Lawsuit: Georgia Illegally Purges Votes

Complaint Claims Voters Being Dropped From Registration Rolls Because Of Challenges To Citizenship

(CBS)  CBS News Investigative Producer Michael Rey wrote this story for CBSNews.com.

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A lawsuit was filed late Thursday against Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel claiming her office is breaking at least two federal laws by illegally purging voters from registration rolls based on challenges to citizenship.

The complaint, filed by several civil rights groups on behalf of a single plaintiff, claims the state is violating the Voting Rights Act and the National Voter Registration Act by purging possibly thousands of voters less than 90 days before the election and relying on a flawed database to question the citizenship of registered voters.

“It appears as though Georgia is going out of its way to look to purge voters. They are going beyond what’s allowed for by federal law,” Jon Greenbaum, an attorney with the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights told CBS News. “In our view it is a clear violation of federal law.”

The lead plaintiff in the suit is 29-year-old Jose Morales, a recently naturalized US citizen living in Cherokee County, GA. Morales, who studies international relations at Kennesaw University, has been a citizen since 2006. After registering to vote at school in September he received this letter in the mail telling him, “you may not be a US citizen.” That began a trip through a confusing county bureaucracy that continued to insist he was not a citizen. “I began to be upset about the letter and the fact that I was being asked to prove my citizenship even though I am already a citizen,” Morales said in an affidavit.

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Read The Complaint Civil Rights Groups Filed
Read The Letter From Cherokee County Election Officials
Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel Responds to Activist Lawsuit

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In March 2007 Georgia officials launched a statewide database that required voter registrations to be matched with the database at the motor vehicles department to check citizenship. Georgia is considered a section 5 state under the Voting Rights Act. Because of a history of discouraging minorities from voting, the state is required to check with the Department of Justice before it started using the database. But it never did.

On Wednesday, the Department of Justice sent a letter to the state Attorney General raising questions about the legality of the 2 million queries the state has made about resident social security numbers and citizenship in the past year.

Greenbaum said actions by the state could affect the voter registrations of “thousands” of residents in all 159 counties of the state. “The benefit of purging voters is if you can control who is registered to vote you can control who votes. That’s one of the things we’re trying to find out through the lawsuit is…who is responsible.”

The Secretary of State's office told CBS News they would not be making a statement Thursday.

[tangouniforn]

Republican Play Book
1. Stop likely democratic voters from voting
2. Don''t allow votes from strong democratic districts to be counted
3. Have Supreme Court stop counting of ballots

[bobbyduck1]

Starting with the Shrub''s refusal of an honest count in Florida, obscene gerrymandering in Texas under Bush/Delay/GOP congress, now McSame''s "No policy just smear smear smear" campaign, how can anyone side with the neocons? How can they show their faces in public?

[lauraimagine]

Republicans stole the election in 2000. Chads, Jeb Bush, Kathryn Harris and so on. Do you recall Bush sitting in a hotel in Texas with his family and when all the television stations were reporting Al Gore won. (Due to the fact the media knew the last reporting precinct consistantly voted for Democratics). He arrogantly looked at the reporter and stated "I wouldn''t rule out Florida yet". Kerry and the 2004 election. Exit polling was overwhelming for Kerry. Then when the numbers starting coming in they were all going Bush''s way. This has been going on for almost eight years now with little focus from the media. Now you are starting to report on it. I guess better late than never but wouldn''t this have been better to have investigated this voter fraud prior to 26 days before the election? This year, however, we the people will not let it happen. If this country does not have a fair election then we have nothing.

[hatenomore-2009]

Today''s word is Democrat:

Main Entry: dem7o7crat
Pronunciation: %u02C8de-m%u0259-%u02CCkrat
Function: noun
Date: 1789

1 a: an adherent of democracy b: one who practices social equality

2capitalized : a member of the Democratic party of the United States

[dburfears]

"Only those WE think should have a vote can vote. All others can F'' off and die, Especially those who are not Republicans or white."

- Republican Party Platform

[hatenomore-2009]

Just remember... Bush was in office for 8 years with a Republican controlled House. It has only been recently that the Democrats became the majority. It is also true that Bush said that he would veto anything that the Democrats tried to put forth anything that was not to his liking... Sooooo.... how much power do you think the Democrats have?

[hatenomore-2009]

I''m in Florida and I have two words: Poll Watchers

[hatenomore-2009]

Okay... that post by dburfears... I''m hoping that was reverse psycology.

[hatenomore-2009]

It will be interesting to see how it plays out. I just hope an innocent person isn''t killed because of McCain''s hate rallys.

[hatenomore-2009]

Sun247 you''ve got that right! I was saying that very thing today. Do people not learn from past mistakes?

[hatenomore-2009]

Well if anything happens to Obama, they''ll put Hilary in the running. That should really scare a bunch of you.

[hatenomore-2009]

Tonight''s word is Erratic.

