The DoJ Flying Under The Voter Registration Radar
For anyone that believes that participatory democracy works better than suppressed democracy...
The DoJ recently hammered out some pretty darn good rules of the road and then some when it comes to the previously under utilized and relatively unenforced motor voter laws. From the Op Ed pages of the NY Times:
A Welfare Check and a Voting Card
The National Voter Registration Act of 1993, better known as the motor-voter law, is well-known for making it possible to register to vote at state motor vehicle offices. However, the law also required states to allow registration at offices that administer food stamps, welfare, Medicaid, disability assistance and child health programs. States were enthusiastic about the motor-vehicle section of the law, and millions of new voters got on the rolls while getting a driver’s license. But registration at public assistance offices proved far less popular.
In part, that was because of additional paperwork at those offices, but in many states, Republican officials did not want to provide easy entry to the voting rolls for low-income people whom they considered more likely to vote Democratic. The Bush administration devoted its attention to seeking out tiny examples of voter fraud and purging people from the rolls in swing states. It did little to enforce the motor-voter law despite years of complaints from civic groups and Democratic lawmakers.
In April, however, President Obama’s Justice Department sent the states a set of guidelines making it clear that it expected full compliance with the public-assistance office section of the law
There are times when it is appropriate to give kudos to the Obama administration for small changes that can make a huge impact over time. This is one of them.
The government can and should always be actively pursuing potential voters and trying to increase the participation rates in a democracy. And this is a whole bunch of small efforts to do just that.
Comments
avahome
August 12, 2010 - 16:03
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Does my heart good
to read this type of enforcement on the state level. Maybe this is a way to turn lemons into lemonade.....
Connecticut Man1
August 12, 2010 - 17:00
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And unlike the private
side of registering voters, political parties and causes giving people a buck per voter registered (or whatever the going rate is), there is a lot less incentive for registration fraud when the government does it.
avahome
August 13, 2010 - 08:40
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Technology to Aid Voter Registration Efforts
Kudos to the Dems...someone has their thinking cap on!
Check out this new websiteOpen.Democrats.org that showcases the party's open-source software efforts and offers easy access to voter registration tools for campaigns and state parties,
Connecticut Man1
August 13, 2010 - 19:07
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That widget is a great idea.
I'll note, somewhat sadly, that this move by the DoJ to clarify the motor voter laws, while not the biggest change, is probably the best thing that has come out of the administration since they have taken office.
That ain't saying alot about much touted legislation like healthcare reform and financial reform...
I would've said the CPA (where everyone hopes they will appoint Elizabeth Warren to head) would've been the biggest and best thing if they were more independent and not umbrellaed under an immoral band of kleptocratic elitist bankster thieves.
Someone can correct me if I've missed something big? I am running on only a few hours of sleep today. lol