Federal judge dismisses voter application suit

BY JAY WEAVER

jweaver@herald.com


A Miami federal judge ruled this afternoon that state election officials do not have to process incomplete voter registration forms for the presidential election.

U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King said the three prospective voters did not have the legal standing to pursue the lawsuit backed by a group of labor unions, including the AFL-CIO, against Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood and the election supervisors in Duval, Orange, Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

The union could refile the suit with new plaintiffs who have legal standing to pursue the case.

The suit was designed to speak for about 14,000 people - many of whom are African Americans and Hispanics - who claim their voter registration forms were illegally rejected because they did not check off boxes for U.S. citizenship, felony status or mental capacity and did not provide an identification number such as a driver's license or Social Security.

more: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/10019882.htm

Geesh!

Now they have decided that Congress didn't really mean it when they passed
the Voting Rights Act.

I'm plenty optimistic that more people will vote for Kerry, but I'm becoming more
pessimistic every day about our chances of actually getting the regime out.

I've noticed for the last two weeks. Usually in federal court.

justice and reason.

We absolutely have to clear all the fascists out of our government.

registrations, according to this article from Oct. 16...


But four of the five counties named as defendants in the lawsuit -- Broward, Miami-Dade, Duval and Orange -- recently have agreed to accept hundreds of voter registration forms on which the applicants failed to check off the citizenship box, but signed an oath affirming they are U.S. citizens.

<snip>

Initially, Broward Election Supervisor Brenda Snipes decided not to issue voter registration cards for people who did not check off the citizenship box but signed the oath.

But when some of the people who had been turned down began to call her, Snipes said she began to check with other election supervisors to see how they were proceeding in similar cases.

``I found out that Dade, Leon and many other counties were issuing the cards anyway.

'So I said, `Well, why not us, too?' '' Snipes said Friday.

Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Theresa LePore has rejected voter applications without the citizenship box checked off because she sees the omission as a violation of state law, her office spokesman Marty Rogol said.

**Are any of us surprised at this???**


http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/2004/10/16/news/state/9931845.htm=

Lapore has been a embarresment to Flordia and joke to America for the last four years, if anyone is a symbol for all that is wrong with our voting process it is that women and her butterfly ballot design!!

Too bad she didn't get booted out on her ass like Oliphant.

Jeb appointed her, and she's towing the line for the repukes. That sounds like job security to me.

Do you know something I haven't heard? I hope so, 'cause this woman is nothing but trouble.

:kick::kick::kick:

will beat her out for elections supervisor, that's why--Dr. ARTHUR ANDERSON!

http://www.electarthuranderson.com/issues.html

And she lost her reelection bid last month.

plaintiffs who failed to check the citizenship box. This is a standing issue. It sounds like the court did not decide the substantive issue: whether the citizenship box had to be checked.

If the only thing wrong with these applications was a single box left unchecked, how can a judge dismiss it? I am still trying to figure it out, and I'm just hoping that there is more to it than they didn't push hard enough or they used a #2 1/2 pencil instead of a #2.. The only thing in the article that gives me pause is where they say "they did not check off boxes for U.S. citizenship, felony status or mental capacity and did not provide an identification number such as a driver's license or Social Security."

If it is truly that they forgot their SS# or whatever, the people should be given the opportunity to simply complete the form, sign it or ammend it, and vote. That simple. I can see not providing the number as at least reason to give pause, if only until it can be correctly completed. Pretty soon they'll be creating a poll tax of whatever you have in your wallet plus $10, no checks or credit cards, ATM's are all closed.. sorry!

~Almost

Sec. 1971. - Voting rights

(a) Race, color, or previous condition not to affect right to vote; uniform standards for voting qualifications; errors or omissions from papers; literacy tests; agreements between Attorney General and State or local authorities; definitions

(1)

All citizens of the United States who are otherwise qualified by law to vote at any election by the people in any State, Territory, district, county, city, parish, township, school district, municipality, or other territorial subdivision, shall be entitled and allowed to vote at all such elections, without distinction of race, color, or previous condition of servitude; any constitution, law, custom, usage, or regulation of any State or Territory, or by or under its authority, to the contrary notwithstanding.

(2)

No person acting under color of law shall -

(A)

in determining whether any individual is qualified under State law or laws to vote in any election, apply any standard, practice, or procedure different from the standards, practices, or procedures applied under such law or laws to other individuals within the same county, parish, or similar political subdivision who have been found by State officials to be qualified to vote;

(B)

deny the right of any individual to vote in any election because of an error or omission on any record or paper relating to any application, registration, or other act requisite to voting, if such error or omission is not material in determining whether such individual is qualified under State law to vote in such election;