JustRalph
11-01-2008, 04:34 PM
http://www.palestra.net/blogs/read/18025
It looks like out-of-state volunteers and staffers are registering and casting ballots in the battleground state of New Mexico, too.
One example is Shayne Adamski. He lives and works in Los Angeles, CA, is actively involved in politics and was a California delegate at the Democratic National Convention just 2 short months ago. Adamski is also a paid employee on the Obama campaign, and he traveled to New Mexico to help get out the vote in this swing state. All of this is quite admirable.
However, according to the Bernalillo County Clerk, Adamski registered to vote as a resident of Albuquerque on October 5. That's just 38 days after he was representing the state of California as a delegate on the final day of the Democratic National Convention. He also requested an absentee ballot. (We do not yet know if he cast a ballot, we are waiting to hear from the County Clerk.)
Tiffany Wilson and I traveled to New Mexico with photojournalist Gary Orr to check things out.
We were able to speak with Carlos Sanchez, a spokesperson for the Obama campaign, but he declined to comment on Adamski's specific situation. Unfortunately, we were unable to speak with Adamski himself due to campaign policy.
Since we can't talk to Adamski directly or get information about him from the campaign, we don't know whether or not he moved to Albuquerque and/or intends to reside here, but we were curious: are out-of-state campaign workers eligible to claim residency in New Mexico and cast a ballot?
We realize that New Mexico does not abide by the Ohio Revised Code, something we have become very familiar with in the past few weeks. In Ohio, you must be a resident of the state 30 days prior to the election AND have the intention of residing there permanently. Was this the case in New Mexico?
We asked the Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver this very question. Contrary to what we have discovered in Ohio, she said that out-of-state volunteers WERE in fact able to register and to vote in New Mexico.
When we asked how this was allowed, she replied: "It's not that it's allowed so much as that it's not enforced. There is really no enforcement mechanism in place to evaluate whether someone's submitting a registration based on a temporary address."
Concerning? Yes.
But that's not the end of the story:
~more at the link~
It looks like out-of-state volunteers and staffers are registering and casting ballots in the battleground state of New Mexico, too.
One example is Shayne Adamski. He lives and works in Los Angeles, CA, is actively involved in politics and was a California delegate at the Democratic National Convention just 2 short months ago. Adamski is also a paid employee on the Obama campaign, and he traveled to New Mexico to help get out the vote in this swing state. All of this is quite admirable.
However, according to the Bernalillo County Clerk, Adamski registered to vote as a resident of Albuquerque on October 5. That's just 38 days after he was representing the state of California as a delegate on the final day of the Democratic National Convention. He also requested an absentee ballot. (We do not yet know if he cast a ballot, we are waiting to hear from the County Clerk.)
Tiffany Wilson and I traveled to New Mexico with photojournalist Gary Orr to check things out.
We were able to speak with Carlos Sanchez, a spokesperson for the Obama campaign, but he declined to comment on Adamski's specific situation. Unfortunately, we were unable to speak with Adamski himself due to campaign policy.
Since we can't talk to Adamski directly or get information about him from the campaign, we don't know whether or not he moved to Albuquerque and/or intends to reside here, but we were curious: are out-of-state campaign workers eligible to claim residency in New Mexico and cast a ballot?
We realize that New Mexico does not abide by the Ohio Revised Code, something we have become very familiar with in the past few weeks. In Ohio, you must be a resident of the state 30 days prior to the election AND have the intention of residing there permanently. Was this the case in New Mexico?
We asked the Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver this very question. Contrary to what we have discovered in Ohio, she said that out-of-state volunteers WERE in fact able to register and to vote in New Mexico.
When we asked how this was allowed, she replied: "It's not that it's allowed so much as that it's not enforced. There is really no enforcement mechanism in place to evaluate whether someone's submitting a registration based on a temporary address."
Concerning? Yes.
But that's not the end of the story:
~more at the link~