GOP fails in effort to move polls

[Mandate My Ass]

GOP fails in effort to move polls

Last-minute bid tried to relocate 63 mostly black polling places
By CHRIS BRENNAN


REPUBLICAN OPERATIVES working to re-elect President Bush submitted last-minute requests in Philadelphia on Friday to relocate 63 polling places.

Bush's Pennsylvania campaign staff filed the requests, using the names of two Republicans running for the U.S. Congress and seven Republican ward leaders.

Of the 63 requests for changes, 53 are in political divisions where the population of white voters is less than 10 percent.

"I think this is more evidence of Republicans working to disenfranchise low-income and minority voters," said Mark Nevins, a spokesman for U.S. Sen. John Kerry. "It's despicable."

Bob Lee, voter registration administrator for the City Commission, said the requests appear to be "discriminatory" and were filed too late to be eligible for a hearing on Wednesday.

"They're trying to suppress the vote," Lee said of Republicans.

<snip>

The requests could potentially confuse voters. The city has already ordered postcards mailed to 1.1 million registered voters before Election Day, directing them to polling places.


http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/9947413.htm

[Media_Lies_Daily]

1. Another dirty trick caught! Those people will stop at nothing!!

[sui generis]

2. and you would think that if they were truly in the right

and truly moral and in the majority and had a real public mandate that they wouldn't need these kinds of tricks.

[DoYouEverWonder]

7. Exactly

It seems to be perfectly okay for these supposedly good christians, to break every rule in the book for their lord savior George Bush.

[cliss]

12. wow. what an indictment.

I guess I'd never seen it in print like that, before.

You're right. Jeez. This is horrible. What did Jesus say? "By their works you will know them".

[tom_paine]

13. Like the 1930s German Christains or the Medeval Christian who burned and

slaughtered innocents.

All members of the same family of thought...

[natrat]

16. these people are not christians

they have morphed into something that is decidedly unchristian

[shockingelk]

3. I thought this was going to be about 9/11 -

From the frame of reference of the Reality-Based Community, this administration's failure to move heaven and earth would appear to be a failure to move polls.

[shockingelk]

4. oh, lord!

Race played a role in at least five of the requests, according to Matt Robb, the Republican leader of the 48th ward in South Philadelphia. Robb said he allowed his name to be used because those polling places are in neighborhoods he doesn't wish to visit.

"It's predominantly, 100 percent black," said Robb, who is white. "I'm just not going in there to get a knife in my back."

[Mandate My Ass]

6. How about this gem?

Ritter, an African-American, denied any attempt to suppress minority votes.

"The black neighborhoods are the ones that do the funny stuff," Ritter said. "What are you supposed to do?"


:wtf:

[VegasWolf]

19. The repugnants would never be in power except for the compassionate

civil rights minded Southerners. Remember, compassionate
conservatives!


"Kerry has a 'chocolate chip' on his team", Limbaugh says
on his radio show after learning Jesse Jackson has joined the organization.

[ChrisK]

5. I wonder how many tricks like this happened in 2000?

You can't help but wonder what else has happened in 2000 that has yet to be uncovered....I doubt many of there "tricks" are anything new, there just now being noticed and many people out there are finally standing up and saying not this time.

When Kerry does win in November I am almost scared to see what his administration uncovers with there time in office....I have a feeling that the hole is VERY deep....and whats at the bottom?...I don't even want to guess. :scared:

[Media_Lies_Daily]

31. Pick any state in the south and do a search of the news right after....

...the 2000 election. You will be amazed to learn that Florida was not the only state with voting "irregularities".

I remember reading about the closing of polls with people still in line to vote, relocation of polling places without notice, police roadblocks of main routes to polling places, mail-outs reminding people to vote but giving the wrong day to go to the polls.

I'm sure other tactics were used, I just don't recall what they were.

[Philostopher]

8. They do this stuff every year.

They also shift polling places in precincts that are heavily loaded with college students who are voting at their schools instead of voting absentee from home. They do it every general election in places with heavy minority and youth votes. It's such an institution of the GOP game plan, I'm kind of surprised they told them not to do it. There are places in Ohio it's considered part of the election day routine, going from bogus address to bogus address until you find your precinct. Many people give up and go home -- that's why they do it, of course.

Betcha' they still do it in Ohio this year. Betcha' nobody makes a peep.

[LiberalFighter]

22. I never heard of this being done before

We need more eyes and ears to know what is happening so it can be stopped.

