Iowa Secretary of State Asked To Resign (D)

[DU9598]

<http://www.whotv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2477568&nav=LotCSNTj>

Republican leaders say the Secretary of State should consider resigning. It's the latest in a controversy over voter registration cards.

Here's what all the fuss is over. The Secretary of State (Chet Culver) (D) will allow those who signed their voter registration form but didn't mark the citizenship box to vote. Democrats say it shows they encourage everyone to vote. The Republican party however says this isn't a scare tactic- they argue that federal law requires those little boxes to be checked. They accuse the Secretary of State of making up registration rules as they go.

364 newly registered voters will they be allowed to cast a ballot on election day.

ANOTHER PRIME EXAMPLE OF REPUKES TRYING TO HOLD DOWN THE VOTE!!!

[displacedtexan]

1. They eat their own when times are tough.

Let's sit back and watch.

[Paradise]

5. great photo/caption! thanks. n/t

[Pirate Smile]

2. "Asked" and going to do it are worlds apart.

[Bluzmann57]

3. They are scared of Culver

Rumors are that he is going to run for Governor in '06 and he has a pretty good chance of winning. The repukes are rumored to be running Nussle and he sucks and not only that, he may lose this election to a longshot, Bill Gluba.

[gulfcoastliberal]

4. I had this happen to me in FL when I registered

I completely overlooked that box. They mailed me my registration card but never let me know this disqualified me so when I went to vote at the primary, they didn't have me on the rolls. The poll workers let me fill out another reg card and gave me a ballot. Later, I got a letter from the Supervisor of Elections saying they shouldn't have let me vote, and requiring me to provide a photocopy of a utility bill to prove my residency. I was pretty pissed at their games, although I do believe per federal regulations the citizenship box is allowed if not required on the cards.

[Katherine2]

6. I heard that in most states

when you sign the voter registration card, you are thereby (again) certifying that you are a citizen. So checking the box is really redundant.

[leQ]

7. they're also makin a stink over his decision to allow out-of-precinct

voters to vote, as long as it's in the same county. i guess some county auditors are upset with it since this only applies to the federal election, not the state and local candidates & issues.

i can really sympathize with them tho, because it would be a nightmare to have to separate it all out, but why have it that way in the first place? since the legislature is controlled by republicans, i don't see them bending over backwards to make voting any easier.

[Laelth]

8. There shouldn't be a stupid box.

Only American citizens are allowed to vote, and by signing the form you are swearing, under oath, that you are an American citizen and are eligible to vote. All the form has to do is have those words printed on it, i.e. "In signing this form I affirm that I am an American citizen (or a citizen of whatever state) and that I am eligible to vote." The box is just a stupid, stupid technicality designed to do exactly what it does ... disenfranchise voters.

For shame! What are we becoming?

:(

-Laelth


Edit:Laelth--added a missing quotation mark.

[dave502d]

9. Republican

How can they sleep at night,when they don't want people to vote.

[Amigust]

10. Like a baby. ZZZzzzzzz

Frightening, isn't it.

[thenumberone]

11. thats kind of funny

[thenumberone]

12. they want to stop illegal voting

[Zhade]

13. Nice try, Freeper.

[cubsfan forever]

20. Hey Freeper,

If they wanted to discourage illegal voting, they would have resigned themselves. Bye, bye!

Professor 2

[aldian159]

33. Bye Bye

Although I try not to feed the trolls, it's too damn simple sometimes.

[pauliedangerously]

40. DAMMIT!!! I MISSED ANOTHER ONE!!!!

At least they didn't delete his pathetic posts...and the gravestone is priceless.

:nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity:

[cubsfan forever]

42. Where is the gravestone?

I have heard about them, but would love to see one on a real live FREEPER. Be nice, I wear bi-focals :-)

Professor 2

[cubsfan forever]

43. Oh, know I see it! :-) n/t

Professor 2

[VegasWolf]

15. On nice down pillows and 600 threadcount sheets.

New Information Shows Bush Indecisive, Paranoid, Delusional

[w4rma]

14. !@#$ing Repuke POLL TESTS. These people are slime. (nt)

[Supersedeas]

16. no vote for you-lil' Rethug twits want their boxes checked or else

[Kimber Scott]

17. Why didn't they just contact the people and have them check the box? nt

[Laelth]

19. What a nice, reasonable, pragmatic question.

Unfortunately, the answer is not nice, but it is reasonable and pragmatic (if your goal is to prevent people from voting).

The reasonable Democratic Secretary of State figured the box was just a technicality and it wouldn't matter if some people hadn't checked it (so long as the people who signed the forms were actually citizens--and I'd bet they were). The R's, on the other hand, as they've demonstrated time and again, don't want people (other than themselves) to vote, so they're trying to use this technicality to disenfranchise voters.

Pretty darn evil if you ask me.

