Ohio

"The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully extracted from Nature, of the greatest minds that ever were, with the best teachers, drawn from the entire planet and from all our history, to instruct us without tiring, and to inspire us to make our own contribution to the collective knowledge of the human species. I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries." -- Carl Sagan, Cosmos

Last Friday afternoon, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland (D) announced his new budget proposal for the upcoming year. The proposal cuts approximately three billion dollars from the budget, a necessity due to the state's current fiscal troubles. In doing so, he made a few observations:

[The budget] prioritizes extremely limited resources toward critical health and safety services to provide for the greatest number of vulnerable Ohioans during this difficult time.

And, perhaps most important, this framework positions Ohio for the job creation needed for near-term recovery and for long-term economic growth after the recovery. We have a shared responsibility to make the decisions necessary to maintain a balanced budget without crippling the state's growth and economic progress. So my balanced budget framework calls for continued investments in a reformed system of education, which is the key to Ohio's economic revival.

Our schools must provide a world-class education for every child and teach the critical thinking and problem-solving skills that businesses tell us they look for in the people they hire. Our system of education does not do this now, and delaying this is not an option.

[...]

...In order to balance the budget we must reduce services that Ohioans have needed and received in the past but the state can no longer continue to provide. But in reducing these services, we must minimize the impact on our most vulnerable, especially children, the elderly and disabled.

Second, we must continue to prioritize education for economic growth. The jobs of the future will go where world-class schools produce highly-trained, highly-skilled workers. Postponing education reform will only hold Ohio back.

This has been a difficult choice for me but I believe a necessary one. It is contrary to what I ever thought I would have to do. Still, after looking at an array of choices before me and the state legislature, I have concluded this is the best course of action to meet our balanced budget obligations.

Before we go any further, I want to make clear that I respect the grave status of Ohio's fiscal health. Consequently, I acknowledge that Strickland's had to make some tough decisions that are never going to be popular. I am puzzled and saddened, though, by one particular piece of Strickland's budget proposal - the drastic cut in state library funding.

In order to get to his three billion in savings, Strickland has proposed that $112 million be cut from state library funds. While that sounds large, that's the tip of the iceberg. State libraries were already bracing for a hit due to a decrease in state tax receipts thanks to the economic mess. By state law, libraries receive 2.2 percent of tax revenues, so if the state's tax collections are plentiful, libraries do well in the budget; if they shrink, libraries' funding decreases. Before Strickland announced his proposal, Ohio libraries were already expecting an eighteen percent cut (from the expected $464 million to $365 million). But as mentioned earlier, Strickland's plan would take off an additional $112 million, leaving Ohio libraries with $253 million -- a 45 percent decrease, and a fatal blow to libraries across the state.

I'm puzzled at this decision to gut library funding mainly because of Strickland's non-stop talk of improving the quality of education in Ohio since he campaigned for governor. In fact, one can see in the excerpt from his speech provided above that he continues to mention his desire to develop an educational system in Ohio that results in graduates getting quality jobs to participate in a strong economy. But how can one rely on a strong educational system to build a state's economy when the laboratories of this educational system -- the state's libraries -- are being slaughtered? A library is the best chance for a child to develop that spark -- the love to learn -- that leads to great accomplishments, providing our state and our country with so many bright minds. A comment made today on Governor Strickland's Facebook crystallized the point: "Isn't it ironic that our library proudly has hanging a poster of you, Governor Strickland, holding a book, promoting literacy. The proposed further cut to library funding is a travesty!" Wall messages like this one continue to pour in expressing disappointment, and it's because of the mixed signals Strickland is sending to Ohioans -- big talk of reforming Ohio education, while taking the money that solidifies this revitalization away from a crucial piece of the effort.

But it's not just the confusion of mixed signals. What's really depressing about this proposal is his failure to recognize libraries as a vital tool in communities battling the recession. A few months ago, I wrote of the importance libraries carry in our communities, especially during hard economic times:

Libraries offer those less fortunate in the community that free access to meeting rooms, technology, printing services, an audio/video rental program, and simply, a place to gather (if quietly). Libraries are also an essential part of that ideal rooted in the American dream, that one can pull him/herself up by their bootstraps, given strong support from the community. The values of life-long learning and independent education are represented in a community library. Furthermore, libraries offer us the information we need in making educated decisions about political candidates and issues.

