In Georgia, Expect Record Numbers of Black Voters and Serious Tally Troubles

Half the voters who cast ballots in the Democratic primary in Georgia this past February were African-American (the state went to Obama). Despite long lines, incidents in which machines broke down and polls closed unexpectedly (rather than staying open late), black voters managed to show in record numbers.

Voting has begun again in the state of Georgia and one white voter, based in Atlanta, revealed his experience trying for an early shot at the ballot box on Tuesday, "A long line folded itself three times in a relatively hot October sun, shortly before lunch-time. Perhaps a dozen people couldn't stick it out -- they left before getting to the front of the line... Every one of those who gave up the effort was white."

Whether or not their votes get counted entirely accurately, sufficiently, or on time this season, black Georgians have waited long enough for a fair shot at electing the first African American president. Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act first laid the groundwork in 1965 by requiring that any changes made to an electoral voting process had first to be submitted to the Attorney General for federal review. The reason was that President Lyndon Johnson, a Southerner and a Texan himself, no longer trusted the South to promote burgeoning civil-rights legislation. The Voting Rights Act rallied 60 percent of Southern blacks to sign up for the next presidential election, a rate in keeping with Southern whites (ten years earlier, only one in five blacks had been registered.)

This year, the state mandated a single machine be allocated for every five hundred of the state's voters. By comparison, in Ohio, a state about the same size, that number is closer to one in a hundred and seventy five. In Ohio, black voters are part of a community comprising 12 percent of the state while in Georgia, a third of residents are African American.

The state of Georgia is one of those places northerners would likely choke to death in -- it's endlessly hot, sticky, and riddled with historical iniquities; as evinced by a Superior Court decision as recently as July in which the court ruled all voters must show state-issued ID cards when they arrive at the polls. (GOP Sec. of State Karen Handel said later she was pleased a "frivolous" attempt to block the law had been thwarted.) As part of the case, Democrats submitted that nearly half of the state's registered black citizens lacked a driver's license or state-issued identification.

Then, a few weeks ago, Georgian officials asked the Justice Department to check social security numbers for 2 million new voters, a request more ambitious than any other state (note Georgia has just 9 million people). Rep. John Lewis of the state's 5th Congressional district, in which over half the constituents are black, made a plea to his state's voters on Monday.

Lewis is a civil rights advocate-turned-politician and was relatively plain:

there is a deliberate, systematic effort to depress the turn out of African American, Latino and other minority voters on November 4th. This is harassment. It is intimidation ... Who decides, based on what standards which 2 million voters deserve greater scrutiny than any others? ...I urge all the registered voters of Georgia to become informed and know your rights so that no one can discourage you from casting your vote on Election Day.

What Lewis means (and hasn't said in as many words) is that he's taking the long view. In 1963, he and others his age were intimidated when they tried to vote, mostly by local officials. Howard Zinn laid out the incidents in "Battle-Scarred Youngsters," an account of voting struggles in the South underway while President Kennedy was in office. Zinn described the sister of a student he taught, a

tall, beautiful, dark-skinned girl, beaten by police and found in jail swollen and marked, barely able to speak.

The violence from that period is impossible to imagine but the disenfranchisement may not be. Voting rights groups have now sued Georgia saying broad voter-checks will protract out the voting process, and have urged the federal government investigate. Sec of State Handel once again countered that officials were "simply trying to follow the law." The issue has gotten particularly heated over the case of one immigrant voter, Jose Morales, who turned citizen last year and registered to vote last month. When Morales tried to submit his voter registration form, county and state officials asked for proof he was a citizen, something they now wish to do by mail for thousands more new immigrant voters.

If that doesn't exhaust your patience, requirements for provisional ballots - yes, those that must be filled by hand and left in a dusty corner until voters return to the polling booth with valid enough ID- don't exist in Georgia (or any other battleground states for that matter save for New Mexico.). Which means nobody in these states needs to have a clear sense how many extra provisional ballots officials should keep handy in case they have to reject unforeseen numbers of "ID-less" or "ID-imperfect" voters. And if you're waiting in line past official polling hours in Georgia, you'll have to fill out a provisional ballot even if you have a state-issued ID. (Weird ol' Georgia! Ain't it grand?)

