Left In Lowell

Forclosure Caging Lawsuit Settled… Did the DNC Cave?

by Mr. Lynne at 9:20 am.

It seems that the RNC and DNC settled the DNC lawsuit on the GOPs plan to use foreclosures to challenge voters at the polls.

The Michigan Messenger:

Here is the text of the joint statement released by the parties in the case:

“Obama for America, the Democratic National Committee and individual Macomb County residents have alleged that the Republican National Committee, the Michigan Republican Party and the Macomb County Republican Party were planning to use foreclosure lists to challenge certain voters on Election Day. The Republicans have denied the allegations and have stated that they never intended to challenge voters based on any such list. To clarify the matter for all voters, all parties are pleased that they agree that the existence of a person’s address on a foreclosure list does not provide a reasonable basis for challenging the person’s eligibility to vote and that none of these parties will challenge any voter’s eligibility on that basis.”

Both sides agreed to dismiss the case with prejudice, which means it cannot be re-filed.

But here is the sticky wicket:

Michigan law does not require the challenger to reveal the source of the information on which a voter is challenged, which means the GOP can simply incorporate the foreclosure lists into a larger challenge list and use that larger list at the polls to challenge voters. The DNC’s attorney seems to think they wouldn’t dare do that now after agreeing in court that this is not a valid reason to challenge a voter. I’m not convinced.

What do you think? Would they dare? I’m betting that weeks after the election, someone will either find (either from outside investigation or internal leaks) that there was a ‘mistake’ in that the foreclosure list wasn’t successfully perged from the overall list.

[Filed under National Politics, Voting, Democratic Politics, Election '08] [link]

3 Responses to “Forclosure Caging Lawsuit Settled… Did the DNC Cave?”

waittilnextyr Says:
October 21st, 2008 at 8:04 pm
The concern must be those voters who are intimidated or discouraged by challenges and long lines to the extent they take a pass on election day.
kpem Says:
October 21st, 2008 at 11:00 pm
I don’t get that. The law says that people that are homeless have a right to designate a place their home so they can vote. Is this any different? Who gets to take away this most precious right? I hope that means that they will be using those foreclosure lists in states like Arizona and Kentucky not just in Chicago?
Mr. Lynne Says:
October 22nd, 2008 at 7:47 am
There are rumbling that PA will be the battleground state for long lines and challenges. From Digby:

… But perhaps it’s this:

The state Republican Party filed an injunction Friday against Secretary of the Commonwealth Pedro Cortes and ACORN, alleging a fair vote on Nov. 4 is impossible because of rampant voter fraud.

The injunction signals a step up in action against ACORN, which for weeks has been the recipient of attacks from the state GOP and John McCain’s presidential campaign.

At a press conference in the Capitol, state GOP Chairman Bob Gleason Jr. said the sheer number of registrations submitted by ACORN has overwhelmed many county election offices and the state department has not provided the local bureaus with enough support.

“I am not confident we can trust the results of this election,” Gleason said.

We all know this is absurd, completely absurd. But maybe it’s the last thing McCain can cling to. Consider that:

• Pennsylvania does not have early voting, and absentee voting is restricted.
• Unlike Minnesota and Wisconsin, Pennsylvania doesn’t have same-day registration.

So voting is concentrated on Election Day, and the state GOP is trying to make the election illegitimate.

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October 21, 2008

Forclosure Caging Lawsuit Settled… Did the DNC Cave?

3 Responses to “Forclosure Caging Lawsuit Settled… Did the DNC Cave?”

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