This is something that has come up in recent election cycles, practically always coming from the GOP side. See these relevant GD threads:
Right-wingers trying to block college-student voter-registration drives (2004)
Can anyone name any defensible, legitimate value to “voter suppression” (2004)
Republican voter intimidation tactics (2004)
RFK, Jr.: Investigate U.S. Attorney Tim Griffin for 2004 voter “caging lists” (2007)
USA Tim Griffin/“caging lists” redux (2007)
Get-out-the-vote and voter suppression are not equally legitimate political tactics (2008)
Anyways, I was kinda hoping none of this would arise this year – because the Dems don’t do this sort of thing and the Pubs are too confident to bother.
However, see this post in this thread linking to this story.
Expect to hear a lot about “voter caging” in the coming days. What is it? Its a method of voter suppression in which an election official challenges the registration status of voters ostensibly to prevent them from casting a ballot. Why should you expect to hear about it? Because a group called One Wisconsin Now is claiming to have uncover a “massive scheme to disenfranchise voters in Wisconsin this November.” Further, they are alleging that participants in the conspiracy include the Wisconsin GOP and local Tea Party organizations.
The One Wisconsin Now press release claims:
A coordinated plot by the Republican Party of Wisconsin, Americans for Prosperity-Wisconsin and organizations in the so-called Tea Party movement targeting minority voters and college students in a possibly illegal “voter caging” effort for voter suppression has been uncovered in evidence obtained by One Wisconsin Now, a statewide advocacy organization in Madison, Wisconsin.
“Based on what we have heard, the Republican Party of Wisconsin, the Americans for Prosperity-Wisconsin and leading Tea Party organizations are in collusion in an effort to suppress the ability of minorities and university students in Wisconsin to exercise their right to vote this November,” said Scot Ross, One Wisconsin Now Executive Director. “We will be providing all of the evidence we have received on this wrongdoing to federal and state authorities so that they can investigate to ensure justice and democracy prevail.”
Ross said One Wisconsin Now will today be filing formal requests for investigation with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, as well as the Wisconsin Attorney General’s Election Integrity Task Force and the Government Accountability Board demanding a full investigation to ensure the right to vote is not stolen by these plans.
Is it here-we-go-again?
Everyone knows the real danger is a couple of new black panthers standing on a street corner looking mean and black.
davidm
September 30, 2010, 4:06pm
3
I have to assume that there is something of this nature going on somewhere at some level for every election.
If you click through the links and read the story, there is absolutely nothing objectionable going on. There is a plan to send postcards to all registered voters. If any come back as being sent to an undeliverable address, they will send someone out to see if there is actually a residence at the address. If someone has listed an address that is not a residence then these people plan on contesting the registration.
puddleglum:
If you click through the links and read the story, there is absolutely nothing objectionable going on. There is a plan to send postcards to all registered voters. If any come back as being sent to an undeliverable address, they will send someone out to see if there is actually a residence at the address.
That’s not how they did it in 2004, anyway; the postcard alone was the foundation for the “caging lists.”
Bear in mind that they never turned out to be true before, even though the Bush Admin put a lot of effort, money and political capital into trying to prove otherwise.
Chronos
September 30, 2010, 5:17pm
6
There are accusations of voter fraud, which if true are very serious, and these people are taking common sense actions to prevent it this time. If there is no voter fraud, these people are just wasting their own time, and if there is these people are performing a vital public service. Kudos to them.
There are accusations of voter fraud, and if true, it’s these very people perpetrating it. That’s not worthy of kudos.
BrainGlutton:
puddleglum:
If you click through the links and read the story, there is absolutely nothing objectionable going on. There is a plan to send postcards to all registered voters. If any come back as being sent to an undeliverable address, they will send someone out to see if there is actually a residence at the address.
That’s not how they did it in 2004, anyway; the postcard alone was the foundation for the “caging lists.”
Bear in mind that they never turned out to be true before, even though the Bush Admin put a lot of effort, money and political capital into trying to prove otherwise.