Hard to say whether provisional ballots will be top anyone's agenda when the much of the work is done and vote-counters are in the final throes. And African Americans who live in Georgia fortunately aren't as distrait and short-tempered as many of us. I'll bet that they'll have a pretty clear impression of what's in store (courtesy some of their trusty government officials) come Election Day.

For more on voting in Georgia and the Deep South, check out the Voting Rights Act, the "Bloody Sunday" riot of the same year (in which John Lewis, quoted, was beaten along with hundreds of others for participating in a voting rights march) and Howard Zinn's 1963 article (quoted) in The Nation on young, black activists fighting for a shot at freedom.

Comments

[mafina]

Already finding early voting ballots in trash cans.

[leevntheus]

Does the Democratic Party there have cheap food and free entertainment at any major polling places that expect long lines and shenanigans? Of course there are rules about distance from polling booths and content, but its obvious that we should fight fire with water. If the repubs plan to make lines hot, long, and frustrating, we should volunteer and organize to make relaxation and enthusiasm our weapon. The republicans are counting on divisiveness, outrage, and conflict. The harsher the better for their voter suppression agenda. Let's come up with ideas to make the wait and maze a WOW thing to do. Also, each precinct should already be planning or have ready specific videographers of polling places to record disputes and troubles that could end up in courts. Come on people! This is the new age...lets have some hot dogs, lemonade, local music and make our vote count!!

[carriellbee]

That is a great idea.

[Kuni]

What those lying about ACORN conveniently forget is the FACT that ACORN is by law required to turn in every registration form submitted to them.

That is why ACORN hands in at least 2 piles. One with the names they have confirmed, the second with the names, like Mickey Mouse, that are suspect.

Yet the MSM reports that this second pile is: "ACORN hands in fraudulent registrations".

I recommend that those who are on the side of Truth, Justice and the American Way write to every single media outlet who repeats these lies. Write to their Advertises and tell them that they should pay less as that these outlets have lost your viewership/readership because of these blatant lies they repeat.

And how many reports do we hear about the well documented Conservative voter drives; where questions are asked to determine if someone is a supporter of women"s rights, i.e. would probably vote Democratic; so that they can throw those registrations in the garbage later?

How many reports do we hear of the well documented attempts by Conservatives setting up bogus petition drives where people signing their names for what they think is a good cause; all of a sudden find out later that they signed a form re-registering them as Republicans?

There is Fraud, but it is ALL being committed by the Right who can never win on the issues.

[judesedit]

Keep shouting about the voter suppression there. Call your newspapers, national public radio, and check the internet for phone numbers to notify of election shananigans. Call Obama's campaign office in your area to alert him of the problem. You can find the nearest one to you by checking Obama's website. Obama will get involved to make sure you can vote. He is suing persons found to be tampering with the voting process in many states now.

[Icantbelieveher]

They want to supress the black vote because they know they would never vote for a republican! But what they are not counting on is 1) Working class people (black, white, hispanic) are tired of being overlooked by the administration, and 2) They keep trying to remind us that Obama is black. Their entire campaign is about linking him to a white person who did horrible things when Obama was 8 years old. What they aren't counting on is that the number of Americans who are voting for Obama/Biden far outnumber the bi gots!

They are going to get a huge surprise. The last two elections were not that hard for them to steal! They aren't prepared for how many Obama supporters are not just Obama supporters, but change supporters. We've had enough, enough, enough! This will be the largest turnout of voters in history!

We're making history in more than one way!!! I, myself, will be proud of President Obama!!!

[Snwbnny9]

Thats true. Historically african-americans are like 95% Democrats.

[demfriend]

There will be problems on Nov 4 and we all know it and it's not "at some level". We know it to be fact as it already has been showing the ugly head all over the country. Whether you call it caging, suppression or down right thug based there will be the challenge of the GOP and those who will attempt to change/alter/corrupt the votes legally made. As we have suffered through two past elections and ha them stolen I do not think for a second the same might not happen here. We as Obama supporters know the deep hatred and racism the GOP ticket is promoting and they will do all they can to steal what they can and call it legal for them to do it. The machines are not so trustworthy also so be very careful and select the total amount you have to. Do not mis one vote or the total vote will be tossed. Easy to do when it says select more than one. Vote early if you can at the local election offices. If you do it will be paper most of the time and not machines but again make sure to vote on everything and the amount. Do us all a favor and take someone to vote with you.

