Is California the “new” Florida? That’s what many voters are asking after the nation’s largest state, California, was engaged in a massive voter dispute around “Decline To States” voters (what the rest of the nation commonly refers
While the political pundits and delegate “bean counters” called the state for Clinton 20 minutes after the polls closed, it was learned that hundreds of thousands of California’s independent voters were not being counted.
California has over 700,000 “DTS” voters %uFFFD some 94,000 who voted in Los Angeles County alone and were allowed to vote in the state’s Democratic Primary. It was disclosed at the end of election day that if DTS voters failed to punch a bubble at the top of their ballots, that their vote wouldn’t count.
Well, there was only one problem with that-most poll workers didn’t inform voters that it was necessary to do so. Invariably, most did not (including myself). Now they’re telling us our vote won’t count; not in 1868, or 1968, but in 2008. I don’t think so.
Funny how when change shows up, so does oppression and repression. Or in this case, suppression. As of this week, the issue still hasn’t been resolved and most feel this level of disfranchisement simply cannot be tolerated. It also might change the outcome of the election and delegate count that are apportioned to the candidates.
Even if the delegate apportionent doesn’t change one iota, the point is, “here we go again” with the type of “poli-tricks” and trick-a-ration that America has a long history and the type of games that frustrates the voting electorate in staying out of American politics. Nobody, I repeat, NOBODY is bringing new voters to the election process like Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). While he will have to battle Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) (and later what looks like Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.) in the campaign, he will have to battle voter suppression at the ballot box in every state.
Yes, in the Southern states like Florida, in the Northern states like Ohio and even in (too) laid back California. Voter suppression is now Obama’s biggest opponent. Voter suppression is any form of activity that causes a willing voter not to be able to exercise their right to vote. In California last week, we witnessed voter suppression take several forms. The DTS “bubble” glitch was just the most egregious act that could be measured.
There were several other activities that were frequently reported that can’t be measured in their totality%uFFFD largely because we cannot ascertain how many people actually walked away in frustra-tion. Just know that there were some.
The other major act of voter suppression was with new voters who were recently registered, but whose names were not listed on precinct voter registration rolls. People were being told that it wasn’t their voting place, and that they had to find “their” polling place.
Most of these new voters were young people who didn’t know that their right to vote could not be declined%uFFFDnor did they know to ask for provisional ballots that allows contested voters to vote while their issue will be resolved at a later time.
Their vote counts now, will be counted last, but at least they got to vote. Those who are joining the campaign to change America is not just helping Obama defeat Clinton and the Republicans. They are helping him defeat voter disfranchisement.
He can turn out all the voters in the world, but if they never get to vote, who wins? The same ones that have always won when literacy tests, poll taxes, white primaries and other impediments block the paths of voting. Power will do anything to stay in power, including continuing to disenfranchise voters.
Voter suppression is an active (not passive) political strategy that we can’t ignore, and must fix before the November elections. Only then will we overcome. Anthony Asadullah Samad, Ph.D., is a national columnist and managing director of the Urban Issues Forum.
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