Unfortunately we're seeing funding for libraries cut all over the country, as lawmakers see it as easy way to get budgets back in check, because many libraries serve this role in an understated manner. In reality, though, libraries form a central role in our economic crisis. Money Magazine, in 2005, noted that nowhere else is someone going to enjoy free access to technology, important information using that technology, and "experts" to assist them in finding this information and sorting through it. Yet another example of an efficient use of resources.

Strickland's big mistake here is to lay all of the burden on an institution that is prepared to do more to help those impacted by this rough economy than any other state-funded entity. Now, if the library portion of Strickland's proposal is approved by the State House and Senate, the only hope many libraries will have to survive will lie with a library levy -- not exactly the most popular thing on the ballot in these times. The reality is that many smaller libraries will be forced to close. While there will be jobs lost all across the state, perhaps the saddest thing will be the signal to our children. Do we really want our children to grow up knowing that, when it came down to hard decisions, the "village" raising them decided against investing in their future?

And perhaps the most unsettling question. Those already having lost their jobs - where do they go? Cutting funding for our libraries pulls the plug on their futures, as many of them rely on their community libraries to rebuild their futures. When libraries are needed the most in Ohio (as evidenced by soaring circulation numbers during recessions), their future is the darkest. It can't just be me that doesn't get that.

As progressives, we owe it to ourselves to claim what we believe to be the most important of our civic institutions. As young progressives, we have a responsibility to see to it that in times of turmoil, we increase investment in our youth instead of cutting and running. If we all have a concern for our future, as Mr. Sagan suggested above, we'll be sure to fight for Ohio's libraries, especially if you're reading this from the Buckeye State.

The urgency in this post is there because the State House and Senate need to finish the reconciliation process by June 30th -- next week! So acting now is important.

If you're an Ohioan, find your representative and senator here.

Ted Strickland's Facebook page

The Ohio Library Council

I can't think of a better person than Secretary Jennifer Brunner to speak out about this issue. She understands more about the unbelievable disenfranchisement of young voters face than many and has dedicated her work in the Ohio SOS office to ensuring every citizen of her state who can vote is able to vote.

Please RT this video:
RT @SAVEvoting Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner Supports the Student Voter Act http://tinyurl.com/d34wcm

And please take a minute to push this around facebook to encourage more Secretaries of State to support it as well. THANKS!

I've had this problem lately. After coming of age in the middle of Republican dominance, having to read about GOP legislative victories over bad policy, the trampling of civil liberties, and the prosecution of inept wars, the political events of 2008 and 2009 still seem like something of a dream to me. This week, as I was reading the Youngstown Vindicator, a regional newspaper covering my hometown, I saw another surprise -- an education policy that is innovative and progressive!

The governor wants to expand the school year by 20 days to an average of 200 days over the next 10 years.

Strickland ... is also calling for the end of “the outdated practice of giving our most impressionable students only a half-day of learning. Ohio will now require universal all-day kindergarten.” The governor also called for the end of the Ohio graduation test and replace it with the ACT college entrance test and “three additional measures.”

Those measures are: statewide ‘end of course’ exams, complete a service learning project, and submit a senior project.

“Students will, of course, continue to learn the timeless core subjects like math and science that are critical to their success,” he said at today’s State of the State address. “But we will also add new topics including global awareness and life skills to the curriculum. And we will use teaching methods that foster creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving, communication and collaboration, media literacy, leadership and productivity, cultural awareness, adaptability and accountability.”

Strickland said his proposed two-year budget will increase the state’s share of the cost of school funding and reduce the reliance on property tax.

Governor Strickland is also aiming to improve the quality of teachers in the classroom in Ohio with an innovative residency program.

...“Just as future doctors begin their careers under the watchful eye of an experienced colleague, we will give our new teachers the benefit of thoughtful guidance from an accomplished senior teacher. After a four-year residency, successful candidates will earn their professional teaching license.”

Since August, I've been discussing the need for elementary and high school curriculum to go beyond the trendy math and hard sciences that not-so-qualified teachers try to teach. And now here comes Strickland with policy that would educate students as if they're -- surprise! -- future citizens of a country that is facing sustained competition. Understanding global languages and culture is going to be more important than ever as we move forward. It's not just about jobs, and Strickland seems to recognize that here.

