Please count my vote
Published July 23, 2004
I filed the following letter with the Franklin County, Indiana clerk for delivery to the county Board of Elections.
**************
July 22, 2004
My name is Albert Barger. I am a resident and voter in Posey Township in Franklin County Indiana.
On the day of the May 2004 primary elections, I went to the polling place in Andersonville and took a Democrat primary ballot. I carefully marked the envelope in the prescribed manner to cast a write-in ballot for Rev. Al Sharpton as the Democrat nominee for president of the United States.
My vote was not counted. I am told by people at both the county and state level of government that in the state of Indiana, we simply do not accept ANY write-in votes during primaries.
This is unacceptable. If we are to say that we have a democracy and elections, then I have a right to vote for whomever I want - not just whatever two or three choices the state picks out for me.
Note that I didn't write in "Mickey Mouse" or "Cartman" or some other fictional character. Rev Sharpton was in fact a well-known national figure pursuing the office.
I voted for him. My vote didn't count. I was disenfranchised.
I am requesting that whatever entity has the authority to do so [circuit court, county election board, state election board] please in fact order that my vote for Rev Sharpton be duly counted and that the primary election results be changed to reflect that vote.
I will be more than willing to fill out any kind of affidavit or paperwork required to officially ascertain that I cast this vote.
In addition, there is another voter from Posey Township in exactly the same position, having cast a write-in vote for Rev Sharpton that was not counted. If necessary, he also would be willing to sign an affidavit regarding his vote.
Again, I am requesting that the county election returns be changed to accurately reflect my vote in the May 2004 Democrat presidential primary.
I look forward to a prompt and just resolution to this matter.
Al Barger
14205 Barger Rd
Laurel, IN 47024
***************
A couple of extra notes that were not deemed relevant to include in the official letter to the election board:
A lot of people complained about being "disenfranchised" in Florida during the 2000 election. Most of that appears to have been simply fictitious - people were not being turned away from the polls.
- Please count my vote
- Published: July 23, 2004
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- Section: Culture
- Writer: Al Barger
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Al Barger: If we are to say that we have a democracy and elections, then I have a right to vote for whomever I want - not just whatever two or three choices the state picks out for me.
Isn't it the Democratic Party that is determining your options, rather than the state?
It's their club, so I guess they get to dictate who may represent them in the general election. Aren't they free to associate with whomever they please? And even if you are a member of the club, that doesn't mean they have to follow the same voting rules within the club as apply to the citizenry as a whole. You are still free to join a different Party if you don't like the rules in this one.
I mean really, it's not like you were trying to vote in the best interests of the Democratic Party, were you?
As a strict Libertarian, I don't believe the government has any business holding elections or counting votes.
Big Al, glad to see you've taken your run for the Senate seriously, ie. become like every other major politician in the USA: fiddling while Rome burns.
When can we expect your next Important Violin Sonata?
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A lot of people complained about being "disenfranchised" in Florida during the 2000 election. Most of that appears to have been simply fictitious - people were not being turned away from the polls.
Can you point me at sources where "that appears to have been fictitious"? It still seems real to me, and Florida and ChoicePoint have settled with the NAACP.
NAACP and National Civil Rights Groups File Florida Voting Rights Lawsuit to Eliminate Unfair Voting Practices
Starting on Election Day, the NAACP national and Florida offices, as well as many other civil rights organizations, received calls from black voters and others who had been turned away from the polls or had trouble casting their ballots. Civil rights lawyers were immediately sent to Florida to interview witnesses and on November 11, 2000, the NAACP held a hearing in Miami to highlight the extent of the violations of state and federal law.
This lawsuit seeks fundamental change to the voting practices in Florida to make them fair and equal for all Floridians. Specifically, it asks that election practices in Florida, which result in the denial of the right of Florida citizens to vote on account of race, color or any other discriminatory manner be stopped immediately and that fair and non-discriminatory procedures be put into place by the state of Florida. January 10, 2002
NAACP and Florida Voters Reach Agreement with ChoicePoint® in Voting Rights Lawsuit
WASHINGTON, D.C. / ALPHARETTA, Ga. - July 2, 2002 - Civil rights plaintiffs have reached an agreement with ChoicePoint (NYSE: CPS) over work performed by Database Technologies (DBT) for the State of Florida in the 2000 elections. The NAACP and Florida voters filed a federal lawsuit - NAACP v. Harris - challenging the conduct of state and local officials in the 2000 Florida elections, including DBT, because of the company's work as a contractor hired by the state.
As part of the settlement, ChoicePoint will donate $75,000 to the NAACP, which will be used to fund past and future efforts to further the electoral opportunities of Florida's minority voters. Under the agreement, the company also will re-process the 1999 and 2000 "exceptions lists" of Florida voters who may have been ineligible to vote because of possible felony criminal convictions or because of possibly being registered to vote in more than one county. The reprocessing will be conducted pursuant to terms proposed by the plaintiffs and subject to court approval. July 2, 2002