Voter Registration Soars In Ferguson Since Death Of Michael Brown

[applegrove]

Voter Registration Soars In Ferguson Since Death Of Michael Brown

by Igor Bobic at the Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/02/voter-regist_n_5920988.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

"SNIP.......................


Ferguson, Missouri, has seen a surge in voter registration since a white police officer fatally shot black teenager Michael Brown in early August, USA Today reported Thursday.

Of the 4,839 people in St. Louis County who have registered to vote since the shooting, 3,287 are residents of Ferguson -- a city with a population of 21,203, according to the last census.

The city's population is predominantly African-American, yet most of its elected representatives and a vast majority of its police force are white.

"It's a great move when people come out and register in mass like that," St. Louis 3rd Ward Committeeman Anthony Bell said, according to USA Today. "They are sending a signal that we want a change. It doesn't give justice to the Michael Brown family but it will in the future give justice to how the administration is run in a local municipality like Ferguson."




........................SNIP"

[Dont call me Shirley]

1. Go Ferguson voters go. Go to the polls. Seek your revenge there.

[napi21]

2. Very sad that it had to take such a terrible event for the residents to learn

if they vote, they CAN change the people who behaved so badly.

I HOPE they get EVERY eligible resident to vote the btd's OUT!

[Jenoch]

3. I agree.

Why weren't they voting in past elections? (This is a reference to people who were qualified to vote in past elections.)

[arcane1]

5. Most people don't vote. Heck, most voters don't know who they're voting for.

Apathy is our worst enemy. We've had decades of complete unawareness and disinterest in local politics, and really only the election of president gets most people's attention. And even then they vote for whom they'd most like to share a beer!

We are given no information on how our local elections affect our neighborhoods, and it's not even all that easy to find out. "They" like it that way.

[napi21]

6. Is it at least possible that seeing what happened in Ferguson will help get the message to them?

I know lots of people are aware of the things that happened in Ferguson, and surely I'm not the only one who recognizes that the people running things there should be voted OUT! The same situation exists in every location in America, and probably the world. Surely people everywhere must hate what happened there, and recognize they can change things where they live if they vote!

[Jenoch]

8. It does not need to be the way you describe..

I'm from Minnesota and our non presidential voting participation is in the high 60s and our presidential voting participation is in the high 70s. I think we consistently lead voter participation in the country.

[arcane1]

4. This is LOCAL at its finest. I bet nobody there will ever fail to be engaged in the local politics.

And neither will their children!

[freshwest]

7. +1

[Live and Learn]

9. Happy to hear that. nt

[world wide wally]

10. I hope the rest of the country does the same

[AllyCat]

11. Glad to hear they are taking positive steps

Sorry it had to be something this horrible to be the impetus for many.

[jtuck004]

12. Didn't Happen. Was a mistaken report

Joan McCarter posted about the big increase in registrations here on Oct 2nd, and lots of media noted it. It was a headline I noticed while scrolling through my twitter feed, and thought to myself that it was empowering of the community to reject voter apathy and get involved in community organizing and politics.

However, we now learn this:

But apparently that first report was in error. There was no voter registration spike. The county elections board reversed course on Tuesday and said that, actually, only 128 people had registered to vote since the shooting.
Yamiche Alcindor of USA Today reported on the gigantic revision, attributed to an unexplained "discrepancy."

St. Louis County director of elections Rita Heard Days told TPM in a phone interview Tuesday that the county had mistakenly used a report that records all changes to a voter's registration information -- new address, change in marital status, etc. -- to get the initial 3,287 number.
...

Here

Wouldn't do 'em a damn bit of good anyway. Need to own part of the town, not just sit around and try and choose the least objectionable and still worthless politician.