Posted on 07/19/2009 3:12:25 PM PDT by NorwegianViking
Obama Justice Department Decision Will Allow Non-Citizens to Register to Vote in Georgia
Decision Bars Georgia From Continuing Voter Verification Process
Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel issued the following statement following the U.S. Department of Justice’s denial of preclearance of Georgia’s voter verification process
Atlanta - “The decision by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to deny preclearance of Georgia’s already implemented citizenship verification process shows a shocking disregard for the integrity of our elections. With this decision, DOJ has now barred Georgia from continuing the citizenship verification program that DOJ lawyers helped to craft. DOJ’s decision also nullifies the orders of two federal courts directing Georgia to implement the procedure for the 2008 general election. The decision comes seven months after Georgia requested an expedited review of the preclearance submission.
“DOJ has thrown open the door for activist organizations such as ACORN to register non-citizens to vote in Georgia’s elections, and the state has no ability to verify an applicant’s citizenship status or whether the individual even exists. DOJ completely disregarded Georgia’s obvious and direct interest in preventing non-citizens from voting, instead siding with the ACLU and MALDEF. Clearly, politics took priority over common sense and good public policy.
“This process is critical to protecting the integrity of our elections. We have evidence that non-citizens have voted in past Georgia elections and that more than 2,100 individuals have attempted to register, yet still have questions regarding their citizenship. Further, the Inspector General’s office is investigating more than 30 cases of non-citizens casting ballots in Georgia elections, including the case of a Henry County non-citizen who registered to vote and cast ballots in 2004 and 2006.
“It is important to underscore that not a single person has come forward to say he or she could not vote because of the verification process. Further, while DOJ argues that the process is somehow discriminatory, the historic voter turnout among Hispanic and African-American voters in the 2008 general elections clearly says otherwise.
“This decision provides a specific example of the inherently illogical and unfair nature of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. It is a sad day for the rights of our state and for the integrity of our elections. I remain committed to continuing the fight for citizenship verification. In the coming days, I will consider every option available to the state, including the possibility of legal action.”
Background:
As required by law and ordered by federal courts in October 2008, the eligibility of new applicants to register and vote is checked against the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) and Social Security Administration databases to ensure that individuals registering to vote report similar information. If information in these databases does not match information reported on the voter registration form, the applicant is asked to clarify the information. Additionally, if the applicant previously reported to DDS that he or she is not a U.S. citizen, that person is asked by a registrar to provide proof of citizenship.
Prior to the November 2008 General Election, Secretary Handel sent letters to 4,771 voter registration applicants whose records at DDS indicated they were not U.S. citizens, asking them to provide documentation of their citizenship. As of March 2009, 2,148 of these applicants still have chosen not to resolve the question about their U.S. citizenship.
In the November 2008 General Election, county election officials reported that 599 individuals cast a challenged ballot because the voter had previously indicated to DDS that he or she was not a United States citizen and had not resolved their status with county officials at the time of the election. Of those, 369 ballots were accepted because the voter provided documentation of their citizenship after the election; and 230 were rejected because the individual chose not to confirm his or her citizenship status.
On October 10, 2008, activist organizations including the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit to attempt to prevent Georgia from verifying the eligibility of applicants to register and vote in the November General Election, including whether those individuals were citizens of the United States.
On October 16, 2008, U.S. District Court Judge Jack Camp denied the motion by MALDEF and ACLU; directed the State to continue the verification process; and acknowledged the State’s requirements to verify information under the Help America Vote Act. In his order, Judge Camp stated:
HAVA requires that Defendant Handel match information in the statewide voter registration database with information from the Georgia DDS and the SSA databases “to the extent necessary to enable each such official to verify the accuracy of the information provided on the applications for voter registration.”
Judge Camp also stated:
Since the possibility of fraudulent and inaccurate voting could significantly injure and diminish the public’s respect and confidence in the electoral process, the State’s ability to maintain reliable voter lists is paramount to a temporary and minor inconvenience to a few individuals.
On October 27, 2008, a U.S. District Court three-judge panel again directed the State to continue its voter registration verification process and challenge ballot procedures through the November General Election.
The 2008 elections were the largest in Georgia’s history, featuring record turnout among minority voters with the citizenship verification program in place. The figures below represent voter turnout statistics among Hispanic/Latino, African-American and White voters from the 2004 and 2008 General Elections.
Voter Demographic 2004 Total Number of Votes Cast 2008 Total Number of Votes Cast Percentage Increase in Votes Cast
Hispanic/Latino 18,000 43,000 140%
African-American 834,000 1.2 million 42%
White 2.3 million 2.5 million 8%
Karen Handel was sworn in as Secretary of State in January 2007. The Secretary of State's office offers important services to our citizens and our business community. Among the office’s wide-ranging responsibilities, the Secretary of State is charged with conducting efficient and secure elections, the registration of corporations, and the regulation of securities and professional license holders. The office also oversees the Georgia Archives and the Capitol Museum.