[blaqntelligence]

I voted Tuesday morning in downtown Atlanta. After relocating here from NY, and hearing some horror stories about voting issues in the past, I was going to wait until Nov. 4
Some huffpost bloggers encouraged me to vote early.
I did.
And happy to report the whole process was painless, the poll workers were helpful.
I left my office at 9:50 AM and was sitting back at my desk by 10:34, including a 3 block walk to and from the polling place.
Vote early, then work on election day to help others.

Obama/Biden '08

[ellawensmom]

Early voting in my county opens October 20. I'm voting that day so i can help out at the polls on Nov. 4th. My plan is to go help out at precincts that are predominantly Afr.-American. I'm sad that that's where I believe most of the battles will be fought that day.

[sbmulqueen]

I just voted - it took well over an hour, there were more than a hundred people there - IN THE RAIN! A few thoughts: the check in process is asinine - three people to check you in, check ID, etc. As my husband pointed out, it's easier to get thru security at the airport than it is to vote.

But, and this is a big one, in my very unscientific observation of the cars in the lot, of all the bumper stickers, maybe 5 percent were for McCain. Granted, I live in Atlanta, which is a nice blue oasis in this crazy red state, but still, this particular polling site was in the 'burbs and most people voting were white.

My concern is the process is a problem, and I really hope there are no shenanigans on the 4th - we have to help get the vote out in a lot of key areas. The weather can be a factor here, as well as the fact that we have a dismal transit system (stymied by our idiot Repub. Gov - surprise) so maybe that's somewhere to start.

[naschkatze]

God be with you all and keep you safe.

[Fredo777]

I think the media is putting way too much weight on race in this election.

There are persons of all different cultures + backgrounds supporting Obama, for instance.

I, for one, don't care what color Obama's skin is in the grand scheme of things; I am voting for him because I think he's the better person for the job + we need someone smart, diplomatic, + steady in that kind of position. That's not McCain.

[Snwbnny9]

Perhaps volunteers should go to polling places with video cameras to record each person turned away from voting. You can buy a mini-camcorder at walmart for like $80 now.

I can't believe they are doing this in America.

I recently moved and I sent in two voter registration forms because I registered as democrats in Texas so I was worried that my application would get "lost". Funny you don't see this stuff in California. Only the purple states.

[Ave-Gabrielle]

AND EXPECT McCAIN TO CLAIM VOTER FRAUD. Legal eagles, ACLU, get ready.

[MsLady]

I am a GA resident who voted early. I am also an Obama campaign volunteer. As I registered people I was sure to inform them to be prepared...have an ID card (you can get a state ID free at any state courthouse), have a utility bill on hand just in case...and take at least 2 others with you. VOTE 2GETHER and let's get this thing done. We cannot take a momen'ts breath...the fat lady is just warming up right now. We can blog til we can't blog anymore, but we MUST VOTE to get OUR man through the door...of the WHITEHOUSE that is. So let's go people!!!! Be smart, be prepared, be votin'!

[mom2sons]

NO, WE NEED INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS HERE TOO! SHAMEFUL, SHAMEFUL, SHAMEFUL! VOTE OBAMA-BIDEN 08!

[mdowning]

what else would you expect from a third world state? don't rock the vote, block the vote. what a sad and disgusting farce.

[oneviciouslife]

We have it pretty bad down here, but third world state? that's a little insulting. There are lots of good people here working and fighting to make sure everyone counts. Georgia can be blue again damn it, i have to keep the faith!

[msnewhall]

I am completely disgusted that the United States who trumpets itself as the paragon of democracy cannot manage a clean election for itself. It breaks my heart that the State of Georgia seems to even in this day and age go to great lengths to discourage a certain segment of its citizens from voting.
Therefore I feel that it is imperative that us voters in the East, West and North finish the job for the voters from the South by putting Barack Obama in the White House. To this end I am personally volunteering for Barack and sending money - someting I have never done before in all my 40 years of voting.

[Sparty1]

You're right. It is disgusting that BushCo can spout how bad some other country is for their voter suppression and intimidation, but they can blatantly do the exact same thing. I hope that Obama wins handily and they all have to eat crow.

[matandch]

Does this prove many Americans really hate democracy?