show this columnist some love! FL's "no match no vote" law set to throw another election

[nashville_brook]

Please read the comments and post some intelligent DU response.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-miket1108sep11,0,2240401.column

Florida's 'no match, no vote' enforcement could be too much, too late

Mike Thomas | COMMENTARY
September 11, 2008

Charlie Crist understood the bitterness felt by minorities after Florida's infamous 2000 election, when nearly 1 in 7 ballots cast by blacks for president was tossed. Crist moved to heal these wounds. He backed restoration of voting rights for felons and ensured there would be a paper trail left by every vote. So I am baffled as to why his administration now will risk dragging Florida through another racially tinged voting controversy. This one concerns the verification of voter registrations.

It is not a bad idea. It is just that the timing -- only three weeks before the end of voter registration -- is all wrong.So here we go again, with Republican election officials making decisions that disproportionately will affect Democratic voters in a crucial election now rated as a tossup in the polls.

Why is there a need to suddenly throw this in the works at the last minute?

The verification law, commonly called "no match, no vote," first was approved by the Legislature in 2005. It requires that applicants put an identifying number on voter-registration forms -- usually a drivers-license number or the last four digits of a Social Security number. That number then is checked against state or federal databases to confirm the person's identity.

(snip)

Florida is only one of four states to pass a no-match, no-vote law, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law.The Brennan Center and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People filed a lawsuit to block the Florida law after it was passed in 2005. A judge issued a temporary injunction against it in December.

(snip)

Yet this week, the Florida Department of State suddenly announced it will begin enforcing the law. This comes as we face an Oct. 6 registration deadline for the November election.


_____ and now, for the comments! Behold the state of The Republic:

rdw
Orlando, FL

give me a break If you can't fill out the registration form right you don't need to be voting .



Civil War in Boynton
AOL


rdw wrote:
give me a break If you can't fill out the registration form right you don't need to be voting .

Agreed, Also if they can't drawl a line the same applies.




Civil War in Boynton
AOL

Power is justice. You are wrong, just because you pay, tax does not mean you have a right to vote.
I just updated my voter’s registration information last month and everything is correct on the card so there is no reason why others cannot fallow suit.


OneVoice3
Apopka, FL

I must be stupid or something. As long as the voter brings 2 sources of ID (FLDL and SS Card) either can show both names wouldn't that be ok?

Florida is already the joke over the hanging Chad incident. Lets clear this up in time for an honest election.






The Hog of Steel

How many people wander around without identification?

Do they drive to the polls without a driver's license?

In typical Slantinel fashion, you are making a fuss about a problem that requires some measure of intelligence. Intelligence on the part of the voter. It is not the government's responsibility to hold every person's hand as they vote.




OneVoice3
Apopka, FL

Mike,

If the problems are this bad. Why in the world is Florida doing this? Must we always be the *utt of someones joke?

THIS is what is keeping the Country apart - Republicans will see the verification law / policy as fair, and the Liberals will see the unfairness and the battle will continue.





Civil War in Boynton
AOL

With the Immigrant problem we have here, I would not be opposed to the same law even if it meant the same result because YOU are responsible for maintaining your correct and accurate information at any given time.



Ruby Matisse
AOL
Let's be "bipartisan." Let's just forget about identification. Just let everyone vote as often as they choose."

Now, that will make the Democrats happy.




noway
Orlando, FL

Wow, Really. you mean with this law in place it makes it harder for the democrats to cheat? Based on the stats that you listed in your column, what exactally makes you think that the alleged 22% of votes that are thrown out ore only democrats? The ratio works in the end unless some underhanded politics come into play and if so its still in the democrats favor.




nastyknight
Sorrento, FL

I'm so sick and tired of minorities crying foul about not being able to speak or understand English.

My mother didn't speak a stitch of English in 1960 when she came to this country, yet somehow found a way to learn the language, become a citizen and start and maintain a very successful business.

When she came here, she was called "wop" but still fought thru it and won the American Dream.

If someone cannot take the responsibility to properly register to vote and have it taken care of as of election day, then they should lose that right to vote.

[AndyA]

1. What's the deal?

They can't think for themselves, and they can't spell. :shrug:

The timing of all this seems highly suspect to me. You don't see retailers remodeling their store 3 weeks before Christmas.

[iamjoy]

2. I Can't Believe This One

Everyone seems to want to throw out any means for having fair elections, free of fraud, to accommodate those who can't even tell you who the current president, etc. are.....Remember people, voting isn't a right, it is a privilege, and should be used as such. Educate yourselves. Vote responsibly and honestly, regardless of your choice of party.

the emphasis added was mine. Do you believe it? IF we're going to start excluding people from voting for being irresponsible and uneducated, that person should be first.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

3. Florida may be the last state left still doing this

Some states mis interpreted HAVA to read that voters "must" match in the database, i.e
your last four digits of social security number and your name (as typed by some clerk into the database) must be an exact match or you are not registered to vote.

Women who have been married and or divorced may be likely to fail to match, as are people with their
name written John Jack Smith in one database and Johnathon Jack Smith in another.

People with hyphenated names or people with more than the usual 3 names often get snagged by the
"No match no vote" net.

What HAVA intended was for the databases to be used as an administrative tool, not a sieve to block
eligible voters from being registered to vote.

Some states, like Florida, don't get that.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

4. more simply - why No Match No Vote blocks legitimate voters from registering

We eliminated the No Match No Vote rule in 2007 in North Carolina, here's some background on
why the matching blocks legitimate eligible voters:

In the New York Times article - "New Laws and Machines May Spell Voting Woes" , <5> Justin Levitt, a lawyer with the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, worried that North Carolina's requirements that - information provided by voters for registration forms match information in the motor vehicle or Social Security databases could block eligible voters from registering.

Clerical errors, name changes, errors in databases could interact to block registration.

“If someone is listed with their maiden name in one list and their married name in another list, that voter will be blocked from the eligible voter roll,” said Mr. Levitt, adding that these voters may show up in large numbers and not realize that there is a problem.

When the social security numbers don't match, that is a greater obstacle. In correspondence from Don Wright, General Counsel for the NC State Board of Elections, he advised that:

"The SSA will not communicate to us or the voter why there is no match. That is their national policy. "

North Carolina was one of 5 states that still had the "No Match No Register" rule. An applicant's registration may be denied if their data failed to match that in driver's license and Social Security databases.

http://www.ncvoter.net/provisional.html