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Showing ID is racist? | by slayer | 2006-11-19 12:55:59 |
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could anyone explain to me please? | by Star Warrior | 2003-03-07 13:51:57 |
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I've read all the comments on this topic.. | by Star Warrior | 2003-03-07 14:43:00 |
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Slacktime done good -- I'll try to clarify | by dire_lobo | 2003-03-07 15:41:43 |
| Laws vary, as does enforcement ... |
by yah-right |
2003-03-07 18:22:10 |
Dire got most of it right.
There are new (in the last 10 years) federal laws governing some aspects of voting such as how you get rid of records in your voter database. These are designed to prevent what everyone in this thread is arguing about: "disenfranchisement" or the illegal prevention and/or discouragement of persons from exercising their legal right to vote.
There have always been state laws on voting, that of course vary from state to state as does enforcement or lack thereof. And the actual voting is usually done at the county level (geographical area usually including multiple cities and/or towns) ... or in the case of Louisiana you call the county a parish, just to drive everyone else a little crazy.
So the county/parish level usually maintains the voter records and screens applicants to be voters, and most importantly runs the election and counts the votes. By run the election I do not mean go out and campaign (ask voters to elect them). I mean they accept applicantions from those who want to run (or stand) for election and who want to actually be listed on the ballots. They also get involved when someone protests that someone else has done something in an election that is illegal -- but naturally the judicial system handles most of this.
The county official in many areas who is responsible for these duties is the county clerk, an elected official who acts as the records (or data) arm of the courts - primarily the justice of the peace and the district court in areas I am familiar with. This can be another official name or other responsibilities from state to state. People employed in this office are familiarized with the rules regarding registering to vote and running an election, and they are guided by the county clerk, the judges and the district attorney (elected legal advisor) when they have questions on how things should be done.
In general in years past a printed list of eligible voters was created and referred to by the deputy clerks during the voting part of the election. It was separated into sections alphabetically and was maintained for the voters to sign beside their names so that the clerks would be able to prevent unregistered (illegal) voting and duplicate voting.
As Dire said if a duplicate is noticed and challenged the ballot number is beside the signature and can be pulled and replaced b y another ballot. This insures that the proper person votes. The count of the printed ballots is vital to insure that none are lost and no bogus ones slip into the box of voted ballots. Sometimes the checking of ID is done by seeing a voter ID card, sometimes by drivers license or other ID. At no time, in my experience, is there any place in this process for the cops to sit there and check names against warrants.
HOWEVER, a smart cop who thought someone might come vote would easily figure out that persons voting precinct (area) and get a look at a photo of that person, and then hover in the area to try and nab them. I really doubt that there is a law against this although there are many laws against preventing people politicking (asking for votes) in the vicinity of the ballot box. And if the person was nabbed they probably could make a pretty good case to demand the right to vote before they were taken to jail. A smart cop would not want the ACLU on their back so they'd probably let them vote then haul 'em off to jail.
An interesting side note on all of this is voting in multiple geographical areas. It is definitely against the law, but almost impossible to prevent. One thing that helps is looking at the drivers license as opposed to the voter ID card. Say you are living in one place and registered to vote there - say California. Then you start spending part of your winter in Nevada and get a second residence there. You can probably assemble the needed ID to get registered in the second place. No one at the first place will know that this happened. Unlike drivers licence stuff you are not called on to reappear at regular intervals. Unless you or someone else tells the clerk that you have moved/died/gone insane and been committed to an asylum you will be registered until they can meet the federal guidelines that allow them to dump your name from their database. Which will only happen if you do NOT vote, if you continue to vote they'll never remove your name.
Ergo the need for combining databases from multiple levels of government (I am not advocating this personally just explaining ONE justification). If there were one place where voting records were maintained people would be less apt to vote multiple times in a single election. Naturally WE all hope that this never happens, for a lot of other far more important reasons. But you can see how the clerks and judges would feel about it.
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[ Reply ] |
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A couple of problems with your post... | by Naruki | 2003-03-07 19:20:38 |
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thanks.. | by Star Warrior | 2003-03-07 23:47:14 |
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