Virginia Felons For Obama

Today’s DC Examiner has an article on Fairfax County elections officials making a special visit to the county jail to register inmates to vote.

Both Fairfax County General Registrar Rokey Suleman and Sheriff Stan Barry deny any wrongdoing in the decision that granted Office of Elections on-site access to the Adult Detention Center in downtown Fairfax. Barry did, however, say it was unprecedented in his 30-year career with the county.

None of the inmates could be convicted felons.  Those receiving registration forms and absentee ballot applications were in jail for misdemeanor convictions or awaiting felony trials.

This comes on top of Gov. Timmy! restoring the voting rights of nearly 1,500 felons this year alone.

With this background in mind, take a look at this:

From: shane.emmett@xxxxx.com [mailto:shane.emmett@xxxxx.com] On Behalf Of Shane Emmett
Posted At: Tuesday, October 07, 2008 4:30 PM
Conversation: FOIA Request - XXXXXXX County
Subject: FOIA Request - XXXXXXX County
 

October 7, 2008

Dear Mr. XXXXXXXX:

Please provide the following documentation as soon as possible but no later than October 14, 2008.

First, copies of the list of registered voters for the upcoming 2008 election, as of Tuesday, October 7, 2008, for your jurisdiction.  We are requesting that the registered voter’s name, address, and telephone number be indicated on the voter registration list.

Second, please produce copies of all the denied voter registration applications from your jurisdiction starting after January 1, 2008, with social security numbers and any other private information, excluding phone numbers, appropriately redacted.

Third, please provide copies of all the Notices sent to each person in your jurisdiction whose application was denied for any reason, including a denial based on felony status. Under the Virginia Code, the State is required to maintain this information and make it available to the public.  § 24.2-444(B) (The State must retain for public inspection “all records concerning the implementation of programs and activities conducted for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy and currency of the registration records pursuant to §§ 24.2-427, 24.2-428 and 24.2-428.1.”)  Thus, we request that you, as the local registrar, provide copies of the documentation that was sent to individual persons in your jurisdiction, thereby notifying the individuals of their application denial.  We are seeking those Notices that specify a denial based upon incomplete information or an incomplete voter application.  To the extent that the Notice does not specifically indicate the basis for such a determination of “incomplete application” in the denial, please provide any and all internal documentation that describes the information allegedly missing from the voter’s application.

Fourth, any and all documentation concerning whether each person in your jurisdiction successfully responded to the Notice of the denial of their application in a timely manner.  Under the Virginia Code, the State Board of Elections must keep “all records, including lists of the names and addresses of all persons to whom Notices are sent, and information concerning whether each person has responded to the notice as of the date that inspection of the records is made.” §24.2-444(B).  Therefore, for your jurisdiction, please provide a full list of the names, addresses, and phone numbers of all persons who were able to successfully register to vote after they received notice that their initial voter registration application was rejected, along with a separate list of names, addresses, and phone numbers of all persons able to do so.

Fifth, we request that the phone numbers of all individuals be provided, particularly those phone numbers where the rejected voter’s address is not listed.  Without the phone numbers of potential voters, we are hampered in our ability to contact them and assist them in registering to vote in a timely manner.  Moreover, the Virginia Code does not explicitly bar the production of an individual’s phone number; the Code only bars the production of social security numbers and other information.  Furthermore, for those rejected applicant’s with no address listed, a phone number is critical as there is no other way of contacting the individual to assist them with the registration process.  Thus, we are requesting the State provide us all applicable phone numbers, particularly of those individuals who were sent Notices indicating the denial by the state of their voter registration application.

Sixth, please provide the total number of voters that attempted to register in your jurisdiction since January 1, 2008.  Also, please provide the total number of voters successfully registered since that time.

Seventh, please provide us with a description of the process you follow to generate denial notification letters.  In this description, please include the method by which they are delivered, whether the delivery is verified, and how they are generated in your office.  Also please provide a copy of any internal policy guidelines that the agency distributes to local registrars describing how each registrar ought to draft and deliver the notification letters.

Finally, please provide the number of denied voter registration applications in advance of the following prior elections: 2004, 2000, and 1996 federal elections.  Specifically, please provide the number of total denied voter registration applications after January 1, 2004 until election day in 2004, after January 1, 2000 until election day in 2000, and after January 1, 1996 until election day in 1996.  Please also provide the number of voter registration applications received in your jurisdiction each election cycle.

Sincerely,

Shane Emmett
Virginia Promote the Vote
Obama for America

From what we can gather, letters like this were sent to the State Board of Elections and the City of Alexandria, Arlington County, City of Chesapeake, Chesterfield County, Fairfax County, City of Hampton, Hanover County, Henrico County, Loudoun County, City of Newport News, City of Norfolk, City of Portsmouth, Prince William County, City of Richmond, Stafford County, and the City of Virginia Beach. That is a total of 16 cities or counties that we are aware of that have received this FOIA request demanding a response in an unreasonably short period of time, especially given that these localities must also deal with all of the last minute voter registration forms that were just submitted prior to Monday’s deadline.

Why did Team Obama make such a last minute request regarding denied voter registrations? Two reasons.

First, obviously, is to try and maximize the vote by getting every possible person registered and voting.  Fair enough.

Second, though, is to set the stage for the aftermath should Obama lose Virginia by a narrow margin. This letter will be held up high and counties that could not meet the unreasonable timeframe specified therein will be accused of voter suppression, racism, etc. and threats of lawsuits will abound. If you think that Florida 2000 was a mess, wait until you see what they try this time if they come out on the losing end in a close race.

This organization, Virginia Promote The Vote, made several wild allegations of voter suppression back in 2006.  Obviously, they’re up to their old tricks once again and they’re setting the table for it again this year with this letter.

UPDATE:  It appears that this Shane Emmett of Virginia Promote The Vote is a law student in North Carolina at Wake Forest set to graduate in 2009 who, as a law student lists “not employed,” has donated nearly $2,000 to Obama.