Bumped. Thanks to Project Vote for two great and relevant diaries while I'm away for the holiday. --Mike

The United States saw dramatic increases in voting from traditionally underrepresented groups, including minorities and young voters, according to a new analysis released this week by Project Vote. If borne out by systematic analysis of the voter rolls, this change in the electorate is evidence of the power of successful voter registration drives and an indication of the strong inclination of voters to participate in the process when candidates address their issues.

Countering the conventional wisdom that the voting population on November 4 did not change as dramatically as predicted, the analysis, The Demographics of Voters in America’s 2008 General Election: A Preliminary Assessment, demonstrates that African-Americans, Latinos, and young voters cast millions more ballots in 2008 than in 2004.

“The analysis estimated that about 5.8 million more minorities voted in this year's presidential election than in 2004, while nearly 1.2 million fewer whites went to the polls,” wrote Greg Gordon of McClatchy Newspapers. “The figures appear to reflect the success of Project Vote and other liberal voter registration groups in registering millions of young, poor, elderly and minority Americans to vote in recent election cycles.”

According to the analysis, African-Americans cast nearly three million more ballots nationwide in 2008 than in 2004—an increase of 21 percent. The total votes cast by Latinos went up by 16 percent—more than 1.5 million—and young Americans aged 18-29 cast 1.8 million more votes, a nine percent increase. That the overall totals did not increase significantly compared to 2004 was in part due to a decrease in voting by white voters.

In addition to presenting an analysis of ballots cast from the United States as a whole, the memo by Project Vote consultant and Ph.D. candidate Jody Herman and Barnard College political science professor Lorraine Minnite examines several key states in detail, including Colorado, Florida, Missouri, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

The Project Vote data is preliminary, and does not speak to “turnout,” which is traditionally a measure of the percentage of the voting-eligible population that shows up to vote. Project Vote expects to release a full report on turnout in the 2008 election in 2009 when government survey data on the voting-eligible population comes available. Yet, this preliminary analysis indicates that a significant shift occurred this year.

“There is no doubt that this surge in voting by Americans of color and young people had a powerful impact on the outcome of the election,” said Michael Slater, executive director of Project Vote, in a press release issued today.

“Separate opinion polls and election results themselves indicate that an overwhelming majority of African-Americans and Latinos backed Obama,” according to Gordon.

“Thus, the appearance of an African-American presidential candidate with a sympathetic message may have prompted the nation's minorities to vote at levels approaching white voters -- if final state vote counts do not upend Project Vote's figures,” wrote AlterNet's Steve Rosenfeld last week. “Its findings also suggest the U.S. electorate is not an inflexible assembly of voting constituencies, but has segments that are mobilized -- or demobilized -- depending on the year, candidate and message,”

In an email exchange with Rosenfeld, Frank Sharry, executive director of pro-immigration reform group, America's Voice, said “neither the turnout increase among Latinos -- nor the swing in support to Democrats -- were surprising.”

“Telling people you don't like them and don't want them is not a winning electoral strategy,” wrote Sharry. “But that is what the Republican Party has been saying to immigrants, Latino immigrants in particular, for the past four years. No surprise, then, that record numbers of Latinos turned out in 2008 and that the swing away from Republicans to Democrats among Latino immigrants in particular was dramatic.”

Note: The following entry is part of an on-going series of content that I am producing as part of the Millennials Changing America tour. The tour, which is taking place between October and December of 2008, is traveling to over 30 cities throughout the US and attempting to collect as many on-the-ground stories about millennials-in-action as possible.

White Wine, White Supremacy, and late night cell phone connections.

My conversation with Anima LaVoy, founder and executive director of Swing Semester, has been somewhat long in the making. After missing an opportunity to meet with her in Washington, DC and Cincinnati, Ohio, and after an eventual realization that our paths will again just miss crossing in Seattle, and then again later back in the East Coast, Anima and I finally connected late last evening. For her, working in Cincinnati, it was just about 11 and she had been leaving a series of planning meetings. "I just had a couple of glasses of white wine," she explained. "This is a really honest opportunity for an interview."

On my end, passing through North Dakota, I was just returning to the motel from a truck stop diner where an old man told me about his son receiving two life sentences back in the 80s for being at a meeting that sounded like it was somehow related to a militia movement and a domestic terror plot ("ideas that were popular at the time"); how, despite serving in the military, he tells young people not to join as it is soiled with corruption (along with the church - an opinion he hesitantly held, as he is a God-fearing man); and how the Aryan Nation has some pretty good ideas, though people just have a hard time hearing "the truth." It was nearing midnight, I was ready to pass out, but, in addition to near-misses country-wide, Anima and I had finally connected after nearly 20 rounds of phone tag.

