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Ohio
Lawmakers Call for Secretary of State Blackwell to Resign
Bush Administration Attempts To Overturn Decades of Legal
Precedence & Block Voting Rights Lawsuits From Voters
"Safe State" Debate: To Kerry or Not to Kerry?
VotePact.com Offers Alternative Way of Voting
Israeli Peace Activist Uri Avnery: "Arafat is the Father
of the Nation"
Ohio Lawmakers Call for Secretary of State Blackwell
to Resign
As a federal judge in Ohio temporarily blocks the GOP from
challenging the voting rights of 35,000 people ahead of the
election, we go to Ohio to speak with State Sen. Teresa Fedor,
one of the lawmakers leading the calls for Ohio Secretary
of State Ken Blackwell to resign. [includes rush
transcript]
A federal judge in Ohio has temporarily blocked the Republican
Party from challenging the voting rights of 35,000 people
ahead of the election. Local election boards were preparing
to hold hearings in the next few days to decide on the eligibility
of the voters in question.
The Democratic Party hailed the decision. But Republican
attorneys said the party will now be forced to challenge the
voters on Election Day at the polls in order to prevent voting
fraud.
Meanwhile, Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell has
come under fire in recent weeks for his directives on provisional
ballots in the state that many say would disenfranchise voters.
Several Ohio Democratic Senators are calling for the immediate
resignation of Blackwell, stating in a letter addressed to
him that he has been "unresponsive to the needs of Ohio's
voters" and has "failed to uphold [his] duties as
chief elections officer."
-
Teresa Fedor, Ohio state senator. She's one of the state
lawmakers leading the calls for Ohio Secretary of State
Ken Blackwell to resign.
Bush Administration Attempts To Overturn Decades
of Legal Precedence & Block Voting Rights Lawsuits From
Voters
Bush administration lawyers are now attempting to overturn
decades of legal precedence by claiming that under the Help
America Vote Act only Attorney General John Ashcroft -- and
not individual voters - have a right to ask federal courts
to enforce voting rights. [includes rush
transcript]
Bush administration lawyers are attempting to overturn of
legal precedence by claiming that only Attorney General John
Ashcroft and not individual voters have a right to go to federal
courts to enforce the right of citizen's to vote. This according
to the Los Angeles Times.
In legal briefs filed in Ohio, Michigan and Flordia, the
Bush administration is arguing that only the Justice Department,
and not voters themselves, may sue to enforce the voting rights
set out in the Help America Vote Act which was passed after
the 2000 election.
Veteran voting rights lawyers say this would overturn decades
of legal precedent and could greatly affect any legal challenge
to Tuesday's election.
According to the paper, since the civil rights era of the
1960s, individuals have gone to federal court to enforce their
right to vote, often with the support of groups such as the
NAACP, the AFL-CIO, the League of Women Voters.
Even the Supreme Court has backed the idea of private suits.
In 1969, the justices issued a ruling in a case related to
the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that "the achievement of
the act's laudable goal would be severely hampered ... if
each citizen were required to depend solely on litigation
instituted at the discretion of the attorney general."
- Steve Mulroy, former Justice Department voting rights
litigator. He now teaches law at the University of Memphis.
"Safe State" Debate: To Kerry or Not to
Kerry?
As the attention of the nation focuses on battleground states,
we look at different views on voting in the so-called "safe
states" with two candidates running for office in New
York: Green Party U.S. Senate candidate, Dave McReynolds and
Frank Barbaro, Democratic congressional candidate. [includes
rush
transcript]
As thousands of people continue to cast their ballots ahead
of next Tuesday"s election, there are several races across
the country that are very close and bring with them high stakes.
The balance of the Senate is up for grabs and the minority
leader, Tom Daschle of South Dakota , is fighting to retain
his powerful position. He is facing a fierce challenge from
conservative Republican John Thune. That race is being dubbed
the second most important race in the country. This comes
as the latest polls put President Bush and John Kerry in a
dead heat in the battle for the White House.