Function: adjective

1 a: having no fixed course : wandering an erratic comet barchaic : nomadic

2: transported from an original resting place especially by a glacier an erratic boulder

3 a: characterized by lack of consistency, regularity, or uniformity erratic dieting keeps erratic hours b: deviating from what is ordinary or standard : eccentric an erratic genius

[hatenomore-2009]

ACORN does and is being investigated. And the fact check shows that Obama is not behind this.

[hatenomore-2009]

McCain has been acting rather erratic lately...

[hatenomore-2009]

So what are they proposing we do to Obama... lynch him? They''re looking into all these allegations. They haven''t found anything that hasn''t been public knowledge for years. McCain was also connected to Ayers. Several people were. He wouldn''t be a US Senator and running for President if he was a terrorist. That''s just absurd and ridiculous. What''s even more ridiculous is that people who live in an educated society believe it.

[hatenomore-2009]

You''re right! The whole world is watching and the majority of the world thinks the republicans look like fools now... and for the last 8 years.

[hatenomore-2009]

Millions of American middle class people have been donating to his campaign because he gives them hope. I contributed also. Lynch me.

[hatenomore-2009]

Looks like the hate mongers are posting again. I''d stick around but the hate comments are old and unstimulating. It''s getting late anyway. Good luck with that!

[endofempire]

hatenomore: I understand how you feel.. But it is OK... It is not too late. Read up on Michelle''s graduate thesis. Then read up on a man who was born a Muslim, lived in a Muslim country and tutored by a Muslim Malaysian. Read up on how he kicked started his political career under the tutelage of an American terrorist. Then read up on his attendance for 21 years to Reverend Wright''s church of the poisoned minds... Then READ his taxation plans for the US. Then read how it compares to what Fidel Castro did in Cuba back in ''59... Another lawyer with a brilliant speech and an innate ability to convince others...

[jolsonbear]

OK let''s say that the right-wingers are correct about the folowing: Obama is a Muslim; he "pals around with terrorist; he wants to turn the US into a socialist state.
Then I am definitley voting for Obama! It will mean the end of over 2 decades of Fascist, Evangelical Tyranny.

[endofempire]

jolsonbear: Where will you move to, once you have lost your freedom of speech, freedom of free assembly, freedom to dress how you want. Where will you move once Sharia law becomes the new law of the land? I hope you speak French or Spanish...

[endofempire]

And by the way, get on Amazon and order your new Quoran... You''ll need it. Thankfully, I have my family''s escape plan ready. That wall we are building on the Rio Grande? That''s your BERLIN wall, bud.

[endofempire]

jolsonbear: By the way, I was ready to vote for Hillary, until the party stole her nomination. I have lived in places where socialism works... A place like Reykjavik... Look it up and find out how that worked out for us. Iceland is on the brink of declaring national insolvency (bankruptcy to those who didn''t make it past junior college).

[babooph]

Why worry so much about voting crimes-the lobbyists are waiting to bribe as fast as possible -& that is legal !!

[redevil830]

I live in GA, and believe me it is still the old South here, the Bible Belt. It doesn''t surprise me one bit of what''s going on..

[newslink]

These old bigots just do not get it. The civil war is over. The old ways have lost its Power. All Americans should be able to vote. And not to be stopped by small- minded Bigots. Its a new day.......

[misha128-2009]

Wonder if some people just might have some explaining to do in January or Febuary to a federal judge?

[robert2237]

sun247- Yeah you are right there, they will be passing out so much money I don''t think Obama will be able to get it all in the white house if he follows his passed pattern. Guess Ayers will be passing out a lot that he got from congress for another one of his big ideals. So what he gets I am sure he will grease Obama''s hands real good.

[sparks224]

Nov 4th 2008
High Noon for Democracy

Millions of people will attempt to vote for Barack Obama,
thousands of Republican lawyers will attempt to stop them.

[inventagod2]

''Because of a history of discouraging minorities from voting, the state is required to check with the Department of Justice before it started using the database. But it never did.''

A southern state discouraged minorities from voting?
The heck, you say!

[toby2958]

Poor poor neocons... the yowling is becoming deafening. Fortunately I brought earplugs! LOL!

[that-one-2009]

Notice how it''s only southern republican states that seem to be having voting "issues".

[harbinger09]

This is funny--McCain made Republicans embrace a former mistress as potential first lady, illegitimate teen pregnancy, an Airhead for a VP and now they must embrace socialism and helping out the poor with a 300+ billion dollar mortgage bailout--before its over, the Republican party will seem more liberal than the Democrats and the Republicans have to swallow it--because he is all that they have.

Paying for a public bailout,ignoring subpoenas, obstructing investigations, then supporting airhead females for VP with secessionist party spouses and championing pregger teens indeed--what were those conservative values again? Hypocrites.

[canctu1]

The last time I was in Georgia my high school was white, blacks had to sit in the back of the bus and had to use seperate facilities! That was a little over 40 years ago. Though some things were forced to change, I see some others are the same they were back then! Hopefully those type of actions and ideas will die with those who live and hold on to the past! The future will be better, I hope! Perhaps the party of exclusion will die with them!

