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VOTER INTIMIDATION BY ARKANSAS FIRST LADY JANET HUCKABEE AT POLLS?
Share / Recommend - Comment - Print - Tuesday, Oct 19 2004, 9:48AM
JANET HUCKABEE, FIRST LADY OF ARKANSAS, HAS BEEN ACCUSED of intimidating voters at a polling station in Arkansas.
This just in from an Arkansas Fox News Affiliate KLRT:
Little Rock Fox News Affilliate -- KLRT
Election commission first lady controversy
The Pulaski County election commission held a special meeting today and the hot button issue turned out to be first lady Janet Huckabee's performance as a poll worker. Some voters and elected officials complained that she was intimidating voters and being down right rude and they want her removed from the Dunbar community center precinct because she's becoming a disruption to voters.
Jerry Larkowski, election commission chairman says he went down to assess the situation and says although Huckabee, in his opinion, seemed less than pleasant when talking to voters she wasn't breaking any election rules. However, he's still concerned about the issue and has asked that voters with any complaints submit them in writing to the commission to be reviewed.
Said Larkwoski: "While I didn't see any voter that came and complained to me about her actions toward them I did sense some of what I heard that there's tension some of the voters are feeling intimidated by her."
The chief election judge, Helen Burr says Huckabee is following the rules and asking questions as she should. She and Huckabee say the allegations of deliberate intimidation and rude behavior are not true, and it may be that merely being the governor's wife is what's intimidating to people.
"If I intimidate people I'm sorry. I'm just sitting here doing a job like everybody else and as a citizen and a registered voter I have that right," the first lady told Fox-16.
Huckabee says she'll continue to exercise that right as long as the election commission allows her. And commissioners say if any complaints are with merit and warrant action, they'll meet to decide what that will be.
I guess there is no law against being "down right rude," at least not that I know of. But according to KAIT, a local ABC affilliate:
. . .Mrs. Huckabee once improperly asked a voter for identification, and another official said Mrs. Huckabee will have the rules more clearly explained to her.
Alleged rudeness and at least one mistaken request for identification may not add up to much, but in this charged atmosphere about the management of ballots and polling booths, one would think that Huckabee would tend towards being overly gracious in her role.
What is needed right now -- and what is missing from this election season -- is a unified message from all Governors, Republican and Democrat, that the health of our nation's democracy depends on voter participation and that every single eligible voter is welcomed -- and that all attempts to thwart the rights of any citizen to vote should receive the toughest sanction.
Remember Bradford County, Pennsylvania Judge Jeffrey Smith who sentenced a graduation ceremony streaker to six months to two years? Bad judge...very bad.
I'd be up for the National Governors Asssociation recruiting him to advise on sentences for those tearing up voter registration forms, intimidating voters at polling stations, or destroying or invalidating ballots. This would be a great job for a tough judge.
To Janet Huckabee -- This "First Lady of Arkansas Photo Gallery" make you look nice enough. Make it real, and graciously welcome any voter who shows up at your station.
-- Steve Clemons
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Steve,
Voter suppression is in full swing out here, after having sent in two registration forms that got "lost", I spent Saturday going downtown and waiting with hundreds to get an absentee ballot at the county registration office. This is the first time I will not go to the polls...sad.
Did the founding fathers have mandatory thirty day "cooling off" periods for voters...hmmmm? By the way, my complaint helped get this story aired (see Below). Doing what I can.
Counties scramble to sign up new voters
By Keith Ervin
Seattle Times staff reporter
...Complaints are being made about the pace of voter registration even though four months ago King County began using a new computer system to streamline the process. The county bought the computer after the state Office of the Secretary of State recommended last year that the time taken to process a voter's registration be cut from as long as three months to two weeks.
Washington Citizen Action, a consumer-advocacy group, claims to have signed up 52,000 mostly minority and lower-income voters this year. But at some of the group's voter-registration sites, would-be voters said they hadn't received registration cards some two months after signing forms, said executive director Shawn Cantrell.
I first voted in MIchigan and then Massachussetts before moving to downstate Illinois. I felt that MI and MA encouraged all people to register and vote. IN IL, the feeling was that the Republicans controlling the county, did not want students voting in the election. A lot of Republicans are not comfortable with voters who are not white folks.
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