GOP Officials Trying To Disqualify Iowa Student Ballots

The Iowa GOP appears to be distancing itself from a Monday effort to challenge thousands of student ballots at Grinnell College.

Spokesman Nathan Treloar told the Huffington Post on Tuesday that while he has "seen reports coming out that its Republican lawyers" objecting to student ballots, he claimed "this could be a local thing" at the county level.

RELATED: Check Out HuffPo's Voting Problems Big News Page

Asked whether the state party has encouraged or endorsed the strategy, in which students who did not register to vote by affixing a PO box to their official university mailing address are being challenged, Treloar said "No, not that I have been made aware of." Treloar then suggested contacting the Republican chair in Poweshiek county, where Grinnell is located.

But if the Iowa Republican Party is not eager to be associated with the challenging the ballots of young voters, they have yet to communicate their displeasure to those who are responsible for the tactic.

Reached by phone, Poweshiek Republican county chair Harry Meek not only claimed responsibility for the strategy, but said he had no idea whether the state party backed his move. "Yeah, it was us," he admitted, sounding somewhat resigned. Asked if he knew how the state party viewed their legal challenge of young voters, Meek said, "I couldn't tell ya."

"We were told that Secretary of State in Iowa had made some concessions for students -- as long as they put down the [university] post office address along with a PO box, that was adequate. So the ones we challenged were those that didn't have a PO box. It's real simple, we're just going by the rules. It says so right on the challenge affidavit."

Alec Schierenbeck, Vice President of the College Democrats of America and a student at Grinnell College, sees it differently. "That is a technicality that they're using to try and disenfranchise students," he said, noting that while only 50 votes have been challenged out of 700 early ballots on campus, the result is mass confusion on campus today. "At the last minute, we've had to rearrange the way we are getting out the vote on campus. I fear some voters were disuaded by the idea they're going to go to polls today, and a lawyer is going to harrangue them and shake a book at them. It spreads a lot of disinformation."

Schierenbeck says that all students who cast challenged ballots have been contacted, and are signing statements in advance of a Thursday hearing on the issue. "Given the [last-minute] context of challenge, and the history of way we've registered, we're optimistic these votes are going to be upheld," he said.

"The is a last-minute tactic by a party that's adrift, and has little left to do but disenfranchise people," Schierenbeck added. "That's why the state party has cut them adrift. They don't want to take responsibility for it, either."

RELATED: Over 1,000 Students Lined Up To Vote At Penn State (VIDEO)

Comments

[CaroleK1970]

disgusting. its why the republicans deserver to lose everything

[unscum]

There are more registered Democrats than there are Republicans. It's time for Democrats to do voter caging and voter suppression on a scale that equals that of the GOP.

[Kerra52]

NO! We would not go there.

[WolfI]

Absolutely not. There is a fundamental right to vote in this country, and the beauty of the Constitution is it protects all points of view, even the unpopular ones.

It is time to fully enforce laws that ensure voting rights and prosecute the people who violate them.

[paixa3]

Congratulations for the most sane posting that I have read.

[Viper]

NO, NEVER. We shall not become them and give them victory!


Regards

[DASM]

Apparently the GOP despises young voters & wants to take away their right to vote. Young voters will remember this pathetic attempt to block their democratic rights.

[29october29]

This election is being stolen from democrats by rethugs right now...

northcom or no northcom

everybody today and everyday thereafter in the streets

with pitchforks and ropes

to refresh Jefferson' Liberty tree

if a "surprise" occurs tonite !

and then...

NO QUARTERS !

[pjones006]

Yes and for their complaining about acorn which is just a smoke screen to divert attention from their same old tactics. I'll take my chances with Mickey Mouse trying to cast a vote over their tactics to prevent votes from being cast in the first place.

[AptosDemocrat]

"Thousands" of student ballots? For the record, the total enrollment at Grinnell College is around 1,500 students. Are they seriously trying to disqualify every student on campus?

