Tag Archives: voter suppression

August 18, 2012 · 5:15 pm

OHIO SECRETARY OF STATE HUSTED TANGLED IN HIS OWN WEB,By Louise Annarino, August 18,2012

OHIO SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN HUSTED TANGLED IN HIS OWN WEB, By Louise Annarino, August 18,2012

Oh what a tangled web we weave
When first we practice to deceive. – Sir Walter Scott (Marmion, 1808) 

Republican Secretary of State John Husted has a difficult task. His party expects him to help deliver the State of Ohio’s 18 electoral votes to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney while remaining fair and impartial managing the Ohio election process.

President Obama narrowly won Ohio in 2008 by 4 percentage points, or 207,000 votes. Certainly it could not be to hard to close that gap. The Republicans dominate and control the Ohio Legislature: 10 Democratic senators vs. 23 Republican senators; 40 Democratic representatives vs. 59 Republican representatives (http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page). Ohio Republicans used their legislative strength to reduce the Democratic voting pattern advantage, which seems to be growing stronger with changing demographics. Many of their moves aroused the ire of the electorate, fired up the Democratic base which had become complacent, and required Governor Kasich to appear to act with a less partisan agenda. The overturn of SB 5 intended to eliminate collective bargaining, weaken Ohio public employee unions, lessen union dollars and workers normally applied to elect Democratic candidates, and remove a balance of power in the workplace to ease the way for privatization of state government functions was the first sign a straightforward, open approach would not work in Ohio.

The agenda has not changed, but a web of deceit and manipulation has been hung over Ohio politics to disguise it. The Republican legislature next passed HB 194 and two weeks later HB 2249 (protecting in-person early vote for veterans in context of affirming no in-person early vote for all others under HB194) which rolled back the early access to the polls accomplished under former Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner (D), which successfully corrected the problem of persons unable to vote in 2004 due to hours-long lines in strong Democratic polling venues. I was a poll worker during that election. The first sign that then-Secretary of State Ken Blackwell was attempting to suppress Democratic votes was the use of electronic machines without a paper trail, the increased number of machines to Republican leaning wards/precincts and decreased number of machines in Democratic ones. The wait was so long in some of the poorer areas of Columbus, that people had to leave the line to go to  work after waiting 4-5 hours to vote. At Kenyon College, students and others waited 7-8 hours.

HB 194 was headed for repeal when opponents collected the necessary 300,000+ signatures to place it on the 2012 ballot. Fearing another SB5 fiasco, a firing up of the base to turn out even more heavily in November, the Republican legislature repealed HB 194, but not HB 224. Democrats argue that repeal of HB 194 restored early voting to where it was BEFORE the Hb 194, i.e. Brunner reform period. Republicans argue HB 224 still stands. The only part of HB 194 included in HB 224 was banning voting during the 3 days before election day: Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

On July 17, Obama for America, Ohio Democratic Party and the DNC filed a lawsuit against the Ohio Secretary of State John Husted to restore early voting rights for all Ohioans.”Ohio election law, as currently enacted by the State of Ohio and administered by Defendant Ohio Secretary of State, arbitrarily eliminates early voting during the three days prior to Election Day for most Ohio voters, a right previously available to all Ohio voters,” the lawsuit states.(Election Law Blog (pdf).) By law, IF the court agrees with Republicans the only loss of early voting established in 2008 would be those 3 days, the week-end and Monday before the election. Boards could vote for week-end voting for other week-ends. And, if Obama campaign wins the suit, boards could allow voting on that final week-end as well.

Republicans insist the real purpose of the Obama campaign lawsuit is to disenfranchise military voters. HB 224 merely clarified that HB 194 restrictions on early voting did not overturn other sections of Ohio and Federal laws allowing overseas and active military longer voting periods, including early voting. This lawsuit cannot have such an effect and this action is not requested in the relief sought by the Obama campaign. This is argument is a red herring, another strand on the web of Republican deceit.

Llocal election boards to set dates and times for early voting. Each board has two Democratic and two Republican members. Tie votes are decided by the Secretary of State. SoS Husted issued a memo that if the board vote resulted in a tie, he would set the date/time at regular business hours:8-5,M-F. At first glance this approach seems fair and impartial. Until one considers its impact.

