Kerry Calls For Voting Rights for Katrina Victims

[Anita Garcia]

Tuesday, 4 April 2006, 8:01 pm
Press Release: U.S. Senator

WASHINGTON – Today, Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) sent a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and John Tanner, Chief of the Voting Section at the Department of Justice, urging them to immediately reconsider approval of a voting plan that will disenfranchise tens of thousands of voters in the upcoming Louisiana elections.

Kerry opposes the Department of Justice’s decision to allow the April 22 election in Louisiana to take place without first addressing the fact that tens of thousands of residents – disproportionately African Americans – will be unable to cast their votes.

Link includes copy of letter:
<http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0604/S00074.htm>

[meegbear]

1. You mean that puck stealer, like, cares?

:rofl:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x835913

[karynnj]

12. That is one strange thread

Gee, the Kerry we saw seems to really like kids and they like him.

[rodeodance]

2. good. Lets have some more stand up and make and issue of this.

[jus_the_facts]

3. Better late than never...time's a wastin'...the rules keep changin'...

....this OFFICIAL statement contradicts itself. :eyes:

http://www.sec.state.la.us/elections/elections-displaced.htm

Special notices for voters displaced by the hurricanes:

REVISED 3-2-06 AT 4:30 PM

Voters who were displaced by the hurricanes should use the Displaced Voter Request for Absentee Ballot by Mail PDF form rather than the standard form listed above.

These voters MAY also be required to fill out a Displaced Voter Affidavit PDF form in addition to the standard form listed above.



ABSENTEE VOTING BY MAIL with a Displaced Voter Affidavit:


Applies to:

Any registered voter in the State who is displaced and who has previously voted in person in his parish of registration.

Any registered voter in the State who is displaced and who registered by mail between 10/5/04 – 9/25/05, but who has not voted in person yet.

In order to take advantage of the special rules in Act 4 of the 2006 1st extraordinary session, these eligible voters WILL also be required to fill out a Displaced Voter Affidavit PDF form in addition to the Displaced Voter Request for Absentee Ballot by Mail PDF form listed above.

Request for absentee ballot is valid for 1 year – until 2/23/07

Deadline to request absentee ballot: 4:30 pm day before election

Deadline to submit voted absentee ballot: election day

[Anita Garcia]

4. Howard Dean agrees

"The Department of Justice's decision to pre-clear a problematic plan for next month's New Orleans elections is a disappointing development that raises serious questions about the integrity of the vote. Protecting the right to vote is a fundamental American value. Democrats are committed to helping citizens participate fully in our democracy, but this cannot happen unless our government works to inform voters of how they can most effectively exercise their right to vote." -Howard Dean- March 21,2006

<http://www.democrats.org/a/2006/03/dean_on_justice.php>

[jus_the_facts]

5. Yeah I hear them TALK about improving our rights to vote...BUT...

...since all the talk about it...it's only PROVED to be WORSE instead of better! :grr:

[Anita Garcia]

6. and Louisiana Democrats disagree

Isn't that odd?
Here is one explanation of why Louisiana Democrats disagree with Howard Dean and Sen. Kerry:

This denial of voter rights comes courtesy of an ill-advised federal court ruling that elections, already postponed once, must proceed immediately. The snap elections have been blessed by Louisiana's Democratic establishment in a cynical move to block the reelection of Nagin, a reformer.

. . . .
But it will be an uphill battle. Three years ago, Nagin - a Republican most of his life until he ran for mayor - endorsed Blanco's GOP opponent. Nagin also managed to infuriate many local Democrats by campaigning against government fraud and shutting down the city's Taxicab Bureau after publicly arresting 80 workers and taxi drivers on corruption-related charges.

Democratic pols, fed up with Nagin's independence, seem to be coalescing around his leading opponent, Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, the son of a former mayor and brother of Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.).

That means political life in New Orleans could be returning to normal - in the worst possible way.

<http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ideas_opinions/story/405552p-343438c.html>

[jus_the_facts]

7. Just because they have a -D- behind their name doesn't mean they're Dems..

....from the state legislature all the way up to MARY herself...it's beyond obvious...it's not just a Louisiana problem though it's been a nation wide problem in every election AT LEAST since 2000...voter fraud and disenfranchisement...yet only a few elected officals will even discuss it...go figure. :crazy:

[Anita Garcia]

9. LaRoots formerly KerryRoots response

Here is the response I received to my notice about March 29, 2006 and April 1, 2006 NAACP rally for Election Protection:

Dear Annie,

During these difficult times in New Orleans, we must all work to bring our community together, to move our recovery forward more quickly, to secure housing and safer levees for all New Orleanians.

To say that the current city officials are lame ducks is an understatement.
Our scheduled February 2nd election for mayor, seven city council seats, sheriffs, tax assessors, and numerous other officials had to be postponed because of the Katrina Disaster, and our recovery is stalled.

Whether incumbents are re-elected or new leadership triumphs, after the election is over, we will all know whose policies will guide our recovery until the next municipal elections.

I am frankly stunned that prominent national organizations like the NAACP and Mark Morial's Urban League are failing to organize displaced citizens with information tables on HOW TO VOTE, and are instead working against an
election that has been sanctioned by federal court rulings twice. Those
organizations in particular have the ability to reach New Orleanians in every city of the nation. Outreach at shopping centers and Wal-Marts nationwide would be meaningful.

