News and Politics | October 28, 2008 | 21 comments

50,000 purged from voter rolls in Georgia (VIDEO)

source: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/CNN_50000_purged_from_voter_rolls_1027.html

pigmonkey
With reports of voting problems rife in the media, and instances of vote flipping seen in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Texas, elections watchdogs are on their toes for any more foul play.

In spite of their activism, 50,000 voters have been lopped off Georgia's rolls.

CNN's Abbie Boudreau and Scott Bronstein reported:



College senior Kyla Berry was looking forward to voting in her first presidential election, even carrying her voter registration card in her wallet.

But about two weeks ago, Berry got disturbing news from local election officials.

"This office has received notification from the state of Georgia indicating that you are not a citizen of the United States and therefore, not eligible to vote," a letter from the Fulton County Department of Registration and Elections said.

But Berry is a U.S. citizen, born in Boston, Massachusetts. She has a passport and a birth certificate to prove it.

Berry is one of more than 50,000 registered Georgia voters who have been "flagged" because of a computer mismatch in their personal identification information. At least 4,500 of those people are having their citizenship questioned and the burden is on them to prove eligibility to vote.

Experts say lists of people with mismatches are often systematically cut, or "purged," from voter rolls.


The Associated Press reported that federal judges have order Georgia to stop using Social Security Numbers and driver license numbers to verify voters' immigration status.
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21 comments // 50,000 purged from voter rolls in Georgia (VIDEO) // Video

  • khromadjo
  • HiddenAgenda
  • AmberT
    • 0
      AmberT  

    • I live in Atlanta, and Georgia is one of the top 5 largest african-american populations in the U.S. Karen Handel is a republican.

      Yesterday my partner waited in line for 2+ hours to early vote in an african-american area. The good news is alot of black people in the lines yesterday where not going to leave until their vote was counted.

    • 3 years ago
  • bluestranger
    • 0
      bluestranger  
    • AmberT:

      If you don't believe history repeats itself look back at the activism of the sixties and seventies. People are fed up with the crappolla that our public servants have been shoveling. Power to the people.

    • 3 years ago
  • MandyMonroe
    • 0
      MandyMonroe  
    • Image

    • Here's some advice from Greg Palast on what to do it you find you've been purged:

      GP: Most people who are purged are actually still somewhere in the system, so-called inactive voters. You can resurrect your registration by going in and challenging your purge.

      That's why I want people to vote early. Voting is now. In places like Ohio, Indiana and Florida, you can vote now. Please do so. You're out of your mind if you wait. It's going to be the biggest turnout in American history. You're going to have a six hour wait in line. Go in to early voting stations now. You can get that info online from your county election official.

      So complain that your registration should be active, not inactive. People who are purged stay on the roles but usually are marked "felon" or "inactive voter" or "wrong address." It's usually somehow still there. Like anything else, scream bloody murder, you get the ballot. Most of the people I know who have actually complained have got their ballot back.

    • 3 years ago
  • bluestranger
  • Bookshepherd
  • infinity9
    • 0
      infinity9  

    • i've been checking the secretary of state's website every few days to make sure i'm still eligible to vote in georgia. i think that at the moment, it's more likely that my vote will be stolen than my identity, property, or money.

    • 3 years ago
  • bluestranger
    • 0
      bluestranger  

    • It is against FEC regulations to purge anyone from the voter registration rolls ninety (90) days before a federal election. The state or local officials doing this could be subject to fines or jail. If you are that loyal to a political party then you are a true believer.

    • 3 years ago
  • letushavepeace
    • 0
      letushavepeace  

    • I was afraid this would happen in my good ol' state of Georgia. We have a very strong republican base that controls most of our government, but a growing democratic population...shit will hit the fan if I were to show up only to be told I cannot vote.

    • 3 years ago
  • IMMININT
  • TheSkyDrops
  • WaspintheLotus
  • lifestudentno83
    • 0
      lifestudentno83  

    • This is the only way McCain can win now: By taking people's votes away.

      Tell me something:
      If they take away your vote in the election, what will they take if they're elected?

    • 3 years ago
  • BansheesMom
  • Neghie
  • bansheewail
  • NEwsNuT888
    • 0
      NEwsNuT888  

    • Funny this would happen in my own home-state. People whine and bitch about ACORN and what they don't realize is that the people that actually have the power and the means to keep people out of the booth are the ones in government, not an organization. Last time I checked it would be pretty difficult to show up as Mickey Mouse on election day and actually cast a vote. George W. Won GA by 15% and now the gap has been closed to 6-8% and those in the great (usually) red state of GA in power are scared.

    • 3 years ago
  • cybexg
  • JosephD7
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