Facts about voters rights in Michigan

From the ACLU:

Fact: You have the right to vote without photo ID in Michigan

Just ask to sign the affidavit form at the polls. Michigan's new photo ID law allows registered voters who don't have photo identification, or those who have forgotten to bring photo ID, to vote by signing a form at the polls stating they are not in possession of photo ID. Voters without ID need to know their right to vote because Michigan cities are getting this wrong. Shortly before the August 2008 primary election, both the cities of Allen Park and Grand Blanc sent newsletters to city residents stating the need for photo ID with no mention of the affidavit form for those without ID. The Secretary of State estimates that approximately 370,000 Michigan residents have no form of photo identification.

Fact: You have the right to vote in Michigan if you are an ex-felon.

Even those still on probation or parole can register and cast their vote on Election Day. Michigan law only prohibits those serving a sentence on election day from voting. People in jail awaiting trial or sentencing may vote by absentee ballot, and those who have been released but who are on probation or parole may vote after registering.

Fact: You have the right to vote if your home is in foreclosure

The Michigan State Department of Elections is informing poll workers statewide that voters with homes in foreclosure may not lose their right to vote nor be challenged on their right to vote. Those who have moved from their homes may vote in the same precinct up to 60 days after they have left that address.

Fact: You have the right to vote if you wear campaign gear to the polls

You cannot lose your right to vote if you wear a t-shirt, hat, button or other garb endorsing a candidate or an issue into the polling place. You will, however, be asked to remove these items by a poll worker or risk misdemeanor charges. Any and all campaign materials, including apparel, must be a minimum of 100 ft. outside of the polling place at all times.

Fact: You have the right to be free of intimidation or harassment at the polls

Voters should not be intimidated or discouraged from voting by questions like, "Have you paid your rent?" or "Have you paid your child support?" During the last presidential election, ACLU heard stories of voter intimidation like these occurring in precincts with low-income and African American voters. If voters are harassed or intimidated by anyone at the polling place, they should tell a poll worker immediately and call the Election Protection Hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE, a joint project of state and national civil rights organizations, including the ACLU of Michigan.

Next Generation Vets for Obama

Video: Veterans Support Obama/Biden

Support stem cell research

Proposal 2 has one purpose: to allow researchers the ability to find the cures and therapies that millions of Michigan families desperately need.

The procedure required to conduct vital stem cell research is criminalized in Michigan, even though it holds the greatest hope of cures for deadly and debilitating diseases and conditions including Parkinson’s, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, sickle cell anemia and spinal cord injuries.

Finding cures for the worst diseases we know is in our grasp. Finding cures is the right thing to do for Michigan families who deserve to have hope, and need help.

Vote YES on Proposal 2.

For information see: Cure Michigan.

Michigan Republicans Believe Michigan Voters are Racists

Peter Fletcher, a Republican Party leader from Ypsilanti, insisted on a radio show in Ann Arbor yesterday that "Race cannot be overcome," in terms of the presidential election. Fletcher was the second Michigan Republican Party leader in about a week to accuse Michigan voters of being racists or to admit that Republican voters would back John McCain for racist reasons.

The other was none other than Republican Party of Michigan boss Saul Anuzis, who told E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post that he also thinks Michigan voters are racists, and that Republican voters are likely to have racist reasons for voting for John McCain.

The question is are the Republicans right? Are Michigan voters racists? I don't think so. I think the Republicans are playing a back-handed version of the race card, raising racial issues by pretending they are against racism. But in fact they want to arouse racist sentiments and try to influence voters to think about race as much as possible.

Michigan voters, like all real Americans, are better than the Republicans give them credit for.

Protect Our Vote, 2008

by Richard Trumka

This year’s historic election may come down to two major factors: how many people turn out to the polls, and how many of their votes are counted.

Voter turnout increased more than 120 percent during the presidential primaries, and few if any of the pundits predicted it. Millions of young people and people of color have been especially energized by the candidates and are registering to vote for the first time.

Yet the primaries also spotlighted questions about whether our country is ready for November 4. There were numerous reports of polling place problems, voting machine malfunctions and complaints of voter registration glitches. Lines were long, voters were not on the rolls, and too many would-be voters simply gave up.

Polls in parts of Ohio, California, and the District of Columbia ran out of paper ballots, in some place as early as noon, according to a Pew Center on the States study. And the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law reported that its nationwide voter protection hotline received over 5,000 complaints during the primaries.

In the 2006 general election, the hotline received 584 calls from Michigan, with the majority from Wayne County. There were reports of voter intimidation including a man outside Van Buren township Middle School who was reportedly telling voters that the polls closed at 7:00pm, an hour earlier than the actual 8:00pm closing time. A Macomb County voter received a voter registration card directing her to a polling location that did not exist at the given address.

