Stern Show: Voter in Bucks County, PA purged for not supporting Bush*

[Renew Deal]

I was listening to the Stern show this morning and some guy called in. He said that he is one of 48 republicans in his area. He siad that he was polled and he told the person that he wasn't voting for Bush. He then found out that he was made an "inactive" voter. These are the types of games these crooks are going to play. You need to fight back. We need to call a few places to try to get this checked out.

Call the PA democratic party and speak to the Bucks County chair (John Cordisco)
[phone]

Call Philly and talk to their political director. Ask for Sabrina McNeal
[phone]

Call America Coming Together (ACT). They are working on GOTV for this election.
202-974-8300

Contact Move-on
http://www.moveon.org/feedback/

This is critical. The pukes are trying to steal the election again.

[Renew Deal]

1. I guess we will just let the pukes steal the election.

[Blue-Jay]

4. I would need more corroboration than

a random Howard Stern caller.

[Renew Deal]

5. Ok, call some PA voters

Glad to see you give the republicans the benefit of the doubt. :eyes:

[HFishbine]

7. It's not that

But do you expect us to call and say, "I read a message on the Internet from some guy who said that some guy heard another guy on the Howard Stern Show say that he told some guy he wasn't going to vote for Bush and now he's an innactive voter"?

[Blue-Jay]

16. No. *YOU* call some PA voters and get back to us.

Jesus H Christ. I ask for more evidence than a Howard Stern caller and you insinuate that I don't care about the election! If you want us to take action, provide more anecdotal evidence. I've been working my ass off locally, and you want to roll your eyes at me for asking for a little corroboration?

Nice of ya.

[Renew Deal]

22. I have called the PA Dems

which is the best I can do. I asked that others do that too to be safe. I don't want to risk it. I have enough information to think that something is wrong. I didn't mishear what he said and neither did Trippi. I am usually skeptical of stuff like this too, but in this case it's better to be safe than worry about being wrong.

[kwolf68]

2. This is amazing

If true. If this individual shows up on election day and can't easily walk into the booth and express his democratic right then this nation is in trouble.

[Renew Deal]

3. It wouldn't surprise me.

These criminals are ruthless. I bet there will be lots of surprises on election day because the democrats have a failure of imagination when it comes to the republicans evil.

[LoZoccolo]

6. Everyone in Florida and Pennsylvania needs to CHECK!

Call on the Secretary of State office or whoever and make sure you're on the rolls now! Leave enough time to fix it! And keep checking it regularly to make sure they don't take you off later! This is serious! And pass this on and on! The media barely covered this story last time, and we still don't hear enough about it now, so write an email to your friends and tell them to keep passing it on!

[fishnfla]

10. I would think that absentee voting is the best way to go

The best way to make sure your vote counts in FL, i'm thinking

[Caution]

8. This has nothing to do with the guy's actual vote

This was a polling company who was looking for Republican voters and asking of the intention to vote. He said he was not going to vote for Bush so he was removed from that company's database.

This is not an attempt to remove him from the actual electorate.

[Renew Deal]

13. He said inactive voter.

And Trippi was on and said that the republicans would do anything to steal the election. Are you saying Trippi misheard him too?

[Caution]

17. I'm saying this guy was wrong.

and Trippi was using it as an excuse to throw out some invective. Trippi was right about them being willing to steal elections but he knows as well as anyone that "inactive voter" is a catgeory used by polling companies in order to properly catgorize people in their polls (likely voters, registered voters, etc).

[Renew Deal]

19. I know that "inactive voter" is what you are categorized as

if you haven't voted for a really long tome and they don't know what happened (death, felony, incapacitation, other). It is actualy a category. I don't think you are allowed to vote as an inactive voter.

[Caution]

21. as long as you are registered properly

you can vote. Look sometimes people overreact. That polling company was remiss in telling this guy that because it gave him the impression he wouldnt be able to vote. And THAT is the more important part of the store and probably what Trippi was getting at. If this was an RNC funded poll and they told the guy he was an "inactive" voter then the impression is that they are discouraging him from voting by making him believe he wont be able to. And many who are uninformed may then not go to the polls.

[YEM]

9. I LIVE IN BUCKS COUNTY!!

What more can I do?? This is disgusting!!!