Both Bush and Kerry continue their focus on swing states.
The president spoke at a rally of his supporters in Michigan,
while John Kerry addressed a massive rally of more than 80,000
people in Wisconsin. But as the attention of the country is
focused in on the so-called battleground states, a debate
rages in the safe states-states where either Kerry or Bush
are almost guaranteed a victory. The Green Party is advocating
what it calls a Safe State strategy, telling its voters to
cast their ballots for John Kerry, and not their candidate
in the battleground states. Joining us today to talk about
this are two candidates in the safe state of New York.
- David McReynolds, the Green Party candidate for US Senate
in New York. In 2000, he was the Socialist Party's candidate
for president. He is also a longtime staff member of the
War Resisters League and was one of the first people to
burn their draft card during the Vietnam War.
- Frank Barbaro, running for congress
in New York's 13th District (Staten Island and Brooklyn)
on the Democratic ticket. He is a former longeshoreman and
ran for New York City Mayor in 1981. He has served as State
Assemblyman and as a State Supreme Court Justice.
VotePact.com Offers Alternative Way of Voting
We speak with Washington-based political analyst Sam Husseini
about Votepact.com, a website he founded that encourages dissatisfied
voters from either side of the two party divide to make a
pact in pairs and cast their ballot for a third party candidate.
[includes rush
transcript]
- Sam Husseini, Washington-based political analyst and
the founder of the website Votepact.com.
Israeli Peace Activist Uri Avnery: "Arafat is
the Father of the Nation"
As Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat arrives in Paris to
receive emergency medical treatment, we go to Tel Aviv to
speak with Israeli peace activist Uri Avnery about the potential
implications of Arafat's death on the "peace process"
and the Palestinian people. [includes rush
transcript]
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is on his way to France
for emergency medical treatment after his health deteriorated
this week when he collapsed and lost consciousness. Associates
described Arafat as too weak to stand Thursday, and say he
appeared confused and spent most of the day sleeping.
The 75-year-old president and former guerrilla leader waved
to crowds from a helicopter as he flew out of his shell-battered
compound in Ramallah. He was accompanied by his wife, Suha,
who had arrived in Ramallah from Paris a day earlier to see
her husband for the first time in four years. Arafat has been
holed up in the compound for the past three years due to travel
restrictions put in place by the Israeli government.
Scores of tearful bystanders, bodyguards and officials chanted,
using his nom de guerre, saying "We will sacrifice our
blood and souls for you, Abu Ammar." Arafat serves as
the president of the Palestinian Authority and chairman of
the Palestine Liberation Organization. He has been the international
face of the Palestinian resistance for over three decades.
After arriving at Amman airport in Jordan, he was carried
by doctors on a wheelchair to a waiting French presidential
jet. Lying on a stretcher inside the jet he told aides "God
willing, I will come back."
Israeli officials have said that if Arafat recovered, he
would be able to return to the West Bank. Reuters reports
the promise came from senior Sharon aide Dov Weisglass In
the past, Israel was unwilling to make such promises.
A senior Palestinian official told Reuters that Arafat was
believed to be suffering from leukemia, though more tests
were needed for a firm diagnosis. After his health deteriorated,
officials said he had been slipping in and out of consciousness,
though on Thursday he was able to eat, talk and say prayers.
Numerous questions have been raised as to who would succeed
Arafat if he becomes incapacitated or dies. He has refused
to name a successor. Many fear his death would plunge Palestine
into a profound crisis. Arafat's mother-in-law Reemonda al-Tawil
said "He is more than a spiritual leader - he is a father,
he is everything to us."
- Uri Avnery, an Israeli writer and peace activist with
Gush Shalom.
He is a former member of the Knesset and was a member of
the rightwing Irgun underground in the 1940s. He joins us
on the line from Tel Aviv.
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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