It was almost like a repeat of the 2000 and 2004 elections, when horror stories of long lines, inaccessible and understaffed voting places, poorly designed ballots, ill functioning voting machines, and voter intimidation and manipulation in low-income, Latino, and African American communities were widespread.

We cannot allow these voting rights problems to occur again in November 2008 – there’s simply too much at stake. This year, every eligible voter in Michigan must be able to cast a ballot, and have that ballot counted.

A truly historic election day is going to come down to individual voters who must be active proponents of their own right to vote.

That’s why AFL-CIO union activists and constituency groups have joined a nonpartisan coalition of civil rights organizations, faith-based organizations, students, lawyers, and other community allies in Michigan to tackle voting problems in our community and reach out to citizens about their voting rights.

Here are six simple steps that everyone in Michigan can take to make sure their ballot counts:

First, call your local elections office before Election Day to verify the location of your polling place.

Second, bring some form of identification to the polls, preferably a government-issued photo ID.

Third, ask for help from poll workers and check posted information signs if you have questions or need assistance at the polls.

Fourth, if you are in line at the polling place when the polls close, do not leave. You’re still entitled to vote.

Fifth, if you are offered a provisional ballot, ask if you can cast a regular ballot instead by providing additional ID or by going to another polling place. If there are no other options, cast the provisional ballot.

Sixth, if you have a voting rights problem, ask to speak to an election official or to a voting rights volunteer, or call the toll-free voting rights hotline 1-866-OUR-VOTE, operated by a nonpartisan coalition of groups, including the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and the AFL-CIO.

This November’s election will mark the moment that America begins to build a future for all, or one in which we finally give up on the American Dream. Everyone in Michigan ought to stand up and weigh in on the direction our country should be headed. Voting is our most precious right and responsibility as Americans, and this year, we must make sure our votes will count.

Richard Trumka is Secretary Treasurer of the 10 million member American Federation of Labor – Congress of Industrial Organizations.

Don't Accept a Taxpayer-funded Handout to Wall Street Crooks

From the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights:

Our country is facing troubling economic times not seen since the great depression. Last week, the federal government announced that it would spend hundreds of billions of dollars to bail out Wall Street - and given the size of the crisis, the government may have no choice.

However, the government should not change the rules for Wall Street only then to ignore the plight of homeowners. Experts including the Secretary of Treasury and Chair of the Federal Reserve Board have said that the market will only stabilize when there is an end to the cycle of widespread foreclosures and the decline of home prices and financial asset values.

The Rescue bill that Congress is now considering should not ignore homeowners in the rush to bail out banks and brokerage firms, many of whom engaged in the reckless lending and irresponsible risk taking that created this situation in the first place.

In the very same legislation that will be using our tax dollars to bail out the financial services industry from a self-imposed crisis, Congress must give homeowners a chance to save their homes by allowing bankruptcy judges to reset mortgages for families on the brink of foreclosure.

Allowing homeowners to modify their loans, by using the Chapter 13 bankruptcy process to set up realistic and affordable mortgage payment plans, will give not just homeowners, but local communities and the economy, an opportunity to recover from this crisis - without any cost to taxpayers.

Call your members of Congress today at (202) 224-3121 and urge them to include bankruptcy protections for homeowners in the Rescue bill.

Vernon Ehlers E-mail Contact Down

So today, I went to Rep. Vernon Ehlers e-mail contact form on his House.gov Web site in order to send him an e-mail about the urgency of his taking real steps to aid middle-class families in the economic crisis and not just big Wall Street banks.

But after typing in my contact info and clicking send message, the new page read:

This page must be viewed over a secure channel.
The page you are trying to access is secured with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).
Please try the following: https://forms.house.gov/htbin/wrep_const.pl.
403.4 Forbidden: SSL required to view this resource.

So let's hope Rep. Ehlers can get his government-funded Web site fixed, so that he can have the ear of Grand Rapids. Try it and let me know what happens. Is he deliberately trying to shut out voices?

Republican columnists sharply criticizes John McCain

George Will, a Republican columnist, speaking in Grand Rapids yesterday, sharply criticized John McCain for his temperament, his economic views, and even his ability to president.

According to the Grand Rapids Press, Will said, "John McCain can so polarize every argument into a kind of moral melodrama. You can't have honest difference of opinion with John McCain. This is very difficult because to disagree with he who is honor personified is inherently dishonorable."

"This is why some thoughtful conservatives have grave doubts about his ability to be president," Will said.

"Read My Lipstick: I'm voting Democrat!"

