Everyone’s vote needs to be counted on Election Day

By David A. Love
Progressive Media Project
October 21, 2008

In the land of the free, everyone's vote should be counted. But at the rate we're going, millions of votes could be discarded on Election Day.

First, some of the voting machines are not reliable. Their software and hardware are faulty, and they lack safeguards to prevent election officials from tampering with ballots and election tallies. Already, in early voting in West Virginia, six voters in two counties claim that electronic voting machines changed their votes from Democratic to Republican.

Due to a backlog by the Election Assistance Commission (the federal agency that oversees voting), defective voting machines throughout the nation will not be repaired in time for the presidential election, the New York Times reports. That’s unacceptable.

But malfunctioning machines may be the least of our problems. Republican operatives are again engaged in voter suppression efforts, with some officials trying to purge the voter rolls again, as they did in Florida in 2000.

Scheming to restrict the vote has a sordid past in American politics. In the Jim Crow South, election officials used poll taxes, literacy tests, physical threats and Klan violence to suppress the black vote. Sometimes, black voters were forced to answer questions as inane as "How many bubbles in a bar of soap?" 



Today, the Republican Party is worried that mass voter registration efforts across the country will dampen its chances of victory at the polls. So it is making grandiose allegations about people fraudulently registering to vote. Sen. John McCain accused one group of possibly “destroying the fabric of our democracy.”



But the issue of voter fraud is a ruse. There has been no significant evidence of voter fraud in recent elections.

“The incidence of election fraud is minimal across the 50 states and rarely affects election outcomes,” notes a report by the nonprofit group Demos entitled “Securing the Vote.” “The disenfranchisement of voters through antiquated voting systems, system error, and improper management of registration databases, as occurred in Florida in the 2000 election, is a far bigger problem than traditional forms of election fraud.”

Already, in the last few months, thousands of legitimate voters have been illegally purged, according to the New York Times. Another 200,000 new voters in Ohio were at risk of being challenged until the U.S. Supreme Court stepped in. The high court struck down a federal court ruling that would have challenged these new registrants, whose information was not a perfect match with government databases due to typographical and data entry errors. 



What’s more, some states simply will be unprepared to handle the dramatic swelling in their voter rolls, according to a study by the Advancement Project, another nonprofit group. It predicts that in many jurisdictions, there will be insufficient numbers of voting machines, privacy booths and poll workers. This study of the battleground states of Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia also finds that polling place resources are misallocated in some precincts, which is likely to result in long lines disproportionately in communities of color. 



With broken machines, voter purging and insufficient resources, an outsider might conclude that the United States runs its elections like a banana republic. A citizen should not have to worry about his or her vote being thrown in the garbage can. We must protect our voting rights.

The Failure of McPalin Lynch Mob Politics - You Betcha!

Color of Law
By David A. Love
BlackCommentator.com
October 16, 2008

“Terrorist!” “Traitor!” “Kill Him!” “Bomb Obama!” “Obama Bin Lyin!”  

These are the words one can hear from the crowds at the McCain-Palin rallies. Through race baiting and inflammatory xenophobic, anti-Muslim and anti-Obama rhetoric, the GOP presidential and vice-presidential candidates, and their surrogates, have whipped their supporters into such a frenzy, one can only include that they hope physical harm befalls their Democratic opponent. Truth be told, the assassination of Black leaders is not a new story in America. It is no accident that Senator Obama had to receive super duper Secret Service protection earlier than any other presidential candidate. And it should be noted that a group of White supremacists planned to assassinate Obama during the Democratic convention in Colorado.

Senator McCain was offended and outraged when Rep. John Lewis of Georgia compared McCain’s incendiary tactics to that of the late Alabama segregationist George Wallace. I conclude that had McCain’s race baiting succeeded, he would have found a way to get over his anger. After all, when you purposefully stoke the fires of hatred, you should expect that someone will call you out on it. Rather, it is likelier that the Manchurian candidate’s sense of indignation stems from the feeling that the time-tested Southern Strategy—the Republican Party’s dutiful use of the race card to scare the White electorate in national elections, with a bonus if the other candidate is actually Black—was supposed to work as it has always worked. It was supposed to work as it did eight years ago, when operatives for then-candidate Bush (who now work for McCain), smeared McCain in the South Carolina primary by claiming he had fathered a Black child. But apparently, in 2008 it did not work for McCain against Obama.

Stirring up disgruntled, frustrated and bitter White folk over fears of a Black planet, the Republicans borrowed their strategy from the segregationist Dixiecrats of the Jim Crow South. Back then, racist politicians, members of the White Citizens’ Council, the “white-collar” Klan, spewed invective when it came to verbal attacks on African Americans. While keeping their hands clean of any wrongdoing, these politicians stirred up the “unwashed masses,” their poorer, uneducated Klan brethren, who could be then counted on to respond to that rhetoric through assassinations and lynchings of civil rights workers, the bombing of Black churches, and other acts of physical violence and domestic terrorism. It was understood that the words of the politicians went hand in hand with the murderous crimes of the foot soldiers, cause and effect.

