Posted on 10/01/2005 7:36:32 AM PDT by Ellesu
The sting of Katrina's blow to southeast Louisiana will be felt for years to come. The culture, the economy, the community will be changed forever. But what about the politics? Campaigns could soon head out of state to catch up with evacuees.
For decades in Louisiana, democrats have counted on the same tightly-knit block of voters to seal their victories -- the Ninth Ward.
"The Ninth Ward elected Kathleen Blanco, the Ninth Ward elected Mary Landrieu, the Ninth Ward has elected a lot of statewide elected officials who are democrats," says political consultant Roy Fletcher.
Fletcher says with residents of the Ninth Ward and similar communities dispersed throughout the country, Katrina has transformed Louisiana politics, uprooting the standard party strategies for statewide elections. The first dilemma facing state parties -- what to do with out of state voters?
"Democrats will take the position that folks who used to live in Louisiana and that have been temporarily displaced can vote. Republicans will probably take the position of 'no, that's not right, they're not in the state, and many are permanently gone, so therefore we can't do that.' "
One of those democrats, although he hasn't declared candidacy, is acting Secretary of State Al Ater, who's already had to postpone elections in areas hit by Katrina and Rita. He says he'll ask FEMA to help reach out of state voters with this message:
"They don't have to register over there, they don't have to not be registered here, and that doesn't mean they can't participate in elections here," says Ater.
That means out-of-state campaigning for candidates, fundraising like never before for political parties, and for the evacuees, possibly electing with mostly absentee ballots the very leaders who will help them return home.
Secretary of State Al Ater has postponed elections in southeast and southwest Louisiana, but the New Orleans city-wide elections are just a few months away. He tells 9 News every election will be evaluated case by case to make sure everyone who is eligible to vote has the opportunity to do so.
ping
So they got what they deserved?
Being dead or non-human has never stopped Democrats from voting before, I am sure this will eventually turn into an opportunity for the 9th ward demos to vote on behalf of all the displaced voters without the need to actually locate them.
Thanks for clearing that up ...
I've been scratching my head over that "message" for at least a minute.
Forgot to add - they don't even have to exist.
Anyone who thinks the Republicans will win the fight over whether Ninth Ward refugees can vote, or dead people continue to vote, in Louisiana is out of his skull. The Democrats always win these little legal scuffles, because they are terminally motivated, while the Republicans are nice and polite and deferential to the judges, who no doubt are all Democrats.
No wonder the Dem politicians have been so panicked at having to get the refugee/evacuees back into the city. The flock has scattered.
It is a very interesting question. I wonder what the law says. What is the residency requirement for voting?
Well, I hope that they've taken the same opportunity enjoyed by the rest of the American taxpayers to reflect on the wisdom of their choices.
Oh, you can bet they will...
I've wondered about that too. How long do you have to absent from your residence, assuming it still exists, before you become ineligible to vote in local elections?
My daughter moved from LA to AZ a year ago. She has an AZ address and drivers license. Even though she still occasionally receives mail here, she's not a legal resident and can't vote in local elections ;).
It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. One thing you can be certain of, if you thought you've seen democrat shenanigans before, you ain't seen nothing yet!
Like that matters? /sarc
LAW???? We don't need no stinking LAW . . . we're Democrats!
Thanks for the link.
And so goes the quote, "Good or bad, people deserve the government that they have."
Yeah, they just might find a lot of them, but can they find all of them, or enough of them? I think this situation is unique. Questions really need to be asked. If some of these folks have established residency requirements elsewhere, who will keep them from voting in both their old home and their new home? If they have a job, can it seriously be expected they will go back "home" at some point? And why do they get to vote someplace they don't live? And as a previous poster said, can they truly be such dunderheads to vote for these assholes again? Why would they even care? They don't live their now. How will the recipient communities react to this new kinda carpetbagging? Seems to me that in the really red areas, those idiots might be laughed at, they really are pretty funny if this whole thing were'nt so pathetic
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.