Friday, May 05, 2006
Indiana voter ID update:
I went to vote and as expected was denied the right to vote, was given a provisional ballot that I expect won't be counted.
My housemate, Joell Palmer, had the same experience a few hours later, got it on video, wants to go ahead with a lawsuit if we can find counsel.
I asked him to check in with Ken Falk, who was his lawyer in Edmonds v Indianapolis
and is counsel in one of the consolidated suits, which has now been appealed to the 7th circuit.
Ft Wayne article.
"Anyone with honorable intentions who wanted to cast a ballot Tuesday or who wants to cast a ballot in the future can do so," Rokita said. "The only people that this kept away from the polls were cheaters.... Photo ID is something that's long overdue," Rokita said. "I think this law is going to be in every state within five or ten years.""
Another article.
Refusal of vets' IDs leads to hard feelings at polls
By Rebecca S. Green
The Journal Gazette
One aspect of Tuesday's primary election troubles DeKalb County Clerk Jackie Rowan.
Her voice trembled as she described having to turn away a handful of veterans who tried to use their Veterans Administration medical cards as the required photo identification.
Rowan said the veterans became upset, refusing to cast provisional ballots, when she explained to them they could not use identification that did not have an expiration date or a stamp indicating that it never expired.
"(It was) bad," she said. "They all accused us of not wanting them to vote.
"I feel their pain. They served in the service for us, and they worked hard and paid taxes."
Officials with Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita's office said they had not heard many complaints about veterans' identification.
"The law is pretty explicit that IDs need a name, a photo, and an expiration date," said A.J. Feeney-Ruiz, Rokita's press secretary.
Rowan said she reminded the veterans that they could vote using a provisional ballot as long as they brought in a valid ID by May 12, but she said most of them refused that.
"That was probably one of our biggest issues yesterday . the military ID," she said.
A few counties reported similar problems but the numbers were few, no more than five or six.
But Rowan worries the same problem could crop up again in November's general election.
"When (state officials) said a military ID with an expiration date, they may have known what they were talking about," Rowan said. "But I'm not sure it was explained well enough that Veterans Administration cards would not work."
rgreen jg.net, via Joe Sandler
I went to vote and as expected was denied the right to vote, was given a provisional ballot that I expect won't be counted.
My housemate, Joell Palmer, had the same experience a few hours later, got it on video, wants to go ahead with a lawsuit if we can find counsel.
I asked him to check in with Ken Falk, who was his lawyer in Edmonds v Indianapolis
and is counsel in one of the consolidated suits, which has now been appealed to the 7th circuit.
Ft Wayne article.
"Anyone with honorable intentions who wanted to cast a ballot Tuesday or who wants to cast a ballot in the future can do so," Rokita said. "The only people that this kept away from the polls were cheaters.... Photo ID is something that's long overdue," Rokita said. "I think this law is going to be in every state within five or ten years.""
Another article.
Refusal of vets' IDs leads to hard feelings at polls
By Rebecca S. Green
The Journal Gazette
One aspect of Tuesday's primary election troubles DeKalb County Clerk Jackie Rowan.
Her voice trembled as she described having to turn away a handful of veterans who tried to use their Veterans Administration medical cards as the required photo identification.
Rowan said the veterans became upset, refusing to cast provisional ballots, when she explained to them they could not use identification that did not have an expiration date or a stamp indicating that it never expired.
"(It was) bad," she said. "They all accused us of not wanting them to vote.
"I feel their pain. They served in the service for us, and they worked hard and paid taxes."
Officials with Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita's office said they had not heard many complaints about veterans' identification.
"The law is pretty explicit that IDs need a name, a photo, and an expiration date," said A.J. Feeney-Ruiz, Rokita's press secretary.
Rowan said she reminded the veterans that they could vote using a provisional ballot as long as they brought in a valid ID by May 12, but she said most of them refused that.
"That was probably one of our biggest issues yesterday . the military ID," she said.
A few counties reported similar problems but the numbers were few, no more than five or six.
But Rowan worries the same problem could crop up again in November's general election.
"When (state officials) said a military ID with an expiration date, they may have known what they were talking about," Rowan said. "But I'm not sure it was explained well enough that Veterans Administration cards would not work."
rgreen jg.net, via Joe Sandler
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