Tuesday, September 21, 2004

Big Brother is Watching

Exactly six weeks from the November 2 election, new evidence is
emerging about the Bush administration's efforts to suppress voter turnout.
The Washington Post reports Attorney General John Ashcroft has opened
"several criminal inquiries into alleged voter fraud" in "key presidential
battlegrounds, including Ohio and West Virginia." While voter fraud is
a concern, civil rights advocates "complain that the department is
putting too much emphasis on investigating new voter registrations in poor
and minority communities -- which tend to favor Democrats -- and not
enough on ensuring that those voters do not face discrimination at the
polls." New Mexico Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron said, "This is
just an attempt to let people know that Big Brother is watching
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34109-2004Sep19.html) .
It may well be aimed at trying to keep people away from the polls."