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.
“I do not know if it is being widely reported.”
I don’t now about widely reported, but Judge Napolitano went over it not too long ago on Sirius’ “Brian & The Judge”. He’s off this week, but may be open to calls to discuss it next week. They also have a website/blog.
So until you can obtain a similar arsenal and force, you best sit down, shut up, and take it like any other good citizen would.
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Wow, good thing the American Patriots didn’t listen to you...
By the way, do you really think, if it comes to fighting in the street, that this country will be worth taking it like a good citizen? At that point, you may as well welcome yourself to the Gulag, if you speak out...naw, I’d rather fight and die, than live like that...
At what point in the drive toward totalitarian power, would you be willing take up arms and fight? What will be the signal to you that it’s Fight or Die?
“Why not ignore them and let the games begin?”
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I think the states are going to increasingly going to do this...the 10th Amendment should be our rallying cry.
If illegals can already get driver licenses and are allowed to vote, why in the hell would they ever want to become U.S. citizens and have to pay taxes?
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Oh, but they don’t have to pay any taxes til $200,001...and Obama will fill up their gas tanks, give ‘em government cheese and health care...’check aqui, donde dice DemocRAT...’
first question: When all the legal rememdies have been exhausted.
second question: I will know when it is time.
At what point in the drive toward totalitarian power, would you be willing take up arms and fight?
What will be the signal to you that it’s Fight or Die?
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first question: When all the legal rememdies have been exhausted.
second question: I will know when it is time.
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I agree with this. btw, let me correct my historical reference - the slogan was ‘Join or Die.’ There is a very good John Adams series where that is one of the episode titles.
“Organize and vote.”
Oh, for God’s sake. I’ve been doing that since before you were born.
btt
They may kick my butt in the parking lot, before I get to vote, but they better kill me
Well sonny boy, did you have anything to do with getting Bob Dole and John McCain nominated? Did you have anything to do with getting George Bush nominated? He with his treasury buddies did more to sour America against conservatives and gave us Obama. Thanks for your efforts, but it's not the kind of organization that we need.
Comrade Holder makes his move. Who’s next?
Well, the Russians invaded Georgia last year and are still there. Will they invade the Ukraine next?
The parallels are eye-opening.
But how can you prove the names are not legitimate?
funny
As earlier as 1830 some states allowed illegals to vote and I am sure that, then, as now they voted RAT.
“...did you have anything to do with getting Bob Dole and John McCain nominated?”
Actually, no: I voted for neither in the primary.
We had 35 people at the same one bedroom apartment. Some of them that were suspicious, we went to greet them and welcome them to our precinct. We found over 60 that were not the same name and were not registered to vote on two streets. One lady that her name matched had NEVER registered to vote as she was only in Norman for one semester taking two classes. She was hot and went to the election board herself and signed paperwork that was not her signature.
We did a voter registration drive here in our House District in 2006 in conjunction with our looking the voter lists and found a lot of people who had moved, some who had never moved that had never registered even though their names were on file, and that’s where I found the vacant lot with 19 registered voters.
We had some on empty lots with quite a few voters. Sound strange for a city like Norman, but ACORN preys on college towns because it is so easy to get names, register them, and then vote when they are no longer here. We had our own ACORN office for community organizing in a town that is not poor, little crime, small minority population, etc. Why were they here, headquarters for voter fraud. After we started going after the voting lists in 2004, they took a hike right out of town.
We went through an OK House District in 2004 and had over hundreds removed that we found were duplicate addresses, people had died, moved, fraudulent. About 1/2 were just people no longer here but the other half were fraudeulent votes and some came back on in 2006, we had them removed again, and when they tried to do it again in 2008 (ACORN we discovered had just moved to OKC where they almost stole a State Senate race).
We now have a Republican head of the Election Board as the Republicans took over the State Senate but more importantly we FINALLY have a Republican heading the Oklahoma Board of Elections. What they did here was avoid going to computer list that are easy to check — you would get large stacks of foldout paper with only 12 names on a page and it was a total pain to check them.
It is a never ending process while ACORN is in your area. Sometimes you have to get the County Chair involved but in my case I was doing for my State Rep so if there was a problem, he would go visit the office and after a few times I learned to know everyone and they were very cooperative. We were actually doing what they were getting paid to do. It is a dumb system here, register, they send out a post card and if they don’t get it returned, they put them in the system never checking addresses.
If it is happening in my House District, it is happening all over America.
This should be appealed. How’s Sonia goingto vote on this one? Where in the Constitution does it say citizenz, let alone non citizens have the right to vote. As long as federal voting rights laws aren’t being violated, and I know of no such law that makes nn citizens eligible, voting requirements are left up to the states to decide. We still have a 10th Amendment to the Constitution, don’t we? Does it have meaning and enforcability?
“Welcome to Obama’s AMERIKA 2009.”
Time to stop this outrage at all cost. Time to deport the non-Americans in Justice - whatever their position.
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