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‘I’m being disenfranchised’
It appears independent congressional candidate Steven Porter may have to crash a major parties’ debate next month at Allegheny College.
Porter, a former Democrat who’s launched an independent run against Third District incumbent Republican Phil English and Democratic candidate Kathy Dahlkemper, was not invited to participate in a candidates’ debate scheduled for Oct. 8 at Allegheny. He said he has been invited and plans to attend upcoming debates on Sept. 29 at Corry High School and Oct. 21 at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, but has been excluded from several other upcoming debates around the area.
But “I am going to appear at all of these debates, and I’m going to insist on being included,” he said in an interview Thursday.
Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court has agreed to hear Porter’s appeal of a Pennsylvania appellate judge’s ruling early last month that Porter did not have enough valid signatures in his nominating papers to get his name on the November election ballot. The challenge to Porter’s signatures was brought by three Mercer County Democrats amid concerns that Porter could draw votes away from Democratic candidate Kathy Dahlkemper.
“Since the Supreme Court will not even be receiving briefs in my case until after Oct. 4, and will likely not make a ruling for at least a week or two thereafter, it is absolutely un-American for me to be excluded from any debates,” Porter said in prepared statements.
Of the more than 3,200 signatures Porter collected, 1,542 were declared invalid because Porter helped fill out some of the information, such as hometowns and dates, to make sure it was correct, Senior Commonwealth Court Judge James Kelley ruled. Porter said he filled out the information on the petitions without deception and with the full knowledge of the signers.
Kelley himself said the lower court ruling was based on stringent election code requirements, and called the outcome unfair and prohibitive of the well-established principle that the code is to be liberally construed.
“The two major parties have done a wonderful job of stifling voices of dissent,” Porter said Thursday, and in the case of the upcoming Allegheny and other debates, “they’re being helped by people in the community who have forgotten what the rules of democracy are.
“I’m being disenfranchised,” he said. “The 3,200 voters who signed (the nominating papers) are being disenfranchised. The voters (at large) are being disenfranchised before a decision has even been made” on the appeal.
Allegheny College political science Professor Dan Shea, the Center for Political Participation’s director and co-moderator of the upcoming debate, issued a written statement Thursday on the matter. “Mr. Porter’s name is not slated to be on the general election ballot,” it read. “The conditions of the Oct. 8 debate at Allegheny are set. Mr. Porter will not participate at that event. It appears independent congressional candidate Steven Porter may have to crash a major parties’ debate next month at Allegheny College... more -
Voter Database Glitches Could Disenfranchise Thousands
Electronic voting machines have been the focus of much controversy the last few years. But another election technology has received little scrutiny yet could create numerous problems and disenfranchise thousands of voters in November, election experts say.
This year marks the first time that new, statewide, centralized voter-registration databases will be used in a federal election in a number of states.
The databases were mandated in the 2002 Help America Vote Act, which required all election districts in a state or U.S. territory to consolidate their lists into a single database electronically accessible to every election office in the state or territory.
But the databases, some created by the same companies that make electronic voting machines, aren't federally tested or certified and some have been plagued by missed deadlines, rushed production schedules, cost overruns, security problems, and design and reliability issues. Electronic voting machines have been the focus of much controversy the last few years. But another election technology has received li... more -
ACLU Sues Michigan Over Voter Purge Program, Saying It Hurts College Students
The American Civil Liberties Union announced today that it has filed a federal lawsuit against Michigan electoral officials over what the organization characterizes as two "statewide voter purge programs" that it claims would "disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of Michigan voters"—many of them college students—in advance of the fall presidential election.
The legal action comes two days after Democratic nominee Barack Obama's campaign and the Democratic National Committee filed a lawsuit against Michigan over another voter-exclusion practice—using home foreclosure lists to challenge a person's right to vote.
The lawsuits suggest that ballot battles in the key battleground state have just started to heat up.
The ACLU suit, which targets Michigan's Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, a Republican, as well as the state's elections director and the city of Ypsilanti's clerk, charges that two practices by the state are illegal: one in which the state immediately cancels the voter registrations for individuals who obtain a driver's license in another state, and one in which local clerks nullify new voter registration applications if mailed voter cards are returned by the post office as undeliverable.
"Students and young adults generally are much more transient than older adults, are much more likely to have driver's licenses from different states than their college, and are much more likely to live in multi-unit housing, such as dormitories and apartments," says Jonathan Doster, field organizer for the United States Student Association, a plaintiff in the ACLU complaint. "It's just not fair to deny someone the right to vote just because they are an out-of-state student or they don't get a piece of mail."