As for today’s ideological descendants of the Dixiecrats, the conservative Republicans, racism and inciting racial violence have won them elections. And given this crowd’s emphasis on killing to meet public policy and foreign policy objectives— whether through the second amendment, unjust wars, coups or assassinations— I wouldn’t put anything past them.

And color-coded character assassination is all you have left when you are a party bereft of any ideas and vision short of war profiteering, trickle-down economics, corporate welfare and tax cuts for the wealthy. And the self-proclaimed mavericks who would mis-lead this nation have been operating on smoke and mirrors. At the top of the ticket is a man whose only claim to fame was being in a country where he had no business, fighting people who meant him no harm (sounds familiar), then getting captured and refusing to leave when the “enemy” told him he could go. His running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, was sly and vindictive enough to unlawfully abuse her authority as governor of Alaska, and is dumb as bricks on any matter of domestic or foreign affairs. Palin—who has used hate speech to stir up crowds across the country, causing them to boo Obama in absentia—came into the national spotlight at the Republican convention by quoting an anti-Semite who had hoped for the assassination of President Franklin Roosevelt.  

In past years, the race card might very well have worked even for this pair of untalented, mediocre individuals. Perhaps it is too early to write their political obituary, although many commentators across the political spectrum have already done so. And the fact that their campaign is fighting for dear life in bright-red Bush country may provide all the proof we need that it is done, time to stick a fork in it. Nevertheless, it appears that McPalin is a casualty of the changing times, changing demographics, an economic collapse, the youth vote, and an opponent who has excited a multiracial electorate like no other politician in generations. Has the Southern Strategy already made its last stand? Time will tell.

Meanwhile, Palin now has had the tables turned on her. This self-described “hockey mom” was booed while throwing out the puck at the opening game of the Philadelphia Flyers. Philly is Obama territory, to be sure, but the hockey fans? They were supposed to be her people, or so she thought. But even having her two daughters there could not save her. Perhaps some people are determined that they will not be fooled again, that the cost is simply too high for any of us to bear.

Will YOUR vote count? State's polls lack uniform standards

By Kathryn Boockvar and David A. Love

The Patriot-News (Harrisburg, PA), September 28, 2008

ON NOV. 4, will the vote of every Pennsylvanian be counted? Sadly, unless changes are made before Election Day, the answer is no. 

The main culprit is a lack of uniform standards in Pennsylvania. 

For example, there are currently no uniform standards governing when emergency backup paper ballots should be issued to voters. As a result, during the Pennsylvania primary, when voting machines broke down, some voters were provided with emergency paper ballots, others were told by poll workers to go home and come back later, and still others had to wait for hours until the machines were repaired. 

The procedures varied from polling place to polling place, and from county to county. This failure to treat each of our votes equally, and failure to ensure that each of us gets to vote and have our vote counted without undue burden, violates our state and federal constitutional rights. 

Another example is the lack of uniform and comprehensive poll worker training and support. Poll workers have been called the "champions of democracy." They are the last defense between a well-run democracy and an unstable, ineffective political system, and they deserve respect, support and appreciation for their service. Yet, instead, the biggest question mark in Pennsylvania's voting system may not be what has changed since 2004, but the one thing that has not --inadequate poll worker training and support. 

The sheer magnitude of vital Election Day responsibilities requires intensive training. Pennsylvania law requires that county boards of election "instruct election officers in their duties" and inspect the conduct of elections, "to the end that primaries and elections may be honestly, efficiently, and uniformly conducted." Poll workers are the direct links between election officials and voters, and their actions and inactions can make the difference between a vote counted and a vote rejected. 

Yet despite this, Pennsylvania counties rarely require that all election officials be trained regularly -- most commonly, only new poll workers are asked to attend training. And when they don't? Nothing. In most if not all counties, there is no penalty for skipping training, and no system to assess whether poll workers are qualified and able to perform their duties. As a result, countless untrained poll workers work every Election Day. This is contrary to Pennsylvania law, which states that "No judge or inspector shall serve at any primary or election ... unless he shall have been found qualified to perform his duties ..." 

Of course, it is the voter who suffers. According to the Fels Institute of Government, in 2006 the Keystone State had the nation's highest number of complaints about poll workers and election staff, the second highest number of complaints about coercion or intimidation, and the third highest number of complaints about requests for identification. Election Day complaints that were caused or worsened by poor poll worker training or support have included equipment operation problems, failure to distribute emergency ballots, late opening of polling places, language barriers, improper demands for voter identification, improper provisional ballot administration, intimidating polling place behavior, and ineffective polling place design and procedures. 

Of even greater concern, these problems have tended to occur disproportionately in poorer neighborhoods and in communities of color. 

All these problems cause longer lines, frustration and disenfranchisement, which not only burden voters, but also make Election Day much more difficult for the poll workers, who are already working an incredibly long day for little pay. 

Looking ahead to November, it is expected that Pennsylvania's surge in voter registrations this year and anticipated surge in turnout, combined with these problems, will mean longer lines, longer wait times, and more machine breakdowns and errors at polling places throughout the commonwealth. 

