I have been following the voter suppression actions across the country. After hearing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speak about them on Ring of Fire, where he asserted that Democrats are doing almost nothing about this, I went to the Obama website and one thing is true, there is nothing in the voter registration section that addresses these problems and gets information out proactively to voters themselves about how to keep their vote safe.
I chose a swing state, Colorado, to see if it would work to ask Kossacks to help get information disseminated. Tell me if you think it would be worth it to post another one tomorrow. (Florida or Virginia).
My hope is that people will copy the information below or link to it and send to those they know in Colorado, asking them to send it on.
There are potential voting problems in Colorado. These problems can affect anyone, but will particularly hit new registrations. Fortunately, Colorado has an online resource where you can check to ensure you are registered and remain on the rolls. There are organized voter suppression strategies being actively employed, particularly in battleground states, so when in doubt about rules, be safe. The following has been specifically researched to be applicable to Colorado, as these problems affect different states differently due to local rules and whether federal ID rules are being strictly enforced. Time frame for fixing registration problems is up until October 6th.
PROBLEM ONE: NoMatchNoVote
From Robert F. Kennedy Jr:
"One of these requirements under HAVA is called 'the perfect match,' and what that does is little known but it is devastating... what it does is, they use a computer system to compare your registration application to all [your] other government records 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 by state clerks taking down this information."
PROBLEM TWO: Voter Id for new registrants
"Let me tell you about one of the other 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 (note: does not have to be color for Colorado) copy of their [driver's] license, (or other valid ID) their vote is going to be thrown into a trash can. And none of these people know this, because you had to have to read the law in order to know it. There is no notification [of this requirement] 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."
Above is also from RFK, Jr., with parenthetical notes from me. I take his words as cautionary and exaggerated; obvious not all of those ballots are going to be thrown out, but this is about making sure you aren't one of them.
Colorado rules:
"In-person voter ID: required from first-time voters who did not meet the Federal voter ID requirements when registering by mail.
Absentee voter ID: required from first-time voters who did not meet the Federal voter ID requirements when registering by mail. These voters must include a copy of their ID when applying for or returning an absentee ballot."
note: ID also required of all voters who 'did not meet the Federal Voter ID requirements'. Since a whole lot can go wrong with this, take ID just to be safe when you go to the polls.
PROBLEM THREE: Very long ballot
In Colorado there are 18 ballot measures and with a complex ballot, voting will be slower than usual. People are being urged to early vote or vote by absentee in order to help avoid long lines and polls closing with people still not having voted.
PROBLEM FOUR: El Paso County disinformation about student eligibility
"Voter registration confusion stemmed out of the El Paso Clerk and Recorder Office Wednesday Morning. Democrats are criticizing a Republican clerk and recorder for distributing false information about the eligibility of college students to register to vote.
At issue is the right of out-of-state college students to register to vote in Colorado. State law says they can as long as they've lived here for at least 30 days before the election.
El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Robert Balink says there was some misinterpretation of state statue regarding the qualification for college students to register to vote in Colorado. 'Previously, my office mistakenly published information that was incorrect in telling students whose parents claimed them as dependents for tax purposes in another state that they were ineligible to vote,' says Balink..."
coloradopols.com
Problem Five: Foreclosures
The Republicans are hitting hard on people who have moved due to foreclosures. Since these are public record, they are amassing lists and getting ready to challenge voters who try to vote at their old precinct if they no longer live there. Obama is mounting a legal challenge to this in Michigan, but the safe approach is to register wherever one is now staying.
WHAT TO DO
- Assume there will be an effort to challenge votes and be preemptively safe.
- You can check in Colorado online to see if your registration is still considered valid: Secretary of State Colorado
- If it isn't, you can reregister (by October 6th) after checking to make the information between your voter registration and your driver's license or state ID, and/or your Social Security Number consistent.
- Go to the polls with ID, but particularly if you are a newly registered voter. If you vote absentee and are a new absentee voter include a photocopy of your ID. You can use "a copy of a current and valid photo identification (driver's license, state ID card, US passport, student ID, employee ID, military ID); OR 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." If you regularly vote absentee, this isn't necessary.
- Best of all, early vote. This will allow you time to deal with any problems if you have to cast a provisional ballot, which will require follow up with ID. Early voting is open 10/20 to 10/31. You can find out more at : Early Voting in Colorado
- Or register to vote absentee. Register Absentee : link where you can find what you need about how to do this.
- Voter registrations must be postmarked by October 6th.
- Students, note that student ID plus something from the list above that shows current address will work for ID.
- If you do have to vote provisionally, you have 48 hours to present ID and verify your identity.
- You can find your local election office here if you still think there will be problems:
Find your Local Election Office