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.
Aw, what whiners!
This is just bringing exposure of the non-citizen presidential credentials down to the streets!
No problem!
Now this is a bald face lie, you know it only applies to ineligibles who vote for DumbO and the Fascicrats.
Georgia to Obama: “Quit meddling.”
It is time to stop pussyfooting around and I think we all know what that means. We will never have a shot at a “fair” election again if this is allowed to transpire. It has been hard enough as is with ACORN nuts and other trash but this would be devastating.
I am sick of watching our Constitution being treated like toilet paper. We have the DUTY to protect and defend it not just the military but us as well.
I wonder if and when it will go into effect in all of our states?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Yes it likely will, and I am sure the secretaries of state knew it the day the order came down.
Our elections are now totally corrupted.
Are these the same MINOs ( men in name only) with one ill woman who can't “man-up” and decide if Obama is natural born?
The fate of our nation is in the hands of these gutless worms? ( Sorry to insult the worms.)
True
“They have made their decision,
now let them enforce it”.
~Andrew Jackson 1832
What happened to one person, one vote? Where person is defined to exclude illegals?
By this same token, I should be allowed to vote in any union election, or any other group I am not a member of. Hell, by this reasoning, I should have a vote on the Supreme court
Øbama-the gift that keeps on giving.
I have been working this in my House District since 2004 and we check the voter lists every election and sure enough some we had tossed like 35 people living in an apartment show back up. We thought ACORN had left this area but they reappeared in S. OKC and almost cost us a OK Senate race in 2008.
Several states the GOP Chairs in the State are asking precinct people to check their roles. It is a never ending job as they get taken off and then added back in but it gets faster after you initially check the list.
It is the only way I know to do it is to check each precinct. RNC Voter Vault is crap and that is being kind. Our State Election Board should have everything on computer disc but last we checked they were not operational (on purpose because a Republican only took over in January after we took the OK Senate).
RNC needs to get off the dime and put out something to all activists to check the voter list in their precinct. It is the most important item for RNC and the State Parties.
As I understand it, the lower court’s decision is final on this “specific” case. I suspect there will be more to come from DOJ, especially when you read their letter to GA.
Here is the pdf link directly to the DOJ letter:
You forgot one, the war of regulation, Mother of the American Revolution.
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