Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel Responds to Activist Lawsuit (to prevent verification of voter eligibility)

Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel issued the following statement regarding the lawsuit filed in the United States District Court to prevent the Secretary of State from verifying the eligibility of voter registration applicants:

“On the same day that activist organizations filed a lawsuit in Georgia to prevent our state from verifying the eligibility of applicants to register and vote in our November 4 General Election, a federal judge has ruled that the Ohio Secretary of State must follow federal law and implement the exact same verification procedures.

“In fact, U.S. District Judge George C. Smith of Ohio stated, “It is hard to imagine a public interest more compelling than safeguarding the legitimacy of the election of the president of the United States.”

“The lawsuit filed in Georgia appears to be an orchestrated and well organized effort to dismantle our state’s identification laws and verification process. The safeguards we have in place help to ensure that only those applicants and voters who meet all eligibility factors are permitted to cast a ballot in our elections. Unfortunately, the organizations appear to want to open the door to allow non-citizens to register and vote in the General Election. If the plaintiff prevails, thousands of non-citizens in Georgia could be allowed to vote.

“The Georgia Secretary of State’s office and Georgia’s county registrars and election officials have an obligation to ensure that only U.S. citizens and Georgians who meet all the eligibility factors are allowed to register and vote. The process to verify an applicants’ eligibility to register and vote is required by federal law, and we have followed the law.

“Georgia’s county election officials still have over 100,000 voter registration applications to process. My office will continue its close work with our state’s county election officials to ensure that all applications are processed and verified, and that all preparations are in place for Election Day.

“I have a sworn duty to protect the integrity and security of our state’s elections, and will fight any attempt to breach Georgians’ trust in our electoral process.”


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Bow Wow Will Walk Across America to Help Get Out the Vote

PRNewswire/ -- Superstar recording artist and actor Bow Wow will show his support for our nation's upcoming elections with a voter registration initiative, Walk Across America. Commencing in Atlanta, GA on October 1st, Walk Across America will take Bow Wow and other citizens who are excited about the 2008 elections to cities across the United States in an effort to encourage people, especially the youth, to participate in the contests happening this November and the political process overall.

Walk Across America will travel by foot and bus through several cities including Philadelphia, PA, Washington, D.C. and New York City (full schedule below) making stops at various locations including colleges, universities and radio stations. Bow Wow is working with Declare Yourself and Black Youth Vote, two non-partisan organizations that will be assisting with the registration efforts at each stop and helping to reinforce the importance of youth voter participation. Students and elected officials from both major parties will also be invited to take part in the efforts in each city.

Although he is only 21, Bow Wow, who is launching his Follow The Leader foundation this year, felt that it was important for him to become personally involved in this historical election and to help motivate other young people to become engaged in the process. "It's important for the youth to participate because we're tomorrow's leaders. We need to make sure that our voices are heard and have a say in the decisions that will affect our lives and our country for years to come," he says.

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Usher Raymond's National 'I Can't But You Can' Voter Registration Campaign

PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This year, in an effort to mobilize voters in this historic presidential election, Usher launched the "I Can't But You Can" voter registration campaign geared towards youth ages 17 and under. This nationwide campaign began this summer in Atlanta with 350 youth registering nearly 1,000 new voters. The Campaign will be expanded to 8 cities simultaneously on September 27th and is projected to educate more than 4,000 youth and register 17,000 new voters nationally.

In conjunction with ServiceNation's Day of Action (www.servicenation.org), the "I Can't But You Can" Campaign will host voter registration rallies and drives in cities across the US on September 27th. Participating cities include: Atlanta, Boston, Kansas City (KS), Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New York, New Orleans and Oakland. At the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, the USC Marching Band will perform, MTV's Quddus will serve as Emcee for the Voter Registration Rally while KIIS-FM's DJ Drew will get the crowd pumping. All across the nation, we're engaging youth to make certain their voices are heard on Election Day!

"This is such a historic election that I wanted to find a way to give youth 17 and under a voice," says Usher. "I wanted young people to understand, that this election does impact their life. It affects the type of education they receive, if they'll receive healthcare when they're sick and if they'll have help getting into college."

As Youth Chair of ServiceNation, Usher recently hosted 100 Exceptional Young Leaders from across the country for a forum on the importance of Service and Leadership at the ServiceNation Summit in New York City. At this bi-partisan summit, Usher announced his Day of Action Contest to encourage youth to engage in service and reward their participation in the Day of Action.

Usher's Day of Action Contest

As part of SerivceNation's Day of Action, youth who can inspire 100 hours of service during ServiceNation's Sept 27 Day Of Action (i.e. 20 people doing 5 hours each, or 50 people doing 2 hours each) AND can get 100 signatures on ServiceNation's Declaration of Service, are eligible for the drawing. There will be two lucky winners who receive airfare for two, hotel for two nights and two VIP tickets to Usher's Washington, DC Concert on November 4 (National Election Day!) Visit www.servicenation.org for more details.

