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Judge could delay Calif. recall vote
A federal judge said Friday that he could postpone the Oct. 7 vote to recall California Gov. Gray Davis until issues raised by two civil rights groups were resolved. Oooohhh, civil rights groups - valid issues or not, just using this phrase makes it a hallowed process.
So the original date goes out the window — absentee ballots must go out long before the polling date. Under the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, any changes in the voting process must be pre-cleared by the Justice Department in localities such as Monterey County that have a history of low voter participation. Interesting restriction... âI donât think there can be an election without pre-clearance,â Fogel said during oral arguments Friday. He scheduled another hearing for Aug. 29 and suggested that he could delay the election if federal approval had not occurred by then. This will drag out... So who benefits? âThis court is extremely reluctant to intervene in or disrupt the electoral process unless it clearly is compelled to do so,â Fogel wrote, according to the Associated Press. âAt the same time, permitting voting or other forms of direct political participation to be affected by changes in voting procedures implemented in contravention of the Voting Rights Act cannot be countenanced.â It appears that none of that countenancing was to be had. Q.E.D. The election, just 53 days away, is forcing some counties to make a number of money-saving changes that lack federal approval. The cases argued Friday focus on Monterey County, which, among other things, plans to cut costs by reducing its usual 190 polling places to 86 and hiring fewer Spanish-speaking poll workers. Read the rest... So, Davis gets a momentary reprieve, and the hangman goes back on the dole. Posted by: .com 2003-08-16 |
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| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=17684 |