Competition for your vote heats up

MID-MICHIGAN (WJRT) -- (09/18/08)--The competition for your vote this year is getting heated in Michigan. And some of it has little to do with the candidates.

This year in Michigan, there are questions about who will be able to vote.

Earlier this week, Sen. Barack Obama's campaign and other Democrats sued Michigan Republicans.

The Democrats claim the GOP wants to challenge votes from people whose homes are in foreclosure.

The Macomb County Republican chairman strongly denies that.

Wednesday, in a separate case, a student group and the American Civil Liberties Union sued the state of Michigan over other registration issues.

They say those practices could disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters.

The lawsuit claims Michigan is too quick to remove people from voting rolls if they get drivers licenses in other states, or if their voter registration cards are undeliverable.

"I think a lot of voting rights advocates are saying, 'Where there's smoke, there's fire,' and they're going to take any possibility of vote suppression very seriously and I think they're right to," said University of Michigan-Flint political science Prof. Dr. Jason Kosnoski.

"This is a big problem."

The spokeswoman for the Secretary of State says her office "hasn't even officially received the lawsuit yet."

But according to press reports, it seems the groups are taking issue with laws that have been in the books for decades.

Given Michigan's battleground status, some experts say these lawsuits are no surprise. Every vote counts.

With that in mind, some groups are trying to educate people about registering to vote. The deadline for the November election is about two weeks away.

Charles Dantzler helps register voters through his non-profit group.

"They don't feel their vote is going to count," he said. "That's the biggest issue that I hear: 'My vote will not count.'"

He is among the few who attended a voter engagement forum in Mundy Township Thursday.

"We believe that non-profits are very uniquely positioned to be able to affect greater turnout at the polls on election day," said Tiffany Aurora with the Michigan Nonprofit Association.

Aurora admits that for some groups, the process of voting can be daunting.

"Some challenges that you might run into is (sic), if you have not voted in person the first time," she said.

"If you conduct all of your voter registration via mail, then you will need to show up at the polls -- in the person -- the first time to vote.

"If you need to vote absentee, that could be a roadblock that you would face."

Another controversial roadblock this year: bringing photo ID to the polls. But even if you don't bring it, you will need to sign an affidavit attesting to your identity.

If your home is in foreclosure, you can still vote using that address if less than 60 days have passed.

Dantzler has this message for people who want to vote but think they can't: "Your vote will count. And you'll never know until you vote."

Bottom line: If you have more questions about registering to vote, stop by a Secretary of State branch.

For more information on voter registration, you can click here.

Click here for more Mid-Michigan and Flint news

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local, gabe gutierrez

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