Actor Tim Robbins' Voting Woes

Liberal Activist Had To Get A Court Order Before He Was Allowed To Cast His Vote For President

(AP)  Many Americans endured long lines to vote. Actor Tim Robbins had to get a court order before he was allowed to cast his vote for president.

The 50-year-old actor's voting woes began Tuesday morning when he ran into trouble at his polling station: His name was missing from the registration rolls. He said his name was nowhere to be found on the books at a YMCA in downtown Manhattan, where he had previously voted in presidential elections.

"I had been voting there for years," he said in a telephone interview. "I have not moved, I have not changed party affiliations. There's no reason why it shouldn't be in the rolls. So I was given a paper ballot and filled it out, but I wanted my vote to be registered there - and I don't trust paper ballots."

Robbins, who lives with partner Susan Sarandon and has been registered to vote in New York since 1988, said he does not trust paper or affidavit ballots because "oftentimes those things get lost or thrown away." So he did not submit his and asked to speak to a supervisor.

"I stayed in the voting place and asked to see someone from the Board of Elections and told them I wasn't going to leave until someone from the Board of Elections came and explained to me why I wasn't being allowed to vote - why my name had been taken off the voter rolls."

The supervisor said a police officer had been called over, he said, "at which point, I said to him, `Are you trying to intimidate me?"' The police at the location said he had "every right to be there," said Robbins, well-known as a liberal activist who even played a candidate running for the Senate in "Bob Roberts," a 1992 film he also wrote and directed.

The New York Police Department said there was no police involvement.

After hours of waiting, Robbins said he was told to visit the board's downtown office, which confirmed what he knew to be true: He is a registered voter. A judge then issued a court order allowing him to vote - and that he did, at the same location where his trouble began.

"If anything it seems like a random thing, but in randomness there are numbers. And there have been in the past," said Robbins, who said that other voters also were not listed.

"This is just one example of how difficult it is to vote in the United States," he said.

[indianaman13]

It is a shame to America as a whole that this happens at all. The fact he is somewhat known to the media is a blessing, else we would not know how often these "Voter Registry Mistakes" happen. Imagine how many go unresolved because the person has no clout.

[mcfinished]

OneWorldUSA at 05:30 AM : Nov 05, 2008 wrote:

"The fact that he put out a press release about it apparently confirms his unwarranted arrogance."

Or perhaps he did it to:

1. Highlight the fact that this does happen and can affect someone''s vote

2. Because he knew the media would find out

3. Because he wanted his version of the story to be released

Regardless - he has the right to vote and the right to put his side of the story across.

And I say that irrespective of who he is, and which way he votes.

This kind of thing happens all to frequently - and is a disgrace.

Yes, mistakes happen, but it doesn''t mean they have to be accepted.

[oneworldusa]

Um..I saw Tim Robbins at a busy NY restaurant a few years ago. The waiting list was hours long. He walked up, demanded a table, and the hostess said there was a wait. He hands her a card and says, "Do you know who I am?" Apparently she didn''t, or more importantly, didn''t care. She said, ''I''m sorry, but there are no tables and you''ll have to wait like everyone else.''

He was disrespectful of the hostess and the other patrons. The fact that he had a voting problem like many other Americans do is great. The fact that he has nothing else on his schedule and had the time to correct it is great too. The rest of us would have to get to work, get on the phones, hope against hope to correct the problem and go back to vote after work.

The fact that he put out a press release about it apparently confirms his unwarranted arrogance.

[barbaraf4]

Well done; however I wonder if non-celebrities would be afforded the same courtesy.

[ocasanas]

Well done Tim Robbins!