-Laelth

[SoCalDem]

18. Every American citizen should have a PASSPORT..

A passport trumps all this nonsense.. I would like to see any two-bit political hack challenge a voter with a valid passport..

We are far too complacent about trusting people to believe us..or anyone..

I have never in my life asked another person if they were a citizen, but if you want to vote, you need to prove it..

a passport is proof positive.. and if you happen to carry a gas/electric/phone bill addressed to you, I'd like to SEE someone challenge an unchecked box..

The repubes bent the rules into pretzels over the "militarrrrrry Vote" in 2K...and we helped them do it..

They have no standing.

[TankLV]

27. May I zee your papers? Ve must make the faderlandt secure!

I don't think so!

No national ID, no "papers" to prove anything!

We are innocent until proven guilty.

This is pure repuke Nzai bullshit!

We should be free in our persons and homes like the constitution says.

Now tell us again why this gang currently occupying OUR White House is NOT like the Nazis?

[SoCalDem]

28. Passports PROVE you are a citizen..

If you are looking for proof, that's about the best..If you only use it every 4 years to avoid a hassle when you vote, I don't see the harm..


and you got it right there in case you decide to "vacate the premises".:)

[SharonAnn]

29. They're pretty costly for someone who can hardly feed the kids.

[SoCalDem]

32. But they last a long time...and

if the government was really serious about the citizenship thing, they could reduce the price..

I had not had one for AGES..and then an all-expenses-paid ,10 day trip to Tahiti came along.. We applied the next day :)

[ParanoidPat]

38. If they gave them out for free I'd agree with you.......

.......but making them a requirement for proof of citizenship would amount to a 'poll tax'. :(

A far better idea, IMHO, would be to allow the current forms of ID to be shown as proof of citizenship and take a 'bio-metric' snapshot of either your thumb print or an iris scan and turn it into a cryptographic hash at the time you register. With the 'motor voter' provisions in many state laws and many drivers license bureaus already taking your thumb print it only makes sense.

The reason for 'scrambling' the bio-metric data would be to satisfy the legal requirements already codified that keeps your registration data from being used for other purposes. Without having the cryptographic key, should someone try to use the registration database for the thumb print data, all they would get is the scrambled 'hash'. :)

[SoCalDem]

39. If the government was REALLY serious about citizenship, they WOULD

give them to people.. or at least make them as inexpensive as a driver's license or state ID..

at 18 you would get your first one (unless you traveled outside the US before that age)

for first-timers, they could even make it tax deductible.(either add the cost to your refund...or deduct from your payment..

renewal would be a simple thing..just a new picture..say every 15 years..

Not hard at all..

The fact that they do NOT do this, proves that it's all just lip-service..

[TankLV]

45. Ahhh - just like the NAZI's - you have to prove who you are in your own

country!

This is WRONG!

So when do we have to get travel papers for traveling from one place in the USA to another?

This idea, along with a "national ID card" is pure crap!

Don't you see it?!?!?!

[Democat]

21. Will the Republicans have the same high standards for military votes?

Remember in 2000 when they wanted every military vote counted, even if it was written on a scrap of toilet paper by someone whose name couldn't even be made out?

All of a sudden the Republicans aren't so worried about counting every vote as they were about counting just the military votes in 2000?

Will the Republicans require that every military vote follow the letter of the law too, or does this only apply to Democrats in Iowa?

Hypocrites.

[Amigust]

24. Military votes passing through a Republican owned company

on the way to the polls. You figure.

[ParanoidPat]

22. Reality Check! TITLE 42 > CHAPTER 20 > SUBCHAPTER I > Sec. 1971.

Voting Rights Act http://www.thecre.com/fedlaw/legal6/uscode42-1971.htm

Sec. 1971. - Voting rights

(a) Race, color, or previous condition not to affect right to vote; uniform standards for voting qualifications; errors or omissions from papers; literacy tests; agreements between Attorney General and State or local authorities; definitions

(1)

All citizens of the United States who are otherwise qualified by law to vote at any election by the people in any State, Territory, district, county, city, parish, township, school district, municipality, or other territorial subdivision, shall be entitled and allowed to vote at all such elections, without distinction of race, color, or previous condition of servitude; any constitution, law, custom, usage, or regulation of any State or Territory, or by or under its authority, to the contrary notwithstanding.

(2)

No person acting under color of law shall -

(A)

in determining whether any individual is qualified under State law or laws to vote in any election, apply any standard, practice, or procedure different from the standards, practices, or procedures applied under such law or laws to other individuals within the same county, parish, or similar political subdivision who have been found by State officials to be qualified to vote;

(B)

deny the right of any individual to vote in any election because of an error or omission on any record or paper relating to any application, registration, or other act requisite to voting, if such error or omission is not material in determining whether such individual is qualified under State law to vote in such election

<Snip>

If the signature box contains a declaration that under penalty of perjury you attest to the fact that you are an American citizen and that you are or will be 18 years of age on the date of the election, the law has been satisfied and the check box shall be considered non material to establishing qualification to vote.

