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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (80429)	10/24/2004 10:00:14 PM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 793891

Democrats Suppress The Vote in Florida Matt Margolis blog by Matt Margolis @ 7:10 pm on October 24, 2004 Democrats claim they want "every vote counted" and are very trigger-happy when it comes to allegations of voter intimidation. However, they see it fit to intimidate and suppress the votes of Republicans and Bush supporters ... in Florida of all places. On Election Day, voters will be protected from campaign pressures by a 50-foot cone, an invisible barrier that campaign workers cannot breach. Not so for early voters. While the Voter's Bill of Rights in state law says they have a right to "vote free from coercion or intimidation by elections officers or any other person," a glitch in the newer early voting law does not include the same 50-foot guarantee. As a result, with early voting taking place in busy public places like City Halls and libraries, voters are voicing complaints of being blocked by political mobs, or being singled out for their political views. Others say they have been grabbed, screamed at and cursed by political partisans of all stripes. Republican Rep. Tom Feeney of Oviedo said the antagonizers are "Kerry thugs" out to harass Bush voters. "If you ask me whether I believe there is an organized effort to intimidate Republican voters, the answer is absolutely yes," said Feeney. The Republican Party is calling on the secretary of state's office for help, asking that early voting rules be clarified. The secretary of state's office has not yet responded. "Significant numbers of people have already been deterred from voting," wrote Republican Party Chairwoman Carole Jean Jordan to Secretary of State Glenda Hood, "and this will continue until corrective measures are taken." The Democrats of course have to make a counterclaim: "We have had incidents as well," said Christine Anderson, spokeswoman for the Kerry campaign. "We've had quite a few." She said the party hasn't taken affidavits from voters and found it shocking the Republicans were so focused on the issue rather than working to make sure people can vote. "It's just absurd they would try to accuse us of intimidation efforts," said Anderson.