Voter registration issues around the country

Restoring the vote

MICHIGAN: This week a federal judge ordered Michigan Secretary of State Terry Lynn Land to restore over 1,500 Michigan voters to the rolls. The ruling was that the voters were illegally purged, either as a result of their voter ID cards returned as undeliverable, or because they applied for a driver’s license in another state.

More record-breaking

NATIONAL: With early voting beginning across the country, officials are seeing record-breaking turnout in Illinois and Montana. Washington State officials predict the highest Election Day turnout in 60 years and Minnesota has seen new voter registrations skyrocket.

Straight talk on ACORN

NATIONAL: Read level-headed responses to allegations of voter fraud here, here, here and here.

Back to the future

OREGON: The Oregon State Senate’s rules committee has proposed an amendment to the Oregon Constitution that would allow Oregonians to register even on Election Day. Election Day registration was allowed in the state up until 1986, when voters instituted a 20-day pre-election cutoff for new registrants. The state legislature can consider this measure in January of 2009.

Fighting for their country and their vote

NATIONAL: According to data and reports by the Election Assistance Commission and the Pew Center on the States, only about 30 percent of overseas military ballots were tallied in the last federal election. For some soldiers, the mail-in absentee voting process may take up to 60 days from start to finish.

Ohio reversals

OHIO: BREAKING NEWS: The US Supreme Court has sided with Ohio's top elections official in a dispute with the state Republican Party over voter registrations. Today the justices  overruled a federal appeals court that had ordered Ohio's top elections official to do more to help counties verify voter eligibility.

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, had faced a deadline of today to set up a system to provide local officials with names of newly-registered voters by outside groups such as ACORN. whose information did not match state records. Greene County Sherriff Gene Fischer withdrew his request for over 300 early voter registration forms,  following last week’s district court ruling. The district court initially sided with the GOP. Then a three-judge appeals panel overturned the district court. Next, the entire 6th Circuit Court of Appeals took up the case and upheld the district court. 

Republicans brought the lawsuit as part of a strategic effort to disqualify voters in swing states. Once  mismatches are identified, the process of trying to disqualify voters begins. By one estimate, one-third of the voters who registered this year in Ohio might have such mismatches - i.e. typographical errors - some 200,000 voters. 

Voter education effort

MICHIGAN: With record voter turnout expected, and with misinformation running rampant, the Michigan Department of Civil Rights is rolling out a massive voter education effort to run through Election Day. The advertising campaign will inform voters of their rights and dispel misinformation surrounding foreclosures, campaign paraphernalia and prior felony convictions.

Breaking all kinds of records

GEORGIA: Not only is Georgia breaking records for how many registrants whose citizenship it has asked the Social Security Administration to verify, there are many new voter registrations. In DeKalb County alone, about 30,000 registrations are waiting to be entered.

Information provided by Election Protection. If you encounter any problems in registering to vote or in casting your vote at the polls, please contact Election Protection at 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683).

Comments

[Rosa]

We are able to vote early in TN, but I am actually afraid to. With all of our problems in the past and present, I'm almost afraid they will get "lost" or "forgot" to be counted. This shows you how much I trust the "system" on this.

[tangobaby]

Americans are complacent no more. Perhaps that is the best thing to come of this election. And not all judges work for the Executive Branch. Nice to see that, too.