Protecting the Vote
Voter registration deadlines are just over a week away in many states. Polls open in just over a month. In an election that could well be decided by new voters, voter registration efforts are in overdrive. But signing people up might be the easy part: after that, there's voting. As the last two elections have shown, just showing up at the polls isn't a guarantee of a smooth ride to the ballot box.
In 2000 and 2004, all across the country, thousands of voters were removed from the rolls, without their knowledge, in official purges of voter lists. On Election Day in 2004, boxes of registrations remained unprocessed in at least two cities we know about -- Cleveland and Toledo, Ohio. On the radio that election night, I received calls from Columbus voters who had stood for hours in line because of a shortage of voting machines in the inner city, even as, in nearby wealthy suburbs, voters were able to cast their votes in a matter of minutes. As one caller put it, "Jim Crow isn't dead."
Election protection and voting rights should be central to any conversation about the '08 vote. But a lot of tough questions are getting lost in horse-race coverage. And many voters are wondering -- again -- if their vote will be counted. In contrast to most advanced democracies, the right to vote isn't conveyed automatically with citizenship or coming of age in the United States. Voters have to prove themselves and there are no end to the challenges, from felon disenfranchisement laws to monolingual ballots and a myriad of ever-changing rules which differ from election to election and district to district. Come voting day, voters rely on minimally-trained poll-workers overseeing a myriad of voting systems. Disturbing doubts remain about the security of electronic voting and the privately-owned technology many districts rely on to tally votes.
Fed up with waiting for officials or Parties to do the work, this year, as never before, citizens' groups, and voting rights organizations are taking early action to protect the vote. A few months back, national voting rights groups charged officials in Kansas, Michigan and Louisiana of illegally purging voter lists. Voters whose homes are in foreclosure are also concerned that their status might be used at the precinct to challenge their right to vote. The states with the highest foreclosure rates, Ohio, Michigan, Florida and Colorado, are also swing states where the election could hinge on tiny margins. Meanwhile, in Michigan, the ACLU has just filed a federal lawsuit against state electoral officials over statewide voter purge programs they claim would "disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of Michigan voters" -- many of them college students. Thanks to independent reporting and activist organizing, the Department of Veterans Affairs was recently forced to reverse its policy that would have stopped voter registration drives at hundreds of VA hospitals serving injured and homeless vets.
While the media focus on the candidates, voting rights advocates are focusing on the future of our democracy. It’s falling to nonprofit outfits like the Advancement Project to distribute state-specific "know the facts" palm cards to poll workers in many states. And organizers are fanning out. Twenty-three states allow early voting. Ohio has a "golden week" -- September 30 to October 6 -- in which people can register and vote all in the same day. The organizers recommend voting early. Avoid the lines and the worst of the chaos.
Will citizen activism decide an election? It just might.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flanders is the Host of GRITtv and “Live From Main Street.” "Live From Main Street Columbus: Will Your Vote Count?" is a virtual town hall exploring how the issues of voting rights and election security affect every day Americans. For more a full schedule of events, visit www.livefrommainstreet.org.
This article was composed with the help of the American Forum. You can read the Forum's blog at realwomenbackstory.blogspot.com.




CHIStraightener
http://www.focusugg.com/products_new.html
Thanks for great article
Cheap ED Hardy
Cheap ED Hardy
jobs for 15 year olds kids
csc
Re
Re
gdsf
2010 Pro Bowl jersey
super bowl jerseys
superbowl jerseys
superbowl 2010 jerseys
super bowl 2010 jerseys
Super Bowl XLIV Jersey
SuperBowl XLIV Jersey
authentic nfl jerseys
youth nfl jerseys
discount nfl jerseys
nfl jerseys
nfl jersey
authentic jerseys wholesale
cheap nfl jerseys
nfl jerseys for sale
nfl jerseys on sale
nfl jersey wholesale
nfl jerseys sale
official nfl jerseys
yang 2
Re
ugg tall boots
My3gmobi
http://www.shop-mbt.com
Uggs classic short boots
Our greatest glory cheap ugg boots consists not in never falling but in rising every ugg lo pro button time we fall. What are you industrious about ugg classic cardy boots? You have to believe in yourself. That's the Ugg bailey button boots secret of sucess. A wise man never loses anything if he has himself. To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness .Uggs classic short boots it is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees . Fear not that the life shall come to an end, but rather fear that it shall never have an UGG Classic Tall beginning. http://www.ezugg.com/specials.html
herve leger dress
You will never regret to buy this Herve Leger Dress.
White Black Herve Leger Strapless on the arrangement of the clothing line is very careful.
It seems that the team at Herve Leger have clued into the fact that a slightly more affordable version of their White Black Herve Leger Strapless would go over well.
ugg boots
This season's must have Fashion Accessory sheepskin boots - Boots also known as ugg, uggs ,Uggs On Sale,or ugg boots.
We’ve given away quite a few pairs of Black Cardy Uggs in our competition this month, thanks to everyone that entered.
We take great care to ensure that every Black Cardy Uggs is going to feel great from the moment you tries it on.
GHD Sales
The ghd IV styler is a fantastic all-round styler.
You should use the GHD hair straightener .
GHD hair straightener cheap ,you are worthy to own
Handbags Designer Cheap
100% UGG Bailey Button are
Large of discounted tiffany
Buy GHD IV MK4 Pink, Saving
Buy GHD IV MK4 Pink, Saving a lot at our GHD Straighteners Cheap Store. The ghd kiss iv styler, ghd iv styler purple and ghd iv mk4 gold hair straighteners are all highest quality and lowest price.
How to Create Flat Iron
better--well, until now! chi straighteners sale
Christian Louboutin Shoes
How to Create Flat Iron
better--well, until now! chi straighteners sale
http://www.dearghd.com/
Re
tall ugg boots
herve leger sale
ghd for sale
cheap mbt shoes
Unique Handbags ALEXANDRE
ed hardy
replica Rolex Datejust
replica Rolex Air King watches
replica Rolex Milgauss watches
Breguet watch for sale
Franck Muller watch for sale
replica U-Boat
replica Tag Heuer
thomas wylde
Re
ugg boots
Purple ghd straighteners on
wdadwa
遺品整理
Replica Watches
Abercrombie & Fitch
valves
Re
Re
Re
ugg button boots
Shoppers looking for a good ugg bailey button boots feeling from a good cassic cardy ugg boots , their primary task, consumers want to buy classic mini uggs them so that they feel good classic tall uggs about themselves, whether to purchase the underlying reason is that "they are cheap uggs boot so comfortable I wear everywhere," or "they discount ugg boots so good I will continue to make them for many years. http://www.uggbootssaleonline.com/
cheap ghd
watches replica
replica Alain Silberstein
discount activa watches
discount fieldstream watches
discount emporio armani watches
dearseller.com
http://www.buyugs.com/
watches replica
cheap replica watches
replica Rolex Milgauss
A.Lange & Sohne watches
Vacheron Constantin watches
Hublot watch for sale
balenciaga handbags