Thus far we have heard of Michigan:

In Michigan, the issues are more complex. Advancement Project’s Heard said there has been an overall lack of “transparency” regarding several aspects of the state’s voter purge process. In 2006, he said, Michigan election officials did a statewide mailing to all voters that did not mention the mailing would be used to verify voter registration information. Still, Heard said the returned postcards were used to remove 230,000 registered voters from voter rolls within 90 days of that year’s general election, which also violates the NVRA, he said.  

In MICHIGAN, voters can check status here

For VIRGINIA, check voter status online here.  

Colorado:

In swing-state Colorado, the Republican Secretary of State conducted the biggest purge of voters in history, dumping a fifth of all registrations. Guess their color.

In COLORADO, voters can check status  here     

Florida:

In swing-state Florida, the state is refusing to accept about 85,000 new registrations from voter drives – overwhelming Black voters.

In FLORIDA, voters can check status here 

New Mexico:

In swing state New Mexico, HALF of the Democrats of Mora, a dirt poor and overwhelmingly Hispanic county, found their registrations disappeared this year, courtesy of a Republican voting contractor. 

Nevada and Ohio:

In swing states Ohio and Nevada, new federal law is knocking out tens of thousands of voters who lost their homes to foreclosure.

In OHIO, voters can check status online here 

In NEVADA, voters can check status online here

Vote Caging  Vote caging is a voter suppression tactic. The term is derived from a direct mail term. In the direct mail industry, when a third party runs a direct mailing campaign on behalf of a client organization, one of the activities undertaken is to compile all of the responses, handle contributions and to deposit received funds into the client’s account, and also update the database of names and addresses that were mailed to with the responses or corrected addresses obtained. Since some of the activities were controlled carefully (donations and deposits) and conducted in a manner similar to the activities within a “teller’s cage,” the process is called “caging” and the end result of the data entry updates and address corrections is called a “caging list.” This led to the term “voter caging” for voter registration analysis and challenges conducted via mass mailings

Robo-Calling  The nonprofit group responsible for a slew of misleading automated phone calls to black voters in North Carolina answered a few questions about the controversial campaign on Thursday, but some of the answers only beg more questions.

The D.C.-based voter-registration group Women’s Voices, Women Vote is facing accusations that it was trying to suppress the black vote in the upcoming North Carolina Democratic primary, after voters in predominantly black districts in the state began receiving automated phone calls telling them to expect a voter registration packet in the mail, even through the registration deadline had passed, and some had already registered.

Voter Disinformation Campaigns  Rev. Joe Darby, the pastor of Morris Brown AME Church in Charleston, S.C., might have been more than a little surprised by the letter he received on Friday. Drafted on what appeared to be NAACP letterhead, it informed him he could face arrest when he votes in November’s election if he’s behind on child support payments, has any unpaid traffic tickets, or has bad credit.Not only was the information blatantly false, but Darby was in a position to know that the South Carolina NAACP wouldn’t misinform black voters about fake restrictions

Purges of Voter Rolls  In swing-state Colorado, the Republican Secretary of State conducted the biggest purge of voters in history, dumping a fifth of all registrations.  Guess their color.  In swing-state Florida, the state is refusing to accept about 85,000 new registrations from voter drives – overwhelming Black voters. In swing state New Mexico, HALF of the Democrats of Mora, a dirt poor and overwhelmingly Hispanic county, found their registrations disappeared this year, courtesy of a Republican voting contractor.  In swing states Ohio and Nevada, new federal law is knocking out tens of thousands of voters who lost their homes to foreclosure.

Restrictive Voter ID Laws The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that “states can require voters to produce photo identification without violating their constitutional rights, validating Republican-inspired voter ID laws.” The case concerned Indiana’s voter ID law, the most restrictive in the nation, and comes just one week before the state’s presidential primary. More than 20 states currently require some form of ID at the polls.  Check your state election site to determine if your state requires identification.

