While you've been hearing about Republican voter intimidation and suppression tactics on the news, the DSCC has been combating them on the ground. Thanks to your generous support, Democrats were able to prepare early and establish national legal networks to protect voters' rights.
Marc Elias, who is general counsel to both the DSCC and the Kerry-Edwards campaign, has been leading a sophisticated legal operation in our targeted states for months. As the DSCC's chief counsel for over 10 years and an expert in campaign finance and election law, he updates me and my staff regularly on the latest developments. Yesterday, we received notice of the most audacious voter suppression tactic so far in the campaign.
The DSCC legal team has joined South Carolina election officials and the NAACP in warning the public of a bogus letter that poses as a "Voter's Guide" from the NAACP. The letter threatens arrest against voters who have outstanding traffic violations or who have not submitted credit reports one week prior to the election. It also lists false voting requirements such as a handwriting sample and multiple forms of identification. These are outright lies designed to intimidate minorities in one of the most hotly contested Senate races in the country. The DSCC responded immediately by sending funds for calls and door-to-door operations to the African Americans who received this fraudulent letter to make sure no voter is fooled by this despicable trick. Click here to see the letter.
Minority voters are also being targeted by the GOP in other battleground states. The GOP has already filed lawsuits challenging tens of thousands of voter registrations collected from mostly urban and minority areas. It's just another example of how the Republicans are willing to take power away from regular Americans so that they can hang onto power in Washington for as long as possible. But our national legal network is in place countering these Republican lawsuits and challenging cases of election fraud.
The Republicans are doing all of this because they know that this election will be extremely close--not just for the presidential ticket, but also for Senate races that will determine control of the legislative agenda. The Republicans know it will take just a small percentage of the electorate, such as the minority vote, to swing control of the White House and the Senate back to Democrats. They know our vote is the most powerful weapon of change in our democracy. That's why they're going to such extreme measures to suppress it.
We cannot predict exactly what will happen on Election Day. But thanks to your support, the DSCC has been monitoring and responding to developments in every key Senate race for months. Our legal team has already been successful in challenging local TV stations to take down false Republican campaign ads and in winning disputes within states to protect ballot access for voters. On Election Day, they will be getting up before dawn to make sure that every polling station is opened on time, every voter has a chance to cast their ballot and every vote is counted accurately.
Our early preparation work has positioned us extremely well to protect your vote. But the only way we will defeat this Republican assault on our electoral system is by getting out the vote for our Democratic candidates. So please, make sure you and everyone you know go to the polls to exercise your right to vote on Election Day.
Sincerely,
David Rudd
DSCC Executive Director
Posted at 03:22 pm by blog swarm
