*More* BS in Houston!

[crispini]

From another mailing list:

Dear Fellow Democrat,

I have been registering minorities to vote in one of the most
affluent areas in Houston.
When I went to a Courthouse to pick up some more voter registration
forms I was told that there is a new policy not to give out voter
forms. I am a deputized voter registrar and this " new policy"
includes deputized registrars also. The head supervisor of the
Courthouse (Cindy Lay) told this to me in person. I asked her
simple questions like:
When was the policy implemented, Who implemented it, etc. She could
not tell me who implemented it and went on to tell me that she was
at a meeting " downtown" and was told at that meeting to no longer
pass out voter registration forms to anyone. Of course she couldn't
tell me who was at the meeting only that she was present at the
meeting. She went on to ask me if I'd like to talk with a police
officer. When I declined she then asked me for my drivers license.
At that point I left. I felt that it was important to let all
democrats know what is going on in Houston. The Courthouse is
located at: 6831 Cypresswood Dr. Houston, TX. 77379. Please forward this message along to your network.

Thank-You

[email protected]

[merh]

1. Are all of your State Elected Officials rethugs?

What about your Attorney General or Secretary of State? Are either of those dems? If so, call them and file a complaint. Also call the Texas Democratic Party and let them know. They have lawyers on staff and can handle this for/with you.

[rocktivity]

2. Here's Kerry Texas office

Texas
701 Rio Grande
Austin, TX 78701
512-637-1737

:headbang:
rocknation

[mourningdove92]

3. Try going to the Post Office, DMV, DPS and Public Library.

See if you are told the same thing at those places.

I will be helping with voter reg at the Public Library in Mineral Wells, Tx tomorrow morning. I will ask them if they have heard anything about this.

[dumpster_baby]

4. Texas is just FULL of fucking crooks!

Let's face it--Texas is corrupt. But not in the style of how NY, NJ, etc are corrupt. It is a different style here.

[dumpster_baby]

5. I am on the phone right now with tax assessors office

they are in charge of voter registration here in harris. I am on hold after talking to 2 people already.

[dumpster_baby]

6. I just got off the phone with Kris German of tax assessors office

She said this is an "old issue" that has been resolved, and that there is no such policy and that forms are made available at all courthouses and if a large quantity are needed, they would make arrangements to get them there.

[dumpster_baby]

7. This IS old news!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=180x3708

Tax Officer Suspended
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Lobby / Latest State & Country Forums Texas
Original message

TxGran (5 posts) Wed Aug-25-04 05:18 PM
Original message
Tax Officer Suspended



I am a volunteer registrar and received this alert today.

Registrars: It’s not just Florida anymore. Report all negative treatment by Tax office employees immediately! Know your rights! This illegal behavior was performed by a 20-year veteran and supervisor of that office, so it could be done by anyone.
Tax office supervisor suspended for a week
Disciplined after refusing to issue voter-registration cards to volunteer
By JUSTIN GEST
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

A supervisor in the Harris County tax office is serving a weeklong suspension for refusing to give voter-registration forms to a Democratic registrar — violating office policy — and telling the registrar she was acting under new orders.

Tax Assessor-Collector Paul Bettencourt said he suspended Cindy Lay, a 20-year tax office veteran who works at the County Courthouse Annex in Spring, after investigating a complaint from Harris County Democratic Party Chairman Gerry Birnberg.

T.J. Wood, a Champions resident who volunteers as an unofficial voter registrar, said he went to the annex Aug. 16 to inquire about why he had been receiving a dwindling number of registration forms and had been denied forms Aug. 12.

Wood said that Lay told him that a policy effective Aug. 11 restricted issuance of the forms.

Wood said when he asked about the origin of the policy, Lay told him she was informed at a "downtown meeting."

"She became really angry that I was asking these questions," Wood said. "And then she said, 'Do you want me to get a police officer to talk to you?' She asked me for my driver's license, and I got real worried and said, 'No, I'm leaving.' "

Bettencourt described Lay's five-day suspension as a "pretty severe" punishment.

"Instead of having the simple discussion of asking how many forms he needed, they got into a complicated discussion that is not conducive to this office's policy of passing out forms like popcorn in an election year," said Bettencourt, whose duties include voter registration.

Bettencourt said Lay offered no explanation for her action.

[email protected]

[crispini]

8. Good to know.

Will let the other forum know accordingly, thanks. Amazing how long stuff can circulate on the internet.

[fudge stripe cookays]

13. WOW!

I just found this!

Amazing! Good going everyone who outed this poisonous, nasty bitch. I am certainly glad to see that she was made to pay for this anti-American behavior.

FSC

[Catherine Vincent]

9. I know exactly where that is. That is near where I live.

Did you give the clerk any indication that you're a Democrat? How does she know that you're NOT persuading repukes to register?

[Wwagsthedog]

10. Let's clear a few things up here.

First off, the Courthouse on Cypresswood drive is not in Houston. It is in a part of unincorporated Harris County (Spring) where there is more than a 5 (R) to 1 (D) voter ratio. Also, there are no "police" officers there; only Sheriff's Deputies and Constable's Officers. While this is probably an attempt by local piggies to suppress the minority vote, there are lots of other ways to get voter registration forms. One of them is to go directly to the local County elections office and get some forms or send people there individually. Here's one 25 miles north of the site cited:

http://www.co.montgomery.tx.us/election/

Protesting loudly about your democratic rights in suburban Houston may give some instant satisfaction but operating just under pig radar and never giving up might yield better results. In Texas, there is no such thing as party registration. The voting process only identifies a person by which ballot is requested in the primaries. For the general election, the Texas voter registration card must be "received" by the county registrar 30 days before the election. Act now!

GOTV!

[Darby]

11. Download Harris County Voter Registration forms here - 3 languages avail.

http://www.hcvoter.net/voter/voterapp/acquirevoterapp.asp

We had no problem picking up voter registration cards at the Tax Assessor's office on Chimney Rock @ Gulfton, just south of 59

[Darby]

12. Need phone number for Cindy Lay