White collar and affluent workers  who tend to vote Republican, are often able to get time off work to run out and vote,allowed to arrive late or leave their desks early. Blue-collar and service-workers, those with part-time jobs, those with more than one job because their pay is so lousy, single parents with kids to pick up at school or a babysitter after getting off work, those who rely on public transportation, older voters who require transportation by others to the polls and others who tend to vote Democratic find it much more difficult to vote. An 8-5/M-F schedule disproportionately disenfranchises half the voters of Ohio, 51% if we use data from the last presidential election. Husted’s policy sounds as if he is treating everyone equal,and he may be sincerely trying to do so. However, his stance actually creates a disparate outcome for many Ohio voters, in violation of equal protection rights.

The fact he foretold his fall-back decision would be business hours may sound like a Moses move, but in effect it was a message to Republicans on the election board that they had nothing to risk. In heavily leaning Republican areas they could vote with Democrats to remain open longer and vote on week-ends, since the Republican victory was already assured by the demographics. In heavily leaning Democratic areas, voting “no” to longer early voting hours and week-ends would create a Republican advantage by suppressing Democratic voters to an 8-5 schedule of little use to them. Republicans on election boards in Democratic areas knew Husted’s plan was more restrictive than anything they might have been pressured to agree to.

SoS Husted and Ohio Republicans argue that every Ohio voter (i.e. someone who voted in the 2008 election and is still at the same address,with same name) will be mailed an absentee ballot request form they can fill out and mail in to request an absentee ballot. This is supposed to make up for the fact they can’t get to early in-person vote. However, this assumes that the apps will actually be mailed, correctly and on-time. It also assumes that voters who have never voted on an absentee ballot will believe it to be secure. Many persons, especially those from less affluent backgrounds have experienced enough corruption and mishandling of their rights in other venues only feel secure voting in person,watching their ballot go into the box, or seeing the tape print out their vote. They should be able to have the same right to vote in-person as active-duty military living in Ohio.Veterans should also have the same in-person voting right as active duty military.

The reason we have poll-workers on-site is to make sure things go right. They answer questions, offer a second or third ballot if one is miss-marked, explain how the operation works to avoid such errors. Being human beings, it sometimes happens that something goes wrong. A voter taps the wrong name on the machine, fills in the wrong spot on an absentee ballot, forgets to tap the VOTE button at the end. Poll workers watch for such mistakes because EACH and EVERY vote is a sacred trust.

Voting by mail has its downside. I was once mailed two absentee ballots.I called the Board of Elections and discovered two different files showed different information. An old address was in one;the new address was in a second but both ballots were sent to the new address. I was told the ballot would have to be provisional due to my mix-up;and, that I could no longer vote at the polls since a ballot had been issued. Stuff happens. I never vote by mail now. I don’t trust the ballot request, nor  the ballot return will be properly handled.  I tried mailing my ballot that year with a return receipt requested but no one would sign for it. I sent it with a proof of delivery. I always wonder if my vote counted that year. There are valid reasons Ohioans want to vote in-person.I have yet to hear a valid reason they should not be able to do so at a time and place intended to get out the vote,not suppress it. Tangled webs are hard to escape,but I have confidence SoS Husted could easily do so if he truly is working to help Ohioans vote in a non-partisan manner.

No doubt by the time you read this things will have changed again. The two Democratic election board members from Montgomery County (Dayton area), Thomas Ritchie Sr. and Dennis Lieberman,have been suspended by SoS Husted and face a hearing to fire them on Monday morning, for voting to restore week-end voting despite Husted’s order. “Their Board had voted earlier to have evening and weekend hours in a bipartisan vote.  The SOS sent out a directive Wednesday afternoon ordering uniform hours across the state of 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday until the last two weeks when the hours will be 8am to 7pm Monday through Friday.  He ordered NO weekend hours.  There was a tie vote on this second motion.  Instead of breaking the tie vote.  Husted threatened to fire the Dems if they did not withdraw their motion.  There is a hearing on Monday about defying his directive with the intention of firing both Dems.  After announcing the hearing, Husted cast his vote with the Republicans.  That sent a message to all the Republicans around the state–vote against extended weekend hours.”(Mary Woods)

The Franklin County (Columbus area) Board of Elections next meets at 3 pm Monday,August 20 at 280 East Broad Street. Enter on the ground level through door on east side of building and sign in at guard’s desk to the left and he will direct you to the meeting location. Several groups are planning a rally to remind SoS Husted he works for all Ohioans, not just Republicans; and, that the effort to suppress ANYONE’S vote is unacceptable to Ohioans. Marchers will meet at the SoS office ,180 E. Broad St. at 2pm and march to the 3pm meeting at the Board of Elections,280 E.Broad St.