The legal requirement for that information is derived from US Code Title 42 The Public Health and Welfare, Chapter 20 Elective Franchise, Sub Chapter 1-H National Voter Registration, Section 1973gg Findings and purposes, which in part says,

Section 1973gg-7

The mail voter registration form developed under subsection (a)(2) of this section -

(1) may require only such identifying information (including the signature of the applicant) and other information (including data relating to previous registration by the applicant), as is necessary to enable the appropriate State election official to assess the eligibility of the applicant and to administer voter registration and other parts of the election process;

(2) shall include a statement that -

(A) specifies each eligibility requirement (including citizenship);

(B) contains an attestation that the applicant meets each such requirement; and

(C) requires the signature of the applicant, under penalty of perjury;

(3) may not include any requirement for notarization or other formal authentication; and

(4) shall include, in print that is identical to that used in the attestation portion of the application -

(i) the information required in section 1973gg-6(a)(5)(A) and (B) of this title;

(ii) a statement that, if an applicant declines to register to vote, the fact that the applicant has declined to register will remain confidential and will be used only for voter registration purposes; and

(iii) a statement that if an applicant does register to vote, the office at which the applicant submits a voter registration application will remain confidential and will be used only for voter registration purposes.

(Pub. L. 103-31, Sec. 9, May 20, 1993, 107 Stat. 87.)
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/42usc/subch_ih.htm

[bobbieinok]

23. ;maybe the repubs are mad about this attempt by Culver to fix the mess in

Ames.

http://www.iowastatedaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/10/25/417c7d910abea

October 25, 2004
'Judgment call' creates voting dispute

By Lucas Grundmeier
Daily Staff Writer

Story County Auditor Mary Mosiman said workers were overwhelmed Thursday by unusually long lines at a satellite voting station on campus and defended her office from charges that her decision to turn away potential voters reflected incompetence or a political motive.

....
That call was incorrect, Secretary of State Chet Culver said Friday at a news conference outside Parks Library, where Thursday's voting took place.

"It was clearly a violation of election law," he said.

The Iowa Administrative Code requires election officials at satellite absentee voting stations to close "after everyone has voted who arrived before the time established to close the station," according to a passage of the law Culver read aloud Friday. He also announced the auditor's office will provide satellite voting from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 1 at the library in an attempt "to remedy the problems for those who were denied the right to vote."

....
Culver sent a letter Friday to Mosiman asking her to explain why voters were turned away and saying he was considering issuing a technical infraction notice.

He also cited a 2002 dispute between Mosiman and Jan Bauer, chairwoman of the Story County Democratic Party, about Mosiman's selections of the timing and location of satellite voting stations for that year's election.

"This is the second time we've had problems with satellite voting in this county in two years," he said.

"That's why this is even more of a concern."

more....

"

[Carolab]

25. THEN BLACKWELL SHOULD CONSIDER RESIGNING

AND GLENDA HOOD
AND MARY KIFFMEYER

[gardenista]

26. If Culver is smart, and I bet he is,

he will take steps to confirm the citizenship of those 364 voters, as a failsafe. This will make those Repukes look like they are trying to suppress the vote, which we know they are, but it will be more obvious to regular Iowans.

[ParanoidPat]

30. This has nothing to do with the "citizenship" of the voters.......

.......This was a blatant violation of both Federal and State law! :(

As an elections official she should have known better than to make a "judgment call" without checking the legality of her actions.

[gardenista]

31. ? Wait, are you saying Culver is wrong? nt

[ParanoidPat]

34. Sorry! Mia culpa, my mistake!

I was responding based on the story posted just above your post regarding the closing of the satellite office at the university. :crazy:

So much fraud so few brain cells left. :(

No, Culver is right about the disallowed registration forms. See post # 22 for the legal basis for the requirement for that info on the registration forms and the legal basis for his decision. :)

This has already been through the courts in other states.
I'll see if I can find a relevant court case to cite that acts as precedent.

Sorry, I got lost there for a moment. It's been a loooong day. :evilgrin:

[gardenista]

36. Whew! No problemo! nt

[rocktivity]

35. Let them bring along proof of their citizenship, and that will be that.

If there's nothing to stop anyone from fraudulently checking the box, what's the problem?

:headbang:
rocknatio

[gardenista]

37. I would rather see Culver independently verify. This is why:

It would not be a good idea to set a precendent for having one group of voters prove citizenship at the polls.

[July]

41. IIRC, Repub "standards" went out the window in FLA 2000.

Remember the military vote battle, when the Rs pushed to admit all absentee votes from the military, even if they were irregular?

[dave502d]

44. Rove just doesn't like to see people vote.

[progdonkey]

46. Federal Law

It's great to see the Republicans strongly favor upholding federal election laws!