Does this sound strange to you?

[kellinator]

One of my co-workers (who, in the spirit of full disclosure, makes me look conservative in comparison) is very agitated over a postcard she got from DeKalb Co. Voter Registration and Elections. I'll share the text here:

"Dear Voter,

This is to inform you that the number of registered voters in your precinct is near capacity. After the recent court-ordered redistricting, we tried every way possible to secure new locations and reduce the number of voters at each precinct. However, your precinct remains one of the largest in DeKalb County with a history of long lines before and after work. Because of this, we want to encourage you to take advantage of a new law that allows "Advance Voting" in person, without providing a reason, the week prior to each Election. There will be 3 satellite locations in addition to the Office of Voter Registration and Elections. Monday through Friday, October 25-29, 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM for the Upcoming General Election.

North: Brook Run, 4770 North Peachtree Rd., Dunwoody

Central: Courthouse Annex #B170, 556 N. McDonough St., Decatur

South: S. DeKalb Police Precinct, 2853 Candler Rd., Decatur"

Erika and I have a couple of questions about this:

• What's up with this "near capacity" stuff? I thought everyone had the right to vote; there isn't supposed to be a limit on the number of people allowed to vote. It's not like concert tickets; it's a right and a duty of all citizens.
• The north side of the county is predominately white; the location given is a nice park. The south side of the county is predominately African-American; the location given is the police station. Does this sound similar to the intimidation tactics used in parts of Florida in 2000 to anyone else?
• Erika doesn't recall problems with lines in the past. Why is this postcard trying to make voting sound so difficult and time-consuming? Is it a genuine desire to get people to the polls early (which, in my experience, is not that difficult once people know they have the option -- I think every member of my immediate family is voting early, and my mother and her best friend have already done so)? Or is it a suggestion that the lines are long, it's a big pain in the ass, and wouldn't you rather just stay home?

Perhaps I'm being overly paranoid, but these days I don't make any apologies for that.

Comments

[michaelnolan.livejournal.com]

this is total WTF material.

can we call up Ken Jennings and ask him?

[celeloriel.livejournal.com]

EMAIL THIS TO THE DNC IMMEDIATELY. I MEAN IT.

...sorry about the caps, but this is NOT GOOD.

[dwivian]

Because there are two conflicting laws -- the right to vote, and the mandatory reporting of the vote, there is a capacity issue in any location that opens polls for voting too close to the cutoff time. In an effort to avoid this issue a new law was passed allowing you to vote early, and thus avoid the cutoff on the other side.

It's just that simple.

I'm guessing the polling places being in the courthouse or police station is because they want to protect the ballots. So, the use of a park in a safe neighborhood is particularly offensive, in that it removes that protection by assuming that white people are not going to do something horrible. So, I agree with you on that.

Maybe there were lines and she missed them? No matter -- the idea that we should be able to vote over a time-span is a good one. I'd like to go to the "ALL MAIL" ballot system, with no polling places at all, like is used in (Oregon, I think?).

[john666.livejournal.com]

What's up with this "near capacity" stuff? I thought everyone had the right to vote; there isn't supposed to be a limit on the number of people allowed to vote. It's not like concert tickets; it's a right and a duty of all citizens.
This has nothing to do with the number of people allowed to vote but the number of people registered to vote. Georgia law states that when the number of registered voters in a precinct exceeds a preset number {I do not know if it is the same number across the state, different for rural area and city precincts, or a precinct by precinct determination.} the registration list will be split and a new precinct will be created. In the 2000 election many people complained about standing in long lines on the day of the election, the state passed the vote early procedure. Before to vote absentee you had to be out of the precinct, the one in which you are registered to vote, during the day of the election. {I do not remember, but any reason was a valid reason.} Now if you do not want to stand in line you may vote early, the week before the election date!

The north side of the county is predominately white; the location given is a nice park. The south side of the county is predominately African-American; the location given is the police station. Does this sound similar to the intimidation tactics used in parts of Florida in 2000 to anyone else?
I do not know about DeKalb County but when the building that housed a precinct in Jackson County was torn down, completely gone, the probate judge had to scramble to find a new place to house the precinct, because the county did not build a new building in time. The state clears all voting locations.

Erika doesn't recall problems with lines in the past. Why is this postcard trying to make voting sound so difficult and time-consuming? Is it a genuine desire to get people to the polls early (which, in my experience, is not that difficult once people know they have the option -- I think every member of my immediate family is voting early, and my mother and her best friend have already done so)? Or is it a suggestion that the lines are long, it's a big pain in the ass, and wouldn't you rather just stay home?
Again I know nothing about DeKalb County, but in the 2000 election I left Athens at 5:00, got in line at my voting precinct around 5:30, it was after 7:30 before I got to cast my ballot. This after standing in line twice, once to get the voter certificate, and once to get my ballot!

This just sounds to me like Republican Party is trying to encourage more people to vote, vote early and avoid the lines, the headache, and the bother. I got something encouraging me to request a ballot be sent to me, if I were going to vote absentee, which I have to do because I am a pole worker in another precinct than the one I i'm registered to vote.

