by Pamela Powers Hannley
Those pesky typos! (Yeah, right.)
The Maricopa County Elections Department has admitted to a second instance of voter suppression… er… poor proofreading. You'll remember that last week ABC 15 and Blog for Arizona reported that Spanish speaking voters were given the wrong date for the election on a document that was included with new voter registration cards.
This week, the elections department says that a bookmark with election details gives English speakers the correct date for the election (Nov. 6) but gives Spanish speakers Nov. 8 as election day.
Giving groups that you don't want to vote the wrong date is a tried and true voter suppression tactic. I didn't believe the first instance was a mistake; giving Latinos the wrong date twice is definitely not a typo oopsy. Seriously, how dumb could they be? Or how dumb do they think the rest of us are?
The Maricopa County Elections Department should be investigated by the feds– now.
Here's the story from ABC Channel 15…
PHOENIX – A spokesperson for the Maricopa County Elections Department admits they once again gave voters the wrong date of next month's election.
Yvonne Reed confirms to ABC15 that bookmarks distributed by the elections department incorrectly listed the date of the general election in Spanish as November 8.
The flip side of the bookmark correctly lists the date in English as November 6.
Reed tells ABC15 the bookmarks were distributed at the three election counters throughout Maricopa County and that the department has no way of knowing exactly how many people received the bookmarks.
Randy Parraz, President of Citizens For A Better Arizona, says the blame lies squarely with Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell.
"It shows she's incompetent and not qualified," said Parraz.
For the rest of the story, go to ABC 15 here.
What's really tragic about this suppression of Spanish speaking voters is that there have been gargantuan efforts to get out the Latino vote. This is an important election for all of us, but for Latinos in Maricopa County, it is there best chance in years to oust renegade Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Check out the Adios Arpaio video by Phoenix videographer Dennis Gilman after the jump.
