 | Politics "wid" a taste of Philly, by Will Bunch of the Philadelphia Daily News |
| Politics "wid" a taste of Philly, by Will Bunch of the Philadelphia Daily News |
You'll be shocked, shocked, to learn that Philadelphia isn't the only place in battleground state of Pennsylvania where Republican officials sought to move polling places in heavily Democratic neighborhoods at the last minute -- a move that could cause some confused voters not to cast ballots on Nov. 2.
Campaign Extra! is reporting (some of this appeared in our story in this morning's Daily News) that officials in Scranton, PA's Lackawanna County last week successfully moved 21 polling places over both citizen and Democratic objections. The GOP had just grabbed a 2-1 majority on the county's board of commissioners.
Unlike Philly, there's no racial angle. But Democrats say that each one of the polling places are in districts that vote at least 60 percent Democratic. The Republican majority that approved the changes says the move is merely an attempt to deal with the Americans with Disabilities Act (a similar argument was made for many of the GOP's proposed switches in Philly).
But that doesn't seem to be a factor in some of them. One of the axed polling places was an easily accessible first-floor building, that happened to be owned by the Lackawanna Democratic chair. (Here's a local account of the move.)
Voters were actually able to prevent four proposed moves -- including one (we're not making this up) that would have taken a polling place out of a convent with 130, mostly elderly, nuns. Still, opponents say the relocated voting spots will affect as many as 10,000 voters, and they fear that as many as 10 percent, or 1,000, might be thwarted by the moves.
Given the importance of the Pennsylvania votes, it's almost surprising that political stunts like this didn't surface earlier. Campaign Extra! also spoke yesterday with Holly McCullough, an official with the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, said that a couple of months ago the library was approached by representatives of a group calling itself America Votes seeking registration tables at branches.
She said that officials OK'd the planning - believing that the group was a nonpartisan outfit by the same name. Only later, she said yesterday, did officials learn that Kelly temporary-agency workers had been hired by an Arizona company called Sproul and Associates - and that the temps were asked to only sign up Bush voters.
"A Kelly worker said they were trained to ask people who they were voting for, and if they said Bush they'd give them a form," McCollough said.
I've gotten phone calls like that. They ask me who I'm voting for, Bush, Kerry, or Nader? When I say Kerry they say ok and hang up the phone.
Posted by: Erik at October 19, 2004 11:16 AMThis is the first time I've posted on this site. But, I felt an idea might be worth pointing out.
Why not have the Democratic committees in the area send a person out to each of the old polling locations to redirect folks to the new ones?
Posted by: JC Crawford at October 19, 2004 11:36 AM"Why not have the Democratic committees in the area send a person out to each of the old polling locations to redirect folks to the new ones?"
Um,probably because they'll be too busy voting ten times themselves.
Posted by: jeff at October 19, 2004 12:30 PMHey Jeff, how would you feel if Dem commissioners moved polling stations in Repub-leaning districts at the last minute?
Posted by: Paula at October 19, 2004 01:18 PMHey, Hey, Paul-a,
I suppose if that were to happen, i'd probably make a phone call or two, or get a newspaper, or go online, or do any other number of friggin things to find out where i'm supposed to go.
it's not that difficult. I wouldn't sit around and whine about it like they do on the left, though.
Posted by: jeff at October 19, 2004 02:20 PMJust another fine example of good government at work........or at least trying to do their underhanded and crooked tasks to control the citizens of the United States.
The party of Watergate, G Gordon Liddy, Iran Contra and Ollie North hard at work to transform the American Way.
Unchecked efforts by them ruin things for the vast majority of people and silence the will of the people They do this and call it the American way.
These people must be stopped and thank god this did not succeed.
Posted by: mark at October 19, 2004 06:30 PMcurious to know just how many republican registrations the democrats threw out that didn't get in the news. moving polling places from the complete control of one party is a reasonable request.
Posted by: ron at October 20, 2004 12:43 AMI have been registering voters for this year's election. I personally lean democrat but I KNOW THAT IT IS WRONG to present yourself as a non-partisan outfit unless you truly conduct yourself that way with voters. Sure, I work with people who would like to see Bush ousted, BUT we have some ethical standards.
Standing at someone's door and telling them they are registering to vote and then destroying their card-because they register republican or tell me they like Bush-would be completely UNAMERICAN. No matter who they tell me they like, I say to them "that's great, I'm glad you'll be voting this year!"
I feel like if I'm registering people then that's supporting democracy. If they like Bush, well then they have the majority and they rightfully should win the election.
Posted by: Kristin at October 20, 2004 12:03 PMjust like the slime (GOP) ...........Bush will lose anyway and if he trys to get appointed again this country will not put up with it
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