I would like to think that we have learned from the mistakes of past elections. I would like to think that there will be lawyers to challenge voters being disenfranchised and that there will be the same number of voting machines in Democratic and Republican districts. I would like that. I have confidence in Obama's ground game and I hope he is aware of the may problems that may face voters on election day. But this time hope is not enough. We need to be prepared. The party that brought us disenfranchisement for the last 2 presidential elections, who purged thousands of voters in Florida and then again in Ohio, the party that brought us war, torture, rendition and spying, this party is not going to suddenly decide, in this pivotal election, to play by the rules.
We need to be prepared.
So I ask the question. Are we prepared for the coming onslaught. The 50 state strategy has opened up all kinds of new opportunities for Democrats. We need to make sure these efforts are not counteracted by GOP shenanigans.
A recent survey of 10 of this years elections battleground states shows that we may be headed for some trouble. Florida, Georgia and Virginia in particular are called out as possibly being unprepared.
As election officials brace for record-breaking voter turnout on Election Day, a close examination of voting preparedness in 10 swing states shows that significant problems in the basic functions of the American election administration system persist, and in a few cases have worsened over the last few years, a new report by Common Cause and The Century Foundation shows.
The report, "Voting in 2008: 10 Swing States," examined what, if any, progress has been made since 2006 in seven battleground states: Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. In addition, Colorado, New Mexico and Virginia, whose new status as likely swing states, and the potential for election administration difficulties, have also been included.
Obama is competing in Virginia. The polls are tied and for the first time in a long time we may turn this state blue, But we are not out of the woods yet. Virginia along with Florida are called out as having multiple problems that could impede us on election day.
We need to begin to address these issues now. We can not wait to battle it out on election day as the survey reminds us.
As hundreds of thousands of new voters have been added to the registration rolls just in the last few months, one troubling finding is that problems with voter registration issues in many instances have gone unaddressed, or even worsened in the surveyed states. Many states have flawed procedures for matching the information voters give them when they register with other state databases, and some have no established protocols for doing so at all. Uniquely, Florida will continue to require that prospective voters prove eligibility by providing the exact information that appears on existing state databases. This policy often results in rejections of valid registered voters if the voter provides a variant of his or her name instead of a full name, a clerical error is made on the election administration side, or a voter makes another minor mistake.
The survey concludes that the problem of voting machine allocation remains a huge problem. Most states have not addressed the issues off allocation that caused problems in 2004, most notable in Ohio. Also on the issue of challenging voters, the survey found that:
None of the seven states reviewed in this report have changed their laws since 2006 to lessen the chances of this occurring, and of the three new states included, Colorado and New Mexico have acceptable, though not ideal provisions to handle challenges to voters, while Virginia's is fairly troubling.
We know they will try the same trick they have tried before. Already we hear that the GOP is going to try to deny the right to vote for citizens in Michigan who have suffered a home foreclosure. Push polls have already begun. I am heartened by the rapid response on the Michigan issue from team Obama.
The Obama campaign and Democratic National Committee filed a lawsuit in federal court today, alleging that the Michigan Republican Party is engaging an illegal effort to disenfranchise voters.
Speaking to reporters on a conference call, Obama general counsel Bob Bauer said they filed the injunction after evidence surfaced that the Michigan GOP planned to use home foreclosure lists to keep voters still using the address of their foreclosed home from voting. Such voters could be challenged at voting precincts and forced to answer questions or risk being denied voting rights.
Obama and the Democrats deserve credit for attacking this issue early. I for one do not trust Mukasey to handle this matter as he should. Charles Schumer, Patrick Leahy, Edward Kennedy, Joseph Biden, Herb Kohl, Dianne Feinstein, Russell Feingold, Richard Durbin, Benjamin Cardin, Sheldon Whitehouse, Barack Obama, Carl Levin, Debbie Stabenow, and Sherrod Brown, recently wrote Mukasey and petitioned him to ensure voters would not be harassed and intimidated.
Another problem we face is the massive electronic voter databases. These databases are meant to help the voting process but they are full of errors.
But databases are prone to errors such as misspellings and transposed numbers, and applicants are prone to make mistakes or write illegibly on applications. The Social Security Administration has acknowledged that matches between its database and voter-registration records have yielded a 28.5 percent error rate.
States vary in how they treat applicants whose records don't match, and experts say rules in some states could prevent thousands of eligible voters from casting ballots or having their votes counted in November. Those who don't match in Oregon, for example, can cast a ballot, but their vote for president or any other federal race on a ballot won't be counted. There are currently about 9,500 voters in Oregon who fall into this category, but a state spokesman says matching issues will be resolved with most of them before November so they can vote in federal races. Fewer than 500 voters were affected by this during the state's primary.
In 2000 more that one million voters did not vote due to troubles with their registration. The Census Bureau did not elaborate on the nature of these troubles but people need to act proactively on this. We need to spread the word now and all of us need to make sure we are registered and spread the word to friend and family.
Don't trust the database, which is compiled by the same companies that make the voting machines, to be correct. Just in 2006, a database created by Sequoia Voting Systems crashed, causing long lines and 20,000 voters leaving before they could participate in our democracy in Denver Just in 2006. We have enough evidence that these databases are flawed to assume you are not registered and start now to make sure you will be able to vote come November.
Colorado -- a crucial swing state -- completed its $13 million database this year after firing Accenture in 2005. A little-known Oregon company named Saber, which has created databases for 11 states, replaced it. Accenture retained its contract in Pennsylvania, though problems occurred there as well. In 2005, one state official called the $20 million system "seriously if not fatally flawed."
So what can you do?
Check that you are registered to vote.
Check now and check again before the election. Send your friends this link. Notify your neighbors. Spread the word and make sure every Democrat you know, knows of the local voting laws and requirements.
Print our copies of the local voting requirements and bring them with you to the polls. Bring your camera.
Donate.
Volunteer.