Did Alabama Just Violate Federal Voting Law?

["Dave Farber" <dave () farber net>]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Suzanne Johnson <fuhn () pobox com>
Date: Fri, Dec 15, 2017 at 7:36 PM
Subject: Did Alabama Just Violate Federal Voting Law?
To: dave >> DAVID J. FARBER <farber () gmail com>



“As long as I’m secretary of state of Alabama,” John Merrill proclaimed in
2016
<http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/11/02/alabama_secretary_of_state_says_more_voting_would_cheapen_the_work_of_civil.html>,
“you’re going to have to show some initiative to become a registered voter
in this state.”

Merrill, a Republican, is still secretary of state. But Tuesday’s special
election proved his declaration was incomplete. In Alabama, showing
initiative isn’t always sufficient to become a registered voter.

Under Merrill’s regime, a multitude of voters—most of them in
majority-black counties—struggled to cast their ballots in the race between
Roy Moore and Doug Jones. Unprepared poll workers spread misinformation.
Bewildered citizens were forced to fill out confusing, redundant paperwork.
Qualified voters were told they could not vote. And the state may well have
run afoul of federal law.

Shortly after polls opened in Alabama, many voters reported being told that
they had been moved to the “inactive voter list.” This additional hurdle to
casting a ballot seems to have resulted from a project Merrill undertook
this year to “refresh” Alabama’s voter lists. According to Merrill’s office
<http://sos.alabama.gov/newsroom/inactive-voters-voter-record-refresh-information>,
the state government first sent nonforwardable postcards to all 3.3 million
Alabama voters containing their voter registration information. If the
information was accurate, voters were asked to merely “retain” the card. If
the information was inaccurate, they were asked to mark *return to sender*
and drop it back in the mail. The state then sent a second, forwardable
postcard to everyone whose first card was returned by the post office as
undeliverable. That second postcard asked voters to update their
information.

....clip....

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2017/12/it_looks_like_alabama_violated_federal_law_with_its_inactive_voter_scheme.html



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