Gerrymandering  The process known as redistricting in the United States is the changing of political borders. Often this means changing electoral district and constituency boundaries, usually in response to periodic census results.  However, the GOP plans to use this strategy to regain power.

Swiftboating  Get scurrilous whisper campaigns inside the hack pack press, long after they’ve been debunked. South Carolina is known for this stuff. That The Washington Post is revealing it through a long winding piece is journalism at its worst. If it came as a warning on what’s on wingnut radio that would be one thing. But what it actually does is provide a platform for a rumor campaign, not to mention a preview of things to come for Democrats. It’s John Kerry revisited, the religious version.

We will continue to update this list with additional methods to watch out for as we receive them.  Further, if you have experience other types of voter suppression leave it in the comment and we will ad them to the list.

Many questions will be answered tonight   There is mounting evidence that Sen. Hillary Clinton will end her campaign tonight.  Exhibits A-H.  a) Bill Clinton said yesterday, “this may be the last day I am ever involved in a campaign like this. ”   b) Sen. Clinton summoned all of her top supporters and donors to New York for her Tuesday night speech.  c) Clinton campaign spokesperson said “it started in New York and it will end in New York.”  d) Clinton instructed staff members to turn in all of their outstanding expense reports.  e) being reported that Clinton has begun post-campaign bargaining with Obama.  g) Blank schedule after Tuesday.  h) Clinton gave her advance staff  two options for tonight, they can either told use their ticket to fly to New York for her speech and party afterwards or they can fly home and await further instructions.  If members of the advance staff choose to fly to New York they will be financially responsible for their own flight home.   There are 34 House members prepared to endorse Barack Obama.  Obama is expected to claim victory of the primary process tonight in his speech in St. Paul Minnesota.  It has been an excruciatingly long and hard fought race for the candidates and for the American people and now both candidates are about to cross the finish line.  Every voter will have had their opportunity to vote and we, hopefully, will have our presumptive democratic nominee.  Obama is favored to win both South Dakota and Montana.  Obama is now 37 delegates away from claiming the nomination.  Clinton needs 198 delegates to claim victory.   The Obama campaign hopes to roll out superdelegates in groups today so that he has enough to claim victory tonight.  It is being reported that the Clinton campaign is asking superdelegates not to do it tonight but tomorrow instead.  That would not be a good idea in this writers opinion considering that the Obama campaign is holding its last rally in the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota , the site of the Republican national convention and were John McCain will accept the Republican nomination.  If the superdelegates do not come out for Obama today it could end up being a potential embarassment for the presumptive democratic nominee.  This is not about the Clintons or the Obamas at this point.   This is about starting the general election off on the right foot.  Superdelegates must make their decision known today so as not to give the impression that the Clintons are still running the show or worst yet giving the appearance that they are not quite ready to rally behind Obama.  The primary process is over, its time to take a stand.  If the plan is to win in November, the Democratic Party cannot afford any missteps.

The polls are open from 6:30am to 7:30pm.  Voter Hotline:  1-866-SOS-VOTE (1-866-767-8683)

Voters may enter their precinct any time duing those hours to cast their vote.  Independents may vote in the democratic primary simply request a democratic ballot.  Here are a few more tips to help with the process.

1. Bring identification if you did not submit proof of your residency when you actually registered to vote or if this is your first time voting.  Just to be on the safe side bring ID.  Acceptable forms of identification are drivers license, pay stubs, bank statements, utility bills, or other government issued documents.
2. Be prepared to sign your name in the poll book as proof of your identity.
3. Vote via “touch screen device” or paper ballot.  If you are using a paper ballot,  make sure to mark your ballot in ink.  After completing your ballot, return the ballot with secrecy envelope, poll slip, and other material to the poll worker at which time it will be placed in the ballot box.
4. Voters may receive assistance if they have a disability, are elderly, or possess an inability to read or write.
5. Curbside voting is available from an automobile outside your precinct in the presence of an election commissioner from each political party if: 1) the polling place is not handicap accessible, and 2) no voters are voting or waiting to vote inside the polling place.
6. Provisional Ballots.  You may be required to vote provisionally if:
   1. Your name is not in the poll book
   2. Your signature does not match the signature in teh poll book
   3. It is noted in the poll book that you already voted during the early absentee voting period
   4. You received assisatnce while voting, and it appeared to teh poll worker that you did not require such assistance.