Question for you would you be as paranoid if the post card had come from the Democrats?

Hope to see you Sunday!

HUGZ!

[katyakoshka.livejournal.com]

Given the allegations of trashed Democrat voter registration cards in NV and OR, and the Florida fun of 2000 (apparently being repeated wrt the false disenfranchisement of many black voters)...

It is a little disturbing.

[patricks.livejournal.com]

Vote fraud is going to be a HUGE story this election, with all sorts of shenanigans including GOP-funded firms tearing up voter registration forms of Democrats in swing states just now coming to light. Good for you for reporting it - you also can call the registrar of voters yourself to double-check on the postcard, which itself could be faked in an attempt to misdirect Democratic voters to the wrong locations in hopes they'll just give up and not vote.

This looks legit to me, actually.

[dellaran.livejournal.com]

I'm as paranoid as anyone about voting irregularities and fraud in this election, but the way I read this, it's a *good* thing.

First of all, the card isn't saying that the precinct is "near capacity", just that they have had long lines in past elections, and they expect, on the basis of the number of registered voters this time around, that there might be a problem again this time. You're exactly right that there is no limit on the number of people allowed to vote, but there *are* practical limits on how many people they can get through the polls in one day.

Secondly, it is actually *encouraging* people to vote early, and telling them how, where, and when they can do it. Early voting is new in Georgia this year, and a lot of people probably don't know it's even possible. I only looked it up today. In many cases around the country, voters are being left in the dark or actively misinformed about their rights, but here, the county is making an extra effort to reach out and inform everyone about additional opportunities to vote.

Like I said, I understand the urge to mistrust anything I might hear about registration and voting this year, but in this case I honestly believe the county is trying to *increase* turnout, not depress it. And for us progressives, that's a good thing.

[grunion.livejournal.com]

First question is pretty much taken care of - I'll not get into that...
Second question is looking for troubles that aren't even there I think. I'd hardly call THAT intimidation. And there wasn't any intimidation in Florida in 2000, the hearings looking into the matter could not find a single person in the entire state that could even hint they were intimidated. The reports of dogs and hoses were probably some knee-jerk reaction story by Fox News (they tend to report things WAAY too early in the fact process, and draw wild conclusions).
The third I understand WAAAAY too well. I waited for HOURS in 2000 to cast my "wasted vote". The reasons were many, and will be repeated for a LONG time (since there will never be a "show your damned ID so we know you can vote" system put in place). As a result, I'm doing the early voting thing too. Sure, I won't get the "I voted" sticker, but that also means I'll not have to tell everyone who asks me "Who'd you vote for?" to mind their own troubles. How *I* vote shouldn't concern anyone but me, and it's usually a few months before I tell anyone how I voted.

[poprockgrrl.livejournal.com]

I got one of those too.
The advance voting is legit and everyone I know is going to use it. We'd all rather run the risk of our paper ballot which can be recounted being lost than those peice of shit machines they use that don't allow for recounts, crash and lose votes all the time and are made by a company run by a big time contributor to bush.

and i can attest that in the northlake area, the crowds are crazy at my polling place (an elementary school). I think it's pretty safe to say that northlake is predeominantly white too. my gf who hasn't changed her address with the registration people didn't get one of those cards forwarded to her from our old precint which was probably more black than white.

[orfeo517.livejournal.com]

Um, wait just a damned second! I'm not sure where to begin. This postcard sounds more like a court summons after getting a traffic ticket than a polite request from the county. Reducing "the numbers of voters at each precinct" is a scary enough idea on its own. The voting districts are created to evenly represent areas within each states, aren't they? Has "gerrymandering" been assigned to the counties, since it's been illegal for the states for many years now? I wouldn't call this being paranoid. If those areas are outside of your co-worker's state voting district, I'd hope that person intends to write a letter to our Congressional representatives about it. If those locations are all in the same district, then maybe the state is just doing a bad job handling the number of voters in the area. If voters are being sent to different districts, then something very illegal is going on. Either way, there is no way anyone should be told, or even asked, to go to a certain time at a certain place to vote outside of their area. According to my recent American Government teacher, many nations around the world, especially in Europe, hold local governments, as well as businesses, accountable if they don't give their citizens/employees reasonable access to their local polls during election times, and they tend to stay open much earlier and later to make sure everyone has a chance to vote. What's going on in this country?!

[the-yellow-king.livejournal.com]

I do have to point out that the conception of north DeKalb county being "Land of the White Man" is actually a bit old. Growing up in the area [and going to Tucker High School], I can safely say the only primarily Caucasian areas currently is the very small region around Smokerise and a couple of neighborhoods around Henderson. The rest of the area is honestly no different than other parts of DeKalb county, if slightly more well-off than the rest.

If you are looking for a predominantly Caucasian area these days [and related bias], you need to go to Alpharetta. Or beyond. Hall County might suffice.