Steve Chabot is trying to trick African Americans into thinking the GOP

[roseBudd]

cares about the Voting Rights Act. He is doing a townhall meeting on Tues. Feb. 21 at the Urban League in Cincinnati. The topic I kid you not is the Voting Rights Reauthorization. This would be the perfect venue to start some hullabaloo about the discriminatory practices of OH election officials past (Nov. 2, 2004) and future, Ohio's new voting ID requirement.

Let's brainstorm. How many election reform activists are close enough to attend?

[Wilms]

1. The GOP cares very much about minorities voting.

House Members Urge Fight Against Multilingual Ballots

By Nathan Burchfiel
CNSNews.com Correspondent

February 6, 2006

(CNSNews.com) -- Fifty-six members of the U.S. House on Friday urged House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), to fight the renewal of a provision in the Voting Rights Act that mandates multilingual ballots.

"We believe these ballot provisions encourage the linguistic division of our nation and contradict the 'Melting Pot' ideal that has made us the most successful multi-ethnic nation on earth," the 56 House members wrote. Only one of those signing the letter is a Democrat -- Collin Peterson of Minnesota.

The letter refers to special provisions added to the Voting Rights Act (VRA) in 1975 that are set to expire in 2007. The original VRA was passed in 1965.

The multilingual ballot provision requires local jurisdictions to provide multi-language ballots when more than 5 percent of the voting-age population belongs to a language minority.

http://www.gopusa.com/news/2006/february/0206_multilingual_ballots.shtml

[roseBudd]

2. We need to play the race card...

I wish I knew how to instigate a showdown.

[Wilms]

3. Funny you should say.

I didn't feel good about thinking it, but I was imagining an America where the marginalized and disenfranchised minority are the, for lack of a better term, Freepers.

[roseBudd]

4. Not sure what you mean but what I meant is I as a white woman can not

state that I know Voter ID suppresses the vote with the same moral authority that an African American can when they say, this is my 19 year old unemployed son who lives with his girlfriend and has no car. He has no utility bill, no gov't check, nothing in his name that also has his address on it.

It was African Americans who were targeted with suppression in OH when the RNC mailed certified letters to African Amrericans and used the list of returned letters to create their list of voters to challenge.

[Wilms]

6. Oh I think Whites can stand along side Blacks and talk about this.

Like we got talking about yesterday about different approaches for different circles.

[roseBudd]

7. On DU I am constantly challenged when I state I know there are lots of

low income and mostly black voters who don't have ID. When I did use the walk lists for Kerry I found who answered the door was often just "staying with" a sister, an aunt, a grandmother, a baby mama. Maybe he had a state ID when he first became old enough to drink, but somebody stole his jacket with the ID in the pocket when he was playing basketball. Maybe he or she got evicted and when the bailiff drug their belongings to the curb the birth certificate was lost.

When does someone bother to ask how the IDless person proves who they are so they can get the ID they'll need to vote.

No if DUers don't get it, I can't expect to convince GOP controlled state houses.

[philb]

5. Republicans carried out widespread suppression and dirty tricks against mi

minorities in most states in the 2004 election; this was well documented:

http://www.flcv.com/summary.html
http://www.flcv.com/studentv.html

Doesn't seem they were very concerned about minority voting rights, other than preventing them from voting
as they successfully did preventing many hundreds of thousands from voting or having their votes counted.

[roseBudd]

8. Exactly which is why this is the perfect venue for a showdown and a chance

to go after Blackwell at the same time. This white woman is going to try to round up a posse. Any help with bullet points on GOP OH election '04 for a flyer I'll pass out would be great. I've got until Feb. 21.