| Update (by Matt): County election officials are tomorrow dealing with the close of voter registration, the first day of most absentee voting, and the first day of in-person early voting. If you want to call and check your registration status, hold off until at least mid-week please.
It's good to see at least two Republicans speak out against their state party's attempt to suppress votes in Democratic districts in Western Montana.
State Senator John Brueggeman:
"This is a pretty key election and you have a lot of people who are taking an interest for the first time or getting interested again after sitting out a few years," Brueggeman said Saturday. "I don't know who is all on that list, but I'm guessing there are a lot of independents in there that, as a party, we're trying to court. I can't think we'll do anything but irreparable harm to our party with those voters."
Lieutenant Governor John Bohlinger wrote an op-ed that's reprinted in its entirety below the fold. Read it.
Yesterday I promised you information on how you can find out if your registration is current. As hit_escape pointed out, the Obama campaign has an online tool you can use to check your current registration status.
Of course, the best place to confirm your registration status is with your county's election office. Here's the contact info of the counties affected by the GOP's challenge: (ed. note -- don't call these clerks for a few days, please -- this is an absolutely gonzo busy time for them)
Missoula: website, email, 406-258-4751
Lewis and Clark: website, email, (406) 447-8338
Deerlodge: email, 406-563-4060
Glacier: email, 406-873-3609
Hill: email, 406-265-5481 x221
I'm not entirely sure I've given you the correct contact information for Deerlodge, Hill, or Glacier counties. I'll confirm tomorrow. Or, if you know the correct number to call, leave a comment for everybody to see!
And the Missoulian has some suggestions on what to do if your vote is challenged:
Here are your options for preserving your right to vote:
If you consider your voter registration address still to be your permanent residence and plan to vote in that precinct, you can ignore the letter and just show up to vote on Nov. 4, with a proof of ID.
If you already have an absentee ballot, you can just send it in.
If you consider your voter registration address still to be your permanent residence and plan to vote in that precinct, you also can confirm this fact by filling out the challenge form and returning it to the county election office.
Your signature on the form must be notarized, which can be done at a county courthouse.
Failing to return the affidavit won't jeopardize your right to vote in most cases. However, the secretary of state's office is recommending that you fill out the challenge affidavit, with a notarized signature, to foreclose any further challenges.
"It's better for everyone if you return the affidavit," said Bowen Greenwood, spokesman for the secretary of state. "That puts the lid on it."
If you have moved to a new address since you registered to vote and still live within the same county, you can go to your old precinct and vote one time. However, if you choose this option, you should send in the signed and notarized challenge form indicating your new address.
If you have moved to a new address outside the county where you originally registered, you can go to your county election office and re-register at your new address. Fill out the voter registration card in the letter and return it to the county election office where you live. A ballot will be provided at the office. |
Republicans crossed line with voter purge attempt
by John Bohlinger
from The Montana Standard
Frank St. Pierre, of Anaconda, fought in World War II. He is one of the most decorated living veterans in America. And yet, on Wednesday, my party - the Montana Republican Party - tried to invalidate his voter registration because he lives in a county with a lot of Democrats. Incredible as this may sound to you, it is the truth.
When people ask why, as a Republican, I agreed to become part of a Democratic administration, I tell them that I believe in putting my state before my party. This has created tension at times. On occasion the folks who run the Republican Party have tried to lock me out of their convention, and this year they even tried to prevent me from speaking at the Presidential Primary Caucus in support of John McCain.
I have always taken this treatment in stride. As the saying goes, "All's fair in love, war and politics." But the executive director of the Republican Party crossed the line when he attempted to remove 6,000 voters from the rolls in Montana. These voters are law-abiding citizens and are legally registered. Some are veterans. Others are active servicemen, serving in Iraq and Afghanistan or about to be deployed there.
As a Republican, I was ashamed to hear of this. But as a Marine, I was outraged. Why would the Republican Party, which always claims to care greatly about our troops, do this?
It appears that Republican operatives looked to gain an advantage by purging as many voters as possible from counties that lean Democrat. The director of the Republican Party issued a blanket challenge to validly registered voters based on false criteria, trying to persuade election clerks that a mere change of mailing address is grounds for automatic cancellation of voter registration.
Not only was the effort blatantly deceptive, but the Republicans based their challenge on a national change-of-address database from an out-of-state vendor who sells personal information. Among other problems, this database lists servicemen and women who have been deployed overseas as having moved out of Montana. In other words, if you go to Iraq, or Afghanistan, or Fort Sill, Okla., to report for active duty, you have "moved out of the state" according to this list.
A significant number of the 6,000 voters targeted were servicemen, including Kevin Furey, a former state legislator from Missoula who left the legislature to serve in Iraq; Cindie Kalan-Green, who is also serving in Iraq; and Mathew Robison, who I am told has been deployed to Fort Drum.
Many were college students and elderly people. For example, Babe Aspholm, of Anaconda, an elderly man, simply moved across town from his house to a senior living center. The Republicans tried to void his registration. Tom Detonacour, a policeman from Deer Lodge County who simply bought a house in another county, also got targeted.
But worst of all is the legendary Frank St. Pierre, 86, also of Anaconda, who helped save thousands of allied troops at Dunkirk in World War II and has 10 Medals of Honor. St. Pierre, too, moved from one end of town to the other, and the Republicans tried to void his and his wife's registrations. I have a copy of the signed affidavits from the Republicans, declaring that Frank and Marilyn St. Pierre's voter registrations must be purged. An utter disgrace.
Beyond the outrageous lack of consideration for citizens, patriots and heroes, a significant burden and cost has been placed on county election administrators, public servants who work hard to ensure the integrity of our elections. They have been completely swamped by this scheme.
I am a Republican, and I will continue to be a Republican. But I am appalled at the leadership of my political party. I urge party elders to take action and promptly withdraw this outrageous effort to challenge the eligibility of legitimate voters, and to call for the removal any Republican Party employees responsible for this. This kind of activity has no place in a democracy. Finally, I would urge the voters of Montana whose registrations have been improperly challenged not to be discouraged by this unfortunate effort. |
