Spook the Vote

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By Cindy Gomez
Editor                                                                                          

It’s that scary time of the year again. No, not Halloween, elections. I know this because ads telling me which candidates are unpatriotic, which want to end democracy as I know it, or take away my job, or destroy my children’s future are on every channel all day long. It is, by far, the most extreme election cycle I have seen in all my years of voting.

This year the spin from pundits, protesters, projections, and polls are out of control. The fear factor conjured up in this election is on par with that created during the McCarthy era when people were turning in their friends and neighbors to authorities as “Commies.”

One of the most effective smear campaigns in my lifetime took place in 1988 when Lee Atwater, in a classic example of race baiting, used a black man named Willie Horton to defeat presidential hopeful Michael Dukakis. Atwater, a political strategist for Reagan and both Bushes, was mentored by the likes of Strom Thurmond, and spawned proteges like Karl Rove. The partisan tactics utilized by Atwater to misinform and defraud the public had a deep impact on American voters. On his deathbed, Atwater found his conscience and God. He confessed and apologized for his racist divisiveness, defrauding voters, and manipulating elections.

Of course, Atwater’s escapades are just part of America’s history of voter suppression. We’ve all heard about Jim Crow laws, poll taxes, and literacy tests aimed at suppressing the votes of people of color.

But we’re also learning of more modern tactics such as caging lists, purging voter rolls, and ex-felon disenfranchisement to name a few. In all cases of voter suppression, those disproportionately oppressed are people of color. So we know it’s a problem. Question is, what are we doing to make sure voter suppression doesn’t happen again?

Flash forward to the 2008 Elections. Electing the first black American into the presidential office was monumental in our nation’s history, but by no means was it the the only momentous occasion during the elections.

The fight for a senate seat between Norm Coleman and Al Franken, which resulted in one of the most publicized and transparent statewide recounts, took place right here in Minnesota. During the legal battle that unfolded, two camps with sufficient if not unlimited resources carefully reviewed every ballot and came to the same conclusion: Minnesota’s voting apparatus was in prime working condition and according to Coleman’s attorney’s had “not a whiff of fraud.”

Yet here it is election time again, and fear is everywhere. In Minnesota, Secretary of State Mark Ritchie has recently been prominently featured in ads that allege widespread voter fraud in Minnesota. The coalition “Election Integrity Watch,” and other conservative groups imply that Ritchie is not doing his job at keeping elections free of voter fraud. The group is offering a $500 reward to those who help catch illegal voter activity, and warns would-be-perpetrators of fraud to watch out! 

But the coalition also seems to have another goal, to recruit a vigilante group of citizens to police the rest of us at the polls. Is this a case of preventing actual voter fraud, or simply a masquerade to suppress votes in Minnesota?

To better understand the issue, HPR spoke to Mark Ritchie about the ads and the history of voter fraud in Minnesota. First, he informed me that it is a felony in Minnesota to vote illegally with people facing up to five years in prison and fines of $10,000.

Ritchie reported “we know that in every election that we have records for there are between 50 and 100 people who vote illegally,” and the cases are different. (Approximately 2.9 million voters turned out in Minnesota in 2008.)

Some individuals mistakenly voted twice and were charged with election fraud.

In other situations, reformed parolees trying to do their civic duty voted and were subsequently informed they were not allowed to vote. 

With the exception of one colorful story of strippers in Coats, Minnesota, illegally voting to try to fix an election, there were no cases of any organized efforts to commit voter fraud.

Most of the cases Ritchie brought up had to do with accidental errors, not people intending to defraud the voting process or undermine an election. There were no accounts of hoards of illegal immigrants with fake IDs storming the polls and stealing elections.

Ritchie expressed confidence that Minnesotans can rely on the effective and transparent election process they have always enjoyed—free from fraud.

However, the Minnesota Secretary of State recognizes the need for vigilance when it comes to voter suppression of communities of color. He recalled that in 2004, aggressive voter intimidation teams came in from out of state to challenge Minnesota votes and they caused disruptions at polling sites, arguments, and even fist fights where police were called. “It was a mess”, Ritchie said, “and people felt intimidated,” causing some who saw that voters were being harassed to simply turn around and leave the polls.

Ritchie also stated that participation by communities of color in poll working, transporting, translating, and serving as election judges is crucial to improving their voting experience. Ritchie wants a voting system in place where “people mostly feel like they are being treated with respect and with dignity.”

Although a five-year investigation by the Bush Justice Department turned up “virtually” no evidence of widespread voter fraud, voter suppression of minorities (on the other hand) is happening around the country.  Consider:  In violation of the Voter Rights Act of 1965, Georgia is implementing burdensome voter verification requirements. Univision recently reported that they pulled ads in Nevada telling Hispanic voters not to vote.  And in 2008, the conservative group Minnesota Majority—which is allied with Election Integrity Watch—was connected to incidents of voter intimidation.

Election Integrity Watch claims it is concerned with election transparency. But what’s transparent is the group’s Quixotian nature: raising an army of the discontent to tilt at the windmill of voter fraud where the evidence suggests that voter suppression is the real problem.  What’s especially deplorable is that such groups raise the lance of “fair and free elections” to intimidate people of color.

I previously raised the question: what can we do to prevent voter suppression? Well, now more than ever, we need to vote.  All of us deserve the same rights, the same access, and the same respect. During this election season, let us ask ourselves how we can encourage votes, not suppress them; how we can make voting more welcoming so that more of us are engaged in democracy.  We must vigorously investigate and prosecute cases of voter suppression. Let us find ways of discouraging apathy and fear and of supporting inclusion. 

For a more in-depth look at voter suppression across America check out: http://tinyurl.com/2buoder

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