itsmeeeeeee

Election 2008

Friday May 9, 2008
Secretary of State says mass mailing has caused confusion

The Secretary of State's office is reminding first-time voters that the deadline to register to vote in Tuesday's primary already has passed.

Betty Ireland said she's worried that a mass mailing aimed at getting young women in West Virginia to register to vote might cause confusion.

A group called "Women's Voices. Women Vote" sent out more than 16,000 mailers to unmarried women in the state after April 22, the last day to register in time to vote Tuesday.

People who've never voted can still register, but they won't be eligible to cast a ballot in the primary.

Page Gardner, president of the women's organization, said in a letter that:

"West Virginia residents will receive this mail after the deadline for registering to vote to participate in the upcoming primary election. Please be aware that the mailing is not intended to encourage registration specifically for the primary, but simply to encourage voter registration in general.

The mailing clearly indicates that the deadline to register to vote by mail for a particular election in West Virginia is 20 days before the election ... We hope that this unfortunate coincidence in timing does not lead to any confusion or aggravation for either your state's voters or registrars."

Ireland's office said it received a batch of voter registration forms as a result of the group's mass mailing, and many of them were from people already registered.

Ireland said she wants to assure already registered voters that they do not need to register again to vote in Tuesday's primary. However, those voters who used the women's group's registration form to update their address should contact their county clerk's office to determine their proper voting precinct.

"I do not want registered voters to be confused by this mailing," Ireland said. "If you were already registered to vote, you do not need to re-register."

Anyone with questions about their registration can call the Secretary of State's office at (866) SOS-VOTE or visit the online site www.wvvotes.com and click on the "Am I Registered to Vote?" link.

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cheapseats

Methinks someone doth protest too much.

Whoever would be confused by a voter registration letter into thinking that they need to re-register, though they are already registered and they have not moved, is probably too stupid to be voting. It would be akin to being confused into not affixing a stamp on an envelope because there is, stupidly, a pre-printed stamp-shaped box in the upper right-hand corner that reads:

Place
Stamp
Here

But if the Democratic party knows what's good for them...a matter of considerable doubt...it SHOULD be conducting a full-court press for the incredibly large voting block that is comprised of single women.

Here's where I'M confused.

When I voted in the California primary, there were people registering on the spot. Were they voting as well, or were they not?

The deadline to vote BY MAIL in Tuesday's primary is 20 days before the primary election, but what about in person?

I would also draw attention to the fiscal folly. Who is failing to cross-reference whatever mailing list held the names of single women with the Democratic party mailing list. Note the recklessness of paper, printing, ink, envelope, postage and delivery costs in sending voter registration materials to voters, albeit women, who are already registered.

Bureaucratic Bullshit, thy name is Politics As Usual.

Clear as mud, thy name is Democratic Party.

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cheapseats

There are presently FIFTY-THREE MILLION SINGLE AMERICAN WOMEN.

That is a particularly large voting block, by any measure. But while we are at war with a country that obliges its women to cover themselves with pup tents, and while violence against women is on the rise, while we move BACKWARD on "reproductive rights," and while prostitution is hypocritically outlawed and capriciously persecuted concurrent with the legality of raunchiest pornography and the scot-freeness of the John part of the hooker deal, FIFTY-THREE MILLION SINGLE AMERICAN WOMEN is a potential Power House.

Think Venn Diagram...there's some overlap...but the prudent politician will add to this heady brew the largest group of American women to collectively hit Men-O-Pause, EVER. I'm tellin' ya...sit down, shut up, and hang on.

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neptune

Yep, exactly. This is exactly why, if McCain is elected, those women, and everyone, will lose their reproductive choice, for a generation or two, at least.

It's a potent argument why the blather about Clinton supporters not supporting the Democratic nominee is just a pipe dream. It's like What's the Matter with Kansas, ya know?

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Holy Mudhead, mackerel! Morse Science High!
It's....disappeared!
-- Firesign Theatre

cheapseats

Incorrect.

Here's how the neoconservatives will put it to women...are your rights gonna be better protected by us good ol' boys, or by a Muslim?

On top of which, Roe vs. Wade will never be reversed...only argued about every time slick, insincere politicians need a distraction.

On top of which, women...like their male counterparts, THAT'S how bad things are...will put their checking accounts before their reproductive rights. You know why? Because it costs money to have a kid, and it costs money not to have a kid.

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Jonesy

I was thinking Obama would be better at dealing with our 'muslim' problems. Like you said, they are weird about women. It would be quite the insult for us to elect a woman. Us insulting their culture through our crazy things like free speech (Islam can suck a nut, for example, is so horrible for them, they want to butcher me and will attempt to hunt me down but fail miserably and will instead die in my wake), is one of the key reasons we have our current conflicts.

Jonesy

Anyway, hopefully Muslims and Americans can learn to respect each other's culture. No matter what, Americans would never surrender their freedoms. We would rather die than abolish the 1st amendment.

As Americans, we respect all religions. Simultaneously, if we want to, we talk shit about religions. You see, there are boundaries. Shit-talking is acceptable - persecution is not.

Understanding modern Muslim culture well-enough, it must be said, to elect a woman now would be a great insult to Islam.

infoseek

Should we spread our freedoms?

Mithrall

??? sometimes I gotta wonder about you Jonesy, ok most of the time. There are many muslims who are Americans. Try to learn something about the culture/religion before you make yourself look like a fool. Oops too late. How about starting out small, start learning about your own country and how there are many different races and religious groups already living peacefully here and they have been from the very start of our country. As far as electing a woman being an insult to Islam there have already been a few female leaders in the middle east.

infoseek

You know, liberals are conservatives. "They," have to learn our ways, when, "they," are here because we stand for freedom.

"They," also have to learn our ways when they are abroad, because we need to spread our freedom.