"Freedom-loving" Scumbags hard at work suppressing the vote in West Virginia:
Voters in at least eight West Virginia counties have been mailed “misleading and confusing” material that may make them incorrectly believe they aren’t eligible to vote in next month’s election, Secretary of State Natalie Tennant said Tuesday.The leaflets — mailed by the Americans for Prosperity Foundation — warn voters that if they do not update their voter registration, they may lose their right to vote in the upcoming primary election on May 13. The mailings included voter registration cards and prepaid return envelopes addressed to county clerks.
This is a cute trick. April 22 was the last day to register to vote in the May 13 WVA primary. So the Koch front group sends out mailers geared
to arrive on April 21 and 22, complete with voter registration cards and return envelopes to make it seem legitimate. Of course, having arrived "too late" in the mail, the effect of the "warnings" is to make voters think they've blown the deadline to "update" their registration, so they might as well not vote.
Except there is no deadline for the vast majority of voters. No requirement to "update" your status if you're already registered. Unless you have moved or changed your name, or desire to change parties, your registration is just fine.
“We were concerned that people were reporting getting this leaflet [Monday and Tuesday],” said spokesman Jake Glance. “We are concerned, since [Tuesday was] the final day to change your registration to vote. We are particularly concerned about people who went to work in the morning, then got this mailing when they returned in the evening. Some opened their mail and said, ‘Oh, my gosh, I missed the deadline to update my voter registration.
Registered voters in eight counties received the bogus mailings. Here is what they were told:
“As a good citizen who values their Constitutional right to vote, we are reminding you to update your voter registration. Updating your registration before the deadline ensures you do not lose your right to vote in the upcoming election,” the AFP leaflet states.“Voter Registration deadline is April 22, 2014. Take 2 minutes right now to fill out the enclosed voter registration form. Fold and seal then mail back to your County Clerk. No postage is necessary."
Notice that the mailing refers to the "upcoming election"--
not the primary. The effect of this mailing, with its impossible-to-meet deadline, is to suggest to people that they have missed the deadline to vote
not only in the primary, but in the general election.
”Berkeley County Chief Deputy Clerk Bonnie Woodall, who handles voter registration in the county, said residents there were confused by the mailing.“We had gotten seven calls, and had people coming to our office, who were very confused and duped,” said Woodall. “These leaflets were put out by Americans for Prosperity. They specialized leaflets for each county, which gave people the feeling they would not be able to vote if they did not fill these forms out and get them back to us by today.
The Kochs and their surrogates in the Republican Party are attacking Representative Nick Rahall (D-WVA) over his support for the Affordable Care Act,
flooding the local airwaves with smear ads:
After 38 years in Congress, Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., is fighting for his political life for the first time. Right-wing billionaires and conservative industries are flooding Southern West Virginia with expensive smear ads making slanted attacks. They even created a fake “Nick Rahall for Congress” Web site to lure viewers, then tell them that the long-term congressman “has openly sold out West Virginia and joined the War on Coal.”Leading this onslaught are tycoons like the billionaire Koch brothers...[.]
Of course, the lower the turnout, the better for the Republicans--and what's good for Republicans is good for the Koch brothers.
West Virginia citizens can check their registration at https://apps.sos.wv.gov/... /Default.aspx, or by calling their county’s voter registration office.