Last week, I went down to the County Clerk's office to update my voter registration in time for the upcoming caucuses here in New Mexico (I'm a telecommuter to NCTE's Washington, DC offices). I'm moving so I needed to get my new address in the system. The incredibly helpful staff made sure I knew where my polling place was and helped me find it and my new home on the county maps. They even found the mistake I'd made in writing my new address and made sure I knew where I was actually living.
But then I still had to figure out just how this caucus thing works, since I've always lived in states with primaries, not caucuses. I had seen reports of the Iowa caucuses and thought it sounded rather intriguing, but in New Mexico it turns out to be pretty much like casting a ballot. I still had to contact my political party to figure out where to go or to get an absentee ballot, since the parties organize those.
Still, sleuthing it all out has been rather fun ... and I hope that you, too, are finding out all the information you need to register to vote and to participate in the electoral process.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
US Supreme Court Hears Voter ID Case Starting Today
A voting rights case comes before the United States Supreme Court today. Oral arguments will be heard challenging an Indiana voting law requiring government-issued ID with photo. The court is expected to issue a decision sometime in June 2008, in time for the November Presidential election.
Voting issues affect the transgender community, and therefore, this case will be an interesting one to follow. For background on the case, see these webpages:
Voter ID Laws Are Set to Face a Crucial Test
New York Times - January 7, 2008
Voting Rights Advocates Challenge Voter ID Laws
civilrights.org - January 7, 2008
Crawford v. Marion County Election Board
And also, don’t forget to check out NCTE’s Voting webpage and our publication, “Overcoming Voting Obstacles.”
John Otto
Privacy and Documentation Program Manager
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