Sorry if this has been posted before, but this is absolutely disgusting, and the first I had seen of it. In the words of Lynn Cheney, "these are not good men".
The Akron Beacon Journal reports that Republican operatives in Summit County (Ohio) have organized voter "challenge" squads, using a law that hearkens back to the racist 50's, where whites were legally allowed to challenge black voters.
Posted on Sun, Oct. 17, 2004
Ground war at ground zero The importance of every vote By Michael Douglas,
Beacon Journal associate editor
How much does your vote count?
Republican operatives in Summit County and elsewhere across the state have
answered emphatically in recent weeks. They have begun to organize squads of
``challengers'' to be deployed at polling places in Ohio. They point to a
1953 state law, rarely if ever used, a relic of the past, echoing dark and
ugly days in the South, when whites did practically all they could to deny
blacks the right to vote. The law permits designated representatives of the
political parties to challenge a voter on the basis of his or her
citizenship, residence or age.
Republicans insist they are pursuing a wholesome activity. Jason Mauk, a
state party spokesman, explained to Lisa Abraham, a Beacon Journal staff
writer, that in view of the many election reforms since 2000, ``we want to
ensure that voters are not disenfranchised.'' Mauk proved more biting when
he added that Democrats are largely to blame for this escalation of the
political ground war, contending that they ``engaged in fraudulent
activities while seeking to register Democratic voters.
''Summit County did receive a load of dubious voter registrations via
collection points at an AFL-CIO headquarters and the Cuyahoga County Board
of Elections. Yet walk that cat back, and the trouble may stem from paid
petition circulators for Ralph Nader and Issue 1 (the proposed state
constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman and
denying certain rights and benefits to all unmarried couples). Those are
hardly ardent Democratic causes.
Many Republicans hope the proposed amendment will increase the turnout among
their ranks. They saw clearly the benefit of Nader appearing on the ballot.
(In the end, Nader failed to qualify in Ohio.) Even Democrats less prone to
conspiracy theories have connected the dots: these error-filled, perhaps
fraudulent, petition efforts contributing to Republican calls for
challengers at the polls.
At the very least, Republicans understand the dynamic in Battleground Ohio.
Democrats have registered roughly 500,000 (or more) new voters in the state,
an estimated 50,000 in Summit County. Republicans have reaped a far smaller
number. George Bush won the state by 166,735 votes four years ago. If those
newly registered Democrats actually cast ballots, the president will be
looking for 20 electoral votes elsewhere, attempting no less than to defy
recent history, Republicans absolutely needing Ohio to capture the
presidency.
As fervently as Republicans insist their motives are noble, their ``fraud
patrol'' serving in the spirit of the League of Women Voters, they
understand the fallout from playing aggressively. Mere talk of dispatching
challengers to polling places may discourage first-time voters from casting
their ballots. These voters are unfamiliar with the process. They read or
hear that lawyers in suits will be ready to pounce. Why bother?
That doesn't absolve them of their civic responsibility. They should go to
the polls, even call their county Board of Elections tomorrow to confirm
their registration and polling place. The worry is, the prospect of
challengers on the scene has a calculated and profound chilling effect. Has
turnout already been dampened?
Challengers take an oath, pledging that they will ``faithfully and
impartially'' discharge their duties. The office of the secretary of state
has issued guidelines stating that challengers ``may not interfere with the
voting process or unnecessarily delay it.'' If a challenger targets so many
voters that the process stalls or voters are intimidated, the presiding poll
worker can toss the challenger out the door.
In the next day or two, poll workers are slated for training. They would do
well to work on their backbones in case they encounter bullies. As it is,
the law says a challenger must show ``good cause.'' J. Kenneth Blackwell has
much to do in the coming days, especially sorting through the confusion over
provisional balloting (triggered, in part, by his own doing). Still, the
secretary of state would advance the right to vote by explaining to boards
of elections what the standard precisely means.
Challengers must be named by Friday. Democrats insist they will respond with
their own deployment (although challengers cannot directly challenge
challengers). Once a voter is challenged, he or she must take an oath and
then answer questions posed by the presiding poll worker who formally
records the responses. The sight of all this, or the resulting delay, may
lead those still in line to bolt, choosing not to vote even though their
registration may be all in order.
Republican officers and their soldiers may scoff at such concerns. Recall
the fiasco in Florida. Katherine Harris and the butterfly ballot received
much attention. The greater outrage was the thousands of black voters
essentially denied the right to vote.
The past four years, the country has begun to repair its elections process.
The effort has proceeded more slowly and less smoothly than many had hoped.
That is partly because of the increasing legalization of the elections
process, the political parties inspired by the messy Supreme Court decision
in Bush v. Gore to mine the law for partisan advantage, more frequently
going to court to get their way.
Thus, the appearance of a 1953 law that more closely resembles the poll tax
and the literacy test than the spirit of counting every vote. Those who are
registered should take up the challenge. Your vote does count. So much so
that you should be more determined than ever to cast your ballot.
Douglas is the Beacon Journal associate editor. He can be reached at
330-996-3514, or emailed at mdouglas@thebeaconjournal.com.