rep. john conyers' anti-vote-caging bill: january 17, 2008

now it seems we are in
high gear here. this is the
way to get serious about the
wanton civil-rights violations
under hans van spakowsky and
bradley schlozman at the DoJ.

thank you, chairman conyers!

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) introduced the Caging Prohibition Act of 2008, today. Voter caging is a practice by which mail is sent to a registered voter's address and, if the mail is returned as "undeliverable" or if it is delivered and the voter does not respond, his or her registration is challenged in order to suppress voter turnout. This may occur even if the voter has simply moved across a college campus or to another location on a miltary base, or simply does not respond to what one might assume is junk mail. It is estimated that the practice has resulted in tens of thousands of voters - often soldiers, college students and low-income families - being purged from the rolls.

"During the 2004 Election, challengers monitored every single one of Detroit’s 254 polling stations," Conyers said. "With a Michigan lawmaker advocating “suppress the Detroit vote,” it was obvious why the challengers were at every polling place – to create a tense and hostile environment for those eligible voters who simply wished to participate in our democracy by casting a ballot."

The bill was cosponsored by Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Steven Cohen (D-TN), Keith Ellison (D-MN), Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Mike Honda (D-CA), Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-MI), and Gwen Moore (D-WI). It seeks to make voter caging illegal with the following provisions:

• Provides that the right to register to vote or vote shall not be denied by election officials if the denial is based on voter caging and other questionable challenges not corroborated by independent evidence.
  
  
• Prohibits persons other than election officials from challenging a voter’s eligibility based on voter caging and other questionable challenges.
  
  
• Requires that any voter challenge by persons other than election officials be based on personal, first-hand knowledge.
  
  
• Designates voter-caging and other questionable challenges intended to disqualify eligible voters as felonies, crimes eligible for fines up to $250,000, five years imprisonment, or both.

"Voter caging is inconsistent with the principle that every eligible citizen should be entitled to the right to vote," Conyers added. "The Caging Prohibition Act of 2007 will clearly define and criminalize voter caging and other questionable challenges intended to disqualify eligible voters."