In the meantime, check your registration at http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/elections/Voters.aspx. or call (614) 466-2655/ (877) SOS-OHIO (767-6446). You can update your address, make a name-change,learn what ID you will need to vote and find answers to your questions. You can also pick up a voter registration form at your local library. Whatever you decide to do, do it TODAY. time is getting short. Early in-person voting starts October 2d. http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/Upload/elections/directives/2012/Dir2012-35.pdf

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August 16, 2012 · 4:42 am

THE BIG LIE:IF YOU REALLY WANT TO VOTE YOU'LL FIND A WAY LIKE I DO, By Louise Annarino, August 15, 2012

THE BIG LIE:IF YOU REALLY WANT TO VOTE YOU’LL FIND A WAY LIKE I DO,By Louise Annarino, August 15, 2012

I was once a Legal Aid Attorney who helped those poorest among us, many of whom worked 2 part-time jobs and still were income eligible for our services because their income fell below the poverty line. Many of our clients were people of color;most were not. Most were first or second generation migrants to Ohio from West Virginia and Kentucky looking for a better life in the urban “north”. Many of my clients, African-American and white were born at home because they lacked health insurance and could not afford to buy it. Because they were born at home the only record of their birth might be their name entered in the family Bible. Some did not even have that. When I became Managing Attorney of the Senior Citizen Unit I often had to assist claimants for social security retirement who lacked the requisite birth certificate to prove their identity and age. We were able to provide the family Bible, or an affidavit from someone present at the birth as evidence. This was deemed sufficient proof. This effort took months, not days. Life lived in poverty means longer hours and more effort to accomplish what is easily done when one has sufficient income. Obstacles are everywhere and multiply in geometric progression for the poor,working poor, disabled and elderly.

Below is the link to the official Pennsylvania site for information on Voting ID requirements. It is too long and complex to include entire piece within this blog. Click to see what I mean. Notice it may take a person 2 visits to accomplish the task. While the cost for the ID may be waived when sought for voting purposes, the cost for substantiating documents is not waived, and they cost more than the photo ID does.( SEE full requirements at http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/voter/voteridlaw.shtml ) One might also need to bring a second resident to the location if they do have a mortgage, current dated rental lease, or utility bill; requiring the cost of transportation and scheduling coordination for two persons. Easy to get one of your children to go anywhere with you? What if you are a single working Mom and your children are too young to swear to the truth of your claim of residence? There is no one to affirm your residence.

How does one know where to go and what the hours of operation are? This,too is unclear and requires time to explore. What if the person in need of voter ID has no computer, nor access to one to get answers to such questions about the process.  Census data shows that 9.9% of Pennsylvanians do not speak English at home. Will they understand the complex instructions even if they are able to use a computer?(See more at  https://www.dot4.state.pa.us/locator/locator.jsp#top?20120815232903273=20120815232903273 ) Please note that the site stresses:

PennDOT Driver License and Photo License Centers only accept payment by check or money order. No cash or credit cards are accepted.

What if you do not have a checking account? What if you cannot convince a bank to provide you customer service  for a money order when you are not a customer? How much does a money order cost at a Pay-Day Loan ?

What if the person cannot travel by bus to the locations listed? Are cabs available and/or affordable? What if the person needing voter ID is disabled? Elderly? Blind? Nine locations in Pennsylvania have no such sites. Those which do are open 1 day a week.Pennsylvania has the fewest state workers in the nation. Who will be there to help move this process forward? (see Rachel Maddow 8-15-2012)

The judge in PA  found no discriminatory impact by the PA voter ID law even though evidence indicated more than half those affected are African-American. The African-American population of PA is only 11.3%, not more than 55%. Obviously, African-Americans are unfairly bearing the brunt of this law. 12.4% of all Pennsylvanians live below the poverty level. Per capita income is $27,049. ( see more at http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/42000.html ) How can people with such income levels have time to take away from work and afford the cost of so doing? How?

