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Democracy may see new life, finally
Published Friday, May 23, 2008
For months it has seemed like democracy died in Woodville.
The wonderful system our forefathers created was balled up like a paper ballot and stuffed in a hole in the ground. Truckloads of dirt were shipped in and poured on the hole. Then, just for good measure, someone added a load of cement.
It’s just not been a pretty time in Wilkinson County.
But after months of digging by an appointed judge and work at all levels of the justice system things might be coming to their rightful close.
A federal lawsuit requesting to stop the upcoming county elections was withdrawn this week. Hopefully that was the last card in the deck.
A special primary is set for June 24 to determine the races of sheriff, circuit clerk and district two supervisors. All three races — originally on the ballot in the fall — were contested amidst allegations of illegal ballot use, voter fraud, intimidation and vote buying.
It’s obvious that Circuit Clerk Mon Cree Allen — who has been at the center of all the debate — should not be handling this election. He’s simply too close to the situation.
With the lawsuit out of the picture, it’s time for democracy to live again in Wilkinson County. Let’s just hope no more CPR is needed before Election Day.
Comments
Posted by kpage (anonymous) on May 23, 2008 at 9:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Good article, Demo! Like I said yesterday, Mon Cree should not be upset that they won't let him put his hands in the ballot box or even eyeball it!!! Why be mad if his intentions are good? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Posted by redusmfan (anonymous) on May 23, 2008 at 2:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I guess you could call him the "Ike Brown from Woodville Town" lol....
Why are we even amazed at voter fraud and ballot box shenanigans anymore in small areas like this? What needs to happen is that feds need to be at every poll and at the ballot box center to clarify anything before it comes to this again...
Touch screen ballots like the ones we have here in Rankin County would have bypassed all this crap from the beginning. Voter ID at the polls will help clear up more of the crap in the future.
I look forward to having Voter ID very soon at every election. We need and deserve it.
Posted by destiny (anonymous) on May 23, 2008 at 3:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'll vote for voter ID. You need to show proof of who you are everywhere but the most important place. Why?????? Every voting day I walk in with my voting registration card and my drivers license and have even asked if they need to check it. I guess they think I'm crazy or something. But I'm still gonna do it.
Posted by kpage (anonymous) on May 24, 2008 at 9 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Good destiny!!! Great idea! You probably have much more respect for the process than the poll worker who looks at you crazy, anyway.
Posted by kpage (anonymous) on May 24, 2008 at 11:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Anybody for a free hamburger? I hear they're about to vote again in Woodville.
Posted by ProNatchez (anonymous) on May 24, 2008 at 5:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If the public can't trust the local officials handling the election process, then the public needs to place a group of volunteers to stay with those ballot boxes till every vote is counted. Why should the feds have to come in and do the job?
Posted by kpage (anonymous) on May 24, 2008 at 10:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
We in Concordia Parish sure could use some volunteer eyeballs at the polling places! I guess every one in the Miss-Lou needs it. What a shame the world has come to this. It ain't just peeking in a card game...this is meddling with folk's vote!
Posted by Yeahuhuh (anonymous) on May 27, 2008 at 8:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I do not think that the Wilkinson County problem had anything to do with voter ID. It has to do with tampered ballots.
In fact I think the voter ID issue has a lot more to do with the guaranteed impact of requiring ID, requiring getting one if you are old, poor and infirm, or are bad about budgeting your time, or requiring anything additional to the voter process, and how that impacts turnout on election day. It's one more thing to require on election day, and I think there is a general feeling that this would impact one side more than the other.
Thousands of people do not vote on election day because there are too many things to do already and they just don't fit in the voting. The more strapped you are, the more each day's work is important, the more you need to watch out for your family, the less likely you will feel you even have the time to vote.
On the other hand people showing up at the ballot box and claiming to be someone they are not -- which voter ID is designed for -- is rare at best.
There is another more important and effective reason to push voter ID laws -- that is so crooked politicians can look like they are addressing voter fraud, look like they are keeping the vote from Mexicans and blacks, and being political heroes by doing so.
Voter ID is a NON-ISSUE created for the gullible. Tampering with the ballots, with the ballot counts, with availability of voting machines as in Ohio last presidential election -- these are the areas that create voter frauds that turn elections -- as in Wilkinson County.
It is government and election OVERSIGHT where the real fraud happens. They just made up that voter ID problem to make it look like fraud is being addressed -- it's the guys in control that are the real crooks.
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