Voter suppression is alive and kicking

[madwivoter]

I'm sure most people have heard many stories of this happening all over the place, it's obviously nothing new but we need to make sure our family and friends have the resources they need to make sure they are registered to vote.

State Republican Mailer Under Fire As Unfair Confusion Tactic
http://www.channel3000.com/politics/17481635/detail.html

GOP Voter Suppression Comes to Wisconsin
http://www.opednews.com/articles/GOP-Voter-Suppression-Come-by-Steven-Rosenfeld-080916-925.html

Democratic party officials bash attorney general
http://badgerherald.com/news/2008/09/16/democratic_party_off.php

If you live in Wisconsin, you can check your voter registration information here:
http://vpa.wi.gov/

Obama's Vote for Change page: http://www.voteforchange.com/index_obama.php

Project Vote Smart: http://www.votesmart.org/voter_registration_resources.php

[flamingdem]

1. Thanks. Valuable information

Please keep updating.

[Lucky 13]

2. Tell me if I'm being paranoid...

I registered to vote in Vermont at the DMV in May when I got my drivers license. I still haven't received confirmation that I'm actually registered. So I contacted my city clerk and asked him/her to check to see if I am registered. They said that they had no record of me on file and sent me another application.

I would ordinarily blame this on the incompetence of typical DMV employees. Simply write this off as a clerical error...

BUT after reading DU daily and thinking back a bit...

The lady who took my form at the DMV seemed to be "uncomfortable" when she realized the other female I was with was my partner... not a friend. And naturally I registered Democrat....

So the question is, do you think this was just a clerical error or do you think this lady was a zealot and my registration deliberately binned? Am I being totally paranoid? Do I need to put my tinfoil hat back on?

[madwivoter]

6. I don't think you need your tinfoil hat...

yet. But, you do want to keep it handy :)

It sounds to me like the problem you experienced could have been any number of things. The main question I would have is what the process is at the DMV for voter registrations, how are they handled after the form is turned in, etc.

Did your new application get processed yet?

[Lucky 13]

7. My new application is in the mail...

... and you'd better believe I'm going to follow up to see that it was processed correctly.

[JimWis]

3. Thanks so much for the info -

I am from Wis. I want a big win for Obama and I get a little nervous when I think that the election might be stolen, as I think it has been in the past. I just clicked your link and found out I was correctly registered. Fast and easy. Although I did vote in the recent primary and figured I was fine, it is still nice to double check it with all the crap going on. I appreciate the information and will be keeping an eye on all this. I will spread the word on the vpa.wi.gov web site to my democratic friends. Normally Wis is well organized and makes it easy to get registered.

[madwivoter]

5. That's exactly what we need :)

The main reason I posted is not because I think I'm bringing some crazy new information to light, but resources for people in Wisconsin and elsewhere to get the information necessary to ensure that your right to vote on election day is preserved.

We have a relatively good system in Wisconsin, we have same day registration. Most other states don't (I'm not sure who else does), so if those voters don't have their registration completed (and confirmed) by a certain date they're out of luck.

[Spritz57]

4. Not Paranoid

When I moved to a new state, I signed up under the new motor/voter law at the DMV. That November when I went to my polling place, I discovered I was not registered to vote. This was the only election I missed so, knowing now that I was not alone and many (they couldn't give me a number) others were denied the vote, I would re-register rather than trust the DMW. It was explained to me quietly by a few Democratic politicians with whom I have worked on volunteer projects, motor/voter laws were seen as a threat to the Republicans so enforcement was not stringent. For what it's worth. . .