Republican vote-thieves reach new depths

Lots of news on the vote suppression front.

In the past, I have used temperate language when referring to Republicans. But the latest atrocities against democracy have repulsed me so thoroughly, I no longer recognize the humanity of the criminals responsible. And I have the same disdain for their complacent -- complicit? -- leadership.

Pennsylvania: GOP scumbags, using what appeared to be authentic county stationery, sent out a leaflet informing Republicans to vote on November 2 and Democrats a day later.

Also, students signing what they thought was a medical marijuana petition are told that they have registered as Republicans.

Colorado: The state's HAVA (Help America Vote Act) compliance director, Drew Durham, turns out to be a racist of the vilest sort. (I wonder if this guy is any relation to the infamous Doug Durham, who infiltrated the American Indian Movement in the 1970s? Both hail from Texas...)

Also, someone has been sending in registration forms for people who have already registered; the affected voter can be challenged at the polls.

Florida (AIEEE!): In Jacksonville, A Republican supervisor allowed just one (1) poll booth to service a large minority population. Worse, the booth was placed downtown, in a location with miniscule parking facilities.

I may not have mentioned in a previous column (as I should have) that a "smoking e-mail" implicates Jeb Bush himself in the voter suppression effort.

This story has more on Broward county's "accidentally" missing 58,000 ballots. Previously, the loss was blamed on a "post office error." The new spin: Florida is just "too big" to pull off an election. Worse, only 14,000 of the missing ballots will be re-shipped. 58,000 - 14,000 = 44,000 Floridians robbed of their right to vote.

Ohio: Sub-human Republican monsters have sent registered letters to Democratic voters. When the letters were rejected, the Republicans argued that the person no longer lived at that address, and therefore was no longer eligible to vote.

This tactic seems to have backfired. See the trail transcript here.

Also, in Lake County, Republican criminals have sent out fake "official" letters to new registrants informing them their registrations were illegal, rendering them unable to vote.

Voters in Ohio's largest county, Cuyahoga, have to wrestle with a butterfly ballot that makes the infamous one in Florida back in 2000 seem like a model of simplicity. Arrows were printed "by mistake." Designing a ballot is not rocket science; we have good reason to suspect that such "mistakes" are intentional.

Wisconsin: In Milwaukee, racist Republican pigs sent out a leaflet from an alleged "Milwaukee Black Voters League." The pamphlet warns:

If you've already voted in any election this year you can't vote in the presidential election. If you've ever been found guilty of anything, even a traffic violation you can't vote in the presidential election.

Moreover: "If you violate any of these laws you will get ten years in prison and your children will get taken away from you."

Minnesota: Looks like Sproul was up to its usual shenanigans in this state too, paying workers to fetch Republican registrations while discouraging Democratic registrations.

Nationwide: Republicans are not only trying to intimidate blacks who want to vote, they are also confronting the disabled.

The right-wing press continues its disinformation campaign to convince the easily-brainwashed that it's the Democrats who have perpetrated vote fraud.

And we haven't even begun to discuss the horrors of computerized voting without a paper trail. I highly recommend downloading the documentary "Votergate."

Here's the topper: The Bush administration now claims that only the Justice Department -- and not the voters themselves -- may sue to enforce the voting rights set out in the Help America Vote Act!