Michigan Republican Party chief Saul Anuzis has dismissed the Obama campaign's complaint as "a stunt." The American Civil Liberties Union announced today that it has filed a federal lawsuit against Michigan electoral officials over what ... more -
American Blackout
American Blackout chronicles the recurring patterns of disenfranchisement witnessed from 2000 to 2004 while following the story of Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, who not only took an active role in investigating these election debacles but also found herself in the middle of one after publicly questioning the Bush Administration about the 9-11 terrorist attacks. American Blackout chronicles the recurring patterns of disenfranchisement witnessed from 2000 to 2004 while following the story of Geo... more
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I fought the law and the law won
Lawyers for the Democrat National Committee have said the committee has the power to seat 50% of the delegates at best from Florida and Michigan as a result of their failing to abide by the rules set at the beginning of the primary season. Supporters for Sen. Clinton are planning a protest in essence attempting to simply overlook the infraction of the rules all candidates agreed on at the outset. Sen. Clinton would basically punish the other 48 states and Puerto Rico for following the agreement she herself accepted to prolong her inevitable demise. Lawyers for the Democrat National Committee have said the committee has the power to seat 50% of the delegates at best from Florida an... more
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Don't be fooled: Obama is actually leading Hillary by 1-2 million votes
Many DNC insiders fear that if Hillary Clinton manages to lose the pledged delegates, she may still take the lead in the popular vote, thereby causing the superdelegates to make a hard decision as to which candidate they should choose come August. Their fears are rooted in the notion that Clinton is only behind by roughly 800,000 votes, and that she could feasibly catch up with a big win in Pennsylvania.
They'd be wrong.
In fact, Obama leads in the popular vote by anywhere between 2 million to 3 million voters. How is this possible? The reason lies in the ever elusive math of the Democratic caucus. Many DNC insiders fear that if Hillary Clinton manages to lose the pledged delegates, she may still take the lead in the popular vote,... more -
If you want people to vote, DON'T BLOCK THE ROADS!
I went to vote yesterday in Cleveland, and of course, I was super AMPED to finally voice my support for Obama.
What I wasn't prepared for, however, was the crazy ride down Chester and Euclid after seeing humongous ROAD CLOSED signs blocking both entrances to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.
Imagine this: I'm driving with my two sisters in toe, trying to get at a parking space for the Board Of Elections, and I see two looming signs
On one side, the roads simply said: ROADS CLOSED. On the other side it said: ROADS CLOSED: Local Traffic Only. Signs lined the other side of Euclid Avenue, where the street to BOE is actually on.
But what was "Local traffic" supposed to mean? This is Cleveland, where those silly street cameras take pictures of your car and charge you 100 for going 5 miles over the set speed limit. This is the city where a great many police officers are corrupt and will pull you over for minor offenses and charge you major fees, even if you've made a mistake.
If you don't follow the rules in Cleveland, you get fined. Massively. So, understandably, people were stopped at the road, saw the sign, then drove off, obviously confused as to what to do.
The officer in the car just sat inside, looking as cars stopped, waited, then sped away.
I drove around for a couple minutes, trying to find a spot somewhere close, to no avail. All the streets were filled with cars and people and dogs and snowy, nasty mud...but there was not a poll worker or police officer in sight to direct us would-be voters to the right path to the Board Of Elections.
My sister, I'll call her Eagle-Eye, spotted up ahead that a car drove around the cop car, the sign and rushed down the street.
I decided to follow suit.
We made it through the street, and parked in the University parking lost. We hopped out and took the short walk to the BOE.
Inside, a security guard was talking with a police officer.
"There are not really that many people here," he said softly, "I think it's because you guys have the streets blocked off."
My sisters and I looked at eachother. The police officer grumbled a reply that I couldn't hear. He saw us staring, and pointed us to the elevators.
Upstairs, I went to get my provisional ballot and I asked the poll worker at the desk why the roads were blocked off in that manner.
She only stared at me, shocked, "What? They ARE?"
I nodded.
She left me for a moment, then came back with my sign-up sheet. "Fill out the form, please."
And no mention was made of the semi-blocked off streets.
I don't know why the streets were blocked off in that manner. I just don't understand why there were no visible signs or people directing us where to go, where to park or what route we should take to get to the Board of Elections.
It obviously affected the turnout, in my opinion. It may seem simple in hindsight, but in a city that notoriously has had problems with its government, and with the disdain many officers hold for the common people, I assure you the reality is a lot heavier. I went to vote yesterday in Cleveland, and of course, I was super AMPED to finally voice my support for Obama. ... more -
Barred From Voting
In many states, being convicted of a felony means you can't vote.
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Disenfranchisement
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Disenfranchisement
