I am a volunteer assisting a military veteran who is confined to a wheel chair. In addition to requiring transportation to the courthouse, he has a financial guardian. He is fully intellectually alert. He has a guardianship only because he cannot sign checks or other instruments. Yet, if the voter I.D. Amendment in Minnesota passes this fall, he will be automatically disqualified from voting because he has a guardian! By the way, he is a conservative Republican.

The claims of voter fraud and the necessity of laws to protect election integrity are a ruse. The issue is voter reliability! Republicans have instituted these claims and resulting law suits only because they believe they can document that “these” voters don’t vote Republican. Democrats are nearly as misleading.

I condemn the Democrat Party for its failure to support cleaning up the voter registration process. The Pew Center recently found that our voter registration lists were full of errors. Democrats have not concerned themselves with this problem and appropriated funds and updated laws to take advantage of our increasing technological ability to keep our voter registration lists up to date and accurate. Moreover, they have done nothing to ensure that same day registrants / voters are actually qualified.

Finally, neither party wants our military personnel to vote. Democrats believe that military personnel vote for Republicans. And, Republicans no longer trust military voters after the 2008 election where Federally printed ballots used by the military voter overwhelmingly for Obama. They won’t say it; but, they believe that our black NCO corps influenced / intimidated enlisted subordinates to vote for Obama. As a result, our military personnel are no longer reliable voters in their eyes.

We are reaching a cross-road in American democracy. Money and power have combined behind one political party while the other has failed to recognize what is happening and has done nothing to protect American voters and their precious democracy. As s result, we are about to be governed by a plutocracy of power and wealth.

Years ago before I made my career the Army (24 years of Regular, active service, I was called a “Goo-goo” for good government type. I was consider naive by more cynical political operatives of both major parties. I didn’t appreciate the importance of winning.

Recently, when I testified before the Minnesota State Senate about our proposed Voter I.D. amendment, I was loudly called a “professional, parasitic veteran” because of my opposition to the amendment by one of the amendment’s supporters. Members of neither party said anything in my defense. Instead, they sat quietly by. It was easier to continue on with their own agendas and not deal with the importance of protecting our American democracy.

http://www.mcgath.com/lowv_riggedpoll.html

I just received the forms to be an election judge. It is truly amazing the specificity of what constitutes an acceptable ID for election judges but none is required for voters. This is the definition of hypocrisy!!

It is the thoughtful voter that really educated themselves before voting.