Latino Voters Subjected to Dirty Tricks in Nevada

The Associated Press is reporting today that Latino Voters in Nevada have been receiving calls from people falsely identifying themselves as “Obama Volunteers” telling them to “cast their ballot over the phone”.

The calls have been reported to Election Protection, a nonprofit advocacy group that runs a hot line for election troubles. It is unknown at this time who is organizing those calls.

Laughlin McDonald of the ACLU Voting Rights Project had this to say regarding such illegal voter supression tactics:

"The Voting Rights Act makes it a crime to misled and intimidate voters. If you can find out who's doing it, those people should be prosecuted."

To read the full article about other reports of voter suppression and intimidation, visit this link

If you or anyone you know believes they have been a victim of voter suppression and/or voter intimidation tactics, please call 1-866 OUR VOTE (1-866-687-8683) or visit www.866ourvote.org and fill out their online form.

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New Mexico State GOP Members Sued Over Intimidation of Latino Voters

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) and the American Civil Liberties Union have filed two separate lawsuits against members of the New Mexico State Republican Party.

Talking Points Memo reported last week that Latino voters complained that Republican Lawyer Pat Rogers and Private Investigator Al Romero “went to the homes of their family members, and intimidating and confusing them about their right to vote in the general election.”

In another article, the Associated Press reports that the daughter of a woman being represented by MALDEF said her 67-year-old mother “cried and was frightened after Romero came to her home”. The investigator threatened to call immigration authorities even after the woman’s mother told him she was a U.S. citizen.

Ten people have been targeted by the New Mexico State Republican Party with claims that they voted fraudulently. In the ACLU lawsuit, one of the plaintiffs claims that after he had filled out a voter application, his private information was leaked to the media and he was depicted as a “fraudulent voter”. The State Attorney General is investigating how the New Mexico State Republican Party gained access to confidential voter information.

In addition to Republican Lawyer Pat Rogers and Private Investigator Al Romero being named as defendants in the lawsuit, the Associated Press reports that,

“The lawsuit seeks an injunction to stop the defendants from intimidating, threatening or harassing voters about their eligibility to vote or to interfere with that right.”

“The lawsuit also names Rep. Justine Fox-Young, R-Albuquerque, and unnamed members of the state Republican Party of illegally using Social Security numbers and birth dates to obtain information about voters.”

More on this story can be found here.

Individuals who have questions or concerns about their voting rights should call 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683)

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Last Day for New Voter Registration

Today is the last day for new voters to register in Oregon. Those who haven't previously registered to vote in Oregon and are needing a registration card, can pick one up at county election offices, post offices, banks and DMVs. Or they can download a form on line at oregonvotes.org.

Registration Cards need to be completed and turned into one of the county elections offices before 5 o'clock tonight. To find out where your nearest elections office is, please visit this link or go to www.oregonvotes.org and click on "County Elections Offices".

If you have questions about your registration, where to drop it off or need assistance, please call the Oregon Secretary of State at 1-866-ORE-VOTE / or 1-866-673 8683. You can also visit www.oregonvotes.org for more details.

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Today’s Voter Registration Caravan

In commemoration of the Birthday, Life and Legacy of Cesar E. Chavez, today Voz Hispana Causa Chavista and their allies will participate in a car caravan to register voters and encourage Latinos to vote in the upcoming elections.

With more than 100,000 Latinos eligible to vote in Oregon, including thousands of eligible young Latinos turning 18 years-old, the main goal of Voz Hispana is to register young Latino Voters using innovative voter registration methods like the caravan. They hope to encourage them to vote their conscience on issues affecting their lives.

Schedule:

Volunteers will gather at Noon either at Colonia Amistad, 30 S Gun Club Road, Independence; or at Colonia Libertad, 2920 Saddle Club St. SE, Salem

Depart simultaneously at 1 p.m. from Colonia Amistad and Colonia Libertad. The caravan from Colonia Amistad will travel through downtown Salem

Both caravans will arrive simultaneously at 2:00 PM at Chemeketa Community College, 4000 Lancaster Drive NE, Salem; voter registration, music, food, speakers

The Caravan will Depart at 3:30 p.m. simultaneously from Chemeketa Community College and will arrive by 4 p.m. at Woodburn High School, 1785 N Front St., Woodburn for voter registration and celebration of César E. Chávez's 81st birthday

Other Organizations participating in today’s voter registration drive include PCUN, Salem-Keizer Coalition for Equality, CAUSA, LUCHA, MECHA, First Congregational Church, St. Patrick Catholic Church Youth Group, Woodburn High School, Guadalajara Restaurant in Woodburn, LUS, Chemeketa Community College, Radio Movimiento, FHDC, and Mano a Mano Family Center.

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Oregon Voter-Roll Complaint Doesn’t Stand Up To The Facts

Last Week, former State Rep. Jeff Kropf, Voting Restrictionist Ruth Bendl, Jim Ludwick, President of anti-immigrant group Oregonians for Immigration Reform and anti-tax activist Jason Williams held a press conference about their beliefs that Oregon's Voter rolls are saturated with voters using “false addresses, improbable or impossible birth dates and ones allowed to register without showing any proof of identification”. They cited examples such as thousands of people registered to vote at one address to birth dates like 11/11/1111 printed on voter registration cards.

According to The Oregonian, Secretary of State Bill Bradbury’s office responded the following day saying that “The examples provided Thursday did not appear to show anything out of compliance with election laws”. They added saying that, “The examples included many inactive voters, who are listed in the two-year-old statewide voter database but are not among the nearly 2 million Oregonians who are eligible to vote”.

In an Albany Democrat Herald article yesterday, State Elections Director John Lindback disputed all claims by the group as "unfounded". Addressing the issues the group discussed in their press conference, Lindback added that the group of four never approached his office about the so-called problems saying, "I wish we could get them to talk to us, but they shoot first and ask questions later”.

The press conference held by the group of four last Thursday was a failed attempt to play on anti-immigrant sentiment to bash Oregon's Voter Registration process and the successes of Vote-By-Mail. With Anti-immigrant Initiative #112 having a provision which would eliminate Oregon’s current process regarding registering voters, the group was clearly hoping to generate interest as a "fix" to all the now unfounded problems they cited in their press conference. Unfortunately for them, Mr. Lindback skewered them with the facts.

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