The State’s attorneys who asked  Judge Simpson to refuse to block the voter ID law admitted “that they are ‘not aware of any incidents of in person voter fraud.’  Instead, they insisted that lawmakers properly exercised their latitude to make election-related laws when they chose to require voters to show widely available forms of photo identification.” Others argue that the same ID required to vote is required to buy beer. Really? Passports? Mortgage statements? Utility bills? One can buy a beer in numerous locations, even grocery stores. Voter Photo IDs are not so readily or easily available.(see more from Pennsylvania’s Republican viewpoint at http://www.humanevents.com/2012/08/15/pennsylvania-judge-refuses-to-block-voter-id-law/ )

The standard for an injunction is that the plaintiff  must establish that he is likely to succeed on the merits [i.e., win at trial], that he is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief, that the balance of equities tips in his favor, and that an injunction is in the public interest. Judge Simpson found no irreparable harm even though 15% of Pennsylvanians lack voter ID, and it seems unlikely they will be able to obtain it before the November election. This is about more than the November election however. This is about the losing the RIGHT to vote and replacing it with the PRIVILEGE of voting, if one can afford it. That seems to place the issue squarely in the public interest,and in violation of the constitutions of  Pennsylvania and the United States of America.

And the competing interest to protect against voter fraud ? The “Brennan Center’s exhaustive research revealed that there is little to no reliable evidence of impersonation fraud. And, of course, this form of fraud is the only misconduct that the new voter identification requirements in HB934 will address.” (see more http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/testimony_on_pennsylvania_hb_934/ )

Of course this case will be appealed and the Justice department may file further action to protect African-American voters’ denial of equal protection. The uncertainty lies in the time it will take to correct the problem. Time is of the essence;not because those likely to vote for the Democratic party candidates and President Obama are being disenfranchised, but because hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens are being disenfranchised.

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August 9, 2012 · 6:19 pm

ROMNEY'S ON A ROLL-TWO LIES IN TWO DAYS,By Louise Annarino, August 9,2012

ROMNEY’S ON A ROLL-TWO LIES IN TWO DAYS,By Louise Annarino,August 9,2012

 

LIE#1

TANF(Temporary Assistance to Needy Families),signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996 is the basis for welfare-to-work requirements. States must follow regulations meant to place welfare recipients in jobs. It includes a provision allowing waivers of state plans. The Obama Administration is the first in 16 years to listen to concerns from state officials, Republican and Democratic, that the work requirements are so rigid they actually create bureaucratic blocks to job placement. A memo from HHS (Health and Human Services)  one week ago stated it was open to experiments allowed by waiver to help states “find more effective mechanisms for helping families succeed in state employment.” The memo to the states reinforced that waivers would not be granted which could reduce access to employment,the same time limits would remain in place, and the waiver would be revoked if the experiment failed. “If states are not meeting their performance targets,their authority to test new ideas will be terminated,” said George Sheldon who oversees the program at HHS. (see more at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=156741426 ).

 

In Romney-speak this translates to “I hope you understand that President Obama in just the last few days has tried to reverse that accomplishment by taking the work requirement out of welfare. That is wrong. If I’m president I will put work back in welfare.” See video at (http://www.mittromney.com/news/press/2012/08/mitt-romney-we-must-restore-work-welfare ). This video is now part of his political ads, is repeated as a factual account of what occurred on FOX news and elsewhere. This distortion of an effort to recognize the unique needs of individual states to put more welfare recipients to work should have been well-received, not falsely attacked, by those who so often argue for “states’ rights”.

Posted August 8, 2012 on Romney’s official website:

-Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison today made the following statement on President Obama’s dismantling of bipartisan welfare reforms:“President Obama’s push to eliminate welfare to work requirements goes against everything Republicans and Democrats—including President Bill Clinton—fought so hard for more than a dozen years ago.

  • Former Speaker Newt Gingrich today made the following statement on President Obama’s dismantling of bipartisan welfare reforms:“As an architect of the historic and bipartisan 1996 welfare reform bill, I am disturbed and angered that the Obama administration is undoing the act’s central concept of a welfare-to-work requirement. The hugely successful reform saved billions for taxpayers

This lie is particularly disheartening when tied to his comments to NAACP, and subsequent speeches wherein he uses racial code talk “people who want to get free stuff”, “big bucks who won’t work”. His lies reinforce negative racial stereotypes, and foster racial and class division. These lies do more harm than costing one’s opponent an election.

