Voters: You Can Be Disenfranchised; NO Right To Vote In Constitution
Trying to vote in the US is filled with problems. While the Republicans whine in every election cycle about practically non-existent "voter fraud" to disenfranchise or suppress voting, there are many problems like touch screen machines that can and have been deliberately manipulated to change votes as in Ohio is 2004, largely manufactured by Republican owned companies with tno paper trails or flawed paper trails.
Then there are election officials who don't even know their own state's voting laws and illegally prevent people from voting.
Case in point from BradBlog: "A voter in Kansas City on Tuesday --- one I happen to know, because he's an Election Integrity advocate in the Show Me State --- was arrested and sent to jail after he refused to show a driver's license at the polling place before attempting to vote during the state's Primary Election.
"The voter is Phil Lindsey of ShowMeTheVote.org and he posted the details of his harrowing tale over at DemocraticUnderground.com, where he posts as "galloglas," after being released on Tuesday night.
"Never mind that requiring a voter to show a driver's license in MO before he or she can vote was found unconstitutional in 2006. Never mind that he showed the pollworkers a perfectly legal and proper precinct-issued voter ID card when he went to vote. Never mind that he had even called to check with the local Board of Elections before going to vote, to make sure that the ID would be acceptable. Never mind that he even brought a copy of the MO law to show the pollworkers who had demanded a driver's license (much as they had done, illegally, in a previous election he'd voted in).efused to show a driver's license at the polling place before attempting to vote during the state's Primary Election."
But did you know that the right to vote is not enshrined in the Constitution?
I've written many times about voter suppression and unsecure touch screen votin machines and other egregious voting problems.
The latest was December, 2007 when I wrote: "HAVA was passed by a Republican controlled Congress to assist Republican corporate cronies in reaping billions of dollars selling dangerously flawed, easily hacked, almost undetectable vote changing computer hardware and software, to ensure one party Republican control of Congress and the presidency.
"In 2005, I read a book titled, Rebuilding the Democratic Party From the Grassroots. It's only about 100 pages and chock full of information and how-to's. A section called"Bottom Up Election Reform," has a chapter, "Fix the Foundation." It includes this paragraph:
"During the 2000 election debacle, the Supreme Court, apparently playing a political rather than its judicial role, decided to stop the Florida recount and selected George W. Bush as president. The Supreme Court, on many occasions, has indicated that the Constitution has no specific clause that grants individuals the right to vote. (Underline added)
"The authors went on to say that, 'Two constitutional issues should be a priority of the Democratic Party: 1) confirming the right to vote 2) repealing the Electoral College
" 'Until constitutional amendments are passed on these issues, Democratic senators should use these two issues as a litmus test for judicial nominees to the federal courts and the Supreme Court. If nominees do not believe that the right to vote should be specifically stated in the Constitution and don't believe that the Electoral College should be abolished, they should not receive any Democratic senator's confirmation vote.'
"This book is as relevant today as it was when it was published in 2005; in fact, even more so with the 2008 election almost here. It's a must read for progressive Democrats."
"During the 2000 election debacle, the Supreme Court, apparently playing a political rather than its judicial role, decided to stop the Florida recount and selected George W. Bush as president. The Supreme Court, on many occasions, has indicated that the Constitution has no specific clause that grants individuals the right to vote. (Underline added)
"The authors went on to say that, 'Two constitutional issues should be a priority of the Democratic Party: 1) confirming the right to vote 2) repealing the Electoral College
" 'Until constitutional amendments are passed on these issues, Democratic senators should use these two issues as a litmus test for judicial nominees to the federal courts and the Supreme Court. If nominees do not believe that the right to vote should be specifically stated in the Constitution and don't believe that the Electoral College should be abolished, they should not receive any Democratic senator's confirmation vote.'
"This book is as relevant today as it was when it was published in 2005; in fact, even more so with the 2008 election almost here. It's a must read for progressive Democrats."
Now BradBlog reports about Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. and the voting rights issue.
"Turns out that while election integrity activists have been busy fighting against systemic disenfranchisement, Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., has been introducing House Joint Resolution 28 (H.J. Res. 28) --- legislation calling for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting everyone the affirmative right to vote --- in every Congress since 2001, noting that "It's time to scrap the states' rights-based system we have now, and place the right to vote alongside the constitutionally-protected right to free speech."
"Today, Rep. Jackson furthered his cause by releasing a statement to the press citing a new report by the Advancement Project (which "details a dizzying array of Election Day meltdowns), as well as the documentary Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections (which offers "evidence of how voting machines themselves can create problems"). Both the report and the film, he says...
'...offer warnings about the fragile state of our electoral system. They support what I've been saying for years: Going to the polls --- which they're doing today in states like Michigan and Tennessee --- does NOT mean you have the right to vote.'
"The most important part of the report, besides identifying concrete strategies for ultimately achieving the right to vote, is the very accurate observation that our current system contracts, rather than expands, the franchise.
"Disenfranchisement is not anathema to the system - it's part of it."
What have the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives been doing for almost two years? Oh, that's right. The Democratic leadership and the Blue Dogs have been helping Bush and their Republican colleagues trample the Constitution.
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