"Quakers, Universalist Unitarians and Jews are on the cutting edge."

Despite growing up in Washington, DC, where her mother worked in politics, Anima, now 27, would find that she didn't much care for the subject until 2003. "I had realized that I was dissatisfied with the Bush Administration and I wanted to do something." She grew passionate, angry, and driven, but she hadn't really paid much attention to the political landscape until that moment. She was soon exposed to the concept of the swing state: "It was from that vantage point that I would see myself in Indiana and realize that as a liberal white Christian, my vote didn't really mean much. I was really seething about Bush at that point, but I wasn't quite sure what to do."

After some research into the mechanics of the modern swing state phenomenon, Anima rallied hard, gathered her friends, folks from her school, and in related networks (she notes how lucky she was to be connected with Quaker school networks, as, half tongue-in-cheek, she claims that "Quakers, Universalist Unitarians, and Jews are on the cutting edge [of progressive political organizing]"), and she fired up as many people as she could to move to Ohio and work for progressive political advocacy groups and organizations. She worked to find statewide host families for the newly change-oriented, and she hooked them up with jobs at organizations like the NAACP, ACT, and other organizations peripherally interested in a Kerry win. In working as a collective force with these organizations, this politically progressive born-again organized efforts which led to the knocking on 140,000 doors.

Sort of like Mary Poppins, only politically-driven and less creepy.

Looking back on the makeshift, yet effective 2004 experience, Anima worked hard to grow the organization for the 2008 Presidential race. She had been quite excited by the progress made in her initial organizational attempts, where Swing Semester had maintained 100% canvasser retention-rate — a nearly unheard of number, and she hoped to enhance Swing Semester's impact on participants and, of course, the election.

This year, Swing Semester is operating in Cincinnati and Denver, and this time around, participation in the program is tuition-based (though there are scholarships and subsidized tuition available). Further, participants can leverage participation in the program for substantial college credit. The program provides a syllabus that confronts a lot of the questions that incoming workers have about political philosophy, a passion of Anima's. "Our syllabus brings together some of the works of George Lakoff, Ken Wilbur, Eric Liu, Nick Hanaur, and others and it gets people discussing, and reaching to understand the context of their work." The one issue that they center their attentions on as a collective, Anima explains, is food. "We realized that if you really get how political food is, and how related it is to social justice, the economy, healthcare, etc., you see that you become political three times a day."

"In 2004," she explains, "Swing Semester was kind of scrappy, but it was totally mobilizing. This year it's a full time experience. Students can get academic credit and we've got 40 members this year, aged 19-26," which is nearly a 200% increase from the last time. "It's totally exciting."

I asked Anima if she is at all interested in figuring out how to sustain the momentum that she was building, and to look beyond thriving on the every-four-year engagement model:

"Do you know how Mary Poppins just came in out of nowhere and would then leave? And she didn't really screw anyone in that process... She just helped and left? That's how what we're doing feels right now."

"Sometimes you just gotta say, 'What the f**k, make your move.'" -Joel Goodsen

Anima went into the 2004 election knowing relatively nothing about the electoral process, and she came out a substantial organizer. She was able to do so, in part, because her energy inspires awe, and, her enthusiasm is infectious. Her impact was also made possible because, as she explains, she stopped finding excuses to not get involved. "I just had to do it," she explains. "And I had to explain to other people who were working at jobs they were otherwise dissatisfied with that they did too. I had to sell the idea of doing the right thing over doing what feels necessary, like taking a job that doesn't feel right, or whatever." And it was from that jumping point (and the series of convince-others-to-jump-too points that followed thereafter) that Swing Semester was born, reared, and sustained.

Update: Here's another take from Stella, an organizer with Swing Semester:

Ohioans are very skeptical of voting. In 04 many of their votes were not counted. I know all of these things are designed to help with that. But in their minds it is harder to convince people to vote early. In the end it is still an absentee ballot…

I personally did register before the deadline. And I could have gone and voted early but chose not to. I want to vote on election day. As many other democrats do. While we were at the vp debate watch party last week the Obama campaign was trying to get "die hard" dems to vote early… And they were all saying no… I think that we are all so scared that someone is trying to take our vote away. And with all of the lawsuits that were filed leading up to golden week it created more tension around it. I think in the end we will get them to vote it is just going to be harder to get them to vote early…

--------------------------
The AP is running a story reporting low turnout in Ohio during early voting. The numbers:

As of Monday evening with polling sites still open, projections were that about 4,000 to 5,000 voters in the state's four largest counties would have taken advantage of the policy, which survived multiple court challenges.