“I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on,” she said in an interview with USA TODAY. As evidence, Clinton cited an Associated Press article “that found how Sen. Obama’s support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me.” ……”There’s a pattern emerging here,” she said…….”These are the people you have to win if you’re a Democrat in sufficient numbers to actually win the election. Everybody knows that.”

So now Hillary Clinton is openly and unabashedly playing the race card in her last desperate attempt to exploit instead of heal the racial divisiveness that has plagued our country for generations.  Why?  For political gain.    So much for her speech in Indiana emphasizing party unity.  This writer really believed that Clinton had turned a corner on Tuesday night when she for the first time in at least 13 Obama wins, actually acknowledged and congratulated the Illinois Senator for his win in North Carolina.  I guess that was just a weak moment on her part.  Instead Clinton seems to have initiated a new strategy which appears to be to shift the narrative to Obama can’t win “white” voters.  Well just to point out the obvious, democrats usually lose the white vote in the general election.  And, it is actually the black vote that enabled Bill Clinton to become President in 1992 and 1996.  As to this new strategy, it didn’t work when Sen. Clinton referred to such voters as “working class voters” or “blue-collar workers” and it will not work when she just comes outright and says ”white voters.”  At this point, Clinton is only damaging herself with this last ditch effort to polarize the electorate with such racially based undertones.  Working class voters do not want to be branded  as a group that will not vote for the black guy.  Just like men do not want to be branded as men who will not vote for the woman.  We all have higher aspirations of unification and healing.  Just like Rev. Wright is stuck in the 1960’s, Sen. Clinton may be stuck there also if she really believes that such tactics will help her gain votes.  

Clinton seems to be touting the idea that racial divisiveness makes her more electable than Obama in a contest with John McCain.  One problem with her theory, if Clinton were to miraculously win the nomination, she will not have an African-American as her opponent in the general election.  Hence, no racial divide.  It will be a white woman against a white man.  More importantly, it will be Hillary Clinton, with all the Bill baggage, against “maverick” John McCain.  Hmmm, I wonder which way those working class voters will go.  That is the problem when your winning strategy is heavily dependent upon voters voting against the opposing candidate instead of voting for you.  Such voters tend to be disloyal and transient when the object of their distaste is removed from the equation.  The other important point to be made is that Clinton’s statement is not true.  In fact, Clinton has slandered “working class Americans.”  The real truth of the matter is that Obama has increased his support among working class Americans from Ohio through to Indiana.  For voters earning less than 50k annually, Obama increased his support from 42% in Ohio to 50% in Indiana.  For voters with no college education, Obama increased his support from 40% in Ohio to 46% in Indiana.  The percentage of white Americans in Ohio and Indiana is 82.9% and 83.9% respectively.  So one might conclude that Indiana is whiter than Ohio.  Yet, Obama’s support among such voters increased to 50%.  So the “pattern” that Clinton speaks of is a steady increase of Obama support among “working class voters” as this primary winds up.   All that said,  it looks as if Obama’s hope that Clinton would exit gracefully is a different scenario than she has in mind.  Just goes to show you, no good deeds go unpunished.

