Texas Sued, 1.8 Million Dead People Registered Nationally - Our Voter Registration System Is A Mess

by: Adam Schwitters

Tue Feb 14, 2012 at 00:25 PM CST

With elections in Texas still up in the air due to the ongoing redistricting fiasco, two big stories just emerged that highlight the fundamental problems in Texas, and the nation at large, with voter registration.

The non-profit voting rights organization, Voting For America, filed suit yesterday against the State of Texas “on behalf of Voters and the U.S. Constitution” “citing clear evidence that Texas’s election code related to voter registration violates the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA).”  The suit alleges that Texas election code places onerous restrictions on volunteers conducting voter registration drives, and limits access to voter rolls that could ensure that citizens actually have been added to the rolls.  

Michael Slater, executive director of Voting For America, said, ” Texas rules have created a voter registration system characterized by criminal penalties and vague and unduly burdensome requirements that subvert major tenets of the NVRA and violate the Constitution. Current Texas law would make it nearly impossible for voter registration organizations to conduct their work in the state.”

The lawsuit, which names Secretary of State, Hope Andrade, and Galveston County Tax Assessor, Cheryl Johnson, as defendants contains several allegations:

• Texas improperly restricts public access to inspect and copy voter registration records in violation of the NVRA, thus severely hindering the ability of individuals and organizations to verify the accuracy of the voter rolls and the fairness of the voter application process.
• Texas improperly regulates the distribution of voter registration applications, as it requires anyone seeking to do so to first be appointed as a "voluntary deputy registrar (VDR)" by a county registrar, and places unfair and onerous restrictions and requirements on such VDRs. For example, VDRs must be registered to vote in the state of Texas, and may only accept registration applications from applicants who reside within the same county in which the VDR was appointed.
• Texas prohibits VDRs from mailing in completed applications. Rather, VDRs must personally deliver completed applications within five days of collection, a requirement that severely hinders the ability of large-scale voter registration drives to manage their programs and implement effective quality control measures.
• Texas places undue restrictions on how community organizations manage their employees, making it virtually impossible to fire under-producing employees and threatening organizations with such excessive threats of fines and criminal prosecution that running such a drive would be prohibitively risky in the state.
• The suit also takes issue with the Galveston County Registrar for enforcing a new Texas law requiring photo ID for voters. This action is in direct violation of the Voting Rights Act, which requires all voting laws in several states with a history of racially discriminatory election practices-including Texas-to be precleared by the Department of Justice (DOJ). To date, the DOJ has not cleared the Texas voter ID law.

"Voter registration policies in Texas, over at least the past decade, have created an environment that is hostile to voter registration," says Slater. "This lawsuit seeks to redress some of these policies, which violate state and federal law and endanger the rights of Texas citizens to participate in our democracy."

In national voter registration disaster news, the Pew Center released a study that found, among other things, that 1.8 million dead people are still listed on voter registration rolls, that 2.75 million people are registered to vote in more than one state, and that at least 51 million eligible Americans (thats 24% of the adult population folks) are not registered to vote at all.  Pew also found that our antiquated, paper-based voter registration system is not only inefficient, but also costly.  In Oregon in 2008, for example, it cost approximately $7.67 to process and update each voter’s registration.  Canada, which they site as an example of modern registration practices, spends “less than 35 cents per voter and 93% of its eligible population is registered.”

SBOE Forum Saturday May 2 in Austin

by: JohnKeohane

Tue Apr 21, 2009 at 10:07 AM CDT

Julie Cowan is the proud mother of three Anderson high school students.  She has served as PTA president at Anderson High School (currently), Murchison Middle School, and Doss Elementary School.  She has served AISD in numerous capacities, most recently participating on the 2008 Citizens' Bond Advisory Committee, 2007 Middle School Strategic Planning Task Force, and 2007 and 2008 Budget Committees.  In addition to supporting public education, Julie served the Travis County Medical Alliance as president.   A graduate of Southern Methodist University, Julie has a BA in Political Science, a BFA in Public Relations, and a Texas Teaching Certificate.  Julie is married to Dr. Rob Cowan, a board certified OB/Gyn.

Alana Morris works in K-12 public education in suburban Houston.  Her over twenty years of public school experience in Texas, includes work both as a classroom teacher and as a district-literacy specialist.  She is author of Vocabulary Unplugged, and past president of both the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language and the Coalition of Reading and English Supervisors of Texas.  Alana was appointed by the SBOE as a work-group specialist for the most recent revisions of TEKS for English Language Arts and Reading.  This service led her to testify before the SBOE, and got her fired up enough to testify before both education committees of the Texas legislature.  Because of their leadership, Alana and two colleagues were given an Intellectual Freedom award from the National Council of Teachers of English.

Dr. Ronald Wetherington is professor of anthropology, and director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at Southern Methodist University.  He received a B.A. in zoology from Texas Tech and an M.A. and Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Michigan.  In the Spring of 2009 he served as one of six special science advisors to our State Board of Education.  The Texas Freedom Network gave its 2009 Grassroots Hero Award to Dr. Wetherington, saying that he is :a "dedicated individual who exemplifies Texas Freedom Network's work to Stand Up for Science", and adding that "whether working behind the scenes to patiently educate board members or in front of the cameras making a vocal case for science standards free from creationist ideology, Dr. Wetherington has worked tirelessly to ensure Texas students have a rigorous science curriculum that will prepare them for the 21st century."  

Forums are at Yarborough Public Library, 2200 Hancock Dr., Austin, TX  78756, on the first Saturdays of each month from February-November, 2009, except for July and September when the library is closed for holidays.  Forums are always from 11:45am - 1:15pm.  All forums are free, and open to the public.

