People who said they were previously registered Democrat or Republican suddenly found their registrations inactive or their Party affiliations dropped, and now they can’t vote in their primary. These problems were a big issue in Arizona, and now they’re being seen in New York, California, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and more.
Many people are concerned election fraud is happening, but others think it could be widespread clerical errors. Either way, the problem is affecting people’s ability to vote.
Many Voters Reporting Mysterious Changes to Their Registration and Party Affiliation
Many people across the country, including New York and California, are reporting problems with their voter registrations being changed without their permission.
Shelly Berry shared proof her New York voter registration was changed. Her registration was switched from Democrat to unaffiliated and she was told the change was made in 2012. She had the agent at the Board of Elections office print out the 2012 form and compare it to another form on file that she knew she had filled out. The handwriting was distinctly different.
Anthony DeVincenzo shared that he changed his Party affiliation in New York on the DMV website before the deadline. But it took the DMV five days to complete the transfer, and now he’s ineligible to vote. In fact, that just before the late deadline to register for the April 19 Primary in New York, Board of Elections spokesman Tom Connolly said they were getting hundreds of calls a day from angry voters.
The problem for New York voters is the CHANGE date was Oct. 2015, but the new voter registration is in 2016.
Many voters from other states are also reporting problems.
There is a long list of stories about people who couldn’t vote in Arizona. Stories include one who registered Democrat two days before the deadline and received an email verification that he was registered as Democrat. But when he got to the poll, he was told he had no registered affiliation and had to vote provisional. There were many of this type of stories. Another Arizona story, a voter registered as a Democrat but was told she was Independent. As she dropped in her provisional ballot, one person working at the polling station said, “We’ll see if this is even counted.” She finally got hold of the Secretary of State and were told that she was, indeed, registered as a Democrat the whole time.
Meanwhile, in California, voters are reporting problems too. Kelly Tolman Curtis shared how her voter registration status changed three times online in the span of just a couple days
In Connecticut, a voter shared that he changed his Party registration to Democrat last fall, but now he’s listed as unaffiliated.
New York Voters Are Filing a Lawsuit on Friday and Need More Stories from People Affected
The problems are adding up as Closed Primaries conclude and disenfranchised voters want their voices heard. In Arizona, it all started with a big hearing and now the Department of Justice is investigating the registration and polling station problems that left many voters without their voices heard.
In New York, voter registration problems are so numerous that representatives with Election Justice USA will be filing a lawsuit on Friday on behalf of the people whose registrations were changed. Any New Yorkers who experienced switched voter registration should send a form explaining their problems to:
Shyla or Stewart of Election Justice USA via sanelson@icloud.com or countymyvote@riseup.net
You can fill out a form online. Right now, only names and stories are needed. Attorneys will contact everyone affected to get signatures and affidavits later.
In addition, many residents are pushing for the Primary in New York to be opened, so people who were disenfranchised from voter registration issues can still vote. Assemblyman Fred Thiele introduced legislation to the New York State Legislature on March 24 requesting that the Primary be opened. The bill would open the Presidential Primary and, if approved, would take effect immediately upon approval.
Here’s What To Do If Your Registration Is Wrong
New Yorkers who find out they can’t vote can speak to a judge and the judge can issue a court order to direct poll workers to let them vote. The judges will be “on hand” on Primary day. You’ll ask for a court order and meet with an on-call local State Supreme Court judge. If a Judge agrees with your appeal, they will issue you a court order allowing you to vote. You can also sign an Affidavit ballot. Voters can also file Provisional ballots, but unfortunately these are often thrown out if available data shows the person is registered, but with a different party than they tried to vote with.
In the meantime, no matter what state you’re in, there are a few things you can do if your voter registration information is wrong:
First, call your local Board of Elections office to double check that what you’re seeing online is correct. Sometimes your information may actually be correct in their files, even though what you’re seeing online is wrong. Other times, they can look through the files, find an error, and fix it.
If the problem persists, there are a number of people you can notify. Pratt Wiley, the National Director of Voter Expansion for the DNC, said that he wanted to hear from people who had problems voting in Arizona. If you have a personal story of encountering problems voting in Arizona or other states, you can write him at wileyp@DNC.org.
Because many of the people encountering the problems are Bernie Sanders supporters, the campaign is interested in hearing your stories. You can contact the Bernie Sanders campaign at help@berniesanders.com.
