Thursday, September 11, 2008

VanHollen Sues G A B for "Ho Hum" on Database

Well, this should be fun.

Today, on behalf of the citizens of Wisconsin, I filed suit in Dane County Circuit Court seeking to compel the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board (GAB) to bring Wisconsin into compliance with state and federal election law

...In the legal action I filed today, I outline my concern that the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board has not fulfilled its legal obligation to bring Wisconsin into compliance with state and federal election laws, including HAVA, because it has refused to run HAVA checks on voter registrations received prior to August 6, 2008. This means that the statewide computerized voter registration list required by HAVA includes thousands, if not tens of thousands, of names whose information has not been verified through the HAVA checks mandated by Congress and required by state law.

On August 27, 2008, in anticipation of the Government Accountability Board’s scheduled board meeting, I felt it necessary to write the Board outlining my concerns about their inaction. In that letter I stated my concern that Wisconsin may be in violation of HAVA. In response, Kevin Kennedy, the Government Accountability Board’s Director and Legal Counsel, informed me that Wisconsin’s Government Accountability Board intended to take no further action on the matter and would not require HAVA checks on voter registrations received between the January 1, 2006 HAVA compliance date and August 6, 2008.

The Government Accountability Board confirmed this decision in numerous public statements and in its communications with local election officials. In sum, the Government Accountability Board’s actions discriminate between one class of potential voters and another.

Maybe if the GAB were doing its job on this issue, they wouldn't have time to speculate about ways and means to crush the 1st Amendment.

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