[Philostopher]

24. They've done it on Corryville, before.

Corryville is the part of Cincinnati/Clifton where the University of Cincinnati is located. There's also low-income housing in the area -- it's not far from Over-The-Rhine. Thing is, they do this stuff the day of the election and claim there wasn't space, or there was some problem with the original polling location -- water pipe broke, power out, that kind of thing. I've never heard actual anecdotal testimony about it happening in other places, but I've seen college students post on here about it happening to them at other colleges, too. You only have to screw up the locations of an important precinct or two to inconvenience a few thousand people to the point they won't or can't go vote.

I don't know if it's illegal. I've never had it happen to me -- I voted in a small town until my first hubby went in the Air Force, voted absentee once from another part of the country, and have voted in the 'burbs since then. They never mess with those precincts, of course -- people in Ohio who live in the 'burbs usually vote for Republicans at least at parity with Dems, if not in marginally higher numbers, so they sure wouldn't want to confuse them, would they?

[PROGRESSIVE1]

9. The GOP is becoming too much like the German Nazi Party!

:scared:

[WhiteTara]

32. Becoming? I thought they were first cousins!

the "dirty tricks committee" was established during
the Nixon (I am not a crook) era. Karl Rove got his start with
the dirty bastards and cut his learned his craft at the knee
of Lee Atwater...who died of brain cancer

[Zorra]

10. How many of these rotten tricks did they pull in 2000 and 2002?

And since 1980?

I'm beginning to believe that very few republicans have been legitimately elected, and that if we can clean up the electoral process, the republican party will become extinct.

[whirlygigspin]

11. just another reason to vote against these crooks

good Christians my ass,

fuckin Satanist is what they are.

[natrat]

17. better grab hold of some wins now

cuz the window on democracy is closing

[Beetwasher]

14. "I'm just not going in there to get a knife in my back."

Race played a role in at least five of the requests, according to Matt Robb, the Republican leader of the 48th ward in South Philadelphia. Robb said he allowed his name to be used because those polling places are in neighborhoods he doesn't wish to visit.

"It's predominantly, 100 percent black," said Robb, who is white. "I'm just not going in there to get a knife in my back."

--snip--

What a disgusting, racist piece of shit this guy is...

[belle]

18. Gee, what a sweetheart. I can't understand why they aren't attracting

more of the black vote, can you??

"Hello! I fear you! I mock you! I don't see you as entirely human! --Say, support my candidate, will you? You will, right? You want to be a credit to your people, don't you?? Vote for us! It'd be mighty white of you! (Please don't hurt me)."

[LiberalFighter]

23. That needed to get on tv for the voters to hear it.

[Insomnicole]

15. Could these people BE any more racist?

"'It's predominantly, 100 percent black,' said Robb, who is white. 'I'm just not going in there to get a knife in my back.'"

This is a goddamned outrage on so many levels that I'm sitting here thunderstruck. Every time I think these people can't possibly sink lower, they show me I'm wrong.

[Arugula Latte]

20. GOP motto:

"We can't win on our issues, so we CHEAT."

[Supersedeas]

21. obtaining a slim majority by whatever means - Winner Take All ofcourse

[dave502d]

25. Our they getting their order from the devil.

[davidinalameda]

26. amazing

simply freaking amazing that these people can walk upright let alone speak

[loudsue]

27. We Need a FEDERAL law that says, once precincts are announced,

they cannot be changed within 90 days of an election; or in case of emergency, cannot be moved more than 200-feet from the previously determined location, with signs posted that are 5' tall by 7' wide. <or something like that>

Any precinct that breaks the law gets swarmed by cops, and all the bad guys go to jail.

This country DESPERATELY needs to get our election house in order. NOW!!!

A friend in New Mexico today told me that some guy went to vote on a black box -- voting for a Dem clerk, or something, and the machine registered his vote for the repuke. My friend says the elections worker "didn't see a problem with that".

:argh::nuke::argh::nuke::argh::nuke::argh::nuke::argh:

[kimchi]

28. Racist pukes.

I would say I'm shocked but I'm not.

[GOPBasher]

29. Cheating, cheating and more cheating.

How much are these fucking pieces of horse shit going to cheat? They have electronic voting machines that can't be verified, and I'm sure many are programmed to help Bush; they disenfranchise blacks every chance they get, by many different methods; and they suppress the vote of blacks who are already registered. What a bunch of complete assholes. How do they look themselves in the mirror? Seriously.

[demokatgurrl]

30. Unfortunately, this is not a new tactic in our area-

I live in a Philly suburb. This happens every once in a while.

Of course, if their intentions were in any way honorable, they would have done this long ago, not at the last minute. Last year, where I live, they tried to move a poll out of a retirement community, knowing that most of the seniors would have a hard time getting to a poll outside their residence. Well, the seniors did not take it lying down- they hired a lawyer and got the help of the Democratic party and saved their polling place.