Carnahan promises to protect voters facing foreclosure
In the face of efforts by Republicans to purge voter rolls of citizens whose properties show up on foreclosure lists, Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan is taking steps to protect Missourians by educating the public about their voting rights.
These individuals are no different than any other Missourian nor should their fundamental rights be jeopardized.
“These folks are hurting," Carnahan said in a statement. "The lives they built have been turned upside down because they can no longer provide a home for their families. This is the most crucial time to vote, and the possibility of losing that right should be the last thing they worry about.”
With those words, Carnahan makes clear the importance of supporting candidates for Secretary of State who will protect, rather than threaten Americans’ right to vote.
Of the 27,000 (and growing) Missourians whose homes have been added to public foreclosure lists, many still reside in those homes. Of those who have moved, those who have remained in the county can simply update their address at any time up to or including Election Day. Those who have left the county have the option of registering at their new address (until October 8 in Missouri) or voting absentee under their current registration if they move after the deadline.
Election reformers are currently fighting for a portable, universal system of voter registration that would eliminate the inconvenience and confusion of the current system. But until that is achieved, it is vital that we support and elect Secretaries of State like Robin Carnahan, and candidates like Linda McCulloch in Montana, Kate Brown in Oregon, and Natalie Tennant in West Virginia.
Imagine, at the very moment when eight years of Republican-led economic misrule has resulted in record foreclosures and the physical displacement of hundreds of thousands of Americans, those same republicans are attempting to keep those affected from responding to the crisis through the democratic process. That’s why we need to elect Secretaries of State who will stand up for the voting rights of ALL Americans ALL of the time.
“There is no place in our state for targeting those in foreclosure proceedings and questioning their right to vote,” said Carnahan. “I will not stand for partisan games that aim to prevent eligible voters from participating in this election.”
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