Anybody know the voting status of Katrina evacuees?

I can see them denied at the old place (that address does not exist anymore) or the new or temporary location will not accept them as residents. If there's no resolution on this out there, a good rep ought to introduce a measure to address this. I'm sure the GOP would be glad if this particular population were not represented in the 06 elections. We also have to be sure that the party that stole Ohio cannot borrow the names of displaced people.

So what's up?

that seems to be the pnac plannning.

The guillotine!

December 02, 2005
New Orleans Elections May Be Postponed
"Elections set for February in Louisiana should be postponed until some time before Sept. 30 as the city recovers from Hurricane Katrina, Lousiana Secretary of State Al Ater said," according to the New Orleans Times-Picaune.

"Gov. Kathleen Blanco has the final say on whether the elections will go forward. She was not immediately available for comment. However, Ater said the governor's office has indicated that she would follow his recommendation."
Link | Related News | Categories: City Hall

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2005/12/02/new_orleans_elections_may_be_postponed.html

I think the Rethugs will use it as a golden opportunity to supress votes: i.e. not putting notices up announcing new polling places, etc.

Also, with people trying to re-build their lives (find permanent housing, jobs, etc) you have to wonder just how concerned they will be about voting.

If you've got someone originally from NOLA, now residing in Houston, TX and trying to rebuild their life, will voting be high on their priority list?

But I still don't get the problem...if people WANT to vote they can. Why are people talking about this as if they're children?
It's called Absentee balloting.

With the lamest of excuses, votes get disqualified. Think of the BS Blackwell pulled in Ohio -- wrong weight paper (issued by the BOEs, no less!), provisionals rejected arbitrarily.... Thousands WANTED to vote in Ohio and couldn't, did but weren't counted, or were given the runaround longer than they were able to handle. Now we're dealing with displaced people in a radically changed city. One can imagine the system failing and people losing their opportunity to vote. Their polling places may have changed or may not exist anymore. Their homes may not exist anymore. Leases expired. Are they still residents of NOLA?

Nobody is treating them like children when we suggest that a group of poor displaced people may not have the time or the knowledge to navigate a capricious system from their temporary shelter, or that the system itself may, through deliberate manipulation or bureaucratic inertia, disenfranchise them. Has FEMA shown the will or aptitude to anticipate the needs of real human beings (can't count the pre-election bribery in FLA)?

as if they're morons. Many people are poor because they have some personal issues, nothing to do with intellect or ability. I have some relatives just like that. My wife has family that was in Metaire and left. They were renters, and aren't sure what their next move is. They're staying with relatives in Tennessee. They know how to vote, but don't always do so, even when there's no flood. My wifes cousin has let them know, they can ask for absentee ballots. Doesn't mean they'll do it.

All I'm saying is they may not be very interested in voting at the moment. It may not be their primary focus. Alot of people won't be coming back, now or any time soon. I just don't see that FEMA is supposed to help people vote. If they want to, they can call the elections board and request a ballot. If Kathleen Blanco had any sense, she'd set up a state wide toll free number to do just that.

If the dems were smart they'd leave postcards to do so, in post offices in those cities with many evacuees. Unfortunately for democrats, unless they get alot of those absentee ballots in...they can kiss statewide elected office in Louisiana goodbye. Even Landrieu did not win by much...her margin is pretty much wiped out. When is she up for election again?

Brownie, you're doing a fine job to keep "them poor and coloreds" from voting. (insert image of GOP leaders meeting over crawfish and gumbo)

I have always wondered, after Condi Rice, just what african americans would be part of the 2% who actually support Bush. And I cannot figure it out.

It does give the true constitutional constructionists a hell of an advantage. Now, the Bushistas can go back to the 1850s, when a black man was measured as a fraction of a white man.

Sorry, no offense intended to anyone. I am just getting angrier at the Bushistas since rewatching F911.

These are not children, don't malign people just because they're evacuees. If they want to vote, they can even call 411 to get the number of the election boards. If the democrats are concerned, then they can drop off the forms in a common location. This is really not that difficult.

and that I have. I do not know how true that assumption is.

The state has a responsibility which it cannot delegate or leave to the citizens.
It has to take out ads. Promote the registation, absentee voting, etc.

THAT IS THE STATE'S JOB.

and they could certainly do free public service ads in the neighboring states/cities where many have gone. It really is that easy....I just don't believe in trying to coerce people into doing something they have no interest in. If a candidate gives them a good enough reason....they will vote no matter what.

OK, this changes the subject, but what is the purpose of govenment?
Is this not the debate we are having with the neocons? But with other words, hidden messages and false fronts?

I suggest this.

We hire a government to do precisely what our founding fathers intended. The original intent is absolutely true. The constitution, as writ, is accurate. BUT, they also expected and intended that our government would grow, and they wanted the government to grow with it. THAT is what the idiots in the GOP miss.

the election system. It is up to each state. I don't really think we want the federal govt involved. Can you imagine if Bush and company were in charge of the whole countries elections?
Again, the simplest answer to this would be for Louisiana officials to get on the ball.

could be in the negative numbers. It was at like 3% with a MOE of 4 pts.

dealing with this.

The CBC introduced HR 4197, the Hurricane Katrina Recovery, Reclamation, Restoration, Reconstruction and Reunion Act of 2005, a major piece of legislation addressing the relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts. A major part of this bill requires Katrina evacuees be entitled to use the same process for voting as military personnel serving overseas. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c109:1:./temp/~c109VwU1kg::

SEC. 602. APPLICABILITY OF PROTECTIONS FOR ABSENT MILITARY AND OVERSEAS VOTERS TO KATRINA EVACUEES.

(a) Right of Katrina Evacuees to Use Absentee Balloting and Registration Procedures Available to Military and Overseas Voters- In the case of any individual who is an eligible Hurricane Katrina evacuee--

(1) the individual shall be treated in the same manner as an absent uniformed services voter and overseas voter for purposes of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff et seq.), other than section 103(b)(1) (42 U.S.C. 1973ff-2(b)(1)); and

(2) the individual shall be deemed to be an individual who is entitled to vote by absentee ballot for purposes of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and the Help America Vote Act of 2002.

(b) Definition- For purposes of this section, the term `eligible Hurricane Katrina evacuee' means an individual--

(1) who certifies to the appropriate State election official that the individual is absent from the place of residence where the individual is otherwise qualified to vote as a result of evacuation from an area affected by Hurricane Katrina; and

(2) who provides the official with an affidavit stating that the individual intends to return to such place of residence after the election or elections involved.

(c) Requiring Designated Voter Registration Agencies to Notify Displaced Individuals of Availability of Protections- Each motor vehicle authority in a State and each voter registration agency designated in a State under section 7(a) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 shall take such steps as may be necessary to notify individuals to whom services are provided of the protections provided by this section and of the requirements for obtaining those protections, including the requirement to submit an affidavit stating that the individual intends to return to the place of residence where the individual is otherwise qualified to vote.

(d) Effective Date- This section shall apply with respect to elections for Federal office held in calendar years 2006 through 2008.


Russ Feingold introduced similar voting legislation in the Senate. S. 1867. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d109:2:./temp/~bd6vpq::|/bss/109search.html|

now it's up to the candidates to send a message that will interest them into voting.