Read the documents linked to, they have a 4 stage process, the postcard is step one. The stories of voter fraud in the documents may be apocryphal, but they undermine confidence in our elections. Keeping our elections fair and honest is worthy goal, and the opposition to such common sense measures to keep voter rolls true makes me wonder about the motivations of these progressive groups.
puddleglum:
The stories of voter fraud in the documents may be apocryphal, but they undermine confidence in our elections. Keeping our elections fair and honest is worthy goal, and the opposition to such common sense measures to keep voter rolls true makes me wonder about the motivations of these progressive groups.
Better still it should make you wonder about the motivations of the conservative groups. The “caging lists” as used in previous elections were not sincere efforts to keep the elections fair and honest, they were dishonest voter-suppression tactics, just like the voter-roll purge in Florida under Jeb Bush in 2000. Why should we think it’s any different this year, if the same party is doing it?
I think they’re going to use whatever they can within the rules and bend them as much as they can.
BrainGlutton:
puddleglum:
The stories of voter fraud in the documents may be apocryphal, but they undermine confidence in our elections. Keeping our elections fair and honest is worthy goal, and the opposition to such common sense measures to keep voter rolls true makes me wonder about the motivations of these progressive groups.
Better still it should make you wonder about the motivations of the conservative groups. The “caging lists” as used in previous elections were not sincere efforts to keep the elections fair and honest, they were dishonest voter-suppression tactics, just like the voter-roll purge in Florida under Jeb Bush in 2000. Why should we think it’s any different this year, if the same party is doing it?
Because the OP made specific allegations, backed up by actual documents. However, if you read the documents they specifically contradict the allegations made. If you are the type to believe that everyone who disagrees with you politically is evil, then you don’t need evidence. If you are a fair minded person who looks at evidence before deciding, then the documents linked to should reassure you of the public spiritedness and sincerity of the people slandered by the OP.
puddleglum:
Because the OP made specific allegations, backed up by actual documents. However, if you read the documents they specifically contradict the allegations made. If you are the type to believe that everyone who disagrees with you politically is evil, then you don’t need evidence. If you are a fair minded person who looks at evidence before deciding, then the documents linked to should reassure you of the public spiritedness and sincerity of the people slandered by the OP.
:dubious: Wait, are you referring to this ?
Revised draft plan for “Election Observer Program” as of July 14, 5:00pm:
Voter Roll Cleanup:
<snip>
Recruiting Volunteers
<snip>
Public Exposure of Problem –
<snip>
VERIFICATION PROCESS USED FOR IDENTIFYING QUESTIONABLE ADDRESSES
<snip>
Upon completion of the above mentioned steps, compile notes and information into a single spreadsheet with following the format in which the information was provided
Send completed information to RPW via Jon Waclawski (jwaclawski@wisgop.org )
When you receive confirmation from Jon Waclawski that he has received the data, delete any and all copies of the data. Wait for further instructions.
<snip>
Affidavit
That I have reviewed the document above entitled “Verification Process Used for Identifying Questionable Addresses.”
That I agree to follow the 5 steps outlined in the document above.
That I have read the Nondisclosure and Confidentiality Agreement attached hereto.
That I agree to abide by the Nondisclosure and Confidentiality Agreement.5) That I am a volunteer on this project and am in no way “officially” employed by the Republican Party of Wisconsin.
(Signature)
:rolleyes: Nosirma’am"Bob," this stuff is not such as to reassure us as to the Wisconsin GOP’s public-spiritedness nor sincerity.
And OneWisconsinNow.org , the organization which obtained and posted the above, offers a pretty fair and balanced description of “voter caging”:
Voter caging is a notorious voter suppression technique used to challenge the registration status of eligible voters to prevent him or her from voting in an election
Usually, caging occurs when an official-looking, non-forwardable piece of mail is sent to a group of registered voters, often to minorities and students. The parties involved in caging then compile a list of voters whose mail was returned as undeliverable. On Election Day, these organizations will use the undeliverable mail to challenge voters at the polls, utilizing law enforcement and attorneys to support their challenges.