Elections officials were surprised by the low turnout.

"With all the hoopla we were anticipating a whole lot more," said Steve Harsman, the elections director in Montgomery County, home to Dayton.

Overall, between 20,000 and 25,000 people were expected to have voted early in person in the four counties, beginning Sept. 30. The four counties include the state's largest urban areas — Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo and Dayton — and the focal points of campaign get-out-the-vote efforts.

The Columbus Dispatch had more specific youth numbers to add to this equation:

Of the 9,280 people who had cast absentee ballots in person as of Monday, 3 percent were registered Republicans and 39 percent were Democrats, records show. The rest were unaffiliated.

Of the 2,097 people who also registered to vote before casting an absentee ballot in Franklin County, two-thirds were younger than 34 and nearly 80 percent were from Columbus.

At first blush, that's disappointing news. Not the least because the Obama campaign and independent youth organizers were pushing early voting in the state. I confess that I was a little shocked when I read the story until I talked to Tony Cani, the Political Director of the Young Democrats. Here's what Tony had to say about the situation on the ground:

I really don't think this is that big of a surprise. There is only one voting site per county open - this isn't like early voting in many other states that allows you go to a number of community polling places to cast a ballot.

So, for example, in Franklin County the polling place is in downtown Columbus, an area that has very few residents and has a very high vacancy rate even for businesses. Why would someone schlep down there to vote? It isn't' really easier or more convenient. This takes away the primary argument organizers use to get people to vote early.

I didn't realize that there were so few polling locations. That's certainly a huge obstacle to face in scaling up participation into significant numbers. It seems like those promoting early voting in the state did a poor job at managing expectations here. Though, to be honest, they were in a bit of a Catch-22. They had to talk up the potential of early voting in order to recruit volunteers and drum up interest among potential voters, but there just wasn't enough time to really make it work.

Cross-posted at Project Vote's blog, Voting Matters

On Sept. 10, reporter Eartha Jane Melzer of online publication, the Michigan Messenger broke the story that the GOP of Macomb County, Mich. was planning to use public lists of foreclosures to challenge the eligibility of potentially thousands of low-income and minority voters in that hard-hit region. Since that time (and at least party through Project Vote's efforts to catalyze action to stop the illegal disenfranchisement), the story has been picked up by multiple news outlets around the country and generated a lawsuit from the Obama campaign and the DNC on behalf of potentially-disenfranchised Mich. voters.

Sept. 10

“We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren’t voting from those addresses,” Macomb County GOP chairman James Carabelli reportedly told the Messenger in the Sept. 10 report.

“The Macomb County party's plans to challenge voters who have defaulted on their house payments is likely to disproportionately affect African Americans who are overwhelmingly Democratic voters,” Melzer wrote. “More than 60 percent of all sub-prime loans – the most likely kind of loan to go into default – were made to African Americans in Michigan...”

Sept. 11

In a statement, Project Vote attorney Teresa James explained that Michigan law allows challenges at the polls only if the challenger “knows or has good reason to suspect” a voter is ineligible. According to James, the Michigan Secretary of State has clarified this to require that challenges should be based on “reliable sources or means.”

“Republican challengers with only a list of foreclosure notices will have NO evidence or reliable source to suggest that eligible voters have moved and are no longer eligible to vote,” James said.

Later that day, however, Carabelli denied having any such plans, according to a Detroit News report. Despite his claim that the story was a fabrication, Melzer “stands by her story '100 percent' and has clear notes on her conversation with Carabelli.”

Sept. 12

James sent a letter on behalf of Project Vote to both major political parties in Michigan, offering a detailed analysis of state and federal law and the requirements for challenging voters based on residency. In the letter, James clarified that a change of address for any reason – including losing one's home to foreclosure – does not itself disqualify an individual from voting under Michigan law, and that challenging a voter on the basis of a foreclosure would violate the National Voter Registration Act and the Voting Rights Act.