Coming in August: Laura Ewing(D) from Galveston county, and Patricia Hardy(R) from Tarrant county on "What You Should Know Before You Run for the State Board of Education".  Each has run for the SBOE, where Ms. Hardy represents SBOE-11.

For more information, contact John Keohane  keohane@prodigy.net  (512) 371-3853

Joe Jaworski to Run for Mayor of Galveston

by: David Mauro

Sun Mar 08, 2009 at 09:50 PM CDT

Via Musings, we learn that former Galveston City Councilman and state senate candidate Joe Jaworski will run for Mayor of Galveston in 2010.

From the Galveston Daily News:

After losing his bid to oust state Sen. Mike Jackson, R-La Porte, from the District 11 seat in November and watching the city struggle to recover from Hurricane Ike, Jaworski said he realized the place he could do the most good was in his own hometown.

“The greatest need is in the city, and it’s where I live,” he said. “I came out of the holidays completely clear on my path.”

If elected, Jaworski said he would be a forward-thinking mayor, especially when it comes to storm recovery efforts.

“Hurricane Ike is an opportunity,” he said. “It’s tragic and damaged us greatly, but this is a chance to make great progress in Galveston. I fully intend to be that kind of mayor.”

Jaworski sees his campaign as a way to bring more statewide attention to the island, the kind of status Galveston used to have 40 years ago.

“I want to serve people’s interests here, but Galveston could use some greater connectivity,” he said. 

FEMA Coordinator In Galveston Hotel Riot ?!?

by: soyuz63

Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 07:36 PM CDT

I noticed this on the website for the Houston Chronicle, under the headline Baseball star among 8 held after scuffle with police at isle hotel:    

Houston Astros pitcher Brandon Backe was among about eight people arrested early Sunday after a fight at the San Luis Resort, police said.

    FEMA coordinator Jamie Forero was also placed in custody after the incident, which occurred shortly after midnight at the hotel's swimming pool bar.

And according to the Galveston Daily News:

[Galveston PD Lt. Joel] Caldwell said during the melee he saw Jaime E. Forero Jr. refuse an officer's order to leave the scene.

"He identified himself to me as the 'director of FEMA operations,'" Caldwell stated in his report.

Caldwell reported he removed Forero's identification with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Forero continued to try to pull away from police before he was placed in a patrol car.

"Forero stated we were making a huge mistake, and we would both be without jobs in the morning," Caldwell reported.

Police charged Forero with failure to obey an officer.

(Seriously, though -- rioting FEMA coordinators? Anybody have a followup on this story?)

My first BOR post! Links below. Peace and stuff.

Link to the Chronicle story: http://www.chron.com/disp/stor...

(which FWIW originally spelled the man's name 'Ferrero.')

And more on it from the fabulous Galveston Daily News: http://www.galvnews.com/story....

I posted essentially this same nugget at Daily Kos as well: http://www.dailykos.com/storyo...

Reports of tragedy filtering out of Galveston and Bolivar

by: Robert Ryland

Tue Sep 16, 2008 at 03:44 PM CDT

Okay...I've got some news on this front.  Take it for what it's worth, but the guy I got it from is someone I trust to raise my children... He's never once lied to me...ever.  And we're close.

He's in a pretty high-up supervisory position for a refinery down on the coast.
His refinery has some equipment and lines in and around Galveston county, and before they were to bring them back on line he and his crew had to inspect the place for damage and potential hazards.  So they were given permission....after a background check....to helicopter in and inspect, which meant coming in over Galveston.

I kid you not when I say that he told me they saw AT LEAST 1500 bodies in trees scattered about Galveston.  They also saw a lot in various ditches and marshes, esp. on the north side of East Galv. Bay, east side of Trinity Bay, and in the marshes between I-45 and Seabrook/Clear Lake/Deer Park.

It explains why they're not letting the media anywhere close to the Island except in limited sectors nd we're not hearing anything from or about the people who survived and those who stayed behind. It's like 20,000 people never
existed....where are they?  Where'd they go?  What are their names?  Nothing....

Same thing in Orange county.

Take it for what it's worth....I believe him, though his count may be wrong given the shock of the sight.  But like I said, I'd trust him to raise my kids.

I'd be more surprised if he were wrong than if he were right.

And from Rhiannon Myers  of the Galveston Daily News comes this dispatch:

GALVESTON - Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas on Monday ordered all city employees not to talk to news reporters. She did not say when that order would be lifted.

Thomas and City Manager Steve LeBlanc will be the only officials allowed to talk to reporters. City spokeswoman Mary Jo Naschke vehemently denied the city was trying to clamp down on coverage.
......

Reporters would be allowed on the island only if they had proper identification, Thomas said. She didn't clarify what that meant.

Reporters were also forbidden from visiting areas on the far West End, Thomas said. She did not explain why.

I'm not normally one to be alarmist and I don't want to upset people, but this has me very worried. I know some folks who stayed down there to ride it out, as does the guy who sent me the email above - he has yet to hear from one of his friends and fears the worst. His report of the damage in Nacogdoches was not pretty either, and if this storm tore apart towns that far inland it's certainly not unreasonable to think that Galveston and the Triangle have experienced unprecedented devastation.
There could be arguably sound reasons for media blackouts, and the specter of hundreds of bodies among the wreckage may be one of them.  It's not always easy in situations like this to know where to draw the line between respect for the deceased and their families, and the public's right to know about what  has happened.

Perhaps the best thing we can all do now is pitch in and help:

Donate to Red Cross Disaster Relief

or jump in locally in Austin - see Matt's post below to Donate to and Volunteer at the Capitol Area Food Bank