Group Accused of High-Tech Dirty Tricks to Suppress Black Vote

cnredd · #1 (**permalink**) 05-02-2008, 03:07 AM

Quote:

A D.C. advocacy group called Women's Voices, Women Vote is being accused of waging a high-tech voter suppression campaign, after voters in predominantly black districts in North Carolina began receiving automated phone calls implying that they hadn't properly registered to vote in the upcoming Democratic primary.

The controversy underscores the mounting tension in the Democratic primary race. Polling in North Carolina currently favors Barack Obama over rival Hillary Clinton for the May 6 Democratic presidential primary there. Blacks, who overwhelmingly favored Obama in primaries in Virginia and Maryland, make up about 22 percent of the population in North Carolina, according to the U.S. Census.

Voters began complaining to The Raleigh News & Observer last week that they were receiving the automated calls, which the paper reported were primarily going to black households. The calls play a 20-second message voiced by a man who calls himself "Lamont Williams."

"In the next few days, you will receive a voter-registration packet in the mail," the Williams recording said. "All you need to do is sign it, date it and return your application. Then you will be able to vote and make your voice heard. Please return the voter-registration form when it arrives. Thank you."

The recording does not identify the group behind the calls. But what most concerned some recipients of the calls is that they had already registered to vote. And, notwithstanding the message's promise, the calls were placed well after the deadline for submitting a new registration.

The Institute for Southern Studies, a Durham, North Carolina nonprofit, investigated the mysterious calls and traced them to Women's Voices, Women Vote, a nonpartisan group dedicated to "improving unmarried women's participation in the electorate and policy process," according to the group's website. The organization has not endorsed a candidate.

Let me guess...

Someone will call this "a Republican trick"...

saltwn · #2 (**permalink**) 05-02-2008, 03:29 AM

So they're supposed to think it's too late to register and then not vote?
Sounds like a good excuse for same day registration to me.
I'm surprised they don't have that in N.C. already.

Spencer Collins · #3 (**permalink**) 05-02-2008, 03:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saltwn

So they're supposed to think it's too late to register and then not vote?
Sounds like a good excuse for same day registration to me.
I'm surprised they don't have that in N.C. already.

I was thinking the same thing..I thought every state had same day registration. In my state..you can still vote even if they can't find you in the register. However..that vote will not count until it can be verified within a certain date after the vote.In Michigan..you must have picture ID to vote but even if you are not registered at that time,you can still vote "with proper identification".

cnredd · #4 (**permalink**) 05-02-2008, 12:34 PM

Update: NC CUTS OFF SUSPICIOUS POLITICAL CALLS

Quote:

North Carolina's attorney general has put a halt to automated phone calls that told blacks to register to vote after the state's registration deadline for Tuesday's primary had passed.

The suspiciously timed calls were eventually linked to the left-leaning Women's Voices Women Vote group, which states as its mission signing up female voters to boost Democratic turnout.

Roy Cooper, the North Carolina AG, said this week he had put a stop to the calls, which spurred allegations that the women's group was trying to confuse black voters, who overwhelmingly support Barack Obama over Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The calls urged people to register, even though the deadline for the primary was April 11.

The group has said it was a genuine mistake, and that it was trying to boost turnout for November's general election.

Some bloggers had suggested it was done deliberately to boost Clinton, noting that her campaign manager, Maggie Williams, was once on the board of the women's group.

The group's leaders have insisted it was an unfortunate coincidence.

Genuine mistake?..."Unfortunate coincience"...

Quote:

So who is Women's Voices Women Vote, and why are they making shadowy and legally-questionable calls that are causing North Carolina voters so many headaches?

The D.C.-based nonprofit, led by well-connected Washington operatives, claims in a press release they sent to Facing South that the North Carolina calls are part of a 24-state effort targeted at a list of 3 million voters, especially unmarried women. The robo-calls, which never mention Women's Voices, are followed by mailings that include information on how to register to vote. They plan to mail some 276,000 packets in North Carolina alone.

But since last November, in at least 11 states nationwide, Women's Voices -- sometimes working through its Voter Participation Center project -- has developed a checkered reputation, drawing rebukes from leading election officials and complaints from thousands of would-be voters as a result of their secretive tactics, deceptive mailings and calls, and penchant for skirting or violating the law. For example:

* In Arizona last November, election officials were "inundated with complaints" after Women's Voices sent a mailing erroneously claiming that recipients were "required" to mail back an enclosed voter registration form. Many who received the mailing were already registered; the mailing also gave the wrong registration date. Secretary of State Jan Brewer denounced the group's tactics as "misleading and deceptive." A similar mailing in Colorado that month "[drew] fire and caused confusion," according to a state press release.

* In Wisconsin, state officials singled out Women's Voices for misleading and possibly disenfranchising voters, stating in a press release [PDF]: "One group in particular -- Women's Voices. Women Vote, of Washington, D.C. -- apparently ignored or disregarded state deadlines in seeking to register voters," sending in registrations past the January 30 deadline and causing "hundreds of Wisconsin voters who think they registered in advance" to actually not be.

* Michigan officials ended up "fielding tons of calls from confused voters" after Women's Voices did a February mailing to "380,000 unmarried women" -- including numerous deceased voters and even more that were already registered. Sarah Johnson of Women's Voices "seemed confused by the confusion," the Lansing State Journal reported.

* A 1.5 million-piece Women's Voices mailing in Florida falsely stated: "To comply with state voting requirements, please return the enclosed application." Pasco County's elections supervisor called it "disingenuous"; another said it created "a lot of unnecessary panic on behalf of the voters," reported local newspapers. Sarah Johnson of Women's Voice said, "I'm sorry to hear that."

* By March, Women's Voices was backing off the erroneous "registration is required" language, but there were still problems. For example, a mailing in Arkansas allowed that "registering to vote is voluntary," but a clerk in Washington County reported that "the majority [of forms] sent back to the county come from registered voters, causing needless labor for office employees."

Problems with the group's tactics have also been documented in Louisiana, Kentucky and Ohio.

saltwn · #5 (**permalink**) 05-02-2008, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cnredd

Update: NC CUTS OFF SUSPICIOUS POLITICAL CALLS

Genuine mistake?..."Unfortunate coincience"...

Sounds like at best some of the people tied to Hillary are inefficient. And that's one more thing that makes me back up about voting for her, much as I would love to see a woman in the white house.

cnredd · #6 (**permalink**) 05-02-2008, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saltwn

Sounds like at best some of the people tied to Hillary are inefficient. And that's one more thing that makes me back up about voting for her, much as I would love to see a woman in the white house.

I don't mind a woman in the white house...

I don't mind a black guy (or gal) in the white house...

I don't mind ANYONE in the white house...

As long as they're the BEST person still a candidate...

I would've voted for Colin Powell...I would've vote for a woman if we had a Margaret Thatcher-type...

Instead, we get Hillary & Obama...

saltwn · #7 (**permalink**) 05-02-2008, 05:40 PM

I'm looking at the candidates, but it is difficult with the way the news coverage is. I loath television now except for maybe movies and documentary stuff.
But when I am home for a long spell I will try and get in as many speeches on CSpan or whatever as I can and then I'll make my decision. Still leaning toward McCain, but I haven't ruled anybody out completely.

Spencer Collins · #8 (**permalink**) 05-02-2008, 08:45 PM

At this point,I'm not supporting anyone but I have ruled out McCain,Chuck Baldwin and Ralph Nader.I guess that narrows the field substantially.Can someone support the WoT and still vote for a Democrat? That is the dillema I am faced with. Fortunately..I still have time to think it over..

I envy my partisan friends who simply support the candidate of their party!

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