The Easy Low Tech Way For McCain To Suppress Voter Turnout and Win

[Median Democrat]

I know a lot of folks are paying a lot of attention to electronic voting machines. However, I think this attention distracts from the fairly straightforward way for McCain to suppress turnout and win.

First, McCain needs to continue to distribute fliers in urban areas about immigration/debt collectors/financial aid eligibility to those geographical areas that favor Democrats.

Second, McCain needs to discourage early voting through repeated lawsuits suggesting that early votes will be thrown out. Such lawsuits have been filed in Indiana and Ohio.

Third, on election day, have Republican poll watchers aggressively challenge voters in Democratic areas. The challenges need not be in good faith. Instead, by challenging numerous voters, this will slow down voting, and perhaps voters will get discouraged, and leave.

With these low tech steps, the GOP can suppress the vote in Democratic areas, and perhaps gain a couple of percentage points on Obama. This is why I think the attention paid to electronic voting machines obscures the very easy and low tech means of suppressing the vote.

[annabanana]

1. These are all old, time tested techniques. . . they have been done

to greater & lesser degree for decades. If Obama's team are surprised or unprepared for them, I will be astounded. If there are aggressive vote challengers bullying people at the polls, I expect that citizens of good conscience will stand up.

[Median Democrat]

2. There Is A Reason Why They Are So Old, They Are Difficult To Prevent

For example, challenging potentially ineligible voters. Normally, this is a good right to have to prevent ballot stuffing and voting by ineligible voters. However, if you have fanatics who are willing to abuse the rules, and possibly go to jail, they can raise frivolous challenges that will be overturned, but will slow down voting. The goal is not to actually disqualify anyone, but just to discourage turnout in areas that trend democratic.

The old fashioned response by individual voters is perserverence. Democracy is not convenient, and it is a precious right. It is such a precious right that the right wing is willing to engage in wholesale illegal acts to take that right to vote away from you.