"VA suggests voter registration not held because it's partisan!"
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| Also listed in: Veterans for Progress |
This article comes via VVAWnet distributor John Zutz this evening. Somehow, 'Oh, come off it,' just isn't going to be sufficient in the face of these incredible technicalities that are surfacing this early in the election year. The article follows:
"At a quiet 1999 ceremony in MaComb County, Michigan, a plainspoken former Texas governor delivered a patriotic speech to commemorate Veterans' Day.
But none of the eight veterans interviewed by The New York Times after the ceremony promised George W. Bush their vote.
A new report Thursday reveals that Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Peake told two Democratic senators his department will not help injured veterans register to vote before the 2008 election.
"VA remains opposed to becoming a voter registration agency pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act, as this designation would divert substantial resources from our primary mission," Peake said in
an April 8th letter to Sens. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and John Kerry (D-MA) acquired by Steven Rosenfeld at Alternet.
Peake refers to a 1993 law that allows government departments to engage in voter registration efforts, Rosenfeld says.
What this means is that many injured veterans still in VA hospitals who can't find means to register outside of their facilities will effectively lose their right to vote. Wounded veterans who have moved
must re-register at their "new addresses" or file for absentee ballots in order to participate in the presidential and other elections.
Peake defends the decision by saying that a court recently ruled the VA's limits on "partisan political activities" "does not on its face violate [veterans'] First Amendment' rights," Rosenfeld notes, without articulating how registering veterans is a partisan activity.
Peake added, "VA shares your commitment to assisting veterans in exercising their Constitutional right to vote."
The court ruling he's appears to be referring to is Patrick Griffin v. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in which a Federal Circuit of Appeals court upheld the VA's rules governing the conduct of those who practice "free speech" -- or protest -- in government graveyards.
Among other things, the VA prohibits "partisan activities, i.e., those involving commentary or actions in support of, or in opposition to, or attempting to influence, any current policy of the Government of the United States, or any private group, association, or enterprise."
Sens. Kerry and Feinstein fired off a letter in reply.
"The Department of Veterans Affairs should provide voter materials to veterans," Feinstein wrote, according to Rosenfeld's report. "I believe the cost of providing these voter materials is minimal. It's
a small price to pay for the sacrifice these men and women have made in fighting for our nation's freedom. I am disappointed."
"You'd think that when so many people give speeches about keeping faith with our veterans, the least the government would do is protect their right to vote, after they volunteered to go thousands of miles
from home to fight and give that right to others," Kerry said. "And yet we've seen the government itself block veterans from registering to vote in VA facilities, without any legal basis or rational
explanation."
Link: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Veterans_Department_not_keen_on_veterans_0410.html
"At a quiet 1999 ceremony in MaComb County, Michigan, a plainspoken former Texas governor delivered a patriotic speech to commemorate Veterans' Day.
But none of the eight veterans interviewed by The New York Times after the ceremony promised George W. Bush their vote.
A new report Thursday reveals that Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Peake told two Democratic senators his department will not help injured veterans register to vote before the 2008 election.
"VA remains opposed to becoming a voter registration agency pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act, as this designation would divert substantial resources from our primary mission," Peake said in
an April 8th letter to Sens. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and John Kerry (D-MA) acquired by Steven Rosenfeld at Alternet.
Peake refers to a 1993 law that allows government departments to engage in voter registration efforts, Rosenfeld says.
What this means is that many injured veterans still in VA hospitals who can't find means to register outside of their facilities will effectively lose their right to vote. Wounded veterans who have moved
must re-register at their "new addresses" or file for absentee ballots in order to participate in the presidential and other elections.
Peake defends the decision by saying that a court recently ruled the VA's limits on "partisan political activities" "does not on its face violate [veterans'] First Amendment' rights," Rosenfeld notes, without articulating how registering veterans is a partisan activity.
Peake added, "VA shares your commitment to assisting veterans in exercising their Constitutional right to vote."
The court ruling he's appears to be referring to is Patrick Griffin v. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in which a Federal Circuit of Appeals court upheld the VA's rules governing the conduct of those who practice "free speech" -- or protest -- in government graveyards.
Among other things, the VA prohibits "partisan activities, i.e., those involving commentary or actions in support of, or in opposition to, or attempting to influence, any current policy of the Government of the United States, or any private group, association, or enterprise."
Sens. Kerry and Feinstein fired off a letter in reply.
"The Department of Veterans Affairs should provide voter materials to veterans," Feinstein wrote, according to Rosenfeld's report. "I believe the cost of providing these voter materials is minimal. It's
a small price to pay for the sacrifice these men and women have made in fighting for our nation's freedom. I am disappointed."
"You'd think that when so many people give speeches about keeping faith with our veterans, the least the government would do is protect their right to vote, after they volunteered to go thousands of miles
from home to fight and give that right to others," Kerry said. "And yet we've seen the government itself block veterans from registering to vote in VA facilities, without any legal basis or rational
explanation."
Link: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Veterans_Department_not_keen_on_veterans_0410.html
Why is there such a disregard for democracy by James Peake? Wasn't he sworn to defend the Constitution?
Write you Representative and Senator and demand that the VA offer voter registration to our vets.
Write you newspaper and let them know that you care about our vets who should be afforded every opportunity to vote because they have made the sacrifice in service to our nation.
That the VA is officially abandoning that tradition is inexcusable. This is a case of another Bush toady on the way to the resignation list.
One of my first "additional duties" as a butter-bar (2nd LT) was Voting Assistance Officer. I helped soldiers in my company send out absentee ballot requests to their home states. Then I worked with them to deal with punch-card (hanging chad) ballots sent with a paper-clip and a block of styrofoam (any other Jefferson County voters have the same experience?).
Unfortunately, Peake was an "instant-captain" as a surgeon. It'd doubtful that he ever had to do any additional duties. Lacking the early lessons he deserves a hard one now.