The GOP doing things to disenfranchise voters? Never. Couldn't happen again, right? I'm sure the GOP is correct that this is all just fabricated...They would never dream of such underhanded tactics like this OR push polling Jewish voters in Florida and claiming Obama funded the PLO (http://www.time-blog.com/swampland/2008/09/push_polling_the_ugly_begins.html) or anything like that, right? Besides, who would ever believe the GOP would try and deny someone's right to vote because they just got kicked out of their house??? That would be the dirtiest of dirty tricks. "We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people arenât voting from those addresses,â party chairman James Carabelli told Michigan Messenger in a telephone interview earlier this week. He said the local party wanted to make sure that proper electoral procedures were followed." http://www.michiganmessenger.com/4076/lose-your-house-lose-your-vote "The Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Detroit, days after a Web site quoted Macomb County's GOP chairman saying the party planned to use foreclosure lists to challenge voters." http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080916/METRO/809160438
Well, it may not be as sinister as you make it out. Foreclosure is a legal process wherby you lose title to the property. Part of that process is eviction, so you no longer live there. If someone who votes claims an address that has been foreclosed, I think it would be reasonable to verify their residency. That's all they are saying..........the votes using foreclosed addresses need to be verified.
Well, they sure did back off of it pretty fast and even deny that they said it in the first place. I'm not so certain this is as innocent as you say. Also, remember that some houses in foreclosure still have people living in them. Just because a foreclosure has been started doesn't mean that they don't live in the house anymore. This just reminds me of when Kathrine Harris and the Republicans purged lists of voters in Florida because their names were similar to convicted felons. I just think this kind of "mass challenge" towards a certain group of people is shady and ripe for abuse. They should be verifying at the polling locations person by person. If they can't prove their eligibility at the polls then they can't vote. Simple as that.
It appears the story isn't true.............. http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008809120346 GOP won't use foreclosure list to block voters Macomb County party chair says blog is wrong BY KATHLEEN GRAY and AMBER HUNT ⢠FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS ⢠September 12, 2008 Michigan Republicans will send thousands of challengers to polling places on Election Day, but party officials said they won't be using foreclosed home lists to contest voters. Their comments followed allegations in a liberal blog, "The Michigan Messenger," that the Macomb County Republican Party would use foreclosure lists to challenge voters who no longer live in their foreclosed homes. Rumors that Republicans were trying to keep people who had lost their homes from voting went viral on the Internet on Thursday as activists announced plans to rally outside Republican presidential candidate John McCain's Farmington Hills campaign office today to demand the resignation of James Carabelli, the Macomb County GOP chairman. Carabelli flatly denied quotes attributed to him, saying he told a staffer for the blog that volunteers only would check to make sure that an address in a poll book matches the one the voter gives. The GOP is "absolutely not" gathering foreclosed home addresses for poll challenges, Carabelli said. He said the blog was "actually kind of shocking. It's completely untrue." The Michigan Republican Party also won't allow its challengers to use foreclosure lists, spokesman Bill Nowling said. "What does a name on a foreclosure list tell us? Nothing," Nowling said. "We go into the polling place with the qualified voter file and that is all." A person's name and address on a foreclosure list doesn't mean he or she has left the home, Nowling said. Eartha Jane Melzer, who talked to Carabelli for the blog, said she stands by her story but didn't tape her interview. "It could be that they're embarrassed at having such a cynical tactic exposed," she said. Under a new state law requiring voters to produce photo identification, poll challengers may check to see that the person voting matches the ID. In 2004, 4,276 Republican volunteers were challengers in 1,800 Michigan precincts. A similar effort will occur this year, Nowling said. Democrats and other organizations say the GOP challengers aim to intimidate and suppress the vote. Contact KATHLEEN GRAY at 313-223-4407 or kgray99@freepress.com.
I think the story was true and they were thinking of doing it but now that they've been called out and are backing down.