[abbe91]

"More truth will be coming out on Obama over the next few days.Ayers is singing like a bird.

Posted by mr22582 at 11:24 PM : Oct 09, 2008"

Singing about his links with McCain too ?

[markinga7]

Jim Crow raises its ugly head once again.

[smurfcrusher]

My, my... the GOP has no scruples whatsoever!

Lies fail them, their fake claim of "country first" rings hollow...

Only their pathetic lust for power, remains.

And even these illegal acts, will fail them - and dishonor them for all to see.

[notfooled]

The more desperate the Rep''s become and the more they squirm in their own excrement the less likely there will be any Rethuglican leaders left in this country after election day.

The GOP has become an embarassment to the American people and the entire world is now thoroughly digusted.

Vote every single one of them out.

[mcfinished]

Obama is going to win for sure - the Republicanazis are up to their usual tricks, but they won''t work this time around.

[sandy777-2009]

Republicans are just so scared that Obama will be our next president. The Republicans fought same day voting here in Ohio but the Democrats won. Republicans are just sore losers and so desparate right now. They will try to pull another bush election and try to steal the elction away from the Democrats. I know I am so sick of the last 8 years and I have always felt that bush cheated his way into the whitehouse.

[zaqxsw22]

John McCain has shown through his past actions that he has no concern for the wellbeing of middle-class Americans. When taking that into consideration, just how do you think he will handle the current financial disaster our economically battered nation is in today? For an answer to that question, one must look to the past, specifically McCain%u2019s disgraceful involvement in the Keating Five savings-and-loan scandal that decimated our economy, not to mention millions of hard working American%u2019s life savings, in the late 1980%u2019s.

Millions of hard working Americans had their life savings wiped out when one savings-and-loan after another went down because of the criminality of repugnant swindlers such as Charles Keating. Keating is a convicted felon who greedily defrauded millions out of their life savings, while at the same time he donated more money to McCain%u2019s campaign than any other contributor in the nation. And what did McCain do when he learned of Keating%u2019s arrest? He illegally tried to use his influence to keep his friend and largest campaign contributor out of jail.

McCain%u2019s involvement as the key figure in the Keating Five scandal is a window into his past, present, and future disregard for middle-class Americans. I urge all decent Americans who are sick and tired of being treated like second class citizens by the reprehensible corporate elite on Wall Street and their enablers such as John McCain, to take a look at KeatingEconomics.com

[easeup-2009]

I don''t care what Georgia tries to do with the polls, after barely beating South Carolina & getting pounded at home by Alabama they should not even be ranked in the top 10.

[glenn_lewis]

Purging of registration rolls is a form of intimidation. "If they are questioning my citizenship or other qualification, they may wish to take additional action against me such as arrest." Is this a violation of human rights? I would like to hear President James Earl Carter comment.

[danito123]

WELL, WHAT DO YOU EXPECT? DO YOU WANT "ILLEGALS" TO HAVE VOTING RIGHTS WHEN THEY''RE ALREADY TAKING SOME OF THE JOBS, NOT PAYING TAXES WHILE OURS ARE RISING TO COMPENSATE? MAYBE THEY''RE PURGING TO MAKE SURE THIS IS LEGAL. OF COURSE THEN, ON THE OTHER HAND, ITS THE UNEDUCATED THAT ARE VOTING FOR OBAMA ANYWAY. HIS TRACK RECORD SHOULD SPEAK FOR ITSELF.

[liberal4sure]

The republicans have shown us they will do anything to win, we cannot let them steal this election too!

[grumpas]

Here we go again!!!! Another dirty Republican trick to try and throw the election to their candidate!!! Don''t these people have a gram of character??? And we wonder why American''s have lost their integrity??? It''s hard to have any when the man in the highest office in the land has lied and cheated his way into office! And doesn''t have any more principles than Bush and Company do.

[ErnestAviles]

US Marine in Counter Terrorism says Obama is the best choice for President b/c mccain voted against armor for troops and he doesn''t want to shore up the Vets Benefits here in America. OBAMA will fix the mess in Washington.I want a president who is down to Earth and not someone who doesn''t know how many houses or cars they have. Mccain is out of touch with middle class America and Palin don''t know sh##!

[ErnestAviles]

What would Jesus do? Everyone would be treated equal and have equal. Let the filthy rich share in their wealth. Why not, when you die you''re dead. Material things are just that,material. OBAMA 100% the best for America. God Bless OBAMA / Biden and God Bless America

[mccain08nc]

The republicans have shown us they will do anything to win, we cannot let them steal this election too!
Posted by liberal4sure

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Your worried about the republicans when ACORN is out there. How many Repubilcan orginazations have been continuously convicted of voter fraud? ACORN should be denied any more federal funding and forced to pay back any they have recieved.

[mccain08nc]

Obama reminds us of what''''s good about America.



Posted by RepForBarack
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So hanging with racist and terorrist is what is good for america. You definately have a twisted sense of what is good for America.