During the primary, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton got 2.5 million new voters to register to vote Democratic--and another 1 million registered to vote Republican. Sounds pretty impressive doesn't it? However, because of the new voter roll purge regulations enforced under the requirements of the Help America (De)Vote Act, between 4 and 6 million citizens who have previously voted will be unable to vote in November. Beyond that, up to 21 million voters may not show up or will be turned away because they don't have the proper ID to be allowed to vote. In the face of 25 to 27 million Americans who may want to vote but can't, the 3.5 million new registrations in this election cycle are a pittance.
http://votetrustusa.org/...
and: http://www.gregpalast.com/...
So what can the average Kossack do to make sure we return to a functional democracy in 2008?
The easiest way to reverse the inappropriate purging of voter registration rolls--and the easiest way to register new voters who will vote--is for the campaigns to compare current voter rolls to ones from 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000 and 1998. Then track down the voters who have been purged and get them signed up to vote again before the election. The potential numbers are huge. In Ohio, Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman estimate that as many as 300,000 Ohioans were purged by Kenneth Blackwell between the 2000 and 2004 elections. If they hadn't been, well, the 2004 Ohio Presidential Election results might well have been different.
http://www.freepress.org/...
So, Obamacans, (and even McCainiacs, since the right to vote ought to be the most widely endorsed principle of a functioning democracy), here's your chance to pile up big numbers for your candidate: Get all your purged voters back on the voter rolls and do yourselves, and most importantly, democracy, a huge favor.
The second thing to be done is to work with those who don't have proper ID to ensure that they have the ID that allows them to vote on election day.
These two actions may not be as glamorous as staging sit-ins or press conferences, but, boots on the tarmac, this is the best way to ensure that Americans who want to vote in this most pivotal of election years, will have the opportunity, and the tools, to do so.
See also: http://www.opednews.com/...
and: http://www.verifiedvoting.org