bdj: But "black Floridians" were able to appeal the ruling long before the election - the list was public and people could check on their status. Remember, it's up to the public to register to vote and keep those registrations current. Palast probably didn't mention that part, did he.
Yes, actually, he did. In some cases warning letters were sent out...
Madison County's elections supervisor, Linda Howell had a peculiarly personal reason for distrusting the central voter file. She had received a letter saying that since she had committed a felony, she would not be allowed to vote..
She's unsure of the number of warning letters that were sent out to county residents when she first received the list in 1999, but she recalls that there were many problems. "One day we would send the letter to have someone taken off the rolls, and the next day, we would send one to put them back on again..."
At least one county, however, didn't bother.
Etta Rosado, spokesoman for the Volusia County Department of Elections, said the county essentially accepted the file at face value, did nothing to confirm the accuracy of it and doesn't inform citizens ahead of time that they have been dropped from the voter rolls.."I don't think that it's up to us to tell them they're a convicted felon," Rosado said. "If he's on our rolls, we make a notation on there. If they show up at a polling place, we'l say, 'Wait a minute, you're a convicted felon, you can't vote.'"Condrun (June Condrun Orange County's deputy supervisor of elections) noted that about one-third of the letters, whicht he county sent out by regular mail, were returned to the office marked undeliverable. She attributed the high rate of incorrect addresses to the age of the information sent by DBT, some of which was close to 20 years old, she said.
And once you got a letter, the burden of proof was on you to show you weren't a convicted felon or, --if you were a convicted felon in another state which did not rescind voting rights -- that your rights, which had not been taken away in the first place, had been restored. (It should be noted, that states cannot rescind the voting rights of people convicted of felonies in other states that don't disenfranchise convicted felons.) The process of getting paperwork and court records could take as long as two years.
You know, Jeff, it might help if you actually READ Palast rather than talking through your.
I mean, come on. I read one of YOUR favorite writers, didn't I?
Credits & Style Info
Talk Politics. A place to discuss politics without egomaniacal mods
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2/5/10 01:50 (UTC)Palast probably didn't mention that part, did he.
Yes, actually, he did. In some cases warning letters were sent out...
Madison County's elections supervisor, Linda Howell had a peculiarly personal reason for distrusting the central voter file. She had received a letter saying that since she had committed a felony, she would not be allowed to vote..
She's unsure of the number of warning letters that were sent out to county residents when she first received the list in 1999, but she recalls that there were many problems. "One day we would send the letter to have someone taken off the rolls, and the next day, we would send one to put them back on again..."
At least one county, however, didn't bother.
Etta Rosado, spokesoman for the Volusia County Department of Elections, said the county essentially accepted the file at face value, did nothing to confirm the accuracy of it and doesn't inform citizens ahead of time that they have been dropped from the voter rolls.."I don't think that it's up to us to tell them they're a convicted felon," Rosado said. "If he's on our rolls, we make a notation on there. If they show up at a polling place, we'l say, 'Wait a minute, you're a convicted felon, you can't vote.'"Condrun (June Condrun Orange County's deputy supervisor of elections) noted that about one-third of the letters, whicht he county sent out by regular mail, were returned to the office marked undeliverable. She attributed the high rate of incorrect addresses to the age of the information sent by DBT, some of which was close to 20 years old, she said.
And once you got a letter, the burden of proof was on you to show you weren't a convicted felon or, --if you were a convicted felon in another state which did not rescind voting rights -- that your rights, which had not been taken away in the first place, had been restored. (It should be noted, that states cannot rescind the voting rights of people convicted of felonies in other states that don't disenfranchise convicted felons.) The process of getting paperwork and court records could take as long as two years.
You know, Jeff, it might help if you actually READ Palast rather than talking through your.
I mean, come on. I read one of YOUR favorite writers, didn't I?