Sunday, October 31, 2004
How Republicans feel about your right to vote
About 9:30 last night, I saw a man ripping down the large “VOTE HERE” signs from the light poles at the Multnomah County Elections office. He had a stack of 2 or 3 other similar signs, and threw them all into the back of his pickup. I was sitting at the light at SE 11th and Morrison waiting for the light to turn. He pulled away from the curb and stopped at the light at 11th and Belmont where I pulled up behind him.
It was a white Toyota Tundra pickup, Oregon license plate YCU 964, with Bush/Cheney stickers and a “I’d rather be RIGHT than Politically Correct” bumpersticker. It had some other Republican stickers on it I didn’t catch.
This just seems typical of some Republicans - anything to suppress the vote in a highly Democratic area. The building itself is fairly nondescript, without the signs, it’s not at all obvious what it is.
I’ve talked to people at the elections office and filed a report with the Portland police, now let’s see if anything comes of it. I hope they go visit the guy and find a stack of stolen signs in his possession. A little jail time would be a good civics lesson, in this case…
- Bob Woods
Also:
Democrats have accused Republicans of trying to block thousands of young people’s votes, following a request by GOP lawyers to review ballots cast by first-time voters in Oregon’s most populous county.
In a letter issued Friday, attorneys for the Oregon Republican Party demanded that ballots cast by voters in Multnomah County who have not provided proof of identification be set aside and challenged if necessary.
Democrats challenged that request Sunday, saying it flies in the face of Oregon law, which does not require voters to show proof of identification when registering.
At stake are the votes of 207,053 first-time voters, of whom 73,226 are between the ages of 18 and 24. Nearly a third live in Multnomah County, which includes Portland, according to Secretary of State Bill Bradbury.