No one is being denied the right to vote, but like everything else for us, it's more difficult for New Orleanians this year.
We do need help to spread the word of how to vote, where to vote, and when to vote. It is insulting to infer that informed displaced New Orleanians are incapable of requesting and executing an absentee ballot. There are 23 candidates for the office of Mayor (half of them African American), and I personally support Lt.Gov.Mitch Landrieu for Mayor because I believe that his leadership will unite our diverse and wounded community.

Additional months of postponement would only reinforce the national image of New Orleans as an underpopulated, rudderless disaster area, not worthy of rebuilding. Further postponement of this election empowers the enemies of New Orleans, underscoring their claims that our City has no plan and is incapable of holding an election.

Just as Mardi Gras was needed here both emotionally and economically, so is this already-once-postponed election. It would be helpful to use the considerable influence of these national organizations to mobilize voters instead of marchers.

I urge every New Orleanian to try to arrange a visit home to vote in person.
For those who cannot arrange their own transportation, buses sponsored by national organizations can bring our citizens home, if only for a short time, to see the City, see family and friends, enjoy some New Orleans cooking and music at French Quarter Fest http://www.frenchquarterfestival.com/ - and cast a very important vote.

Peace and Recovery,

Deborah Langhoff

www.LaRoots.net

[jus_the_facts]

10. Louisiana Senate's response.....

....guess they couldn't care less...a LOT of DINO's in our legislature it seems. :nopity:

Louisiana Senate) Panel sinks out-of-state vote bill

BATON ROUGE -- A bill to let displaced Louisiana voters cast ballots in out-of-state centers failed by one vote Wednesday in a Senate committee.

The same committee approved a proposal to allow election officials to automatically mail to the dispersed voters absentee ballots for all elections without the displaced voters asking for them.

The Committee on Senate and Governmental Affairs deadlocked 3-3 on Senate Bill 437 by Sen. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, to authorize Secretary of State Al Ater to devise out-of-state election plans in times of emergencies or disasters. The same panel voted 4-2 for Fields' Senate Bill 291, which would require election officials to send absentee ballots to voters displaced from their home parish. That measure now goes to the full Senate.

...snip...

If the bills pass the Senate, they might face trouble in the House. The Committee on House and Governmental Affairs is regarded as more conservative on election law changes.


http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/capital/index.ssf?/base/news-3/114370660958250.xml

[Igel]

13. The two can be reconciled.

The first rule, using the displaced voter request form, applies to everybody that's displaced.

Those who registered by mail between 10/05/04 and 9/25/05 have to file the affidavit form, as well.

But I'm willing to entertain the idea that many DPs registered in person (before or after the hurricanes), or they registered before 10/05/04 (which sounds like the cutoff for voting in the 11/04 elections). They don't need to file the affidavit form.

The two requirements apply to different sets of people: the second is a subset of the first.

[Anita Garcia]

14. I don't believe you are correct about the affidavit

I believe that every displaced voter must complete an affidavit.
The guidelines state that all "displaced" voters must complete an affidavit. Only the non-displaced are exempt from the affidavit requirement.

From Secretary of State website:
How do I vote absentee by mail?
You are ELIGIBLE to vote absentee by mail:
If you registered IN PERSON but have never voted.
(Use the Displaced Voter Request for Absentee Ballot by Mail PDF form.)
If you are already registered and have previously VOTED.
(Use the Displaced Voter Request for Absentee Ballot by Mail PDF form.)

If you are a displaced voter who is already registered and has previously voted, you can extend your deadlines for requesting and returning the ballot by completing a Displaced Voter Affidavit. (This is optional, not mandatory.)
May use both the Displaced Voter Request for Absentee Ballot by Mail PDF form and Displaced Voter Affidavit PDF form.)

If you are a displaced voter who registered BY MAIL from October 5th, 2004 through September 24th, 2005 and have NEVER VOTED, you MUST complete a Displaced Voter Affidavit in addition to the request for ballot. (This is mandatory) Call the Secretary of State Election Division at 1-800-883-2805 for your registration date.
(Must use both the Displaced Voter Request for Absentee Ballot by Mail PDF form and Displaced Voter Affidavit PDF form.)
<http://sos.louisiana.gov/elections/DisplacedVoterFAQs.htm>

In any event, the fact that we both read the site differently and we are discussing the procedure is evidence that the election is not fair.

[Sinti]

8. It never ends

Look at how quick they were when they were drowning and thirsting and starving to death. Look at the lovely homes they've helped the displaced find after the flood. I'm sure they'll be all over their right to vote. This is a complete non-issue. :sarcasm:

[superconnected]

11. That man is slow.

Cars don't even run with timing that far off.

[IndianaGreen]

15. Funny that Iraqi exiles in US and elsewhere got to vote by satellite

in the last elections, yet Katrina victims don't even get the same consideration. What is wrong with this picture.

Way to go, Kerry!

[Anita Garcia]

16. Politics

I have no doubt that this is politics.
You realize that there will be no satellite voting on election day?
Yes, some how, some one managed to set up satellite voting in Louisiana in 10 cities during early voting, but not on election day.
Politics.
You realize that only a certain "type" of voter can vote at those early voting satellite places?
Politics.
Did you know that 300 of the 442 polling places in New Orleans are gone? And if your polling place is gone, you have to vote on election day at one of six temporary sites? Did you know they just changed those sites around March 25th?
Politics.
I hope there are a lot of people on the streets on April 22nd in NOLA with cameras to record this historic event.
And I will be looking forward to see how many of them have on shirts identifying them as Louisiana Democrats!
Rest assured that I will be wearing my NAACP Louisiana shirt!
Only politics could make a Louisiana Democrat disagree with Howard Dean and Senator Kerry about the April 22nd election.