Georgia Steals Votes of New Citizens

Outrageous (though not surprising)

A significant number of the almost 5000 Georgia voters whose citizenship was challenged before the election will not have their ballots counted.

Last week, about 4,770 voters were told they would have to vote on paper ballots because their citizenship was in question. It was then up to them to return to their local election boards with proof of citizenship.

TPMMuckraker

They’re systematically victimized and officials expect new citizens to trust them? With constant headlines proclaiming the latest raid and mass deportations, it’s no wonder that many of these individuals didn’t voluntarily go to local election board offices when their citizenship was challenged.

And a reminder that the Republican party is batting near 1000 when it comes to serving as the villain for these types of voter and civic disenfranchisement…

 

Some Numbers From Arizona

Resources:

• AZ Secretary of State Election Results
• Pima County Election Results
• Maricopa County Election Results*
• Ballot Initiative Explanations

President (97.1% of precincts reporting)
McCain – 53.8%
Obama – 45%

In Pima County, Obama 52.07%/McCain 46.37%
In Santa Cruz County, Obama 64.81%/McCain 34.15% – great job Baja Arizona!

AZ Congressional District 01 (96.7% of precincts reporting)
Ann Kirkpatrick (D) – 55.5%
Sydney Hay (R) – 39.8%

AZ Congressional District 02 (96.7% of precincts reporting)
Thrasher (D) – 37.2%
Franks (R) -59.4%

AZ Congressional District 03 (99.2% of precincts reporting)
Lord (D) – 42.4%
Shadegg (R) – 53.8%

AZ Congressional District 04 (98.2% of precincts reporting)
Pastor (D) – 72%
Karg (R) – 21.5%

AZ Congressional District 05 (98.8% of precincts reporting)
Mitchell (D) – 53.2%
Schweikert (R) – 43.6%

AZ Congressional District 06 (100% of precincts reporting)
Schneider (D) – 35.1%
Flake (R) – 61.9%

AZ Congressional District 07 (93.9% of precincts reporting)
Grijalva (D) – 62.5%
Sweeney (R) – 33.5%

AZ Congressional District 08 (96.6% of precincts reporting)
Giffords (D) – 54.7%
Bee (R) – 42.9%

Proposition 100 – “Protect Our Homes” (97.3% reporting)
Yes – 76.9%
No – 23.1%

Proposition 101 – “Medical Choice for Arizona” (97.3% reporting)
Yes – 49.9%
No – 50.1%

Proposition 102 – “Marriage” (97.3% reporting)
Yes – 56.4%
No – 43.6%

In Pima County – Yes 49.1%/No 50.59 – again, great job Baja Arizona!

Proposition 105 – “Majority Rules” (97.3% reporting)
Yes – 34.3%
No – 65.7%

Proposition 200 – “Payday Loan Reform Act” (97.3% reporting)
Yes – 40.5%
No – 59.5%

Proposition 201 – “Homeowners’ Bill of Rights” (97.3% reporting)
Yes – 22.1%
No – 77.9%

Proposition 202 – “Stop Illegal Hiring” (97.3% reporting)
Yes – 40.9%
No – 59.1%

Proposition 300 – “State Legislator’s Salaries” (97.3% reporting)
Yes – 35.5%
No – 64.5%

Maricopa County Sheriff (99.1% reporting)
Dan Saban – 41.9%
Joe Arpaio – 55.5%

Maricopa County Attorney (99.1% reporting)
Tim Nelson – 44.1%
Andrew Thomas – 51.6% (he’s an Arpaio stooge)

*that website made me want to rip out my eyeballs – way past due for an upgrade

 

Yes We Did!

The First Family-Elect of the United States of America

 

Obama’s State-Level Effect in AZ

While the polls for the presidential contest have been tightening in recent weeks between Senators Obama and McCain in Arizona, the effect of the Democrats’ ability to register, empower and organize voters will be felt more powerfully on the state level.

