Florida counties receiving fraudulent letters expect DOJ to investigate

Florida Today reports on the false “fishy” letters to registered Republicans attempting to suppress their vote.

Since Friday, elections officials in 14 other counties — including
neighboring Indian River, Orange and Volusia — reported similar
incidents of voters receiving suspicious, official-looking mail alleging
that they are potentially ineligible to vote.

Scott
said the only pattern that elections officials discovered so far is
that all but one of the voters who received the letters are registered Republicans, with the other voter not enrolled in a political party, and all of them consistently vote in elections.

Scott said she expects the U.S. Department of Justice to be part of the investigation.

It appears the counties expect the Department of Justice to respond quickly and investigate the illegal letters.

Georgia Democrat courts Republicans after remap

With the few remaining southern Blue Dog Democrats struggling to survive in North Carolina and Georgia, they better put a few in a zoo before the last one vanishes.

Barrow’s 12th District in eastern Georgia has been a swing seat since he
first won election in 2004. but the stakes are different this year as
he seeks a fifth term. Republican lawmakers redrew the lines of Barrow’s
district last year to cut out Savannah, his home and a huge part of his
Democratic base.  Link to full story

“Tennessee Voter ID Ruling Could Come Next Week”



In contrast to the slow-walking and delayed decisions in cases that eventually and predictably upheld voter ID (or soon will), an expedited decision is expected by Tennessee’s Court of Appeals, where action is required to block voter ID implementation prior to November 6:


 


The city of Memphis filed a lawsuit after the state decided city library cards were not considered valid picture IDs.  New state law requires voters to show a valid state or federal ID to cast a ballot. A court of appeals will decide if the law is valid, and whether library cards are acceptable.


 


“There is just no evidence in this record that this condition, the requirement of a photo ID for these plaintiffs, is oppressive or impossible,” said Janet Kleinfelter, state attorney.

Another DOJ Settlement Contrary to the MOVE Act

The Justice Department has settled the military voting lawsuit with Vermont.  Once again, as in other settlements, the remedy is one that Congress specifically rejected as part of the MOVE Act.  More time is being added for ballots to be counted. 

But Congress specifically looked at this possibility in 2009 and rejected it.  Congress passed a law that said ballots must mail out 45 days in advance, period.  Then when that doesn’t happen, Justice moves slowly to prepare a lawsuit.  Weeks later, Justice sues, instead of immediately.  Then the remedies almost always incorporate a solution that Congress rejected.

The problem lies within DOJ where there is a tolerance for ballots mailing late dating to the pre-Move days.  There is an acceptance of extra time as an acceptable remedy, even though Congress did not view extra time as a solution. 

The solution is an enforcement scheme which is ready to pounce on an offending states with swiftness, days not weeks, instead of the leisurely pace that has characterized MOVE enforcement the last to federal cycles.  Stay tuned.