Grinnell '67

[GOP-Iowa]

AptosDemocrat:
Yeah, the story is a wee bit inflated here. The total number of ballots being challenged is closer to 50...even the newspaper story linked with the inflated number notes that.

As Andywrites notes, the problem is that the ballots being contested were of students who did not list out a complete address as instructed to...they we instructed to list their campus PO box along with the college's address...­the ones being contested only had the college's address.

The story is working overtime to sensationalize this, when in reality, it is a small number of ballots being challenged­...but it would be no different than any other ballot that also contained an incomplete or inaccurate address.

[WolfI]

Again, the problem is that they are only challenging the registration of the students from this liberal arts college. Yet it is improbable that they are the only students in the state of Iowa who forgot to include a PO Box.

Where are the challenges to the students at Iowa's four Bible/Christian colleges?

It is clear that the intent is to disenfranchise certain voters, not to review the rules. I am sure there far more than 50 students missing a PO box at the University of Iowa.

[Bill D Catt]

You know that's 1,499 Democrats and 1 Republican, Ira Strauber norwithstanding. :-)

Grinnell '92

[labman57]

Typical Machiavellian tactics and mindset from the extreme-right. The GOP is all about morality, but cares nothing about ethics.

[UrbanRevolution]

I WANT SOMEONE - LIKE MCCAIN - TO ANSWER DIRECTLY FOR THESE TACTICS. Is this what AMERICA IS ALL ABOUT? IS THIS "COUNTRY FIRST". Is this how the GOP wants young people to think about the democratic process. WHEN THIS IS OVER WE NEED TO DEMAND THAT THEY EXPLAIN THEMSELVES AND THEIR TACTICS. WE SHOULD FLOOD THE BLOGS, LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ETC WITH STORIES AND ANECDOTES ABOUT THIS B.S.. if this is America why not live in Russia?!?!?!?!

[DemocratVotingRepublican]

I'd like to see Obama, Acorn and or the Dallas Cowboys explain how they're registered to vote in Arizona?

[pjones006]

Lazy deadbeats who took shortcuts trying to sign up voters. Happens EVERY election but unless Tony Romo tries to vote in Dallas and Arizona, though I believe it was Nevada, I wouldn't worry too much.

[JSquercia]

Do you really think that anyone from the Cowboys will show up to vote in Arizona > those registrations were filled out by ACORN workers to get paid . I believe ACORN themselves flags potentially problem cases for the boorad of Elections BUT they are legally required to submit ALL regiteration Documents . If that is your readon for voting Republican it is a sad commentary .
I find the difference in the two campaigns to be VERY revealing as the quality of the canidates . Obama ran a campaign in which he discussed his plans . McCain ran an almost completely NEGATIVE campaign . He consistently lied about Obama's tax plan hich would NOT increase taxes on anyone with an AGI of less than $250,000 . McCain's health care proposal will tax employer provided Health Insurance for thr FIRST time and that he will give you a 5,000 credit for a family Plan but it costs closer to 12,000 for a Family Plan and that is if it is purchased as a group Plan .Individuals would NEVER get a rate as good as their Employers Group rate . In addition as Elisabeth Edwards pointed out neither she nor McCain could get Private Insurance since both have preexisting Conditions (cancer)

[BillCarson]

>I'd like to see Obama, Acorn and or the Dallas Cowboys explain how they're registered to vote in Arizona

Answer: Neither Obama, Acorn or the Dallas Cowbays are registered to vote in Arizona.

Also, Fox, McCain, Limbaugh, and their ilk are not telling the truth about ACORN. Here's an Acorn fact sheet link: http://www.bradblog.com/?page_id=6500

[toomuchpr]

They should go Animal House on this guy.