You can also contact Election Protection with your story. Your local ACLU may also be interested. In California, for example, you can contact the CA Attorney General and the California ACLU if you think you were affected by a voter registration issue. In New York, you can call the local BOE at 518-473-5086 and the local New York ACLU. A list of local ACLU chapters.
Some Worry the Issues Are Connected to a Voter Registration Leak in December
Exactly what’s causing all the voter registration problems isn’t yet known. Some say these are just clerical errors, quite a large number of clerical errors. One reporter said his wife’s voter registration was listed as inactive because when she changed it, a clerical error caused her name to be misspelled. In New York only the County office has complete records on a voter. There’s also not one set standard for how voter information is retained, so it can be different from district to district.
These haphazard information storage could put voter registration information at risk. In December, a database of 191 million voters’ records was mysteriously leaked, Forbes reported. No one ever figured out who was responsible for the leak. A computer researcher found multiple databases left open for perusing, including names, addresses, party affiliations, and logs of whether voters had participated in the Primary or General elections. According to Forbes, “every registered U.S. voter is included in the leak.” Much of the information was already publicly available, but that didn’t cause many voters to feel less uneasy about the whole thing. In fact, Bloomberg wrote an article about how one hacker helped rig elections in Latin America for years.
Many are calling for Open Primaries in the future, due to the unreliability of the voter registration process.
Check Your Voter Registration Status If You’re in a Closed Primary State
If your state’s Primary or Caucus hasn’t been held yet for your Party, then you need to check your voter registration status. This is especially important if you’re in a Closed Primary state. If your voter registration shows up correctly, take a screenshot of the correct information, just in case it changes as Primary or Caucus day gets closer.
Here’s a list of upcoming Primaries and Caucuses that are closed or semi-closed and how to check for that specific state:
California – The primary is on June 7 and is semi-closed. You must be registered as a Democrat or unaffiliated (no party) in order to vote in the Democratic Primary, and the same for the Republican Primary. People registered with the Independent Party in California won’t be able to vote. The deadline to register is May 23. Check your status here.
Delaware – The Primary is April 26 and it’s closed.
For New or changed registration, check here.
Convicted felons are eligible to vote if they meet the following requirements:
- Fines and restitution must be satisfied prior to the application date.
- Must not be convicted of a disqualifying felony as defined in the Delaware Constitution.
- Sentence must be completed.
To determine if you are eligible please contact (302) 739-4277.
D.C. – The Primary is closed and it’s on June 14. The deadline is May 16 for previously registered voters to change their Party affiliation. However, unaffiliated or unregistered voters have same-day registration on Primary day at One Judiciary Square. Check your registration status here.
Kentucky – The Democratic Primary is May 17 and it’s closed. You must be a registered Democrat to vote. The voter registration deadline for new voters is April 18 and the date to change your party affiliation is April 13. Previously registered voters had a deadline of December 31, 2015. Check your registration status here.
Maryland – The Primaries are closed and are on April 26. The voter registration deadline was April 5. However, if you’re not registered, you can still do same-day registration for early voting only April 14-April 21. Check your registration status here.
New Jersey – The Primary is June 7 and it’s closed. The Party affiliation change deadline is April 13 for previously registered voters. Undeclared voters can change their party at the election. Check your registration status here.
New Mexico – The Primary is June 7 and it’s closed. The voter registration deadline is May 10. Check your registration status here.
New York – New York is a Closed Primary on April 19. Check your registration status here.
Oregon – Oregon has a Closed Primary that is on May 17. The deadline to register is April 26. Check your registration status here.
Pennsylvania – The Closed Primaries are on April 26. Check your registration status here.
Puerto Rico – This Caucus is June 5 and it’s semi-closed. You must sign a Party affiliation sheet when you vote, but if you didn’t vote in the Republican Primary then you can vote on June 5.
South Dakota is a semi-closed Primary on June 7. You must be registered with your Party or unaffiliated in order to vote. The deadline to register is Mary 23. Check your registration status here.
West Virginia – The Primary is May 10 and it’s semi-closed. You must be registered with the appropriate Party or unaffiliated to vote. Voter registration deadline is April 19, but undeclared voters can also vote with the Party of their choice on election day. Check your registration status here.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
No comments:
Post a Comment