Folks, it looks like there may be forces at work in Houston that have taken a page from Katherine Harris' disenfranchisement handbook. I just received the following email earlier today:
When I went to a Courthouse to pick up some more voter registration forms I was told that there is a new policy not to give out voter forms. I am a deputized voter registrar and this "new policy" includes deputized registrars also. The head supervisor of the Courthouse (Cindy Lay) told this to me in person. I asked her simple questions like: "When was the policy implemented?", "Who implemented it?", etc. She could not tell me who implemented it and went on to tell me that she was at a meeting " downtown" and was told at that meeting to no longer pass out voter registration forms to anyone. Of course she couldn't tell me who was at the meeting only that she was present at the meeting. She went on to ask me if I'd like to talk with a police officer. When I declined she then asked me for my drivers license. At that point I left. I felt that it was important to let all democrats know what is going on in Houston. The Courthouse is located at:
6831 Cypresswood Dr. Houston, TX. 77379.
Please forward this message along to your network.
I was also deputized as a voter registrar some weeks ago, but have been so busy I haven't had a chance to participate in any registration drives yet. I have my registration forms book, though, and will offer it to this person if needed, if I won't have a chance to use it in the near future.
But I really think this may be the beginning of something very nasty. I am supporting Morrison for District 22 in Texas against Tom Delay (and I live in District 22 now thanks to Delay's redistricting), and the Morrison campaign has been gaining momentum. Other Morrison volunteers have reported that, when handing out info at local malls, not many people have heard of Morrison, but when they're told "he's running against Delay", they gladly take pamphlets. Is it possible Delay and the other Republican officials are getting spooked, and are trying to prevent registration of more Democrat leaning voters?
BTW I just double checked the notes on my reg book and confirmed the last day to register for the November election is October 4, so it's not a case of "don't give out more forms because there's no more time to process registrations"!