The goal of caging is two-fold. First, is to force as many voters as possible to cast provisional ballots, which require voters to follow-up the day after an election for the ballot to be counted. Historically, about 35% of all provisional ballots are never counted. Additionally, voters whose registration is challenged at the polling place are unlikely to have the required material to complete an Election Day registration, meaning the voter will be turned away at the polls.
The second goal is to create long lines at the polling place as the caging operation challenges voter after voter. Many people cannot afford to sit in line to vote for hours on end. Long lines discourage voters and many simply leave without casting a ballot.
Voter caging is a violation of the Help America Vote Act and is illegal.
And you might wonder why plausible-deniability of a worker’s status as a Republican Party “employee” is required. Somehow I doubt it has much to do with labor law or workers’-compensation law or an employer’s vicarious liability for an employee’s torts. No, it is probably because of the history pointed out in this article from 2004:
Republicans yesterday continued to challenge the validity of tens of thousands of voter registrations in Ohio and other key states in the presidential election while a coalition of civil rights and labor groups sued the GOP, contending the Republican efforts were aimed at removing eligible minority voters from the rolls.
After initially saying he would not contest a Wednesday ruling halting the challenges, Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell (R) worked with other election officials who asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit in Cincinnati to allow GOP challenges to 35,000 voters from mostly urban and minority areas to proceed before the election. As of late last night, the court had not ruled.
Also yesterday, Republicans in Wisconsin attempted to challenge the registrations of 5,600 voters in Milwaukee but were turned down in a unanimous decision by the city’s bipartisan election board.
The Republican challenges in Ohio, Wisconsin and other battleground states prompted civil rights and labor unions to sue in U.S. District Court in Newark, saying the GOP is violating a consent decree, issued in the 1980s by Judge Dickinson R. Debevoise and still in effect, that prevents the Republicans from starting “ballot security” programs to prevent voter fraud that target minorities.
From the Wikipedia article on “voter caging”:
Evidence of caging in the United States
In 1981 and 1986 the Republican National Committee (RNC) sent out letters to predominately African-American neighborhoods. When tens of thousands of them were returned undeliverable, the party successfully challenged the voters and had them deleted from voting rolls. Due to the violation of the Voting Rights Act, the RNC was taken to court. Its officials entered a consent decree which prohibited the party from engaging in anti-fraud initiatives that targeted minorities or conducting mail campaigns to “compile voter challenge lists.”[5]2004 US Election
BBC journalist Greg Palast obtained an RNC document entitled “State Implementation Template III.doc” that described Republican election operations for caging plans in numerous states. The paragraph in the document pertaining to caging was:
V. Pre Election Day Operations New Registration Mailing
Shortly before the 2004 election, Palast also obtained a caging list for Jacksonville, Florida, which contained a high number of African Americans and registered Democrats. The caging list was attached to an email which a Florida Republican party official was sending to RNC headquarters official Tim Griffin.[7][8][9]
The Republican National Committee sent letters to predominately urban minority areas in Ohio. When 35,000 letters were returned as undeliverable, the party employed poll watchers to challenge the voters. Voting rights groups challenged the RNC in a case that went to the Supreme Court, but the RNC was not stopped from challenging those voters. Similarly, the RNC sent out 130,000 letters in Philadelphia hoping to cage voters there. Philadelphia is a city with a majority African American population that votes heavily Democratic. The Republicans were attempting to cage votes by people who were likely to vote for the Democratic candidates.[10]
In the Ohio court challenge, the RNC submitted a caging list that targeted urban and African-American areas in and around Cleveland.[11]
Journalists found evidence that the Republican National Committee (RNC) attempted to use caging to suppress votes in five states in the 2004 US presidential election. For example, in New Jersey RNC officials used caging lists to challenge absentee ballots and absentee ballot requests.[11]2008 US Election