Tonight, we have an opportunity to flip the state House of Representatives to the Democrats by netting four seats. The sea change that will represent cannot be overstated. Governor Napolitano has been the only firewall for the past few years against a far-right, nativist led GOP caucus in both chambers of the state legislature. These are the jokers that have repeatedly put up anti-migrant and anti-latino initiatives up for vote; the same crazies who want guns in bars, restaurants and school campuses. If the Democrats get their vote out today, the era of Russell Pearce-dominated politics under the capital dome will be at an end.

On the federal level, 2006 brought an even parity of Democrats and Republicans to the congressional delegation with Harry Mitchell and Gabrielle Giffords earning seats to represent Arizona. Ann Kirpatrick will almost undoubtedly become the newest face to the scene in CD01. She’s run a fantastic campaign and probably worn out several pairs of walking shoes from all the visits she’s made around the huge district (it’s bigger than the state of Illinois); and if a tsunami strikes the GOP tonight, we can also say hello to Congressmen Bob Lord in CD03 – we’ll see what happens.

Ballot initiatives will be a mixed bag. I fully expect the anti-migrant proposition 202 to pass as it gives nativists and haters a chance to take out their agression since the issue has been largely absent from the national dialog. The “Bigotry with a Smile” proposition 102 that will amend the state constitution to define marriage between a man and woman only is hopefully going down to defeat (again!), but have to admit that the Yes people have been very visible with signs and commercials this cycle. As I said before, if there is a progressive wave from all the work the Obama campaign has done in the past few months, we’ll see it in ballot lines like these.

Polls are open until 7PM local time (9pm Eastern).
Don’t forget your ID.

Acceptable forms of identification with photograph, name, and address of the elector

• Valid Arizona driver license
• Valid Arizona nonoperating identification license
• Tribal enrollment card or other form of tribal identification
• Valid United States federal, state, or local government issued identification

An identification is “valid” unless it can be determined on its face that it has expired.

Acceptable forms of identification without a photograph that bear the name and address of the elector (two required)

• Utility bill of the elector that is dated within ninety days of the date of the election. A utility bill may be for electric, gas, water, solid waste, sewer, telephone, cellular phone, or cable television
• Bank or credit union statement that is dated within ninety days of the date of the election
• Valid Arizona Vehicle Registration
• Indian census card
• Property tax statement of the elector’s residence
• Tribal enrollment card or other form of tribal identification
• Recorder’s Certificate
• Valid United States federal, state, or local government issued identification, including a voter registration card issued by the county recorder

An identification is “valid” unless it can be determined on its face that it has expired.

 

Gov. Dean in Tucson Today for GOTV Rally

From the mailbag:

Washington, DC – On Monday, November 3rd DNC Chairman Howard Dean will spend the last full day of the 2008 presidential election helping to get out the vote for Democrats in John McCain’s home state of Arizona. Dean will headline a Get Out the Vote Rally with local Democrats in Tucson, Arizona on the heels of Arizona being moved from “Leaning McCain” to “Toss Up” by Real Clear Politics.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3

Tucson, AZ
PIMA COUNTY GET OUT THE VOTE RALLY
Pima County Coordinated Campaign Office, Outdoor Parking Lot
4639 E 1st Street
Tucson, AZ

Event Time: 12:00 PM Local Time

 

Barack the "47-year-old mulato"

Ever wonder why the GOP is going the way of their mammoth cousins’ extinction out west?

It’s because the Minutemen/blatantly racist crazies are the public face of their party. I’ve been saying this for a long time now.

At all levels of government, the Republican party has allowed their public faces to be the most rabid of nativists in our midst. The Arizona GOP State Chairperson is not only one of the vigilantes, he was also the architect of Proposition 200. Plus, lets not forget that the now-retired JD Hayworth was a huge supporter of the Binocular Brigade. Oh, and how about the State Legislature’s darling conservative Russell Pearce?

And their candidates? Last fall, Randy Graf was out spooking everyone for Halloween with pregnant girls warning against invading hordes of Mexicans while Ron Drake was advocating for the Great Wall of America™.

