Posted on 10/24/2004 10:25:51 AM PDT by Land_of_Lincoln_John
Lawyers from around the nation gathered in Chicago on Saturday to gear up for attempts to suppress minority voter turnout during the Nov. 2 presidential election.
At Rainbow/PUSH Coalition headquarters on the South Side, voter advocacy groups -- including the League of Women Voters and the National Bar Association -- stressed at a news conference that voters must know their rights. The strategy session was called to mobilize poll-watcher teams in key states for the showdown between Republican President Bush and Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.
While much of that effort will send attorneys to observe voting in swing states, more than 300 lawyers will watch Chicago area races, said Barbara Arnwine, executive director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
"While we don't expect in the large national races there will be much impact concerning fraud [in Chicago], there are certainly some contentious races we'll be keeping a close look at," said Tracy Smith, League of Women Voters director.
A call for federal standards
U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) renewed his call for setting federal election standards and stressed the need for all states to enact recommendations in the Help America Vote Act. He pointed to "provisionary voting requirements" that allow citizens to vote even if their name is not on file at their polling place.
In several states -- including Florida, Nevada, Oregon and Colorado -- politicians already have raised concerns about voter intimidation, destruction of registration forms and other attempts to suppress turnout.
"We are very concerned about the misinformation in our community. . . . We're very concerned that people are being told the wrong day to vote. We are concerned people are being told if they don't pay their child support or their utility bills . . . they won't be allowed to vote," said Kim Keenan, president of the national bar, which represents 20,000 predominantly African-American lawyers. "When people are surprised about this, I'm even more concerned because that means the message is not getting out."
Information about voting laws in individual states is available at www.ourvote.com. Voters who encounter trouble on Election Day also may call the election protection hotline at (866) OUR-VOTE.
Jackson is on CNN right now, with Jerry Falwell for counterpoint. Blitzer is asking them about poll results saying that evangelicals are about 42% of the electorate. How I wish Falwell would just turn and ask Jackson, "Do you really think that abortion is morally acceptable?" Yes or no. Just a simple yes or no.
I would like to "notch" that abortion question up one peg and ask him if he thinks sucking the brains out of babies prior coming through the birth canal is morally acceptable.
Jesse doesn't play the race card, he is the race card!
who is going to watch to make sure some effing democrat doesn't subvert the electoral process? i am a perpetually disenfranchised voter because of the many cadavers that vote democrat during every election cycle.
As alwlays, Jackson has only one card to play. He is so out-of-it, he is not a leader now by anyone's standards.
Jesse Jackson is a dependable coin operated toy. For a quarter, he will do the same dance Over and Over and Over and Over and Over and Over and Over and Over and Over and Over and Over and Over and Over and Over and Over and Over and Over and Over and Over and Over and Over~
Thank you! Now---Jackson and Falwell are still on, discussing homosexuality---Falwell says it's a perverted lifestyle and Blitzer is asking him if he really means that. Duh! Selfish hedonism? Yes! That's what it is if you have hetero sex without any thought of the possibility of a family.
Tell the Reverend Jesse "Lovechild" Jackson that he has no credibility left.
Falwell: Jesse's a great preacher, I'm just mediocre but he's great, and then he got mixed up with the Democrats...
LOL!
Why does the black community continue to call this man their leader when poll after poll shows that they are conservative on moral issuses such as this!?!
JJ: No, I expanded my position...
Falwell: *chuckle*
peer pressure?
Oh this is great! Falwell just put Jackson away on CNN Late Edition. If you missed it watch for the rerun. It's a gem.
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Jesse, in his natural habitat. |
The job of pollwatchers is to make sure of such things as voters' names actually being on the list and ensuring that poll workers ask for ID or a voter registration card in states where it is required, AND to challenge ballots when a voter is not on the list or cannot produce ID, or whose voter status is otherwise in question. Sounds like Jesse Jackass thinks that the function of pollwatchers is to make sure that election procedures can be violated with impunity.
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