2008 Election -- Already Stolen With Supreme Court Assist?
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
by Christine Bowman
From a BuzzFlash Interview, 5/17/07:
People ask me: Are they going to steal the 2008 election? No, they’ve already stolen the 2008 election. -- Greg Palast, author of Armed Madhouse
Investigative reporter Greg Palast broke the story in Florida in 2000 about the purge of so-called "felons" whose votes were denied. His book Armed Madhouse documents extensive voting problems in the U.S. elections of 2000 - 2006. The 2007 update of the book also includes a chapter called "Busted" on "voter ID" laws that make it easier for local election officials to hand elections to whomever they please.
Turns out the prescient Greg Palast was right on the money with his seemingly cynical projection. The Supreme Court of the United States has just intervened, once again, to make it harder to vote and be counted. They ruled Monday to uphold Indiana's new Voter ID law requiring that voters show a state-issued picture ID in order to vote.
As Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman of The Free Press note:
Voting rights activists have long argued that since photo ID can cost money, or may demand expensive trips to government agencies, the requirement constitutes a "poll tax." Taxes on the right to vote were used for a century to prevent blacks and others from voting in the south and elsewhere. They were specifically banned by the 24th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1964.
Did the US Supreme Court Just Elect John McCain? (The Free Press)
There's much, much more in the full article. These two reporter/activists have been key players in the attempt to bring more legitimacy to our election processes.
With this new ruling, the Supreme Court has knee-capped the Democratic Party, which has been busy registering hundreds of thousands of new Democratic voters nationwide who want to participate in democracy in November 2008. It's deja vu all over again, of course, but voters can try to protect themselves. Palast offers a few suggestions (in addition to making sure you can produce a state-issued ID when voting, if your state demands one). Here's Greg Palast's advice:
l. Vote early if your state allows that, and bring someone with you to observe. Voting early means you'll have a chance to correct any problem and still have time to get counted.
2. Don't mail in your ballot. In 2004, Palast says, it's official that about 750,000 of mailed in absentee ballots were never counted.
3. "Register and Register and Register." If you think you are already registered, check anyway with your Secretary of State's website or call your County Board of Elections for confirmation.
Then register everyone in your family, all your friends, and lots of neighbors. Connect with Operation Push, the League of Women Voters, or your local party officials to do more volunteer voter registration.
Comment below, to share your own voting news and views.
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Partisan Supreme Court errs on strict voter ID laws (Atlanta Journal Constitution)
Did the US Supreme Court Just Elect John McCain? (The Free Press)
Armed Madhouse (by Greg Palast, Available from BuzzFlash)
Greg Palast, Author of Armed Madhouse, on How Rove May Have Already Stolen the 2008 Election (A BuzzFlash Interview 5/17/07)
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
Technorati Tags: Analysis Voter ID Supreme Court Disenfranchisement Democrats



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