The solution to avoiding these problems is clear: the secretary of state, as chief election official of the commonwealth, must play a stronger role in mandating that all counties provide their citizens with equal access to the voting booth, and equal opportunity to vote and have their vote counted. Included in this: 

* Emergency paper ballots must be offered uniformly to voters when machines break down, and must be treated and counted as regular ballots. 

* Comprehensive poll worker training and support, with clear, uniform qualifications and assessment, must be mandated for all poll workers. Funding should be increased to allow adequate compensation for training. 

* State and local governments and other organizations should play a stronger role in recruiting poll workers, with modernized and energized recruiting messages, increased compensation, and other non-compensation incentives for becoming part of this vital process. 

If these things do not happen, then we might find ourselves with another Florida or Ohio disaster on our hands in the Keystone State. 

Voting is one of our most cherished fundamental rights as citizens. If we cannot guarantee an equal right to vote in the birthplace of American democracy, and ensure that all our votes are counted here, then where can we? 

KATHRYN BOOCKVAR is the senior attorney and DAVID A. LOVE is the voter protection advocate for Pennsylvania for the Advancement Project, a Washington, D.C.-based civil rights organization.

Palin Hates Native Alaskans, Black Folks Too

Color of Law
By David A. Love
BlackCommentator.com
October 2, 2008

Perhaps it is the understatement of the century to say that that Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska— that Trojan Moose running mate of Senator John McCain—knows absolutely nothing about foreign policy. The person who aspires to be a heartbeat away from the presidency only received her first passport last year. And the extent of her international affairs experience involves Alaska’s proximity to Siberia.

What receives far less attention, however, is Palin’s inability to deal with cultural diversity within the borders of her own state. With a quarter of its population as people of color, including one-fifth Native- Americans and around 10 percent African- and Asian-Americans combined — Alaska is far more diverse than one would conclude at first glance. Yet there is ample evidence that the governor has little else than utter disrespect for Alaskans of a darker hue.

As for Alaska Natives, who have experienced years of being treated as less than human, crowded out and pushed aside to make way for White settlers, Palin has continued the policy of degrading and suppressing the state’s first inhabitants. Don’t be sidetracked by the fact that Palin’s husband is of Yup’ik Eskimo ancestry. There have been the affronts to the Native community, such as when Palin allegedly fired the highly regarded Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan, a Native, because he refused to remove Palin’s former brother-in-law from the state police force. And when she assumed her office, the governor tried to appoint a White woman to a seat on the state’s wildlife management board, a seat which had been occupied by a Native for 25 years.

Subsistence fishing and hunting are very important to the traditional way of life for Native peoples, and Gov. Palin has done everything in her power to oppose tribal subsistence rights, to the benefit of commercial and sporting interests. And she has continued a lawsuit which would eliminate all federal fishing protections for Native Alaskan people. In addition, she opposes tribal sovereignty, and has refused to acknowledge native languages and give them the respect they deserve. A federal court ordered Palin to provide voter materials in indigenous languages.

And as Earl Ofari Hutchinson recently noted, Alaska is rife with racial inequality. Infant mortality for Native children is double that of Whites. Native students are 12 percent of the children in public schools, but 25 percent of the dropouts. Native Alaskan men are 10 percent of the population, but 40 percent of the prisoners. Chronically unemployed and victims of discrimination, the indigenous population is underrepresented in employment in the legal, child welfare and criminal justice fields. Before Palin took office, the U.S. Civil Rights Commission called for a host of reforms to deal with these racial disparities, but Gov. Palin, maverick and reformer that she is, hasn’t budged on implementing any of the recommendations.

Then, there is Palin’s disrespect for Alaska’s African American population. Yes, I was just as surprised as you are. On April 29, a group of African American leaders met with the governor to discuss their dissatisfaction with her record on diversity in hiring. According to Gwen Alexander, head of the African-American Historical Society of Alaska, Palin told the group that she did not have to hire any Blacks, and didn’t intend to hire any. Further, Juneteenth—that well-known day of slave emancipation celebrated by Blacks throughout the country — has been an official holiday in Alaska since 2001. However, as veteran journalist Linn Washington notes, Palin did not attend the celebration, and did not send a representative. The governor similarly declined requests for her attendance to town hall meetings on issues affecting communities of color.

The extent of Gov. Palin’s record on diversity seems to amount to ignoring Native Alaskans’ basic rights, telling Black folks she doesn’t have to hire them, and snubbing Juneteenth. So, where does all of this lead us? What is the punchline to this cruel joke known as the vice-presidential candidacy of Sarah Palin? Well, in the end, Palin’s record represents an indictment of the GOP narrative of small town America. As the new poster child for the conservative cause, Palin gives small town people a bad name. To be sure, many people in small towns are just as clueless, narrow-minded and averse to cultural diversity and civil rights as the governor of Alaska. But many more are not, and these people must decide very soon if they will allow Sarah Palin to speak for them.