LIE#2

After some Ohio voters faced hours-long lines at polling places during the 2004 presidential election, the state adopted reforms designed to prevent similar problems in the future. Those reforms included allowing voters to cast ballots at county boards of elections for an extended period before elections.

Earlier this year the Republican-controlled Ohio Legislature passed an Election Reform Law (HB 194)under the guise of stopping non-existent voter fraud. “The…closely-analyzed 2004 election in Ohio revealed a voter fraud rate of 0.00004%. National Weather Service data shows that Americans are struck and killed by lightning about as often.” (see more at http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/policy_brief_on_the_truth_about_voter_fraud/ ).

 

In reaction to the more than 300,000 signatures on a petition by Ohioans to place a referendum to repeal the law on the Nov. 6, 2012 ballot, Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted convinced the legislature to repeal the law. Two weeks after HB 194 passed, another law (HB 224) affirmed a rolled back early voting three days before an election, except for active military and overseas voters whose prior rights had been overlooked when HB 194 was passed.

 

This seemed redundant for other voters already denied under law (HB 194). HB224 was passed as an emergency measure and super majority to protect the early voting rights of active military and overseas voters who were not considered when passing HB 194. It was meant to correct an oversight but in effect It continued the suppression of voting the 3 days before an election except for active military and overseas voters.

Although HB 194 was repealed HB 224 remains, including the restrictions on week-end voting repealed in HB 194. Clearly what appears to be a technicality is suppressing votes.In the last presidential election 93,000 Ohioans voted on that week-end.

 

 

The Obama campaign filed a lawsuit to restore the right of all Ohioans to vote,as they did in 2008, during the three days before the Tuesday election. It does not seek to disenfranchise military and overseas voters.”Plaintiffs seek to restore for all voters access to early voting through the Monday before Election Day,” the Obama campaign’s brief said. “Neither the substance of its Equal Protection claim, nor the relief requested, challenges the legislature’s authority to make appropriate accommodation, including early voting during the period in question, for military voters, their spouses or dependents. The question before the Court is whether, in the circumstances of this case, the State of Ohio may arbitrarily and without justification withdraw from all other Ohio eligible voters the same right they previously had to vote the weekend and Monday before election day.”

 

The lawsuit argues that all Ohio voters should be permitted to cast ballots that weekend, as members of the U.S. military are permitted to do. The complaint alleged that Ohio’s legislature failed to justify the disparate treatment between military and nonmilitary voters, and contended the “unequal burden on the fundamental right to vote violates the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution.”

 

In Romney-speak this translate to “President Obama’s lawsuit claiming it is unconstitutional for Ohio to allow servicemen and women extended early voting privileges during the state’s early voting period is an outrage,” the Republican candidate’s Facebook message proclaimed. Next came a statement from the campaign: “We Must Defend the Rights of Military Voters.” Right-wing bloggers took it from there, and the outraged headlines came pouring forth. ( see more at http://prospect.org/article/red-white-and-untrue-romneys-big-lie-about-military-voting ).

 

The Romney campaign asserts that military personnel are losing the extension of time to vote they deserve, and have historically had, while serving overseas. But the voters in question are not voting absentee; they are voting in-person on absentee ballots. Absentee ballots filed from overseas are not created by the law being challenged.

The government already assures extra efforts for military voters—thanks in part to President Obama. He signed the Military Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act, which made a number of extra voting guarantees to servicemen and women overseas. For example, military bases now must have voter-registration services, and those serving overseas are allowed to send and receive their applications for voter registration and absentee ballots by email or fax as well as through the mail. Diane Mazur, a law professor at the University of Florida and a former Air Force officer, told Buzzfeed that the groups’ argument is “extremely misleading.” Mazur says there’s no history of of special privilege for military voters casting a ballot in person. “The idea that service member are fuller citizens than the rest of America is a disaster for military professionalism,” she says.

The problem with lies is that they must be sustained. Surrogates like Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison,campaign advisers, newscasters become pawns used to sow distortion and division. Voters are made needlessly fearful. Fifteen military organizations pumped up by team Romney intervened in the Ohio law suit believing they face a loss of voting privileges. Jon Stoltz, who heads the group VoteVets, and supports the Obama campaign’s lawsuit said in a telephone call to reporters “What appalled me so much about the narrative in Ohio is that the Romney campaign is supporting legislation that actually denies 900,000 veterans in the state of Ohio the right to vote early…In short, Mitt Romney supports efforts to make voting more difficult for the very people who have put their lives on the line,” Soltz notes.