[hapiguy]

Perfect, the reason this ole White Dem is voting THEM out, and start the long road Back,,,,The United States,,oh,,my wife was class of 62 Grinnell,,,,go Grinnell

[scottbee]

they'll stop at nothing to suppress the vote

how bout suppressing the

Palin Bedroom Stimulus Package

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUMO6zc27gg

[TheIndependenceParty]

It is really simple, ... publish the names of businessman registered as Republicans in Grinnell, and have the students and the University vote their pocketbooks as well. Don't patronize Republican-owned businesses.

A county that enjoys the bounty of having a college in their community for business revenue, needs to respect those students as citizens in the community.

[andywrites]

This is a stupid, misleading story, no different from republican-leaning sensation-seeking reports. The facts (quotes) in the story clearly indicate that the state official took responsibility for it, and that he very reasonably explains that he is enforcing a mutually-agreed upon term specifying P.O. box numbers on the ballots (as opposed to the general college address). Think about if this were not enforced. College campuses would be the easiest route to ballot-stuffing, as multiple names within a single address could be processed, with only a laborious name-checking process to determine who the real voters might have been. If you care at all about true democracy - and not just getting your party in office - you should see through stupidly manipulated headlines like this one.

[WolfI]

You are right that they have filed a lawsuit to enforce the agreed terms, but don't you find it suspect that the only students being challenged are those at the most liberal college in Iowa? Having once been a college student, it is not difficult to imagine that students at the Univeristy of Iowa, some of the other smaller colleges, or the four Christian/Bible colleges also forgot to add their PO boxes, and yet their votes are not being challenged.

The point is not the rules themselves, but how the rules are applied, and the motivation. This application creates a disparate impact.

[enlighteninglad]

Another voter fraud accusation with no proof of it occurring? The republican party is just attempting to take the easier route instead of changing their ways that would make people WANT to vote for them. Technicalities preventing a young student from having their vote count is NOT a good way to introduce them to "the greatest democracy" in the world.

[bac59447]

The problem with this suggestion is that, as study after study has shown, actual instances of voter fraud are about as frequent as $3 bills. Refusing to allow these students to vote is analagous to other situations (in the South) where people are being refused the right to vote because the registration shows their middle initial but their driver's license does not (even if addresses, etc. match). It is being hypertechnical to a fault and it is being used against a population that is already young, impressionable and unlikely to fight back against against a bunch of guys wearing suits and ties. Instead of worrying about colons versus semi-colons perhaps the GOP operatives who really want to protect Americans' right to a fair vote ought to be investigating the reports from Pennsylvania and Virginia of numerous malfunctioning and missing voting machines.

[reckless]

You're a little confused. At first, the attempt was to challenge all students BECAUSE they used the campus post office box. The challenge was going to be that the students live in dorms, so the post office address was not where they live. However, registering in a dorm at Grinnell is impossible, because mail is not delivered there and IDs do not have that address. The Republicans were, therefore, only able to challenge the 50 student votes that used addresses other than the PO Box or had no address at all. So the Republicans originally wanted to knock out all student votes, who would be left with no valid address they could use to vote. The local official rejected that attempt by enforcing the previous agreement that PO Boxes were okay.

Let me two things something. First , many of these students voted weeks ago. The challenges were made the day before the election, and every student who did early voting was left with uncertainty about whether their votes would count. Why the last minute challenge? The registrations could have been challenged earlier, but the Republicans chose to do it on the eve of the election and cause chaos.

Second, there is absolutely no suggestion that these students are not eligible voters. The Republicans are trying to deny legitimate voters their constitutional right to vote on a technicality simply because they can. That does not sound like democracy to me.

[ron071]

The problems of poll chaos are CREATED PROBLEMS by the GOP which prospers as a result of voter surpression in Democratic precincts. This is an old story. Congress MUST correct this problem which is not too difficult to do since Federal electtions may have Federal administration.

[NotBeatenYet]

The last fetid gasps of a defunct political movement -- I'm really gonna miss them (ha!).

Goodbye neocons. We'll refer to your brief, selfish reign as the worst period of the 21st century.

[IJKMNO]

FOLLOW UP - The Harry Meek e-mail address got bounced. The phone number works.