(I'll be writing some more about this on the weekend. But at this point, the voter suppression front needs daily attention. - promoted by Paul Rosenberg)
It happened in 2004 and 2006, and it may be happening in 2008
In the 2008 election Americans may once again be seeing law enforcement turned into a tool of voter suppression.
It is illegal for law enforcement agents to use their authority to attempt to intimidate or suppress the vote. Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 states that no person “whether acting under color of law or otherwise,” shall intimidate, threaten, or coerce any individual forvoting or attempting to vote, or for attempting to assist others to vote. Section 12 of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993provides for criminal penalties against any person who intimidates or attempts to intimidate any person for registering to vote, voting, or attempting to register or vote.
In the past few weeks, however, partisan forces have manufactured hysteria around the myth of “voter fraud” that they have used to help goad law-enforcement into intimidation and politically motivated investigations into eligible voters. As the election approaches Project Vote and other voting rights organizations are seeing law enforcement officials inserting themselves into election administration, and partisan pressure to coerce law enforcement agents into overreaching investigations into the eligibility of legal voters.
In a recent Presidential forecast, Chris named eight states: Colorado, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin as being key to Obama winning the Electoral college.
So I've put together a picture of the situation in those states to foster better analysis on them:
STATE BLOGS
