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October 20, 2004
Whiners & Fools
Some people have been complaining about our Gov's wife working as an election poll worker.
A number of people casting ballots complained on the opening day of early voting in Arkansas when they found the wife of the Republican governor working a polling site.....Precinct Election Judge Helen Burr said she believes Mrs. Huckabee's presence is a political act. But, since neither she nor Governor Huckabee is running for office, she is not banned from working the polls.
It doesn't say what Burr's political leanings are, but let me hazard a guess that she's not a Republican.....and apparently not qualified to oversee an election.
Burr said Mrs. Huckabee once improperly asked a voter for identification, and another official said Mrs. Huckabee will have the rules more clearly explained to her.
Perhaps someone should more clearly explain the rules to you two fools. Let me volunteer. Ark. Code Ann. 7-5-305 clearly states:
"(a) Before a person is permitted to vote, the election official shall:
(1) Request the voter to identify himself or herself in order to verify the existence of his or her name on the precinct voter registration list;
(2) Request the voter, in the presence of the election official, to state his or her address and state or confirm his or her date of birth;
(3) Determine that the voter's date of birth and address are the same as those on the precinct voter registration list; " [emphasis mine]
As any good lawyer or judge can tell you, the use of 'shall' in a statute means 'required', 'mandatory'....as in 'you must ask for id you freaking moron'. There is a requirement that election officials be able to read & write English you know.
Interestingly, here's what qualifies as identification:
"(8)(A) Request the voter for purposes of identification to provide a current and valid photo identification or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of the voter."
I don't know what all the complaining's about. Throw on a wig, a little makeup & with a copy of your dead granny's bank statement you can cast her vote just like always.
Or if you're in a smartass mood, refuse to provide id. They have to let you vote anyway.....but there's one small catch. They have to put your name on a list of no-id voters and:
"(iii) Following each election, the county board of election commissioners may review the precinct voter registration lists and may provide the information of the voters not providing identification at the polls to the prosecuting attorney.
(iv) The prosecuting attorney may investigate possible voter fraud;"
If there's a close election, you can bet your bottom dollar some of them will be doing just that.
Posted by Rita at October 20, 2004 07:53 AM