Letter to NY Times, LA Times, Washington Post
Dear Sirs,
On Tuesday, October 12th, the CBS news affiliate in Las Vegas reported that the firm Voter Outreach of America, a voter registration outfit which is partially if not entirely funded by the Republic National Committee, had allegedly destroyed the registration forms it had collected from Democratic voters, registering only Republican voters. The station obtained actual shredded registration forms of Democratic voters, brought them to state officials, and confirmed that they had indeed not been registered. As if that were not serious enough, the firm has represented itself as America Votes, a liberal Get Out the Vote outfit; has pulled up stakes and fled Las Vegas; and is apparently now operating in Oregon.
No mention of this story has appeared on your pages. This is perplexing, to say the least. I find it hard to understand an editorial mindset that devotes space to Lynn Cheney’s feelings about her daughter or the Bush’s crooked smirk during the debates but passes over a breaking story about systematic attempts to disenfranchise voters.
Perhaps the explanation lies in your well-meaning efforts to remain objective during these elections. A story linking the RNC to massive voter fraud could be seen (and will certainly be characterized) as a partisan smear dreamt up by the “liberal media”. And it is true that Get Out the Vote campaigns are often partisan in intention, targeting areas thought to contain more Democrats or Republicans as the case may be. But when an operation goes from registering voters for its side to actively destroying the registration forms of its opponents (or in any other way disenfranchising voters) it has crossed a stark moral line, and becomes guilty of an affront to what may be our nation’s single most important institution, the right of all citizens to vote. This is surely something all reasonable Americans can agree on, Republican or Democrat. If we as a nation cannot respect one another’s right to vote, then how can we expect to be a beacon of democracy to the world?
Given the numerous warning signs that the election will be fraught with problems and the apparent unlikelihood that state and federal authorities will deal with these problems in a timely, fair, and non-partisan way, the press must take it upon itself to keep America informed. Issues of balloting, computer malfunctions, excessive police presence at polling stations, and voter harassment must be addressed before, not after, November 2. Above all, the press cannot be silent, apathetic, or timid about reporting – and more importantly, investigating -- voter fraud. Defending the integrity of the upcoming election -- by helping to ensure every eligible American’s right to vote and have that vote counted -- is a higher mission, above and beyond partisan politics, and the press must avidly denounce all arguments to the contrary. As the CBS affiliate in Las Vegas put it:
"As with everything else in this election year, [the Voter Outreach of America case has] now become a political football being tossed between the two parties, with charges and countercharges, but at its core, there still remains the matter of registration forms that were ripped up and tossed in the trash."
Behind each of those ripped-up forms is a citizen whose most basic democratic right is in jeopardy. Tomorrow it could be you or me. Please give this issue the attention it deserves.
Benjamin Lessing
979 Clark St
Birmingham, MI 48009
(248) 642 4160
On Tuesday, October 12th, the CBS news affiliate in Las Vegas reported that the firm Voter Outreach of America, a voter registration outfit which is partially if not entirely funded by the Republic National Committee, had allegedly destroyed the registration forms it had collected from Democratic voters, registering only Republican voters. The station obtained actual shredded registration forms of Democratic voters, brought them to state officials, and confirmed that they had indeed not been registered. As if that were not serious enough, the firm has represented itself as America Votes, a liberal Get Out the Vote outfit; has pulled up stakes and fled Las Vegas; and is apparently now operating in Oregon.
No mention of this story has appeared on your pages. This is perplexing, to say the least. I find it hard to understand an editorial mindset that devotes space to Lynn Cheney’s feelings about her daughter or the Bush’s crooked smirk during the debates but passes over a breaking story about systematic attempts to disenfranchise voters.
Perhaps the explanation lies in your well-meaning efforts to remain objective during these elections. A story linking the RNC to massive voter fraud could be seen (and will certainly be characterized) as a partisan smear dreamt up by the “liberal media”. And it is true that Get Out the Vote campaigns are often partisan in intention, targeting areas thought to contain more Democrats or Republicans as the case may be. But when an operation goes from registering voters for its side to actively destroying the registration forms of its opponents (or in any other way disenfranchising voters) it has crossed a stark moral line, and becomes guilty of an affront to what may be our nation’s single most important institution, the right of all citizens to vote. This is surely something all reasonable Americans can agree on, Republican or Democrat. If we as a nation cannot respect one another’s right to vote, then how can we expect to be a beacon of democracy to the world?
Given the numerous warning signs that the election will be fraught with problems and the apparent unlikelihood that state and federal authorities will deal with these problems in a timely, fair, and non-partisan way, the press must take it upon itself to keep America informed. Issues of balloting, computer malfunctions, excessive police presence at polling stations, and voter harassment must be addressed before, not after, November 2. Above all, the press cannot be silent, apathetic, or timid about reporting – and more importantly, investigating -- voter fraud. Defending the integrity of the upcoming election -- by helping to ensure every eligible American’s right to vote and have that vote counted -- is a higher mission, above and beyond partisan politics, and the press must avidly denounce all arguments to the contrary. As the CBS affiliate in Las Vegas put it:
"As with everything else in this election year, [the Voter Outreach of America case has] now become a political football being tossed between the two parties, with charges and countercharges, but at its core, there still remains the matter of registration forms that were ripped up and tossed in the trash."
Behind each of those ripped-up forms is a citizen whose most basic democratic right is in jeopardy. Tomorrow it could be you or me. Please give this issue the attention it deserves.
Benjamin Lessing
979 Clark St
Birmingham, MI 48009
(248) 642 4160
posted by Benjamin Lessing at 10:59 AM
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