I just got suppressed. In Travis county (Austin, TX).
This sux.
UPDATE II:
Burrow owl has pointed out this may not be caging but something else. They stated that I am on a suspended list and can still vote. Here is a quote from the letter.
Voter records placed in suspended status will be purged after two consecutive Federal elections and only if the voter has not submitted a voter registration form. Therefore I urge you to complete and return the enclosed form as soon as possible to avoid delays when voting in the November 2nd Gubernatorial election. The registration deadline date for the November 2, 2010 elections is Monday October 4th
The form that came with the letter is entitled Texas Voter Registration Application
Are you sure I can just fill this out and send it back and vote?
UPDATE: Since it's not clear to some people, I was registered to vote and now I am not.
The funny part of the whole ordeal is that I feel like I wasnt actually a target, just an innocent bystander that the Republicans didnt quite think about. Granted, Im a progressive and a minority, but I make good money and am usually kept out of the firing lines of the Repubs, but this time I dont think they thought all the way through this tactic (sure, they dont think through most of their tactics, but this could bite them in the ass).
You see, I am part of the new younger generation that grew up with computers and I rarely ever check my regular snail mail. The only reason I checked it today was to get my allergy medication. Awaiting me with my medicine was a nice letter from Nelda Wells Spears (Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector) that stated that I have been put in Suspended status because "2 consecutive mailings have neen returned to our office..". The best part was this line: "The registration deadline date for the November 2, 2010 election is Monday, October 4th", today is Oct 9. Wonderful, now I cant vote. I dont know how many of you have lived in an apt, but if you have ever received any registered mail to it you know that the Post Office wont deliver it to your door (at least not here in Austin) and they wont leave it at the Apartment Office, so you are forced to drive down to the Post Office to pick it up. If you are like me and work constantly, you usually dont have time to do this. This leads me to the backfiring part of the tactic. I happen to be a progressive, but my apt is in Mccaul's district and I am quite sure I am not the only out here trying to be fully paperless, so what I am wondering is, how many Republicans just got their records purged also?
Most of my friends rarely check their mail because they are also trying to be paperless and since most new housing developments have community mailboxes, it's even more difficult to check the mail on a regular basis and missing some of this voter reg paperwork is quite easy.
I am pissed that I cant vote, but if this tactic ends up suppressing Republican turnout along with our turnout then that would be some karmic justice and I would be quite happy with it.
How many of you have been suppressed recently?
--jake