On Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:41:46 -0700 (PDT), Ramon F Herrera wrote:
> On Jun 10, 1:01 pm, Don Gabacho wrote:
>> [And Mexican Government functionaries allowed to go unpunished for
>> registering voters for U.S elections in, at least, Georgia?]
>>
>> Will Noncitizens Be Allowed to Vote in Georgia?
>> Written by Kurt Hyde
>> Monday, 08 June 2009 15:15
>>
>> Karen Handel, Georgia secretary of stateKaren Handel, Georgia secretary of
>> state, issued a scathing press release following a decision by the U.S.
>> Department of Justice to deny preclearance for Georgia's (already
>> implemented) plan to verify the legitimacy of its voter-registration lists,
>> including verifying whether or not applicants are U.S. citizens. Because
>> Georgia, like many other southern states, must pre-clear its voting
>> procedures with the U.S. Department of Justice, denial of preclearance
>> equates to denial of permission to do it.
>>
>> Before the 2008 elections, the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education
>> Fund (MALDEF) and the ACLU sued Georgia to stop the state from verifying
>> the citizenship status of people registering to vote. On October 16, 2008,
>> U.S. District Court Judge Jack Camp ruled that not only was Georgia allowed
>> to verify citizenship, but that it was required to do so to comply with the
>> Help America Vote Act.
>>
>> But Camp's decision was disregarded by the Obama Justice Department and the
>> voter verification shortcircuited through federal maneuvering. Secretary
>> Handel berated the U.S. Justice Department for opening the door to
>> fraudulent voting: "DOJ has thrown open the door for activist organizations
>> such as ACORN to register noncitizens to vote in Georgia's elections." She
>> also provided evidence that vote fraud was already happening. The results
>> of a mailing prior to the November 2008 general election to 4,771
>> voter-registration applicants whose records indicated they were not U.S.
>> citizens indicated that as of March 2009, 2,148 of these applicants have
>> still not resolved the question regarding their U.S. citizenship.
>>
>> And contrary to claims by the ACLU, the voter-verification process did not
>> result in citizens being unable to vote: "It is important to underscore
>> that not a single person has come forward to say he or she could not vote
>> because of the verification process."
>>
>> Secretary Handel vowed to continue the fight for verification of
>> citizenship of voter registrations. She said she will consider every
>> option available to the state including the possibility of legal action.
>>
>> If the state of Georgia does decide to pursue legal action to defend its
>> right to verify citizenship on voter-registration applications, they will
>> find support in the United States Constitution. In Article I, Section 4,
>> the Constitution says, "The times, places and manner of holding elections,
>> for Senators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the
>> Legislature thereof, but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter
>> such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators." The
>> federal power described in this provision — to "make or alter" regulations
>> pertaining to "the times, places and manner of holding elections," was
>> clearly delegated to Congress, not to the president. (The DOJ is a
>> cabinet-level position that answers to the president.)
>>
>> Moreover, this power was to be used only in extraordinary circumstances
>> necessary to the safety of the federal government, and not in a mode of
>> prior restraint. This provision in the U.S. Constitution was troubling to
>> many people at the initial founding of our Republic. The anti-Federalists
>> (those people against ratifying the Constitution, fearing that it would
>> give the national government too much power) even proposed an amendment
>> curbing such authority unless the state in question was neglectful or was
>> disabled by invasion or rebellion (The Anti-Federalist Papers by Ralph
>> Ketchum, page 224). This proposed amendment was never passed; it was deemed
>> unnecessary because of the intent of Article I, Section 4, which was
>> explained in The Federalist Papers, notably Federalist Paper #59 authored
>> by Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton explained that this provision in the U.S.
>> Constitution "reserved to the national authority a right to interpose
>> whatever extraordinary circumstances might render that interposition
>> necessary to its safety." Hamilton added further, "Suppose an article had
>> been introduced into the Constitution empowering the United States to
>> regulate the elections for the particular States, would any man have
>> hesitated to condemn it, both as an unwarrantable transposition of power
>> and as a premeditated engine for the destruction of the State governments?"
>>
>> The 14th Amendment, which federal courts have cited to rationalize rulings
>> expanding federal powers over the states, provides: "No state shall make or
>> enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of
>> citizens of the United States." (Emphasis added.) Of course, "noncitizens"
>> are not "citizens," and the states cannot possibly "abridge the privileges
>> or immunities of citizens of the United States" by taking precautions to
>> prevent noncitizens from voting.
>>
>> The states have the right to verify voter registrations, not only as they
>> are submitted but also to verify them at any time to eliminate honest
>> mistakes as well fraud. Purging fraudulent voter registrations has played a
>> key role in American history in toppling corrupt politicians such as Boss
>> Tweed of Tammany Hall infamy. If we want to protect ourselves from corrupt
>> politicians and/or dishonest elections, we must jealously guard the right
>> of the states to verify voter registrations.
>>
>> http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/election/1207
>>
>> http://snipurl.com/judl5
>
> The root of the problem is that there are some states ("States of
> Shame" should be called) whose electoral polices have been so
> blatantly racist, that they have been punished by having Washington's
> overlook. They cannot change a comma in their electoral laws without
> the approval of more civilized citizens.
>
> It serves them right, for being part of the asshole states.
>
> We Yankees are invading them again, in the 21st. century style.
>
> Barney should stop winning, or else we will include Missouri in the
> list.
>
> -Ramon The Yankee Victor
>
> NB: YV (Yankee Victor) is the international designation for Venezuelan
> airplanes. The US uses the "N" prefix.
Jackass:
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
The U.S. Supreme Court has decided not to hear an appeal to the
oft-challenged Georgia law that requires voters to show photo ID before
they vote.
The move on Monday means a January 2009 ruling by a three-judge panel of
the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the state's voter ID law
is final.
Critics have long tried to block the law, claiming it places an undue
burden on poor, disabled people and minorities.
But Gov. Sonny Perdue called the decision a "victory for ensuring fair
elections."
Secretary of State Karen Handel says the voter ID law helps prevent voter
fraud.
"Today's denial of yet another challenge to our common-sense photo ID law
represents a long-fought victory for Georgia voters and the security of our
elections," Handel said.
She noted that nearly 4 million residents cast ballots last year with the
new law in place.
Laughlin McDonald, director of the ACLU voting rights project, said the
court's decision was no surprise: The Supreme Court doesn't hear many cases
in the first place and recently upheld a similar case from Indiana.
The next step for voter ID opponents would be legislative, McDonald said,
but that would have to take place in Congress.
"I don't think the state of Georgia … will change its mind," he said.
A second lawsuit over voter ID is still in the state courts. The Georgia
Democratic Party sued Handel before the 2008 election, but a Superior Court
judge denied the party's request for an injunction.
http://www.ajc.com/services/content/printedition/2009/06/09/vote0609.html
http://snipurl.com/judep |