(more…)

Potential problems and solutions Pennsylvania voters may face at the polls today:

1. Voters without proper ID.  Voters need to bring valid identification.  New voters are required to bring identification, but all voters should bring id just to be safe.  Such identification can be a Pennsylvania drivers license or a picture student or employee id.  Acceptable non-photo ID must have a name and address, such as a current utility bill or current paycheck. 
2. Another potential problem is voters names not appearing in the poll books. If a voter’s name doesn’t appear in the poll book, Common Cause advises voters to ask poll workers to check supplemental voting lists that are sometimes printed up after the main poll books are printed, and ask the poll workers to call the county board of elections. As a last resort he or she should ask to vote on a provisional ballot. 
3. Voters arriving at the wrong precinct.  If a Pensylvanian voter shows up at the wrong precinct “their vote can still count as long as they cast their vote anywhere in the correct county, even if they are at the wrong precinct in their county.  To have their vote count, they need to complete a provisional ballot and have the correct ID.”  
4. Voting machine malfunction.  If a voter is at a polling place where voting machines have broken down or failed to start up, he or she should request an emergency paper ballot to vote. 
5. Voters arriving at the polls near closing time.  Voters who arrive at the polls and are in line before 8pm must be allowed to vote according to Pennsylvania law.  Voters cannot be turned away if they are in line by 8pm.

Voters who experience problems at their polling location should call Pennsylvania’s voter hotline: 1-877-VOTES-PA (1-877-868-3772) and/or the Common Cause national election protection line: 1-866-OUR VOTE (1-866-687-8683)

While this all makes for great talk radio and sounds like fun, there is one catch: What Limbaugh encouraged Republican voters to do in Ohio was a fifth-degree felony in that state, punishable with a $2,500 fine and six to 12 months in jail. That is because in order to change party affiliation in Ohio, voters have to fill out a form swearing allegiance to that party’s principles “under penalty of election falsification.”  On Thursday, March 20, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that the “Cuyahoga County Board of Election has launched an investigation that could lead to criminal charges against voters who maliciously switched parties for the March 4 presidential primary.” According to the report, “One voter scribbled the following addendum to his pledge as a new Democrat: “For one day only.”  “Such an admission amounts to voter fraud,” the report continued, attributing that conclusion to BOE member Sandy McNair, a Democrat. The report said the four-member board — two Democrats and two Republicans — had yet to vote on whether it would issue subpoenas, although Ohio’s secretary of state, Democrat Jennifer Brunner, is empowered to cast tie-breaking votes when the BOE is deadlocked.  Read article

I wonder how funny jail will be for those engaged in this malicious manipulation of the democratic process.  Is your precious leader Rush Limbaugh worth doing jail time for in order to provide him with amusement?  I am sure that most states have similar laws on the books with respect to this kind of malfeasance.  So…….I ask Rush Limbaugh listeners, as well as other conservative talk show listeners who were told to complete such a task…..are you feeling lucky?  What’s six to 12 months of jail time……a mere blip in life’s journey.

After a fierce battle between Obama and Clinton in the Copper State, Obama shines.  The Senator from Illinois wins Wisconsin by a significant margin of 58% to 41%.  The Clinton campaign was hoping to reduce the victory margin to a single digit win but Obama won by 17 points.  Wisconsin has 74 elected delegates and 18 superdelegates available, totaling 92 delegates up for grabs in the state.  Wisconsin was true blue but has shown a tendency to swing or be purple due to the influx of progressives in the state.  The Badger State is also a critical win for Democrats in November.  Having said all of that, the state is also tailor made for Hillary Clinton.  White working class voters make up the majority of the electorate.  The significance of this Obama victory is not missed because the Senator has again broadened his coalition.  The white women vote was split almost evenly between Clinton and Obama with Clinton winning the group 53% to Obama’s 45%.  Obama won white men 62% to Clinton’s 36% and made inroads with working class voters increasing his percentage to 48% to Clinton’s 51%.  Clinton did win with three other groups: seniors, voters with less than a college education, and catholic voters.  The Illinois Senator won 63% of all voters who decided in the last month.  As to the issues, Obama won on healthcare, the war in Iraq, the economy, and electability.  According to exit polls, seven in ten voters believe that international trade takes jobs from the United States.  The North American Free Trade Agreement may have hurt Hillary in this regard because many states like Wisconsin and Ohio have been deindustrialized because of the Agreement.  It is significant that Bill Clinton was the primary force behind the passage of NAFTA.  Another contributing factor to the outcome of the Wisconsin contest is same day voter registration, citizens can register to vote and actually vote on election day.  In addition, Wisconsin is an open primary where independents and republicans vote in the democratic primary, two groups that tend to go for Obama.  The exit polls also revealed the following facts about Wisconsin voters: 43% thought the economy is the most important issue;  29% are concerned about the war in Iraq;  25% are concerned with healthcare;  90% of the voters thought the economy is not doing well;  17% of voters were first time primary voters;  27% were independent voters; 59% of the voters had income levels over $50,000. McCain also won in Wisconsin and Washington state.  McCain will receive the 40 delegates from Wisconsin and 19 delegates from Washington state. 

