Voter Suppression Battle Brewing In Northwest Indiana

[IndianaGreen]

Posted by WillyT in GDP:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7322305

Voter Suppression Battle Brewing In Northwest Indiana

by Josh Kalven on October 04, 2008 - 5:41pm

It appears that Lake County, IN may be the latest arena in the GOP's effort to suppress the vote in swing states

First some basics. Under Indiana election law, early voting can only take place in a county clerk's main office. This clearly could be problematic in areas where the county seat is far in distance from the most heavily populated parts of the county. Therefore, the law gives each board of elections the authority to approve early voting centers elsewhere in their county.

Lake County's geography provides the perfect argument for these "satellite" polling places. The county seat, Crown Point, is the 7th most populous city in the county (pop. 24,000) and centrally located. Meanwhile, three of the four biggest municipalities -- Gary (pop. 96,000), Hammond (pop. 77,000), and East Chicago (pop. 30,000) are all located at the northern edge of the county, along Lake Michigan. Together, these towns hold more than 40 percent of the county's residents. (To the right is a population density map of Northwest Indiana. Lake County is visible in the upper left corner and you can see that the most populous areas are crammed at the top.) Moreover, Gary and Hammond are the fifth and sixth largest cities in the state.

It's in the city clerk's offices in these three towns that the Democratic members of the Lake County Board of Elections wanted to open up satellite voting centers. After all, it's about an hour roundtrip drive to Crown Point from any of them.

But on September 24, the two Republican members of the elections board voted against doing so. Their explanation is that Lake County Democratic chairman Rudy Clay made an agreement early in the year with GOP chairman John Corley to allow satellite voting during the state's presidential primary, but not during the general election. Why wouldn't the Republicans want residents of these three towns to have easier access to early voting in the weeks leading up to this historic election? Because they're heavily minority, heavily low-income, and heavily Democratic.

http://progressillinois.com/2008/10/04/lake-county-voter-supression

[JPZenger]

1. May be GOP challenges of voters in foreclosure

Here's an article about possible GOP challenges of voters in Indiana if the voter received a notice of foreclosure:

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081003/NEWS0502/810030478/1008/LOCAL19

Excerpts:

"Democratic Party and county election officials want to make sure that the high number of foreclosures in Marion County won't mean that people such as Stewart, already down on their luck, lose their vote, too. Democrats are concerned that Republican officials in Marion County and elsewhere might use home foreclosure lists as a way to challenge the residency of voters at the polls. The campaign of presidential candidate Barack Obama filed a lawsuit to keep the Michigan GOP from doing just that.

County GOP Chairman Tom John said foreclosure opens the door to a residency challenge, but he said his party has no plans to pursue such challenges. However, he wouldn't rule it out. "We might end up challenging on that," he said. "It's entirely possible. I think it would be a solid basis for asking someone to vote provisionally."

Marion County Clerk Beth White said she does not believe foreclosure is a valid reason for a challenge. "A notice of foreclosure is not legal proof that someone doesn't live in their home," White said. "I think this tactic can be used to embarrass or intimidate voters or slow down the process."

Indiana and most other states have a so-called "fail-safe" provision that allows residents to return to their old precinct to vote as long as they still live in the same county and congressional district. Those voters can fill out an affidavit and cast a regular ballot. On the other hand, people who have moved to a new country or congressional district must have updated their registration forms to vote."