Bush Veterans Affairs Department bans voter registration drives at veterans facilities

[cal04]

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/11/bush-veterans-affairs-department-bans-voter-registration-drives-at-veterans-facilities/

This past May, the Veterans Affairs Department, led by Secretary James Peake, issued a directive prohibiting nonpartisan voter registration drives “at federally financed nursing homes, rehabilitation centers and shelters for homeless veterans.” In today’s New York Times, Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz writes, “What is the secretary of Veterans Affairs thinking?“:

The department has placed an illegitimate obstacle in the way of election officials across the country and, more important, in the way of veterans who want to vote. A group of 21 secretaries of state — Republicans and Democrats throughout the country, led by me and my counterpart in Washington State, Sam Reed — has asked Secretary Peake to lift his department’s ridiculous ban on voter registration drives.

But federal legislation shouldn’t be needed for the Department of Veterans Affairs to lift the ban on voter registration drives by state and local election officials and nonpartisan groups.

The federal government should be doing everything it can to support our nation’s veterans who have served us so courageously. There can be no justification for any barrier that impedes the ability of veterans to participate in democracy’s most fundamental act, the vote.

VOTING ASSISTANCE FOR VA PATIENTS
http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=1687

Help Our Veterans Vote
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/11/opinion/11bysiewicz.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin

[opihimoimoi]

1. SUPPRESSION of Voting by our VETS is EVIL....E V I L ......UNAMERICAN and UNPATRIOTIC

This has to be reversed....

We should ask McSame for his thoughts.....

K&R

[zbdent]

2. banning "non-partisan" voter registration drives ...

so, does that mean they allow REPUBLICAN PARTY voter registration drives?

[SpiralHawk]

3. Why do republicon chickenhawks HATE our honorable US veterans?

The republicons do everything they can to screw our veterans.

Ptooey on the republicon chickenhawk 'leadership.'

[isatin]

4. Veterans Affairs and Countrywide link

Can the same political reason for banning voter registration drives have been used for The Department of Veterans Affairs to award Countrywide a $760 million contract to manage VA's foreclosed properties when the contract was at least $200 million more expensive than at least one of Countrywide's competitors? Our taxpayer dollars at work on whose behalf?