The facts show that Romney’s claim about restricting military voting is a blatant distortion. The purpose of the lawsuit is to ensure that every Ohioan—including military voters—has the right to make their voices heard at the polls.

 

Everyone lies,so tey say.But, the complete misrepresentation of fact. The total reversal of an opponent’s credited position on an issue, the blatant change of historical fact, the warping of legal pleadings to serve a partisan political agenda are so overwhelmingly unique in their proportionality to past campaign lies they beggar description. This is something new. This is Romney-speak.

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August 6, 2012 · 7:12 am

THE RING STILL FITS WITH A LITTLE LESS SHINE,By Louise Annarino,August 6, 2012

THE RING STILL FITS WITH A LITTLE LESS SHINE, By Louise Annarino, August 6,2012

 

The anniversary party differs from the wedding reception,but is no less filled with love. Oh, no rice is thrown,and no shoes nor tin cans are tied to the car bumper. But, the steady appreciation of guests for the shared commitment and sacrifice they have watched unfold since the wedding day several years ago is even more pronounced and certain. To be sure, there have been disagreements, arguments and bewilderment over the years. The wedding ring may be a bit tarnished. This has only awakened a more mature appreciation for the relationship and its ability to weather the storms of human nature and ego. No one expects to see the same innocent fervor on the faces of those who shared and witnessed vows 4 years before. It is enough that the parties still try to do their best, and stay committed to one another. We understand this. We family and friends share the responsibility with newlyweds to support their efforts; on their wedding day and every day after.

 

We have a similar relationship with political candidates with whom we affiliate. We stand as witnesses to their platform to serve our fellow citizens, and we support them, on inauguration day and every day after.This is why the 2012 Obama-Biden campaign looks different than the 2008 campaign. This is why the question, “Where is the enthusiasm we saw in 2008?” is a ridiculous one. It is the wrong question because it is fails to understand what grassroots community support is and how it operates.

 

In Columbus,Ohio, as in other states, those who worked so hard to elect Obama-Biden pressured Congress to pass The Lily Ledbetter Act allowing women to push for equal wages and moved right into a campaign in support of health care reform resulting in The Affordable Care Act. They collected signatures, lobbied Congress, attended fairs and rallies where they spoke out and educated fellow citizens, held a candlelight vigil, wrote letters to the editor and their representatives. As they worked on these campaigns they resisted the attack on pubic employee unions by Governor Kasich and Republicans in the State Legislature,collecting 1.3 million signatures (they needed only 231,000) to place a referendum on the 2011ballot where it was soundly defeated. The Columbus Dispatch reported [  http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2011/06/29/sb-5-referendum-coalition-to-deliver-more-than-a-million-signatures.html] a parade of more than 6,000 marched up Broad Street to Fourth Street, “where a 48 ft. semi-truck carrying the 1,298,301 signatures in 1,502 boxes collected was unloaded. The parade also included retired fire trucks, a drum line, bagpipes and loud motorcycles. It took about 15 minutes to pass.” Does this sound like a lack of enthusiasm?

 

With no time to rest local Obama supporters joined with others to start another signature-gathering campaign to supplant the gerrymandering redistricting plan passed by Ohio Republicans. They have collected 750,000 signatures to place a constitutional amendment creating a 12 member citizen commission not favoring any party on the November 2012 ballot. Simultaneously, they have fought off efforts to defund Planned parenthood, assure women’s reproductive health care freedoms, and continue to oppose voter suppression with some success. These have been massive efforts, by thousands of grass root volunteers, taking on very powerful interest groups. This has not been easy. It certainly makes one wonder how anyone could question the enthusiasm of grassroot volunteers, the same volunteers who worked on Obama-Biden 2008 election. They continue to man phone banks, canvass door-to-door, place yard signs, educate and recruit others at fairs and festivals, write letter-to-the-editor, and blog in support of the president and vice-president.

 

Dealing with the racism and bigotry has made the effort of these volunteers difficult and disheartening at times. Yet, they continue with renewed determination that such hatred will not be rewarded. They seek nothing short of absolute victory, on achy legs, with sore hearts and open minds, and the determination for a fair election which they know will result in the second Inauguration of President Barack Obama. They may look a bit more worn, sound a bit more tired, and have a few more scars; but, they are still enthusiastic where it counts…in their hearts.

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