Barack Obama and John McCain has won all three contests within the Potomac primaries.  On the democratic side, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Virginia gave Barack Obama significant victories over Hillary Clinton.  More specifically, Virginia was very significant.  Considered a sort of bellwether state, Obama won over voters that have previously voted for Clinton.  For example, Obama won the latino vote 53% to Clintons 37%.  In Virginia and Maryland, Obama won 59% of the women vote.  Obama split the Virginia overall white vote with Clinton by winning 48% of the total demographic.  Further, Obama also won heavily among white men in Virginia.  In addition, Obama won the catholic vote.  As for Obama’s across-the-isle appeal, republicans represented 8% of the vote in the Virginia democratic primary and Obama won 70% of their vote.  The Senator from Illinois has managed to broaden his coalition by reaching across the isle with a unifying message.  Both candidates were vying heavily for Virginia voters.  Clinton considered Virginia her best chance of a win within this group of contests.  However, Obama won a substantial victories over Clinton in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.  The final tally for Virginia is 64% to 35%, Maryland, 59% to 37% and the District of Columbia, 75% to 24%.  These wins will give Obama eight victories in a row thereby giving Obama a delegate lead over Clinton.  Before this contest, the Associated Press reported that Clinton lead with 1136 delegates to Obama’s 1108.  After the Potomac primaries, Obama takes the lead with 1210 delegates and Clinton falls slightly behind with 1188 delegates.  These AP totals includes Superdelegates.   Additionally, Obama has won a total of 21 states to Clinton’s 10.  The Clinton campaign has said that their focus is on the March 4th primaries of Ohio and Texas.  Clinton is already campaigning in the Lone Star State in hopes of building a firewall against the Obama momentum.  Though, continued wins by Obama could put a kink in Clinton’s strategy.  It will be difficult for the Clinton campaign to spin eight successive wins by Obama as insignificant.   As damage control, Clinton made telephone calls to several of her donors and supporters asking them to hang in there with her until Ohio and Texas.  However, if Obama’s momentum continues to build, Ohio and Texas may not be the result that the Clinton campaign expects. Obama has already hit the ground in Wisconsin campaigning for its primary on February 19th.  As for the Republicans, McCain also won all of the Potomac primaries.  It seems that McCain in winning over conservatives, at least he did so in Virginia and Maryland.  The final tallys were Virginia, McCain 50% and Huckabee 41%, in Maryland McCain 59% and Huckabee 29%. and the District of Columbia, McCain 68% and 35%.  Virginia is especially significant due the large amount of conservatives in that state.  The fact that McCain won Virginia may be an indication that the tide may be turning and the far right of the GOP has begun to rally around the Arizona senator.  Huckabee was hoping to win Virginia to legitimize his continued participation in the race.  However, the former Arkansas govenor is not dropping out and vows to stay in the race uintil McCain hits the magic number of 1191 delegates.   The McCain campaign has labeled the affable Arkansan an “irritant.” After McCain’s win of Virginia, most have concluded that he is the Republican nominee.  There isn’t a math calculation that adds up to Huckabee becoming the GOP nominee for the 2008 Presidential niomination.  As a side note:  Clinton’s deputy campaign manager, Mike Henry, resigns.