Comments on: Neighborhood Watch

Neighborhood Watch

jayCampbell — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:31:01 -0800

Project Vote 2008 aims to repair "vote caging" [discussed previously] by compiling Google spreadsheets of affected households. Check your own status, and alert friends or neighbors you find there that their voter registration status is at risk for "alleged or actual deficiencies."

(Our own asavage calls it "cool and important")

By: rokusan

rokusan — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:37:49 -0800

Why do these efforts always seem to arise a couple of months before a big election, when it's far far far too late to matter? Caging, purges, rigged machines... if there was a concerted and funded effort behind this right now, maybe it could be fixed by 2012, you know? Maybe.

By: rokusan

rokusan — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:38:19 -0800

(And, I meant to say, why do they seem to vanish a few months after each election. Do they really fade away, or does the spotlight just dim?)

By: Lizc

Lizc — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:42:59 -0800

does this site load for anyone else?

By: mullingitover

mullingitover — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:46:20 -0800

Lizc writes "does this site load for anyone else?" Down for everyone, or just me?

By: alexei

alexei — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:58:45 -0800

Seems like sending a postcard to each address would be a pretty simple process for someone with the equipment, with a cost of ~10000 * $0.40 = roughly $4000? Has anyone done this?

By: cjorgensen

cjorgensen — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:01:59 -0800

Hey, looks like every vote in Iowa will count, since none are on the list!

By: oneirodynia

oneirodynia — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:05:38 -0800

Why do these efforts always seem to arise a couple of months before a big election, when it's far far far too late to matter? Because they are often done in secret, by stupid, incompetent, or evil registrars. It's not easy to find out about them in advance, which is part of the reason why the Obama campaign has put up voteforchange.com. Not only does it help inform people about how and where they should be voting, but people can find out before they go to the polls if they are not on the rolls for some reason. It buys a little time. Caging, purges, rigged machines... if there was a concerted and funded effort behind this right now, maybe it could be fixed by 2012, you know? Maybe. There's actually a federal law that makes it illegal to do voter purges within 90 days of an election. But you're right, in reality the effort to combat this is hardly concerted. The fact that voting rules are so different state to state is a weird thing. However, I'm not really ready to give up the liberal voting laws here in California in order to push through some compromised bill at the federal level. I suspect that's why national voting registration hasn't happened yet.

By: stavrogin

stavrogin — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:11:14 -0800

I'm utterly discombobulated to find that Florida, that bastion of voter rights, has the most rejected registrations.

By: yhbc

yhbc — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:12:52 -0800

Down for me too, even though mullingitover's link says it is up. Do they just not like IE, perhaps?

By: mathowie

mathowie — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:26:54 -0800

By: rtha

rtha — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:28:33 -0800

"A Republican official in Michigan has filed a defamation suit against an independent news site, over a story in which he is quoted as stating his party plans to challenge voters whose names and addresses appear on foreclosure lists. "We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren't voting from those addresses," James Carabelli, the chairman of the Macomb County Republican Party is quoted as saying in the Michigan Messenger in an article published September 10. Just a few days after the article was published, Carabelli back-tracked on his statement, telling the Macomb Daily that the party has "no plans to do anything." Later, he issued a full-throated denial, calling the original article "not true.""

By: Blazecock Pileon

Blazecock Pileon — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:30:21 -0800

Seems like sending a postcard to each address would be a pretty simple process for someone with the equipment, with a cost of ~10000 * $0.40 = roughly $4000? Has anyone done this? Direct-to-mail marketers?

By: oneirodynia

oneirodynia — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:47:22 -0800

It's a bummer some of the states don't have data up and the registration deadline is Monday, and here we are on Friday wanting to see some data (I want to call friends in Indiana if they're on the list, but the list doesn't seem to exist). You can have them double check their registration on Vote for Change. Info on Indiana from Black Box voting: "HERE'S WHERE THE HEAVIEST PURGES ARE: Lake 137,164 48% (Gary) Porter 124,958 115% (Valparaiso) Marion 68,120 10% (Indianapolis) Monroe 66,009 85% (Bloomington) Tippecanoe 53,456 58% Madison 42,952 47% (Anderson) Hamilton 42,325 26% The percentage represents the ratio of the number of purges to the current voter list. Example: If a location currently has 100,000 voters on its rolls, and purged 53,000 along the way, we assign a ratio of 53% to the purge vs. current list."

By: LobsterMitten

LobsterMitten — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:30:15 -0800

Surely local newspapers, churches, etc in those areas could stand to get a short letter explaining this.

By: flibbertigibbet

flibbertigibbet — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:26:26 -0800

How can you purge 115% of the voter list (as in Valparaiso)?

By: wildcrdj

wildcrdj — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:44:58 -0800

How can you purge 115% of the voter list (as in Valparaiso)? They purged 143701 voters. Now they have 124,958, so by the calculation as described above, that's 115% of their current voter roll. (IOW, the confusing part is they looked at the current number of voters, and then did the calculation of % based off the number of purged voters compared to the number of current voters).

By: thirteenkiller

thirteenkiller — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:16:32 -0800

oneirodynia's numbers are from a May 2008 blog post referencing April data. It's not new information and possibly not a malicious Republican maneuver in anticipation of the upcoming presidential election.

By: Mister_A

Mister_A — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:12:19 -0800

Hey, that is pretty cool. I do not appear to be on a list, which is a bit of a pity as I enjoy a good fight.

By: HopperFan

HopperFan — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:19:01 -0800

"Columbus County (list #1) Columbus County (list #2)" There's no Columbus County in Ohio - maybe they meant Franklin? It's not a downloadable spreadsheet yet, though.

By: oneirodynia

oneirodynia — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:46:12 -0800

oneirodynia's numbers are from a May 2008 blog post referencing April data. I wonder how many of the million found out and re-registered, and how many will be surprised on Election Day. It's not like they send a note. It's not new information and possibly not a malicious Republican maneuver in anticipation of the upcoming presidential election. The April before a November presidential election seems as good a time as any to purge voters, if that's when you have the opportunity to do so. I'm not sure what being Republican has to do with anything- do they hibernate until late May, or something?

By: hattifattener

hattifattener — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 21:45:31 -0800

rokusan, I think it's the latter. People simply don't pay as much attention when there isn't a major vote coming up. Maybe in May people just assume that there's plenty of time for shenanigans to be rectified before November.

By: batmonkey

batmonkey — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:02:31 -0800

On Vote for Change, I tried using it to update my registration but it stays jammed up on the registration address page. At one point when I tried to go back to see if it was a lack of info elsewhere, it opened the "you're almost ready to absentee vote" screen...other than that, it just hangs out on the other page and mocks me :(

By: halcyon_daze

halcyon_daze — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 08:40:17 -0800

batmonkey, you can't use voteforchange.com to update your info in any official capacity. If you have moved to a new address, you need to update your information with your local/state Board of Elections.

By: batmonkey

batmonkey — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 17:11:28 -0800

I understand that, halcyon_daze; thank you. I was using the tool as intended to get a pre-completed registration form printed off. It's one of the several features of the tool. Also probably should have updated that I did get it to work and now have my convenient form with full instructions ready to take in tomorrow morning. Woo-hoo!

By: cashman

cashman — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 07:12:18 -0800

Good site. I may have missed where it's explained, but how'd they get these?

By: homunculus

homunculus — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:26:39 -0800

An op-ed by Montana's Republican lieutenant governor: Republicans crossed line with voter purge attempt

By: homunculus

homunculus — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 10:28:13 -0800

States' Actions to Block Voters Appear Illegal