Bush Administration Tries to Block Public Ability to Sue for Voting Rights

Published on October 29, 2004 By blogic In Politics

You might think that with the election only days away, and with widespread concerns regarding the handling of voters and the ballots in Florida and Ohio, that the Bush administration would be wary of appearing to favor blocking voters access to the voting rights that were established in the wake of the 2000 fiasco.

You'd be wrong.

The Bush administration has filed briefs in three battleground states arguing that only its own Attorney General, John Ashcroft -- not private individuals or public organizations -- can file suits based on the Help America Vote Act. This interpretation goes directly against decades of voting rights law practice.

The Bush administration wants to be the sole arbiter of what's fair in this election.

Comments

drmiler

on Oct 29, 2004

By: blogic
Posted: Friday, October 29, 2004 on The Tide Goes Out
Message Board: Politics
You might think that with the election only days away, and with widespread concerns regarding the handling of voters and the ballots in Florida and Ohio, that the Bush administration would be wary of appearing to favor blocking voters access to the voting rights that were established in the wake of the 2000 fiasco.

You'd be wrong.

The Bush administration has filed briefs in three battleground states arguing that only its own Attorney General, John Ashcroft -- not private individuals or public organizations -- can file suits based on the Help America Vote Act. This interpretation goes directly against decades of voting rights law practice.

The Bush administration wants to be the sole arbiter of what's fair in this election

Just like the Dems did last time.

Daiwa

on Oct 29, 2004

Well, sounds like Congress screwed up. There's a shock.

You should revise the headline - "Congress Blocks Public Ability to Sue for Voting Rights" which is closer to the truth it appears.

Rather than blame the Justice Department for attempting to follow the law as passed by Congress, gratuitously including the name of bogeyman John Ashcroft, of course, you should speak to your Congressman and Senators about how they blew it.

Cheers,
Daiwa

Daiwa

on Oct 29, 2004

Another comment. It's amazing to me how the only entity which actually proposes & passes legislation gets such a free ride on all this stuff. It's always the "Bush Administration" did this or didn't do that.

Cheers,
Daiwa

blogic

on Oct 30, 2004

Daiwa, thanks for your comment.

You're incorrect to say Congress intended this. Perhaps you didn't notice in the article that Bush interpretation of that law goes against decades of of how this kind of law has been interpreted.

So far, judges have rejected the Bush administration's interpretation for exactly that reason. Frankly, I don't expect the Bush administration to get anywhere on this, precisely because their interpretation is so far outside the mainstream.

Which was the point of my point of my post: Naked Self Interest + Far Outside the Mainstream = Bush Administration

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