In June-
Governor Dean spoke this afternoon at the Voting Rights Summit. He opened by talking about the Democratic Party’s efforts, here in Washington, and in the states, to fight legislation that would require voters to produce photo IDs in order to vote, specifically mentioning the Indiana Democratic Party’s challenge to their state’s new photo identification law. He said the laws are aimed at “voter suppression” and are not about protecting Democracy or preventing fraud.
The Governor then went on to talk about voting machines saying, “We are also going to talk about the machines. I don’t think these machines work. If they do work, the public has no way to verify that they work, and I don’t understand why people in Washington aren’t more concerned. I believe that these things can not be relied on and we do need to spend time and energy on this.”
Governor Dean also praised the efforts of the National Democratic Lawyers Council and the work that they have done. The Lawyers Council is a national organization which is working to recruit local attorneys who can assist in election protection efforts – one example the Governor gave, “During the Virginia elections in 2005 we had an irregularity (with a voting machine) and we were able to get to the clerks who were running the election and fix the problem on the spot. We have that capability and it matters.”
Yet he cautioned that it isn’t just technical problems that Democrats have to be wary of, but old hat tactics that hope to intimidate voters at the polls, or challenge an individual's right to vote. He gave the example of Dartmouth College students in New Hampshire who were denied their right to vote by a single town clerk who decided registering with their college addresses was unacceptable and who were then challenged by poll watchers on Election Day, infringing on the voting process. “Often it is race based,” he said, “but we know there are two groups that are challenged more often than others – African Americans and people under 45 – all people under 45.”
Governor Dean closed his remarks by saying, “This is a really huge issue, because it’s not about the future of the Democratic Party, but the future of a Democracy that has been the greatest Democracy for 200 years. When you begin to believe winning is more important than America, you have hurt your country, and we can’t have that – we want to make sure that America is always first.”
http://www.democrats.org/a/2006/06/governor_dean_a_3.php And in May-
DNC Chairman Howard Dean Denounces Harmful Republican Voter ID Law in Missouri
http://www.democrats.org/a/2006/05/dnc_chairman_ho_25.phpGovernor Dean on Voting Rights
snip>
We are expanding the work of the Voting Rights Institute to promote efforts aimed at protecting the right of every American to cast their ballot and have their ballot counted.
We formed the National Lawyers Council to fight systematic barriers to registration and voting across the country, and through the NLC we are providing legal assistance to the Indiana Democratic Party's appeal of a federal court ruling upholding that state's radical voter ID law.
The Voting Rights Institute established a toll free number to help displaced New Orleans residents vote in the April 22 primaries and to collect information about Indiana voters who were disenfranchised by the voter ID law.
I know you have done important work here in New York through the NY Democratic Lawyers Council.
You did important work in monitoring the 2005 mayoral race in New York City and local races in Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland and Ulster Counties.
You dispatched a team of lawyers to conduct election monitoring for New Orleans mayoral primary and other local races.
You worked on the Board of Elections regulations for voting machines, and you have been working with the New York State Democratic Senate Campaign Committee and the DCCC to work on election monitoring in key races 2006 so we can take back Congress and take back the NY Senate......
http://www.democrats.org/a/2006/05/governor_dean_o_17.php And more-
Democracy At Risk: The 2004 Election in Ohio
After the 2004 election, there were widespread reports of serious voting problems in Ohio. The Democratic National Committee's Voting Rights Institute made a commitment to investigate these reports and ascertain exactly what happened on November 2 in Ohio.
An exhaustive five-month investigation by the VRI's research and investigative team identified grave problems in the administration of Ohio's voting system. More than 1 in 4 voters in Ohio faced problems at the polls, including illegal requests for identification, long lines, poorly trained election officials, and more. There were also dramatic disparities in voting conditions among different races; African Americans waited nearly three times as long on average as whites to vote.
Most important, the VRI's comprehensive investigation resulted in concrete recommendations that will help protect every American's right to vote and to have that vote counted. These recommendations cover voting equipment, training for poll workers, uniform standards, and much more.
Get the facts about exactly what happened in Ohio in 2004, and learn how Democrats are fighting to protect our rights.
Download the Report
The full report (12MB download)
http://www.democrats.org/a/2005/06/democracy_at_ri.php As for the plan, you can see several avenues are being pursued. Without power at the federal level, statute, regulatory, and office holder changes have to be local for now. That's one of the reasons that support for the 50 state strategy is so critical.
To help support that strategy, (for anyone who's able) Democracy bonds are available here-
http://www.democrats.org/democracybonds.html
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