Black voters in Florida, deja vu?
Published October 18, 2004
The Boston Globe reports problems that stymied efforts of black Americans to participate in a national election four years ago appear to be recurring this election season. As before, difficulty registering to vote is said to be particularly apparent in Florida, where the incumbent's brother, Jeb Bush, is the governor. Residents of a county with a large population of newly registered African-Americans have confronted election officials about the alleged disparate treatment.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Earlier this month, nearly a dozen African-American ministers and civil rights leaders walked into the Duval County election office here, television cameras in tow, with a list of questions: Why weren't there more early voting sites closer to black neighborhoods? Why were so many blacks not being allowed to redo incomplete voter registrations? Who was deciding all this?
Standing across the office counter under a banner that read "Partners in Democracy" was the man who made those decisions, election chief Dick Carlberg. Visibly angry, the Republican explained why he decided the way he had: "We call it the law."
Black leaders said the scene at the supervisor's office was reminiscent of a blocked schoolhouse door at the height of desegregation. They charge that GOP officials are deliberately using the law to keep black people off the rolls and hinder them from voting.
Four years ago, ballots cast from black neighborhoods throughout Florida were four times as likely to go uncounted as those from white neighborhoods. Nowhere was the disparity more apparent than in Duval County, where 42 percent of 27,000 ballots thrown out came from four heavily Democratic black precincts.
The pre-election practices that have concerned person's riled include election authorities not siting early voting offices in predominantly African-American areas and refusals to allow black registrants to complete faulty initial registrations. During the last four years, registration of black voters has increased by 21 percent. White voter registration has risen by six percent. However, the successful voter registration drive by groups such as America Coming Together can be negated if many of the new registrants are not allowed to vote. Duval County elections workers have failed to process a third of the registrations. They have deemed more than a thousand of them incomplete so far. Since George W. Bush carried the county by only 537 votes in 2000, the outcome there might well be decided by the thousands of potential new voters. But, with a deadline of Oct. 4 to fix incomplete registrations, the impact of the new registrations may be undermined.
- Black voters in Florida, deja vu?
- Published: October 18, 2004
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- Section: Politics
- Writer: Mac Diva
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yeah...the laws...and following directions...damn them, damn them all to hell!!!
I really like the way the article constantly says, jeb bush the presidents brother...jeb bush the presidents brother...
No, you guys, you're wrong and MacD is right.
Even the Help America Vote Act was designed to eliminate as many new voters as possible.
Look it up, then get back to me.
Why is it always a conspiracy? A law to make sure that someone is only registered to vote once or is not a convicted felon (in states where felons aren't allowed to vote) are not designed to eliminate new voters, they're designed to make sure that the John Daly legacy of vote early, vote often does not happen again.
I read through the act and I don't see what you're talking about. Ittalks about changing out old voting machines, making sure the public knows what it's doing, where does it say taht it's trying to eliminate new voters?
must be part of the vast right wing conspiracy!!!
These people said it themselves...they're deliberately using the law. What is that??? I guess that makes sense to you??? You're deliberately using the law to enforce the law???
Is that delibaerate obtuseness?
If you look into the situation you'll find that there's a concerted effort to keep as many new, minority and college student voters from voting as possible.
They even break the law to do so.
And that's because the majority of the above voters would vote Democrat.
So which party do you7 think is doing it.
As I said: look it up, there's non-partisan data to back that up all over the Web.
Like in CA, the nerve of voting officials to want ID! why, that might stop illegal aliens from voting!!! The nerve of wanting college students to get a local drivers license!!! That might stop them from voting absentee in their home state and at the polls in the state they go to school. Vote early, vote often!!!
Thanks, Andy, I've never seen it so clearly before.
But you really should look into the details - it's your country getting shat upon.
I have to look up stuff to verify your conspiracy theories??? Yeah, that's gona happen!!!
You should be able to link me to it...I mean after all, IT'S ALL OVER THE WEB, so it must be true!!! I just can't seem to find anything non-partisan, but then, I'm not really looking that hard either.
You know, I have an ID, I use it to identify myself, in the state that I live, at the address where I reside. I was able to register to vote. When I went to get this new ID, because I moved here from AZ a year ago, it was amazing, they let me register to vote and get my new ID all at the same time. Must be because I'm a big ole white boy!!! And you know what? I didn't even have to mark republican, I was able to sneak by with independant checked. I must have been one that slipped through the cracks!!!