Sept. 16

The Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee filed a lawsuit on behalf of the potentially disenfranchised foreclosure victims, according to Greg Gordon of McClatchy Newspapers.

“Democratic lawyers argued that foreclosure proceedings can take more than a year and don't always force a homeowner to change residences,” Gordon wrote. “Nor is there a basis, they wrote, 'for challenging the right to vote of all the renters who reside in an apartment building that has been foreclosed.'

“They said the tactic is intended 'to discourage, intimidate and suppress the vote of individuals whom defendant Republicans believe are unlikely to vote for them.'”

A spokesman for the state Republican Party denied the plan to use foreclosure lists to challenge voters and claimed that they “never talked about doing it,” Gordon wrote.

The same day, “a group of Senate Democrats -- including Sen. Obama -- sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey asking for details on what the Justice Department plans to do to ensure voters aren't 'intimidated or harassed based solely on the fact that they have received a foreclosure notice,'” according to the Wall Street Journal.

“Peter Carr, a Justice Department spokesman, said the department 'is aware of the allegations and is currently reviewing the matter.'”

Sept. 19

U.S. Sen. John Conyers (D-Mich.) asked the McCain campaign to “'repudiate any efforts of the Republican Party and any of its state affiliates to engage in voter suppression and intimidation tactics,'" relating directly to the Sept. 10 report on caging foreclosure victims in Macomb County, Mich., according to a blog post in The Hill.

"'It is beyond disgraceful that the Republican Party now seems to be targeting those who are suffering the most,' Conyers said.’ It appears that individuals who can't recall how many houses they own don't understand how awful it is to lose your home to foreclosure, and don't know that you don’t need to own property to vote in the United States of America.'”

Conyers' anti-caging bill, Caging Prohibition Act of 2008 (H 5038) has not moved in Congress since January.

Sept. 24

Congressional members and acting assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Civil Rights division, Grace Chung Becker discussed the Michigan voter caging scheme during a joint hearing of the House Judiciary and Administration committees, according to Jonathan Kaplan of the Michigan Messenger.

Becker said that if allegations of voter caging foreclosure victims were true, “it would be a concern to us in the Civil Rights Division.” She also noted that criminal prosecutors from the DOJ would not monitor polling stations this year.

That same day, the Michigan House Democrats announced the introduction of a plan “that protects the right to vote for residents who have received a foreclosure notice.” The plan is currently in the Senate, according to the House Democrats news release.

In Ohio, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner also took action to protect the rights of low-income voters in that state. On Sept. 24, Brunner issued a directive to county boards of election stating that they “may not cancel an Ohioan’s voter registration based solely on the fact that the person is involved in a foreclosure process.” Brunner instructed boards that they must comply with the requirements of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), which says a voter’s registration can only be canceled due to residency if the voter confirms such a change in writing, or if the voter fails to respond to a forwardable notice and fails to vote in two subsequent federal elections.

Picking up on the severity of the voting rights issue and how it may impact national turnout in November, Ian Urbina of the New York Times reported how “federal election officials say they are concerned that voters are not being properly informed of how to update their addresses – a problem that may lead to the loss of thousands of votes.

The number of people who move “due to foreclosure or any other reason” exceeds the number of people who notified the election boards.” According to Urbina, 375,000 Ohio residents filed for a change of address with the U.S. Postal Service, but only 24,000 updated their voter registration information. Similarly, in Missouri, 250,000 people notified the Postal Service of their move, but only 22,000 told the election board.

Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and Ohio sent notices to residents in select counties who have filed for change of address, but did not update voter registration, Urbina wrote.

On Sept. 24 Project Vote sent letters to the DNC and the RNC, as well as to Secretaries of State, Attorneys-General, and state party chairs in key states where we are conducting voter registration work and fear large numbers of low-income voters could be susceptible to similar caging tactics, including Ariz., Colo., Fla., N.M., Penn., Nev., N.C., Va., Ohio, Md., Mo. and Ga.. Project Vote also sent a letter to the Department of Justice, outlining the legal ramifications of this and other voter caging operations, and demanding investigation and prosecution of acts that violate voter rights under the Voting Rights Act, the National Voter Registration Act, and other federal laws.

Sept. 26

The Washington Post reported that Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler instructed the state and local election officials to ensure that voters who have lost their homes to foreclosures are aware that they have not lost their right to vote.

