Eric Holder accused Florida lawmakers of disenfranchisment when the state took to cleaning up ineligible voters (due to death or felony) from its voter rolls. That same DOJ has been silent about a story brewing out of southern Missouri; after suffering through one of the worst tornados in history, Joplin residents will now face losing their vote.
“Registration cards for more than 10 percent of Jasper County’s approximately 80,000 voters have been returned by the post office,” County Clerk Bonnie Earl said Monday. “New cards, which must be sent to voters each two years, were mailed out earlier in July. But about 10,000 cards have been sent back because the addresses on them were no longer valid. That’s going to pose a problem for voters – and election officials – at the Aug. 7 primary election,” said the Clerk.
Election officials say many of the cards being returned were sent to residents in Joplin and Duquesne who moved after their homes were damaged or destroyed in the May 22, 2011 tornado but have not yet changed their address with election officials.
It seems absurd that the Secretary of State, Robin Carnahan — or Eric Holder — didn’t plan for this a year ago. Joplin is being rebuilt faster than the DOJ is making sure ten thousand eligible Missouri voters can vote.
Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, a Republican, told The Daily Caller that he thinks Obama, Holder, Nixon, and Carnahan need to get involved and fix this problem now. “I call on Gov. Nixon, Attorney General Holder and President Obama to get in there and make sure that these people’s rights to vote are not infringed,” Kinder said in a Friday phone interview. “As long as they let this problem just fester, their pledges of assistance to Joplin ring hollow.”
“I absolutely believe that our secretary of state is asleep on the job, delinquent, debilitatory, [sic] and I don’t know why she doesn’t drive herself into Joplin and get about the business of taking care of this immediately,” Kinder added, referring to Carnahan. “I drove myself from the state capitol, Jefferson City, to Joplin yesterday for my own set of appointments in the evening and this morning. People are upset about this.”
Many wonder if the DOJ’s failure to act is because Jasper County is a heavily Republican area. John McCain won 65% of the vote in 2008.
Missouri’s Lt. Governor, Peter Kinder, has asked that Carnahan intervene:
Lt. Governor Kinder asks Secretary of State to intervene in Jasper County10,000 voter identification cards returned in tornado zone
JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri Lt. Governor Peter Kinder today asked Secretary of State Robin Carnahan to provide assistance and resources to Jasper County election officials to ensure voters are not disenfranchised due to last year’s tornado.
The Jasper County Clerk reported this week that voter identification cards for more than 10 percent of Jasper County’s approximately 80,000 voters have been returned by the Post Office. New cards were mailed in July, but about 10,000 cards have been sent back because the addresses on them no longer are valid.
“It is imperative that you provide assistance and resources to remedy this situation to guarantee every citizen’s constitutional right to vote,” Kinder said in his letter to the Secretary of State. “I would hate to think that on top of the tragedy these Jasper County residents have already endured, they now face disenfranchisement for the upcoming elections.
“The people of Joplin and Jasper County have lost enough already. They shouldn’t lose their right to vote.”
Election officials encouraged voters who may have changed addresses after their homes were damaged or destroyed in the May 22, 2011 tornado to go to the County Clerk’s office to change their addresses before the election.
Asking Robin Carnahan for assistance when she’s already refused to clean up Missouri voter rolls seems fruitless, but it can’t hurt. Carnahan has in the past been linked to ACORN, and the state has fought voter fraud for years. It seems only logical to question whether or not the Secretary of State and DOJ’s reluctance to intervene is because the 10,000 Joplin tornado victims are heavily Republican.
President Obama and Eric Holder often talk of how the government can help, and they preach against the evils of disenfranchising voters. So where are they?
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.