I know what it was...the mean old republicans...they just love to let us veterans vote...that must be why I was able to sneak by.
That damned right wing conspiracy!!!
Liberals have tied me up and put duct tape on my mouth, but I will get free....and be back to chime in...:)
Claire
That damned right wing conspiracy, man!
That evil Bob Jones 'Kool Aid' spiked with that good ol'boy Republican mountain dew!
That hypnotic 9/11 pendulum from the 'Project for the New American Century': "It's not a new Pearl Harbor. Your eyes are getting heavy. It's not a new Pearl Harbor. You're getting sleepy..."
you crack me up Bob!!!
I'd tell you Hal, but my keyboard seems to be covered in froth!!! Maybe, just maybe, you could read it above.
It was Richard Daley who was known for promoting the idea of "Vote Early and Often." John Daly is known for having one of the worst mullets outside of Nascar, drinking heavily, and hitting a golf ball a country mile.
my bad...thank yo for the correction..
Ouch! If it makes you feel any better I didn't know who either of them were.
well, I thought John Daly sounded wrong, but I got lazy. I think John Daly would be hurt by that mullet comment though. Actually, he'd probably laugh and buy you a beer. He bought me one in Jacksonville a few years back.
The NASCAR dads strike again. You'll be glad to know that if you registered to vote at this years Daytona Death Race 2000, your forms were disqualified to the circular file if traces of beer or grease were found on them. Oh yeah, they have to be on 80lb. paper, & the signature must be legible, ya hear!
rules baby...rules!!! You know...my football team had an issue with rules this year...new coach...new rules...guys were whinning like crazy...once they got the rules down...they started winning...not whinning... If you know there are rules, then follow them, like gunny highway (clint eastwood) said in porkchop hill...don't give the prick the satisfaction.
I would imagine, that it's in writing somewhere that the forms have to be on a certain kind of paper, in a certain format...so what happened...someone said...ahhhh the hell with the rules...we'll just take these old dirty napkins and print them up on these!!! Or you know what, we can save $0.80 on a ream of paper if we buy this cheap shit paper that's against the rules...nobody'll care...F**K the rules, what are they gonna do, throw them out???
Well, yeah, that's what they're gonna do
Okay, naysayers, let's consider one dubious law. Give me a rational reason for Ms. Hood's requirement that new registrants check a box saying they are citizens. (The ballot already requires signing one's signature to attest citizenship.) What purpose does the requirement serve other than to make these new people jump through an additional hurdle or be disqualified? Furthermore, why should people suddenly need to do two claims of citizenship when previous registrants only had to do one?
Another aspect that bothers me is that, in a democracy, people should be encouraged to vote. So, to me, when people try to dissuade participation, that harkens to a desire for something other than a democratic form of government. Opening the registration offices on weekends seems to be a positive thing to do. The only rationale I can think of for opposing it is that one wants to make it more difficult to register.
If you know the rules, why can't you follow them...it's that simple...read the instructions!!! I've had to register to vote in 8 different states in my life time and I've never once failed to follow the freaking instructions...jeeezzz what's so hard about following the rules?
Seems pretty simple to me - to avoid any conflict of interest, Florida election acitivies should be discharged by independent professional civil servants - not appointees of the President's Brother!
Republicans,
If you love your country, please concede defeat Nov. 3. You screwed up for the last 3 & 1/2 years & all who voted for Gore, unless they died, are voting for Kerry plus every last person who can vote that was angered by the Supreme Court decision. Bush lost votes because of this crappy war & no amount of freakoid Dobson Kool-Aid Krusaders can make up the loss. You are all acting like a cornered rats & it is obvious. Quietly accept defeat & turn over Karl Rove & we will leave the rest of you alone. Let John Kerry fix your mess in peace; do not raise some Kenneth Starr Monster to trip up progress. We know how you are sore losers, so show some humility this time & watch a 'Veteran' operate the war on terror with precision.
Sincerely, bob2112 & the Citizens for the Disarmament of GOP Party Monsters!
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Those dastardly republicans are at it again using crazy ideas like "laws" to hold down the black vote. What will they come up with next?