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.
"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.
Hell, they don't even have to exist by their standards in New Orleans to vote, get paychecks, etc........
...when a person held to service or labor in any State or Territory of the United States, has heretofore or shall hereafter escape into another State or Territory of the United States, the person or persons to whom such service or labor may be due, or his, her, or their agent or attorney, duly authorized, by power of attorney, in writing, acknowledged and certified under the seal of some legal officer or court of the State or Territory in which the same may be executed, may pursue and reclaim such fugitive person, either by procuring a warrant from some one of the courts, judges, or commissioners aforesaid, of the proper circuit, district, or county, for the apprehension of such fugitive from service or labor, or by seizing and arresting such fugitive, where the same can be done without process...
It is so disgusting. A lot of people are hopeful this exodus will help the Rep party. I'm not so sure.
The minute the evacuees sign up for any kind of welfare/government assistance, change the mailing address of their checks, or enroll their kids in school, they're legal residents of the new location so are no longer residents of the 9th Ward.
I wondered at the time if the reason they didn't want to evacuate was displacement of their loyal voters - many of whom probably couldn't afford to leave on their own.
The solution is pretty straightforward. The GOP in the places these people have "moved" to should contact them as soon as they are in housing and arrange for them to get registered -- even as Democrats.
Keep a record of the names and make a copy of the forms. Supply that record to the Louisiana GOP and the Louisiana courts and SOS so the voter rolls there are purged. The LA GOP can supervise the purging process, given that clearly defined names will be available with photocopies of the new registration documents in new states.
You don't have to catch all of them. The numbers will do th e trick. They are going to lose about 100K votes over this. That should erase Dems in Louisiana for as far as the eye can see, and the 100K is diluted and spread out over multiple heavily GOP states elsewhere.
I suspect we pick up a Senate seat over this.
"For decades in Louisiana, democrats have counted on the same tightly-knit block of voters to seal their victories -- the Ninth Ward.
No wonder the Dem politicians have been so panicked at having to get the refugee/evacuees back into the city. The flock has scattered."
Yep, and for those who do/can move back, they don't have as many buses to haul them to the polls, either - must really be panicking about that. Maybe they'll comandeer some Caddies from the local dealership and use those.
AHA! Now we know why Nagin was ballooning up the death toll numbers. More voters. The mystery has been solved. :)
Aha! So Rove and his operatives did blow up the dike for political considerations....
It's not eht government's job to decide where these people will vote (within limits). It should be up to the individual. The key is to ensure that laws are followed.
Remember that lots of people vote absentee for years while away at college.
Your scenario sounds so sane. But keep in mind the dirty dems are insane, insane with power. Do you honestly think that the results will be as straightforward. God, I hope everything plays out like you say, for the sake of Louisiana mostly, for the rest of us, they are such a pain the ass. No southern state should be such an embarrassment to the rest of us
As long as the vorer's tomb is located within the city limits, everyting's fine!;)
voter's;)
Just my opinion, but I think the RATs will claim that the intent of all these fine, upstanding voters, is to return to their homes and they should not be "disenfranchised" in this way.
The only fair solution is to let them vote in both their new location and in NO for as long as they live. They were displaced, they deserve to become "supercitizens".
"What is the residency requirement for voting?"
In the ninth ward? Probably the requirement that you can spell the abbreviation for Louisiana. If they spot you the L and the A. Well maybe the period too.
Translation: Voters Democrats will still be able to vote multiple times. The phantom police force will see to it.
"Democrats will take the position that folks who used to live in Louisiana and that have been temporarily displaced can vote."
The answer is NO. Without voter fraud the rats can't win in lots of places. It is becoming obvious that the State of Louisiana ia one of them. Sorry rats, the next election will be too far away for this line of stupid crap to fly.
I hope that anti-littering campaign slogan in Texas a few years back means something more:
DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS
Look at it this way, if they are voting absentee in LA, they can't be rounded up on those school buses and brought to the polls, they can't vote two or three times, they can't go vote for the dead people, and the ward bosses can't go passing out $20 bills and pints of whiskey to them. So the 90-100% turnouts will not happen, and this could screw the Democrats.
What a shame. < /sarcasm > And herein lies the real reason they're in such an all-fired hurry to get the people to come back.
""Democrats will take the position that folks who used to live in Louisiana and that have been temporarily displaced can vote."
That'd be a real shocker. < /sarcasm >
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