“Terry Speigner, chairman of the Democratic Central Committee in Prince George's County, said his phone 'has been burning up' with calls about the rumor in Maryland,” according to Post writer, Ovetta Wiggins.

“A foreclosure is not a valid basis on which to challenge a registered voter at the polls,” Gansler wrote in the letter to officials.

As we were following the voter caging story in Michigan, the Republican National Committee decided to heighten their attack on the nation's largest nonpartisan voter registration drive and its connection to presidential candidate Barrack Obama – another voter suppression effort that could create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation at the polls, according a Sept. 28 NPR report by Pam Fessler.

Quick Links:

“Voter Caging.” Project Vote.

James, Teresa. “Caging Democracy: A 50-Year History of Partisan Challenges to Minority Voters.” Project Vote. September 2007.

Minnite, Lorraine. “The Politics of Voter Fraud.” Project Vote. March 2007.

Erin Ferns is a research analyst with Project Vote's Strategic Writing and Research Department.

One of the youngest Congressman serving is Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio. His office has been one leading the pack in youth and technology outreach for the past few years, but his urgency to listen to young voters has given a unique perspective many members lack.

With a connectivity to the future and an eagerness to bring more young people to policy and government, it isn't difficult to understand why he is one of the most outspoken members of the 30 Something Caucus.

Rep. Ryan sat down with me last week to discuss his outreach to young constituents and his hopes for post-election youth engagement.

Crossposted from Rock the Trail

Cross-posted at Project Vote's Voting Matter's Blog

Weekly Voting Rights News Update

By Erin Ferns

Partisan political operatives in Michigan are taking voter caging operations to depths that would surprise even the most cynical observers of American elections. If their plans are put into action, thousands of Michigan foreclosure victims may find that they will not only have lost their homes this year, but also their vote.

Operatives in the closely contested state, which is home to thousands of homeowners facing foreclosure, are “gearing up for a comprehensive voter challenge campaign,” according to Eartha Jane Melzer of the Michigan Messenger Wednesday. The state allows parties to send election challengers to polls to challenge the eligibility of voters if they “have good reason to believe” a voter is ineligible. In this case, the GOP of Macomb County—a “key swing county” with a foreclosure rate in the top three percent in the nation—has announced plans to challenge the voting eligibility of foreclosure victims based on residency.

“We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren’t voting from those addresses,” Macomb County GOP chairman James Carabelli told the Messenger.

J. Gerald Herbert, a former voting rights litigator for the U.S. Justice Department, questions what he calls a “mean-spirited” and possibly legally-baseless tactic: “You can't challenge people without a factual basis for doing so...I don't think a foreclosure notice is sufficient basis for a challenge, because people often remain in their homes after foreclosure begins and sometimes are able to negotiate and refinance.”

Teresa James, attorney for Project Vote, agrees. In a statement released today, James explains that Michigan law allows challenges at the polls only if the challenger “knows or has good reason to suspect” a voter is ineligible. According to James, the Michigan Secretary of State has clarified this to require that challenges should be based on “reliable sources or means.”

“Republican challengers with only a list of foreclosure notices will have NO evidence or reliable source to suggest that eligible voters have moved and are no longer eligible to vote,” says James.

“The Macomb County party's plans to challenge voters who have defaulted on their house payments is likely to disproportionately affect African-Americans who are overwhelmingly Democratic voters,” Melzer writes. “More than 60 percent of all sub-prime loans – the most likely kind of loan to go into default – were made to African-Americans in Michigan...”

Melzer points out that Republican presidential candidate John McCain's regional headquarters is in the office of the state's largest foreclosure law firm, Trott & Trott, whose founder has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the campaign. McCain “stands to benefit from the burgeoning number of foreclosures in the state,” Melzer writes.

“At a minimum, what you are seeing is a fairly comprehensive effort by the Republican Party, a systemic broad-based effort to put up obstacles for people to vote,” says Herbert. “When you are comprehensively challenging people to vote, your goals are two-fold: One is you are trying to knock people out from casting ballots; the other is to create a slowdown that will discourage others.” This type of disruption would be expected in areas with high foreclosure rates, particularly the Detroit metropolitan, where one in every 176 households received foreclosure filings during the month of July, according to Melzer.

“You would think [the Macomb GOP] would think, 'This is going to look too heartless,'” says David Lagstein, head organizer for Michigan ACORN, which has registered 200,000 new voters statewide and provides foreclosure-avoidance assistance.

