Using statistics and methodology that some voting experts are calling "flawed," the Justice Department’s Voting Section is telling 10 US states to purge voter rolls which allegedly show more registered voters than are eligible–a house-cleaning effort AlterNet’s Steven Rosenfeld says could swing the 2008 election.
"Voting Section Chief John Tanner called for the purges in letters sent this spring under an arcane provision in the National Voter Registration Act, better known as the Motor Voter law, " says Rosenfeld, adding that the letters "notify states that 10 percent or more of their election jurisdictions have problematic voter rolls. It tells states to report ‘the subsequent removal from rolls of persons no longer eligible to vote."
According to experts interviewed by Rosenfeld, however, the Justice Department is misrepresenting the information they are using to make their recommendations.
"That data does not say what they purport it says," David Becker, senior voting rights counsel for People for the American Way, said. "They are saying the data shows the 10 worst voter rolls. They have a lot of explaining to do." Rosenfeld also quotes U.S. Election Assistance Commission consultant Kim Brace, who said "You are basically seeing them grasping at whatever straws are possible to make their point."
Obtaining the same data used by the Voting Section, AlterNet’s analysis found that "some states facing Justice Department pressure to purge voters have long been targeted by GOP ‘vote fraud’ activists, especially where concentrations of minority voters have historically elected Democrats — such as St. Louis, Philadelphia and South Dakota’s Indian reservations."
The DOJ’s refusal to let John Tanner testify before the House Judiciary Committee reeks of desperation. After all, Brad Schlozman and Hans Von Spakovsky have already testified before Congress. Alberto Gonzales has testified repeatedly. What possible excuse can DOJ make not to allow Tanner to testify, ostensibly a career employee?
The absence of any good reason to refuse the request for his testimony suggests DOJ–and the Administration–is particularly worried about what he would say under oath. He would have to admit to:
There may be one more thing DOJ and the Bush Adminsitration are trying to prevent Tanner from admitting under oath. This ePluribusMedia article suggests that Tanner’s single-minded interest in becoming Vote Section chief seems to be stronger than his racism and Republican partisanship. Which raises the possibility he adopted such racist policies in exchange for the job he has wanted for over a decade. If that were true, it’d sure be interesting to learn who offered him that exchange.
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