As noted earlier, the Republican Secretary of State in Michigan was found purging voters from voting rolls when voter ID cards were returned as undeliverable. In the court challenge, the federal judge ordered the state to reinstate the voters.[12] The judge ruled that the state’s actions were in violation of the NVRA. His decision noted that there was no way to prevent qualified voters from being disfranchised as their cards may be returned as undeliverable due to postal error, clerical error, inadvertent routing within a multi-unit dwelling, and even simple misspelling or transposition of numbers in an address.[13]
In December 2007, Kansas GOP Chair Kris Kobach sent an email boasting, “[T]o date, the Kansas GOP has identified and caged more voters in the last 11 months than the previous two years!”[14]
Republicans sent out fundraising mailers to voters in five Florida counties: Duval, Hillsborough, Collier, Miami-Dade and Escambia, with ‘do not forward’ on the letters. The mailers included inaccurate Voter ID numbers and ostensibly confirmed with voters they were registered as Republican. The RNC declined to discuss the mailer with the St. Petersburg Times. A representative denied the mailing had anything to do with caging. “Two top Florida elections officials, both Republicans, faulted the GOP mailing, calling it “confusing” and “unfortunate” because of a potential to undermine voter confidence by making them question the accuracy of their registrations.” Some officials expressed concern that the RNC would try to use a caging list derived from the mailers.[15]
In Northern California reports of voter caging emerged when letters marked ‘do not forward’ were sent to Democrats with fake voter ID numbers. The description of the letters matches the letters that were sent out in Florida.[16] See the caging letter that was sent out here. Many details on the letters were false; for example, the letters referred to a Voter Identification Division but RNC personnel said they had no such department. The RNC did not return calls from a news organization regarding the letters.
On October 5, 2008 the Republican Lt. Governor of Montana, John Bohlinger, accused the Montana Republican Party of vote caging to purge 6,000 voters from three counties which trend Democratic. These purges included decorated war veterans and active duty soldiers.[17]
The New York Times found in its review of state records that unlawful actions in six states led to widespread voter purges, which could have impact on the 2008 elections. Some of the actions were apparently the result of mistakes by the states’ handling voter registrations and files as they tried to comply with a 2002 federal law related to running elections. While neither party was singled out, because the Democratic Party registered more new voters this year, Democratic voters were more adversely affected by such actions of state officials.[18]
Zakalwe
October 2, 2010, 12:57am
15
puddleglum:
Read the documents linked to, they have a 4 stage process, the postcard is step one. The stories of voter fraud in the documents may be apocryphal, but they undermine confidence in our elections. Keeping our elections fair and honest is worthy goal, and the opposition to such common sense measures to keep voter rolls true makes me wonder about the motivations of these progressive groups.
When you can show me that equal numbers of registered Democrats and Republicans are on the list, then I’ll believe that it’s some high-minded attempt to protect the integrity of the ballot box. Until then, I’ll just continue to think that it’s a bunch of rich white men convincing a bunch of other white men (and women) to help make sure that the niggers, fags, and hippies don’t get a vote.
Have you never heard of Chicago, where voting rights are so important they’re exercised post mortem ?
Yes. But that’s from a mostly bygone age of urban-machine politics.
The judge ruled that the state’s actions were in violation of the NVRA. His decision noted that there was no way to prevent qualified voters from being disfranchised as their cards may be returned as undeliverable due to postal error, clerical error, inadvertent routing within a multi-unit dwelling, and even simple misspelling or transposition of numbers in an address.
Thus the fraud prevention initiative mentioned in the OP took steps beyond mailing the cards. They went to each address and recorded whether or not it was a residence. They had four different steps to make sure the address did not exist. That way they could determine if any of the judge’s concerns were valid and whether mistakes led to the cards return or if it was a genuine attempt at voter fraud. This is obviously a good faith attempt to address concerns about past fraud prevention initiatives. Despite systematically addressing the concerns, they still get accused of voter suppression by this group. It appears to me that this On Wisconsin group is just prejudiced. Is there anything that could be done to prevent voter fraud that this On Wisconsin now would approve of?
I can’t get too worked up about any potential threat which is “based on what we have heard”.
Here’s a simple step that could be taken: Do absolutely nothing. The historical record proves that this method is extremely successful, and reduces the incidence of voter fraud to nearly zero.
