Scott Horton: The DOJ ‘Voter Fraud’ FRAUD Marches On *** The G.O.P./DOJ plan = fewer voters

[L. Coyote]

The DOJ ‘Voter Fraud’ Fraud Marches On
BY Scott Horton - Sept. 12, 2007
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/09/hbc-90001186


Alberto Gonzales is down to his last couple of days as Attorney General, he appears to be focusing his attention on the 2008 elections. What, you might ask, does the Gonzales Justice Department have to do with the next election? Plenty. And they have a clear, predictable objective. In fact it happens to align perfectly with the objective and plans of the Republican Party.

The G.O.P./DOJ plan is simple: the fewer voters the better. In particular they would like to see voter rolls purged where Democratic registration is strong and Republican registration is weak. This process will eliminate some duplicate or improper registrations. It will also disenfranchise thousands of legitimate, properly registered voters who will show up on Election Day to vote and discover that their names no longer appear on the rolls. And a disproportionate portion of these voters will be Black, Latino, or residents of precincts which have a suspicious habit of supporting Democrats. The G.O.P./DOJ view is apparently that these voters are the enemy.

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Alabama Makes The Case
There’s no better example of its brazen political intervention in service of the G.O.P. cause than in Alabama, which should come as no surprise to those who read this column. Alabama missed the deadline for implementing a statewide voter registration database. As usual, the DOJ takes strikingly different positions on failures to comply depending on which party controls the statehouse. Alabama being deep, dark red and in the hands of Republican Governor Bob Riley, is entitled to every indulgence and support. It was given until August 31, 2007, to set up the statewide voter registration database.

The issue was bitterly contested between Gov. Riley and Alabama’s senior elections officer, Secretary of State Nancy Worley. The DOJ, of course, intervened aggressively to support the Governor at every turn. It even applied in federal court to move control over the program from the Democratic Secretary of State to the Republican Governor ..........

[L. Coyote]

1. Voter Purging: A Legal Way for Republicans to Swing Elections?

Voter Purging: A Legal Way for Republicans to Swing Elections?
By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet. Sept. 11, 2007.
http://www.alternet.org/rights/62133/

Now the Department of Justice, like the Republican Party, wants fewer registered voters in 2008.

The Department of Justice's Voting Section is pressuring 10 states to purge voter rolls before the 2008 election ....

Voting Section Chief John Tanner called for the purges in letters sent this spring under an arcane provision in the National Voter Registration Act, better known as the Motor Voter law, whose purpose is to expand voter registration. The identical letters notify states that 10 percent or more of their election jurisdictions have problematic voter rolls. It tells states to report "the subsequent removal from rolls of persons no longer eligible to vote."

"That data does not say what they purport it says," said David Becker, People for the American Way Foundation's senior voting rights counsel ....

"You are basically seeing them grasping at whatever straws are possible to make their point," said Kim Brace ....

The Justice Department would not comment for this report, despite repeated requests.

The 10 states receiving Voting Section purge letters are Iowa, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Vermont. Since 2005, the Section has also sued six other states or cities.........

[L. Coyote]

2. RAW STORY: Purge of voter rolls could swing 2008 election

Purge of voter rolls could swing 2008 election
Jason Rhyne - Sept. 12, 2007
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Purged_voter_rolls_could_swing_2008_0912.html


Using statistics and methodology that some voting experts are calling "flawed," the Justice Department's Voting Section is telling 10 US states to purge voter rolls which allegedly show more registered voters than are eligible--a house-cleaning effort AlterNet's Steven Rosenfeld says could swing the 2008 election.

"Voting Section Chief John Tanner called for the purges in letters sent this spring under an arcane provision in the National Voter Registration Act, better known as the Motor Voter law, " says Rosenfeld, adding that the letters "notify states that 10 percent or more of their election jurisdictions have problematic voter rolls. It tells states to report 'the subsequent removal from rolls of persons no longer eligible to vote."

According to experts interviewed by Rosenfeld, however, the Justice Department is misrepresenting the information they are using to make their recommendations.

"That data does not say what they purport it says," David Becker, senior voting rights counsel for People for the American Way, said. ...........