You have to get them off the voter lists before the election and you have to keep checking to make sure they are not back on. You keep a list of people who are not legal to vote and when they show up to vote, they are challenged and they can vote provisional until they clear up their registration. You have to be a pain in the neck at the election board. You should have lawyers ready to challenge any name that shows up on a list.
The provisional ballot nonsense is an open door to voter fraud if you are not prepared to challenge every last one and hold the election board accountable.
RNC is a worthless organization for not pursuing every precinct in the Country checking their voter list. Most of the State Parties are not any better as they are concerned about being called names. As far as I am concerned they all need to get their heads out of the sand and lead the charge to wipe out voter fraud precinct by precinct.
I know I am on my soapbox but this is one thing we can all do. If the Election Board gives you a problem, get your County GOP Chair involved to get the voter lists — Dem, Indy, GOP for the whole county by precinct and then split it out.
We found a lot in the Indy list as that is how I believe they are covering up some of the voter fraud because in the general election you can vote for whoever. Personally think that is one reason Indy registrations are soaring because there is a lot of fraud there by ACORN.
It’s as if they are deliberately pushing our backs against the wall. Some will cower and surrender...others will arm and fight. The Constitutional options for doing anything else are being removed one-by-one by TPTB and Obama’s Thugocracy.
Frankly I don’t understand the whining and handwringing by the Georgia SOC.
The Courts have already sided with Georgia on this issue, Go back to the Courts and have them order Holder to back the hell off.
The DOJ does not have the authority to disregard the Judiciary.
What am I missing here?
Where does Georgia stand on the 10th amendment issue, do you know?
DOI is right — will never get over their dismissing charges against the Black Panthers for voter intimidation and it goes down hill from there.
You are really doing a great job, are there many others doing the same thing? How did you get this started?
If you are in downtown Atlanta, it might be your wallet. As a safety precaution, be sure to frequently check your hip pocket when traveling on MARTA.
Many people don't seem to understand that just because a man or woman is wearing the uniform of this nation means they're going to obey whatever orders they get in lockstep. The oath of enlistment requires a service member to obey the lawful orders of those appointed over them, not all orders. I have a lot of faith in the young folks in the military. They see things a lot clearer than many civilians years their senior.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
Me too...I’ll stand beside you!
Anything from the Obama Justice Dept is illegal because he is an usurper and is not qualified. someone should tie a case to this demanding his BC.
Guess I will be voting a 100 times.
In 2004, my State Rep asked to check the voter lists in his House District because there were addresses with vacant lots, too many people registered at the same address, etc.
That’s where I got my feet wet and discovered that ACORN was right here in town — they left shortly after that 2004 election. In 2004, I also made a lot of calls for Dr. Coburn using the Aristotle paid list which is supposed to be very good. I kept running into Indy’s on the list that were not registered, the phone and name didn’t match, etc. It just didn’t go smoothly. Added to the fact, we had already scrubbed the OK House District rolls, I began to realize that some we had scrubbed were put back on the list I was using. Went to the election board and sure enough they were back and couldn’t get an explanation, but my Rep did and the names came off.
I would hope there are more doing the same thing. Like a lot more.
During our precinct elections, I gave up the precinct chair because this guy really wanted the job. Turned out the Ron Paul guy wasn’t even in my precinct and ineligible to run for the Chair. I know everyone at the Election Board so they looked him up for me and sure enough he was registered in a different precinct.
I have even developed a theory that ACORN gave us Bill Clinton and used Perot to hide the fraud to make it look like the voters were furious at the GOP. How did we take the Congress in a few years if they were so mad? Too many Indy’s registered and didn’t make sense. I have a lot more questions then I have answers.
Not donating to RNC, NRSC, NRCC, or the State Party until someone in leadership steps forward and demands that voter lists be scrubbed. I am tired of crooked elections and I know I speak for millions more.
I guess you missed the part where the Major volunteered to go to Afghanistan. Then you missed the part where a reservist can change his/her mind.
Initially upon hearing of this, I thought at long last we had standing to battle Hussein's illegitimacy. Then I learned of the actual circumstances.
As disappointing as it was to my hopes, the facts are, neither the "bigshots," nor the rule of law blinked. The rule of law prevailed.
F’ing brilliant. That one needs to go to SCOTUS.
So what’s to stop us from getting a million Hondurans and a million Israelis registered in Georgia??!!
Should there be anymore debate that Obama is a Marxist Muslim who is hell bent in corrupting everything our Christian Forefathers established within the Constitution and Bill of Rights?
It’s started.
This is how he and they will turn red states to blue.
It’s time.
The last time I checked, a pubbie was a Republican. I think you have been outed.
Thanks for playing.
I watched the video of Rep. Michele Bachman (R-Min) speaking before the House.....Yes, she called it right. It is what it is.....a Gangster Government using cartels. How un-American our government has become!
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