enclosed form of i.d.? can they count them if they want to but if they want to call them "provisional" they can because it's in hava?

i don't know.

it sounds like bobby was referring to new voters maybe?

maybe washington doesn't consider it absentee because that is how everyone votes?

i wanted to call our election commission today but...i have to wait until monday.

[Suich]

14. I've been voting absentee for about the last 6 years.

I've never been asked to verify anything except for the space on the back of the absentee ballot, where I sign and say I am who the ballot says I am. If anyone wanted to check, I've lived at the same address for over 30 years. Please, let us know what you find out.

[EFerrari]

15. If you mail in an a ballot, the instructions are printed on it.

Read them carefully in case they have changed.

You should also be able to go to your Secretary of State's website for instructions.

[orleans]

37. about voting absentee

i just called dupage county election commission (here in dupage county--they run the elections) and was told:

regarding newly registered voters:

if you registered by mail and sent in an i.d. with registration then you won't need an i.d. at the precinct (um, sure) and you do not need to enclose an i.d. with your absentee ballot.

if you registered by mail without enclosing an i.d. then you either 1. must vote in person the first time you vote (and show i.d) OR you can vote absentee but must enclose a copy of i.d. with the absentee ballot.

if you've been voting for twenty years but just recently moved into dupage county then, obviously, you need to register to dupage county. if you register through the state (such as a village hall, or even library--you were asked to show i.d. then and so you're okay) but...if you did it by mail without enclosing an i.d. then you have to enclose one with the absentee ballot.

-------------

also, regarding "exact" names
i was told they are matching signatures rather than the exact spelling of the name.

example: if your registration card has your name "Jane Ann Doe" but your signature on the card is "Jane A. Doe" and the signature on your license is "Jane A. Doe" then you're good to go. But if one has one signature spelling out the full middle name and the other doesn't then they toss the ballot. if one says "Bla B. Bla Jr." and the other one doesn't have the "Jr." on it then that is a problem too.

[BrklynLiberal]

12. Sent to my email list.....

[Tigress DEM]

16. DONE

Everybody deserves the right to vote.

[Tigress DEM]

17. Kick

[Senator]

18. K&R

[K Gardner]

19. Good lord... K&R

[shireen]

20. K&R, Obama campaign, please pay attention.

I know you have people monitoring DU and Kos and other similar forums.
PLEASE EDUCATE YOUR VOTERS WHILE YOU CAMPAIGN.

[Indi Guy]

21. K&R Freedom is not Free...

[dickthegrouch]

23. Isn't voting supposed to be anonymous?

How can they require an ID be sent with the vote?
Is absentee balloting just another way for the collect-any-information-about-you-they-can crowd to further track, classify and eventually disenfranchise us any way they can?

[windbreeze]

24. send it to Obama's campaign...n/t

[codjh9]

28. That's the most important thing. Thanks.

[wildbilln864]

25. k&r! nt

[cabbage08]

26. K&R

[ngGale]

27. K&R ...

[unapatriciated]

30. We moved to Ga from CA two years ago...

The first time we voted in Ga, i asked for a paper ballot and was told NO. I persisted and was then told to either use the machine are leave. A police officer was there to escort me out, so I used the machine.
Even in California it was difficult to get a paper ballot and it was suggested by poll workers that it might not be counted.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxF4y9tSG08

[Two Americas]

31. people are missing the point

All of the talk about how to make sure your one individual vote counts, while important, does not address the problem. It is not merely a matter of each person having the right to vote. Each person also has the right i have everyone else be able to vite, or what good is our one individual vote.

This can never be fought one voter at a time. The Republicans are stealing them en masse, and that is how the battle must ne fought. That means leadership, and that means the very people we are working for, contributing to and voting for - our Democratic party representatives - must stand up and fight.

Which brings me to the most important statement in the OP -

"The Democrats are doing nothing to stop it."

What good is voting for Democrats as our representatives if they will not represent us by fighting for this most fundamental component of the right to self-government?

[barbiegeek]

32. DONT EMAIL--OBAMA WANTS US TO EARLY VOTE

I'm a captain for Obama and they are strongly encouraging early voting. Do not forward this as an email. If you've emailed this SEND A CORRECTION IMMEDIATELY. I am sending this to watchdog services for the campaign.

[Name removed]

35. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[barbiegeek]

33. THIS EMAIL IS A LIE

DON'T SEND THIS. OBAMA WANTS US TO EARLY VOTE.

[vanderBeth]

36. kick

[dogday]

39. I am locking this

Regarding voting, early voting or absentee voting, please check with the laws of your state to make sure what is correct and acceptable...

Thank you;

dogday
DU Moderator