Your vote may be at risk: Michigan

Lose your house, lose your vote

By Eartha Jane Melzer 9/10/08 6:42 AM

Michigan Republicans plan to foreclose African-American voters

The chairman of the Republican Party in Macomb County, Michigan, a key swing county in a key swing state, is planning to use a list of foreclosed homes to block people from voting in the upcoming election as part of the state GOP’s effort to challenge some voters on Election Day.

“We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren’t voting from those addresses,” [GOP] party chairman James Carabelli told Michigan Messenger in a telephone interview earlier this week. He said the local party wanted to make sure that proper electoral procedures were followed.

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This is outrageous! Transparently draconian voter suppression tactics such as this strike directly at the very heart of our nation's principles, and as such should carry penalties on par with treason. What kind of sick-minded creature dreams up ways to steal fundamental rights from the struggling and downtrodden, in broad daylight, and claim legal protection for doing so?

Home foreclosure is not an acceptable litmus test for voter eligibility. Many people continue to live in foreclosed homes for months as they work out arrangements with their banks, often finding ways to keep their houses in the long run. Many more are simply renters, who are not necessarily under any obligation to move even if the property changes hands.

It's hard to imagine a clearer example of hypocrisy by the "America first" party. Intentionally excluding people from the democratic process for economic reasons should deeply offend all Americans, especially as the entire nation slips deeper into this financial downturn.

It is becoming increasingly clear that in this election, a person who votes for the GOP is either woefully misinformed, a willing dupe, flat-out stupid, or just plain evil.