US civil rights groups ask international election monitors for assistance

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Guardian

US civil rights groups ask international election monitors for assistance

NAACP and others say voter restrictions and ID laws ahead of 2012 US election require planned observer mission to expand

Ewen MacAskill in Washington
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 20 October 2012 16.01 EDT

American civil rights groups have appealed to the world's biggest election monitoring organisation over concerns about controversial changes in voter registration ahead of the November 6 White House poll.

The eight civil rights group expressed their worry that millions, including those on low income as well as minorities, could be excluded from the vote for the presidency and for members of Congress.

They raised the issues during a meeting on Tuesday in Washington with representatives from the Organisation of Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which represents 56 states in Europe, Central Asia and North America.

The OSCE is likely to refer to the concerns in an interim report on the US elections out at the end of next week. It is also expected to pass on the views of the civil rights groups to its team of international observers who are being sent to monitor elections in 40 states.


Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/20/us-civil-rights-election-monitors

[barnabas63]

1. I'm sure the right-wing southerners will welcome this assistance...

But seriously, I'm very glad this is being done!

[heaven05]

4. well

once burnt, twice shy. glad to see this. But isn't this a sad state of affairs? Poll watchers? Amerika the beautiful.

[JackN415]

19. yes with loaded shot guns, waiting to welcome observers n/t

[pangaia]

2. A bit late but at least ti is a start.

[JustAnotherGen]

3. I'm crossing my fingers

Can we as individual Americans appeal to them as well?

[McCamy Taylor]

5. Hot damn! International observers! Will they send Jimmy Carter?

[John2]

6. I agree to this.

Since Eric Holder could be accused of intefering, the U.S. does need a independent observer. I don't trust the U.S. news media. You got people like Rupert Murdoch controlling the U.S. media and Gallup can't be trusted either. I don't trust the U.S. Congress either. Especially the right wing Republicans. I know it is sad in America but it has come down to this. Our News media is sorry.

[99th_Monkey]

7. Woot!! I hope these election monitors have a field day

trying to help the USA sort out the shambles of it's dysfunctional so-called "democracy".

Here is my list, of all the ways I've counted that GOP is cheating and defrauding our democracy.

1 - voter suppression by forcing new “voter ID” laws
2 - voter suppression by “purging” voter rolls, putting onus of "proof" back on voters to prove that they exist.
3 - voter indimidation at the polling places, voters being “challenged” or otherwise confronted by hostile GOP brownshirt "poll watchers".
4 - voter misinformation by mailing wrong polling place location and/or date of the election.
5 - voter suppression by severely limiting days, times of voting.
6 - voter suppression by not sending enough voting machines to the most heavily Democratic areas, such as inner cities, University campuses, and where there are many elderly.
7 - election fraud via private corporations owning and controlling the voting machines, as well as vote-counting devices, as a “private business”.

Greg Palast has his own list of 9 ways, and there is lots of overlap.

[TomClash]

12. No. 7

is fascism.

[99th_Monkey]

13. Yep. Fascism plain & simple, and in our face.

I posted this earlier today:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251159041

&feature=player_embedded

One rec and no responses.

There doesn't appear to be an overwhelming interest on DU, perhaps
because the horse is already out of the barn, and has been for years.

[TomClash]

15. I posted this last night

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021585294

No responses - 5 recs

I don't think people want to believe it.

[99th_Monkey]

16. I see the Rmoney "Advance Team" has been busily covering their tracks,

in advance, hence the team's name.

The omnipresent scope of this outright & literal ownership of our democracy by 1%ers
is staggering; didn't someone once say the bigger the lie the better? Stalin or Hitler
or someone equally odious.

How can something be so astoundingly clear to me, in the face of so many blank stares
and crickets, also be so invisible to others? .

[TomClash]

18. Several reasons

It is not reported in the msm. None wants to believe it. Some simply buy an alternate scenario.

[99th_Monkey]

21. Yes, and I discovered yet another reason

What Joseph Goebbels said.

"The bigger the lie, the more they'll believe it."

[cui bono]

28. 8 - voter misinformation by robocalls giving wrong date of election. n/t

[mojo2012]

8. Any help to stop voter suppression

All help is needed....the voter suppression efforts from the Republicans is disgusting. It's obvious they've been planning this for the last several years. Now they don't even care how blatant it is. I'm sure they're assuming it's too late for the Democrats to do anything about it.
I hope this all backfires such that the people the Republicans are trying to disenfranchised get so fired up saying they will be damned from being kept from voting. Or that there are as many potential Romney voters that are suppressed....

[John2]

9. Tagg Romney

Eric Holder needs to investigate him and those voting machines. I'm all in for it. Add Gravis Marketing in it too. I don't know why Kaplan's background isn't being investgated.

[goclark]

22. Please somebody help - there is so little time left

Last edited Sun Oct 21, 2012, 12:29 AM - Edit history (2)

I believe the Rethugs have planned it just right --- the clock ticks and it will be extremely difficult if not a miracle if there is time left.


Everytime I see the " neck and neck" meme spoken, I know it's a LIE that Rethugs paid $$$$$'s to have spoken.

[Judi Lynn]

27. Not investigating him would be a crime. n/t

[chuckstevens]

10. I Love it!

The people on Fox News' heads are going to explode. International = Communism, you know!

[TomClash]

11. A wise move

We need all the help we can get!

[Cha]

14. Thanks Judi Lynn!

[elleng]

17. If ONLY this would embarrass us enough to RESULT in something!

[midnight]

20. Good... I share in the worry with these 8 civil rights groups....

Send some observers here to Wisconsin..

[stuffmatters]

23. You can no longer claim to believe in America & be a Republican

The Republicans have funded every effort to suppress and corrupt our democracy. This should be the message and fight of every Democratic candidate. That the UN has been called in to protect our democracy against the systematic assault on every citizen's right to vote now makes this a fair subject for Obama to bring up in the last debate.

It is time to pose the question directly to Romney and every Republican candidate from Congress down to state and city candidates:
Do you believe in all Americans constitutional right to vote and to have their votes legitimately counted?

Ihe Repblicans must be held answerable for their unmistakeable and massive assault upon fair and free elections, from their photo id Jim Crow voter suppression efforts down to Bain & Tagg Romney buying up voting machines in many states including Ohio. These machines leave no paper trail to track actual votes, and already have a history of can easily & invisibly corrupting the vote.

It's disgraceful that the UN has to be called upon to protect Americans right to free and fair elections. But Americans cannot sit by and let another election be stolen by the Republicans... Bush's brother/Supreme Court stole it via Florida in 2000, the Repub owners invisibly changed a -2% to +4% on their voting machines in the dead of night in Ohio 2004... and here we are in 2012 with Tagg Romney controlling the paperless voting machines in many states including Ohio.

[limpyhobbler]

24. good we need it.

[JustAnotherGen]

25. Kick

[NBachers]

26. I've been hoping for a strong UN voting rights observers in this election

Egregious Republican election fraud and voter suppression makes this necessary.