Although there was a great settlement in Michigan this week, in which the MI GOP agreed to abandon its plans to use foreclosure lists to block voters at the polls, this tactic is still a potential hangup in 49 other states.
Yes, that would include states like Nevada, the top foreclosure state, and 4th-ranked Florida, 5th-ranked Michigan, 6th-ranked Georgia, 7th-ranked Ohio, 8th-ranked Colorado, 14th-ranked Virginia, and 15th-ranked Missouri (see complete list here). In other words, not just the road to the White House but also many critical down-ticket races go right through the states worst hit by the GOP-induced foreclosure crisis.
Despite the settlement in Michigan, there is ample evidence that this disgusting tactic is set to be deployed in Ohio, Indiana, and now even FLORIDA! Analysis, links, and a great new report from ACORN over the bump...
From the Deland-Deltona Beacon in the critical Florida swing county of Volusia:
[County election official] McFall told the Chamber group she expects the rights of anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 voters to be challenged in this election.
Vote challenges — when a person or group calls into question the right of a particular voter to cast a ballot — are not new. However, challenges used to happen at the polls on Election Day, and in recent years there have been few of them...
"One party, that we know of, is going to challenge every voter that's being foreclosed on," McFall said.
People whose homes are in foreclosure may change their addresses and forget to update their voter registrations. Political parties send letters to these people with instructions to the post office not to forward the mail. If the letters are returned to the sender, a challenge is filed, claiming the voter doesn't live where he or she is registered to vote.
"With our economic crisis," McFall said, "it's going to cause these challenges."
Voting-rights activists call it "caging."
McFall, a Republican, said afterward the party known to be doing the foreclosure challenges is the Republican Party. A call to the head of the Volusia County Republican Party was not returned.
Such activities have sparked lawsuits elsewhere in the country.
Damn right they've sparked lawsuits. Does anyone doubt that the John McCain of 2000 would have denounced this slimy tactic? Sadly, today's John McCain remains quiet. I think our best hope of cutting this off is Gov. Charlie Crist, who, since being passed over for VP even after getting engaged, has started speaking sense about voter registration issues. Governor, a two-dollar bill for your thoughts?
Today, ACORN released a new report, "Adding Insult to Injury: Foreclosure Victims in Danger of Poll Challenges" that is well worth the read. Among other conclusions, ACORN looks at how many foreclosures have occurred this year in key swing states, and finds that the number of potentially challenged voters is greater than the margin of victory in 2004. These states include Florida, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Of course, those were the key swing states in 2004, and in 2008 the list could be Colorado, Virginia, Missouri, and others. In many of these states, potential foreclosure challenges in urban precincts alone could be the margin on election day.
Some key recommendations come out of the report:
-The national parties should condemn this tactic loudly (The DNC and Obama were parties to the lawsuit and have consistently supportive of the franchise for foreclosure victims; the RNC and McCain have unfortunately not shown any leadership)
-Election officials should train poll workers to handle and dismiss challenges based on foreclosure lists
-State Attorneys General should follow the lead of the Maryland and Ohio Attorneys General in disallowing challenges based on foreclosure lists.
I am proud that Barack Obama has been diligent and vigilant on these fundamental matters of voting rights, and that they litigated a successful settlement in Michigan - but clearly more needs to be done! (For a few quick suggestions, see comment here.)
After ruining the economy and causing the foreclosure crisis, we certainly do not need to let the GOP profit electorally off of the misery they induced.