"Read My Lipstick: I'm voting Democrat!".

And know your talking points of McCain's voting record on these same important women's

issues...it's not difficult: he's opposed to everything--

McCain on Women's Issues--

• voted against FAIR PAY
• voted against health insurance covering birth control
• voted to terminate the federal family-planning program that provides breast-cancer screenings
• voted against SCHIP--Children's Health Insurance
• a fierce foe of womens' right to choose
• 4 SUPREME COURT JUSTICES may be replaced in the next 5 to 8 years

"Women's Economic Security" Flyer--

You can print it directly from here-
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v254/giveupdefunk/womenissues2-1.jpg

Michael Savage's Hate Speech

We already know how extremists are lining up with John McCain. Jerome Corsi, who has made millions promoting books that are composed of untruths and distortions, recently peddled his book and is a frequent guest on a radio show hosted by anti-Semtic and white nationalist James Edwards.

But McCain also has the backing of James Edwards wannabe, Michael Savage. Here are some of the things Savage has said recently, according to MediaMatters.org:

We all know this isn't the first time Savage has used his #3 nationwide syndicated radio show to denigrate people and incite hate. Here are just a few of the other outrageous statements Savage has made that Media Matters has documented:

• On autism: "A fraud, a racket. ... I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is. What do you mean they scream and they're silent? They don't have a father around to tell them, 'Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don't sit there crying and screaming, idiot.' "
• On asthma: "[W]hy was there an asthma epidemic amongst minority children? Because I'll tell you why: The children got extra welfare if they were disabled, and they got extra help in school. It was a money racket. Everyone went in and was told [fake cough], 'When the nurse looks at you, you go [fake cough], "I don't know, the dust got me."' See, everyone had asthma from the minority community."
• On immigrants from Africa: "There's the new America for you. Bring them in by the millions. Bring in 10 million more from Africa. Bring them in with AIDS. Show how multicultural you are. They can't reason, but bring them in with a machete in their head. Go ahead. Bring them in with machetes in their mind."
• On the Democratic Party: "The Democrat [sic] Party is the minority party. ... [Sen. Barack] Obama is a minority, a half minority at least. The membership is made up largely of minority blocs, the Hispanic caucus and the gay caucus -- caucuses that are all against the white person."
• On Guantánamo Bay: "I'd hang every lawyer who went down to Guantánamo to defend those murderers."

Please look up your local Savage affiliate and take action here: http://mediamatters.org/action_center/savage_action/

Why I am backing Barack Obama...

What Planet Does McCain Live on?

McCain Campaign Sending Out Fraudulent Absentee Ballot Requests

Did you get one from McCain's campaign? I did. It was a request for an absentee ballot that had an old address on it. I threw it away, and I'm glad I did. If I had mailed it in, I could have been disfranchised. Here is an article that looks at what the McCain is doing in tricking voters to send in faulty ballot requests:

"McCain Pulls the Daily Double, Fraud and Mismanagement"

It says that in Ohio:

"County Board of Elections have been ruled invalid because Republican Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign printed a version of the form with an extra, unneeded box on it."

Don't use any materials from John McCain!

Sen. Carl Levin talks about John McCain's "experience"

McCain: Just more of the same Bush

Joe Biden Rips into John (same as Bush) McCain

Change is no Joke

Today I went canvassing for Obama in the 3rd ward in Grand Rapids. It was amazing. I knocked on 50 doors and met 14 people. 13 of them said they are definitely voting for Barack Obama. I helped 4 people register to vote.

One person said he usually doesn't vote, even though he is registered. He said he wasn't sure about the issues and really tries to stay out politics

I told him that the reason I am volunteering on a Saturday to talk with people about this election is because I have two kids in the city's public schools, and I am tired of the cuts to public education, school closures, and program cuts. I told him I am tired of high gas prices and bad economy. I said that I think Barack Obama shares our values, and that he helped working-class families like mine when he served as a community organizer in Chicago, as an Illinois state legislator, and as a US Senator to fund public education and to turn the economy around.

The man nodded when I said I think Barack Obama will work hard for working people and our city when he becomes our president. He agreed to let the campaign send him more information about the issues.

I really feel like I helped play a part, maybe a small part, in making some change.

John McCain and Sarah Palin can mock that all they want. But I think it is real and serious and this is what democracy looks and feels like.

Obama talks about the relevance of working in communities

Obama is right. John McCain hasn't lifted a finger for working families in 26 years in Washington. Sarah Palin's affiliation with extremist parties who want to break away from America disqualifies her as a serious national politician.

Video: Real McCain of Genius

From WorseThanBush.org

Video: Barack Obama Speaking in Detroit

Superintendent Taylor Responds on GRPS Teachers...