“The Republican-led state Senate has not moved on the anti-predatory lending bill for over a year and yet have time to prey on those who have fallen victim to foreclosure to suppress the vote,” Lagstein says.

Michigan is not the only swing state at the risk of voter caging issues this election. At the urging of Project Vote and other voting rights advocates, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner recently issued a binding directive to all county election boards, instructing them that parts of the state's challenge laws in relation to residency challenges based only on returned mail were unconstitutional. It is unclear, however, whether Brunner’s directive will prevent partisans from filing frivolous challenges anyway, which—however baseless—could have a chilling effect on voter turnout. And the Michigan Messenger reports that Franklin County, Ohio director of elections Doug Preisse and the chair of the local GOP have said they do not rule out challenging voters before the election due to foreclosure-related address issues.

In Project Vote’s statement, Teresa James says “The GOP’s plan is a cynical partisan attempt to suppress the vote of thousands of low-income and African-American voters, a replay of the 2004 threats of mass challenges...In America you get to vote even if you’re behind on your bills. All Americans—particularly those members of the community hit hardest by the economic crisis—deserve a voice and a vote on Election Day.”

Quick Links:

“Voter Caging.” Project Vote.

James, Teresa. “Caging Democracy: A 50-Year History of Partisan Challenges to Minority Voters.” Project Vote. September 2007.

In Other News:

'No-Match, No-Vote' Law Draws Criticism - Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE - Advocacy groups predicted Wednesday that thousands of people, mostly the poor and minorities, will be denied the right to vote through no fault of their own under a new Florida voter registration law.

Can young people actually make a difference this year? - Slate
In 2004, the "youth vote" was supposed to break all records. It did and it didn't-but either way, it didn't make a difference for John Kerry, even though he won 54 percent of voters under 29. So it is with this year's youth vote: Even if it exceeds that of four years ago-Barack Obama currently commands about 60 percent of the under-29 cohort-it will be nearly impossible to say whether it made a difference.

ACLU launches campaign to get former prisoners to register to vote – Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin [N.Y.]
ALBANY -- The New York Civil Liberties Union today kicked off a six-week campaign to educate county election boards and former prisoners on the voting rights of convicted felons.

Erin Ferns is a Research and Policy Analyst with Project Vote’s Strategic Writing and Research Department (SWORD).

Bumped. --Mike

I was watching the Obama speech with friends the other night...

And someone said: "Let's all go to Ohio."

By many measures, Ohio's 20 electoral votes are the clearest path to victory in 2008. Obama needs 18 more electoral votes than Kerry won in 2004. There are two other likely scenarios to win: Colorado (9) plus New Mexico (5) plus Iowa (7) for a total of 21. Or Virginia (13) plus Iowa plus New Mexico for 25. I don't mean to oversimplify here --there are lot of important states and lots of ways to win. But none is more likely than Ohio.

Next thing I knew, we had created a program called Vote Today Ohio to turn out 10,000 new and unlikely voters during Ohio's new "Golden Week" when new voters can register AND vote on the same day.

Thanks to our excellent new Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner, Ohio recently changed its voting laws in a way that creates a 7 day window, from Sept 30 - Oct 6, where Ohio residents can register and vote early. It's the best GOTV opportunity ever created --like having seven days of Election Day Registration a month before the election.

The only problem is getting people to the polls. Unfortunately each of Ohio's 88 counties only has ONE polling place during the early voting period. So we need lots of people to take people to the polls.

Our goal with Vote Today Ohio is to recruit 100 new Ohio volunteers, and bring 100 in from out of state to bank 10,000 additional progressive votes. So far we have 30+ volunteers. We're raising money to rent vans and finding housing. Our efforts will be closely coordinated with America Votes and local progressive field organizations.

It's all hands on deck time --this election is going to be squeaky close. In 2004, Kerry lost Ohio by only 2% (119,000 votes amid massive voter suppression and dirty tricks). Meanwhile 2.3 million registered Ohioans did not cast a ballot!!

If we are able to get even 10% more progressive Ohioans to vote in 2008, Obama will likely win Ohio --and the election. We need thousands of people to help out --during Golden Vote week or whenever you're free.

Please report immediately to your nearest battleground state.

If you want to come to Ohio, write me, tell me who you are, when you want to go, and I'll hook you up: billywimsatt [at] gmail [dot] com