Secretary of Veterans Affairs bans voter registration...

[dajoki]

Help Our Veterans Vote
By SUSAN BYSIEWICZ
Published: August 10, 2008
Hartford
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/11/opinion/11bysiewicz.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1219151077-bwYTWl+wHByniKvT+WN8wA

WHAT is the secretary of Veterans Affairs thinking? On May 5, the department led by James B. Peake issued a directive that bans nonpartisan voter registration drives at federally financed nursing homes, rehabilitation centers and shelters for homeless veterans. As a result, too many of our most patriotic American citizens — our injured and ill military veterans — may not be able to vote this November.

I have witnessed the enforcement of this policy. On June 30, I visited the Veterans Affairs Hospital in West Haven, Conn., to distribute information on the state’s new voting machines and to register veterans to vote. I was not allowed inside the hospital.

Outside on the sidewalk, I met Martin O’Nieal, a 92-year-old man who lost a leg while fighting the Nazis in the mountains of Northern Italy during the harsh winter of 1944. Mr. O’Nieal has been a resident of the hospital since 2007. He wanted to vote last year, but he told me that there was no information about how to register to vote at the hospital and the nurses could not answer his questions about how or where to cast a ballot.

<<snip>>

There are thousands of veterans of wars in Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf and the current campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan who are isolated behind the walls of V.A. hospitals and nursing homes across the country. We have an obligation to make sure that every veteran has the opportunity to make his or her voice heard at the ballot box.

Connecticut’s attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, and I wrote to Secretary Peake in July to request that elections officials be let inside the department’s facilities to conduct voter education and registration. Our request was denied....

Susan Bysiewicz is the secretary of state for Connecticut.

[demnan]

1. Veterans will vote for Obama

and our official government refuses to allow that.

[C_U_L8R]

2. Why do so many vets think the GOP is on their side ??

They've been screwed over at every turn by Republicans
These Vets need to wake up and realize that they've been suckered.

[mucifer]

4. That's the weird thing. Things are changing. Actually, the vets are more

knowledgeable about the gop f-ups than the population at large. They are donating more money to Obama. Hopefully, the rest of the country will follow their lead. But, the propaganda is so fierce I have my doubts.

[C_U_L8R]

5. Thank goodness for incremental changes

[bdamomma]

3. they will do everything to again steal this election.

next step: revolution.

[underpants]

6. The FOURTH thing you will never hear a Repub or Fox News say

1. contact your representative
2. come down and volunteer
3. help with voter registration

[zbdent]

7. bars "nonpartisan" voter registration ...

I guess that means that Republican voter registrars are more than welcome, at least, for the Sec. of VA ...

[meegbear]

8. That caught my attention too ...

interesting phrasing to say the least.

[dajoki]

9. Maybe...

if they went in and said they wanted to register Democratic voters they will be allowed!!:sarcasm:

[L0oniX]

10. Lesson learned. Serve your country and loose your ability to vote.