These are not the voices of moderation. These are not voices who are even making an attempt to understand where the Latino community is coming from on the various issues of the day. It is a group who has chosen to define us in the most negative way possible.

Instead of getting a clue that the public is more moderate than the far-right, Republican operatives think that electoral salvation will come to them in the form of returning to “core principles.” Yet, they try to have it both ways by giving soft or no support to GOP candidates that appear on ballots as one of them who are truly batshit-insane, failing to organize their herd enough to keep said lunatics off the ballots.

Take Arizona’s Congressional District 7 for example. This is the second time Joe Sweeney will appear as the Republican candidate facing off with Democratic incumbent Raúl Grijalva:

The Republican Party does not endorse Sweeney, a rapid opponent of illegal immigration who calls Interstate 19, between Tucson and Nogales a “Whore-i-dor” and who says illegal immigrants outnumber U.S. citizens in the 7th Congressional District.

He also complains on behalf of “Anglo-Saxon women who say they are discriminated against because they are not bilingual,” and derides Barack Obama as a “47-year-old mulato.”

He also supports legislation that would make being gay a crime.

Sweeney says he’s just saying what other people think.

Tucson Citizen (emphasis mine)

All that’s missing is the white sheet and hood – and as extreme as Sweeney is, it brings mounds of schadenfreude-laden delight that right next to his name is his party affiliation: Republican

 

KAET Poll Shows 2-Point Margin in AZ

I’ve been following this poll for the past few months, as it’s locally based and the people that do the final sampling know how to interpret the realities of the state better (my opinion, of course).

TEMPE, Ariz. ––Republican John McCain leads Democrat Barack Obama by two points (46 percent to 44 percent) in Arizona, a margin that makes the race too close to call, according to a new Cronkite/Eight Poll. The poll of 1,019 registered voters in Arizona was conducted Oct. 23-26 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. According to poll director Dr. Bruce Merrill, “The race in Arizona is very close. Supporters of both candidates are highly committed to their candidates, with 94 percent of Obama’s supporters and 93 percent of McCain’s supporters indicating that they are firmly committed and won’t change their mind before Election Day. In addition, the undecided vote is very low, which means that there are few people remaining to be persuaded during the last week of the campaign. Obama has been closing the gap by attracting independents and women to his campaign. McCain does well among conservative Democrats and evangelicals. Still, a week is a long time in a political campaign and anything can happen. Who wins will be determined by which candidate gets their supporters out to the polls on Election Day.”

AZPBS.org

Mwahahahahahaha

 

A Great Reminder To Obama Supporters

The media team of this campaign is phenomenal.

 

Cynthia McKinney Responds To Sanctuary Questionnaire

Green Party Candidate Cynthia McKinney has responded to the Sanctuary’s comprehensive questionnaire on policy stances related to human migration and human rights. As you may know, Barack Obama previously responded while John McCain responded with crickets.

Since Ms. McKinney will be appearing on numerous ballots across this country, it is our democratic duty as pro-migrant advocates to make sure everyone has an opportunity to engage the public with their views.

With a week until Election Day, Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney today released a comprehensive and thoughtful response to The Sanctuary’s questionnaire on immigration and issues of concern to the Latino community.

Showing the vitality and importance of voices from outside the mainstream two-party political paradigm, McKinney puts forth not only a strong understanding of the complexities of these issues, but also a vision of real-world solutions. Her refreshing willingness to confront the broader social and economic realities which undergird international migration further demonstrates that practical solutions will not come from political compromises and “bipartisan” gamesmanship, but rather from rigorously-grounded assessment and analysis.

Simple put, McKinney gets it right.

Read her full answers here

 

Final Episode of ‘La Pasión’

Great work by Rosario Dawson and the rest of the celeb crew at Voto Latino for their final episode of La Pasión de la Decisión. This novela has had me howling in laughter each time a new portion was released.

I noticed it was mentioned today on CNN’s Headline News as an important GetOutTheVote effort for latin@s, felicidades on getting the word spread further as the campaign has moved forward.

You can view the other four episodes here.