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Classifieds Advertising deadlines 12:00 Noon Monday Hours: Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. To place your ad, email advertising@theskanner.com Voter ID continued from page 1 uniquely identifies the ballot for accuracy and the bal- lot counting process is open for the public to observe.” “Oregon already has Voter ID, it’s called our signa- ture,” Buehler says on his blog. Nationally, the Urban League and the NAACP are campaigning strongly against Voter ID laws. “We’ve seen more states pass more laws in the past year, pushing more voters out of the ballot box than at any point in the last hundred years,” Ben Jealous told Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman, Sept. 6. “And you know, it’s not simply a Republican thing, because we’ve seen Rick Snyder, Republican governor of Michigan, veto strict photo ID. We’ve seen Bob McDonnell of Virginia actually expand the re-enfranchising of formerly incarcerated people in that state and say to his folks, ‘Don’t even bring me a strict voter ID bill, or I will veto it.’ It’s an extremist thing. It’s a far-right thing. You know, and it’s having a real effect on this race, and it will have a real effect come November.” Jealous, along with most progressives and civil rights activists, sees Voter ID as part of the long history of voter suppression efforts aimed at Blacks, Latinos, the elderly and poor people in general, who all are less like- ly to have state-issued photo ID. They’re also part of the Democratic base. Mike Turzai, the Pennsylvania GOP House majority leader, offered ammunition for that view in June. Boast- ing of his party’s accomplishments at a state Republi- can meeting, he said, “Voter ID, which is going to allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania: Done.” Model legislation from the controversial pressure group ALEC was used to craft several state ID laws. Some of the most restrictive – the Texas law that rec- ognizes gun permits but not school ID, for example – are facing legal challenges. But similar laws in Penn- sylvania, Idaho or Louisiana, require voters to show government –issued photo ID. Investigations across the country have found very lit- tle evidence of voter fraud, according to a report from the Brennan Center for Justice. “There have been a handful of substantiated cases of individual ineligible voters attempting to defraud the Voter Registration Drives,” suggests that the real harm to democracy is that too few people are registered to vote. “At least 51 million — roughly 25 percent — of voting-age Americans are not registered and cannot vote,” the report says. “That is equivalent to losing the entire eligible voting population of California, New York, and Texas combined. As of 2010, Census data shows that 37 percent of eligible blacks and 48 percent of eligible Hispanics are not registered to vote.” In Oregon, just two cases of voter fraud have been substantiated since January 2009. In 2010 Brown’s staff investigated allegations that 6,000 dead people had voted. They looked at every case. The result? One single conviction. In 2011, Lafayette Keaton, 81, was convicted of vot- --GOP Secretary of State candidate Knute Buehler ing for his dead brother and his son. He also was col- lecting his brother’s social security benefits. Keaton was fined $5000 and sentenced to three months in jail for the voter fraud. That was in addition to jail time for know from my own work that voter fraud just isn’t an issue.” the benefits fraud. The second case involved a Josephine County man who Gaskin points to case studies show voter ID would not have voted using his brother’s ID. He was convicted of four prevented the few cases of fraud that exist. “If you have someone who is bound and determined to felonies and deported, losing forever his chance to become a break the law, the answer is enforcement. So the first step is citizen. ensuring the existing law is being enforced. “I think there should be as few barriers between me and my vote as possible.” Read the rest of this story online at www.theskanner.com The Brennan Center’s latest report, State Restrictions on election system. But by any measure, voter fraud is extraor- dinarily rare.” What’s more, the report concluded, photo ID laws do noth- ing to prevent the small amount of fraud that exists. Yet those same laws will exclude “millions of voters,” says Keesha Gaskins, senior counsel for the Brennan Center’s democracy program. “There’s little justification for those laws,” Gaskin says. “I ‘Oregon already has Voter ID, it’s called our signature’ EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND PROJECT COORDINATOR The Department of County Human Services is seeking a full time Emergency Management and Project Coordi- nator. The position provides technical expertise in project management & emergency preparedness program development. For additional information about this posi- tion or to apply, please see recruitment #6088-53 at www.multcojobs.org. Applications accepted through September 25, 2012. Salary range $59,529 - $73,289 annually. 9-12-12 CUSTODIAN Be a part of a world-class team as you make the Con- vention Center shine! WA State Convention Center (WSCC) is accepting appli- cations for Full-Time Custodian. Custodians are responsible for the cleaning and maintenance of the interior and exterior areas of the facility. Require HS diploma or GED & at least one-year exp in a custodial position in a service or hospitality environment. Visit www.wscc.com for further info or to download an application. Applications are also available at the WSCC Service Entrance, 9th and Pike, Mon-Fri, 8a-5p. Jobline: (206) 694-5039. EOE. Application Deadline: Monday, September 17, 2012. 9-12-12 We honor the many accomplishments of African Americans. CALL TODAY FOR ADVERTISING RATES 503 285 5555 WORKSYSTEMS, INC. REGION 2 WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD FOR THE CITY OF PORTLAND, MULTNOMAH AND WASHINGTON COUNTIES MEETING SCHEDULE MEETING TIME: 7:30 AM TO 10:00 AM Worksystems, Inc. 1618 SW 1st Ave., Suite 450 Portland, OR October 12, 2012 Annual Meeting January 11, 2013 April 12, 2013 July12, 2013 October 11, 2013 Annual Meeting Meeting dates, time and locations are subject to change. For more information, please visit our website: www.worksystems.org or contact Jenny Weller at (503) 478-7366 or jweller@worksystems.org Auxilliary Aids are available upon a 48 hour advance request. 9-12-12 September 12, 2012 The Portland Skanner Page 7