Yesterday, I posted a short piece in support of Grand Rapids Public School teachers, who have begun teaching this school year without a contract and who are hoping to win some pay raises in the current contract negotiations. It appeared that the school board was not being forthright about its resources during the negotiations, media reports indicated.

I also mentioned that I had written a short e-mail to GRPS Superintendent Bernard Taylor asking him to bargain in good faith and alerting him to the fact that my kids are students in GRPS and that I support the teachers. Quality education begins with fair treatment of our kids' teachers in terms of pay and working conditions, I said. Seems obvious, right?

So I opened my e-mail this morning and was pleasantly surprised to see a prompt reply from Superintendent Taylor.

I was also surprised by how Superintendent Taylor emphasized the "illegality" of a job action by the teachers and tried to drive a wedge between the teachers and their bargaining reps in the union. "Teacher strikes are illegal, and we hope that the union would never ask their members to take part in an illegal activity," he wrote.

It seemed to me that the emphasis of the e-mail was not on how he would make a personal effort to ensure the School Board would work hard to bargain in good faith, or to see that a fair settlement beneficial to all sides is reached. In fact, Superintendent Taylor seemed to put all the responsibility for a fair resolution on the union. "My hope is that the union will continue to work with the district to find a common solution," he wrote.

This is not the statement of a manager who wants to bring all sides to the table to discuss the issues in a fair manner and reach a conclusion that is agreeable to all sides.

Indeed, there is something very divisive and even threatening about this response, which is uncalled for.

Let me just say that I do not doubt Superintendent Taylor's commitment to our schools, but I am skeptical of how he is going about it in this case. I personally disagree with Superintendent Taylor's apparent decision to take such a hard stance against the teachers.

A public schools superintendent, as a public servant, should view his or her role as a partner with teachers, administrators, and parents to create a quality system of education; not as an employer who has to hold back on information about how much public funds are available to provide pay raises for richly deserving teachers.

Hope, change and unity

Support GRPS Teachers!

My kids are in Grand Rapids Public Schools, and I want then to have the best education available. And that means starting with providing job security for their teachers.

But apparently the school board disagrees. They seem to be refusing to negotiate in good faith with the teachers who have begun this year without a contract.

According to the union, the school district is not being forthright about how much money it has to pay the teachers and is simply driving a hard bargain.

What is the point of that? Pay the teachers, give them a good contract. Don't jeopardize this school year or my kids' education with this nonsense.

So I just wrote this letter to Superintendent Taylor:

Dear Superintendent Taylor,

Thank you for your hard work and dedication to our kids, including my own who just started at [blank--I inserted the name of the school here].

I read recently about the efforts of the teachers to win a contract that includes some pay raises. I just want to let you know that I support them and hope that you will make every effort to come to terms with them on this. I do not believe taking a hard line on this issue is worthwhile.

I want my kids to be in school every day this year, but I am also willing to stand with the teachers in the event they decide to take action.

Respectfully,

Barack Obama's Plan to Change America

Barack Obama believes we can unite people around a politics that puts solving the challenges of everyday Americans ahead of partisan calculation and special interest politics.

Iraq
Obama opposed the war in Iraq from the beginning, and has a plan to responsibly end the war. Obama would immediately begin to pull out troops engaged in combat operations and pressure the Iraqi government to reconcile. He would call for a new constitutional convention with the United Nations. And he would take immediate steps to confront the humanitarian disaster in
Iraq.

Healthcare
Obama will sign legislation by the end of his first term in office that will provide quality, affordable and portable health care to every single American. His plan will save a typical family up to $2,500 every year by providing health coverage for every American, modernizing the U.S. healthcare system to contain costs, promoting prevention, and strengthening public health.

Economy
Obama will restore fairness to the tax code and provide 150 million workers with a tax cut, including a new tax credit worth up to $500 per worker. He will make strategic long-term investments in research, infrastructure, education, training, and workforce development so that America can create new high-wage jobs and prosper in the world economy. Barack Obama will fight for trade agreements that grow American jobs and contain good labor and environmental standards.

Education
Obama is committed to strengthening our public schools. He will increase investment in early childhood education, and reform and fund No Child Left Behind. Obama will support paying teachers like the professionals they are and will encourage the development of professional, differentiated teacher compensation systems. Pay reform will be done with teachers, not to them. He will make college affordable for every American by expanding grant aid and reforming federal student loans to free up more money for student aid.

Energy and the Environment
Obama has been a leader in the fight to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and minimize the effects of climate change on our planet. He strongly supports the most aggressive cap-and-trade approach to achieve an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050.