[Renew Deal]

11. Call the county chair.

Call the PA democratic party and speak to the Bucks County chair (John Cordisco)
[phone]

[neoteric lefty]

12. What poll was this?

if it was from the Weekly Standard, then I wouldn't be suprised. But, if it was from the NYT, then there is a story bredwing here.

edit: I know its too late but your topic makes it sound like he was purged from a voters list. I am from Florida so that word is very important ot me.

[Renew Deal]

14. It was probably a campaign poll

The Bushites were probably doing their own polling.

[AmerDem]

15. I just called Bucks county... phone taker wasn't too receptive!

I am from Pa. but not Bucks county. I phoned the Bucks county number, phone taker didn't know who John Cordisco was. I went on to explain what had happened to this republican. The phone taker was quick to try and end the call it wasn't until I pressed him further on what he was going to do with the information that he said he was going to further the info to the Kerry advance team.

I suggest anyone else that decides to call also consider contacting the Kerry campaign to make sure the information gets to as many people as needed.

[blm]

18. Contact the newsrooms of the papers in Pa.

.All of them.

[KharmaTrain]

20. What Is an "InActive Voter"???

Is this some kind of voting limbo that's been created? A catagory of some sort where one is put when you don't do the "politically" right thing? Sorry, something isn't sounding right here.

I heard some of what this guy was saying and it sounded more like he was passed over in a poll than for voting...that he was put in an "undecided" catagory rather than Kerry getting the credit or Bush losing the vote.

There's lots of those games going on right now as we're in the midst of poll mating sesason...and will until election day.

I'd suggest looking at Stern's website...it's very well done and has stories and links about major issues discussed on the show. For those who don't like the tone or content of Stern's show, this site is a good way to catch up on what he's doing and saying.

[onenote]

23. its an official term

I did a quick bit of research and the term "inactive voter" is an official designation under Pennsylvania's voting law. So its not just a term used by polling outfits. However, it wasn't immediately obvious from the reference I found what the consequences of being designated "inactive" are for a voter.

onenote

[Renew Deal]

25. Here is some info on inactive voters

<snip>
"Because there was an Act passed in 1996 there is no longer a purge. You must
miss two federal elections for your record to be totally inactive. Once that
happens you will be notified that you are an inactive voter and are placed on the
inactive rolls for five years. If you don’t make contact with the registration office
or vote during that time period then you are removed. We will not be purging a
large number at this point until, we will wait until after the federal elections to
review the rolls."
<snip>
http://www.sa.psu.edu/vote/pdf/minutes_2_18_04.pdf

This whole thing may not be a problem if this article is correct. Inactive voters can vote while on the list for 5 years. Unless the pukes are just purging voters, this might not be a problem.

Here's more.

<snip>
"Under the motor-voter act, local and state election officials can place voters who may have died or moved away on an inactive voter list for two federal election cycles, usually about four years. If the voter has not appeared to cast a ballot during this time, the state may permanently strike the voter's name."
<snip>
http://www.fairelections.us/article.php?id=218

[KharmaTrain]

26. This sounds more like housekeeping than housecleaning

There are times the voters roles need purging. How many people will register in one election...not vote again for 8 or 25 years...meanwhile their name remains on the roles. And then if they re-register, they get on the roles twice. For years we actually had to fight to get my wife's name off the voter roles in her old district (under her maiden name). It took over 5 years for that to happen and I'm sure during that time she probably could have voted twice as there's little checking here at the polls if you have a card in their little voters box and your signature matches the one on their card.

But then I guess this shouldn't come as a surprise, as I do live in Chicago. LOL.

Thank you all for the posts...as this does sound something very specific to PA, but I'd bet it's also in place in others, and sounds fairly benign. I know, I know...it's those kinda laws that are used by Repugnicans, but this one, at least on the surface appears to say that if someone doesn't vote in at least 3 elections (one would have to have missed at least one vote to be put in the inactive status) then their name should be taken off the roles. It's not a permament thing and might not be a bad thing to get people to re-register occasionally...like renewing their Drivers license so the voter roles don't need knee-jerk purging.

[Renew Deal]

24. Inactive voter in NY

is a category of people that the gov't has lost track of. They haven't voted in a while and the gov't doesn't know why. I don't know about other parts of the country.

[CWebster]

27. Bucks County is a traditionally Republican stronghold.

[AmerDem]

28. general public should contact their local voter registration office...

to make sure they are listed and eligible to vote. This is the word that should be getting out by the Kerry campaign!