We'd like to acknowledge Russell Athletic as our Lead Sponsor for the "I Can't But You Can" National Voter Registration Campaign.

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Beware Of Phony Voter Registration Schemes

(SPM Wire) While many Americans are showing civic pride and registering to vote, scammers see opportunities to ply their trade.

The experts at the Better Business Bureau (BBB) are warning Americans to be cautious with personal information to avoid phony voter registration drives.

"Voter registration laws vary by state and changes take place regularly, which creates the confusing environment that ID thieves thrive on," said Steve Cox of the BBB.

Such theft can be perpetrated through e-mail, phone and even in person:

Beware of phony e-mails appearing to be from government agencies, telling you to click to register to vote or resolve registrations issues. These links direct recipients to sites that install viruses or ask for personal information such as Social Security or bank numbers.

Remember, state government officials don't telephone you if there is an issue with registration, nor do they need bank account or credit card numbers to confirm your identity.

If registering in-person, always ask for proof of which organization the volunteer is with before providing information. While some states require Social Security numbers to vote, they never require bank account or credit card information.

If you think you've become an ID theft or voter registration fraud victim, contact your BBB (www.bbb.org) and file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at 877-FTC-HELP or www.ftc.gov/idtheft.

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission Web site (www.eac.gov/voter) offers information on state voter registration guidelines.

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Register for Change Bus Tour Continues Through Georgia

PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- After a successful kick-off tour through Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana last week, Governor Howard Dean continues his national voter registration efforts in North Carolina and Georgia Friday and Saturday. The tour builds on the overwhelming enthusiasm and voter turnout seen during the primaries as Democrats mobilize and organize voters for the fall election.

The cross country, "Register for Change," bus tour started in George Bush's backyard in Crawford, Texas, and will travel cross country heading into the Democratic Convention in Denver.

  SATURDAY, JULY 26
 Savannah, GA
 REGISTER FOR CHANGE VOTER REGISTRATION EVENT IN SAVANNAH
 YMCA - West Broad Street
 1110 May St
 Savannah, GA

 Event Time: 8:30 AM - 9:30 AM

 Macon, GA
 REGISTER FOR CHANGE VOTER REGISTRATION EVENT IN MACON
 Macon Centreplex Parking Lot
 200 Coliseum Drive
 Macon, GA

 Event Time: 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM

 Atlanta, GA
 REGISTER FOR CHANGE RALLY IN ATLANTA
 Georgia Freight Depot
 65 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive
 Atlanta, Georgia
 Event Time: 5:15 PM - 6:30 PM
 Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin will accompany Gov. Dean at the rally.

 * For more information contact Caroline Ciccone at CicconeC@dnc.org.

Secretary Handel Reminds Citizens to Register to Vote for July 15 General Primary

Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel today reminded voters that the deadline to register to vote to be eligible to cast a ballot in the July 15, 2008 General Primary is Monday, June 16, 2008.

To register to vote in Georgia, you must be a citizen of the United States, a legal resident of Georgia and of the county in which you plan to vote, and at least 18 years old by Election Day. You may not register to vote if you are currently serving any sentence imposed by the conviction of a felony or judicially determined to be mentally incompetent.

Citizens who are not registered to vote in the county in which they reside must submit a voter registration application by the deadline in order to vote in the General Primary. Citizens that are registered to vote at a former address within the county where they reside are encouraged to submit a change of address card to their county registrar. Voters who are currently registered at the correct address do not need to submit a new voter registration application.

You can download and complete a voter registration application by visiting the 2008 Elections Center on the Secretary of State’s website: http://www.sos.ga.gov/elections/ElectionCenter08.htm.

You can also contact your local county registrars' office, public library, public assistance office, recruitment office, schools and other government offices for a mail-in registration form. Voter registration is offered when renewing or applying for a driver's license at any Georgia Department of Driver Services office. College students can obtain Georgia voter registration forms from their school registrar's office or from the office of the Vice President of Academic Affairs.

Secretary Handel also reminds voters that Georgia law requires registered voters to show photo identification when voting in person. This photo identification requirement applies in the July 15 General Primary and all future elections. When voting absentee by mail, photo identification is not required.

Voters casting ballots in person, either through advance voting or on Election Day, will be required to show one of the following forms of acceptable photo ID when they vote:

· A Georgia driver’s license, even if expired;

· Any valid state or federal government issued photo ID, including a free Voter ID Card issued by your county registrar or Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS);

· Valid U.S. passport;

· Valid employee photo ID from any branch, department, agency, or entity of the U.S. Government, Georgia, or any county, municipality, board, authority, or other entity of this state;

· Valid U.S. military photo ID; or

· Valid tribal photo ID.


Voters who do not have a form of identification listed above are eligible to receive a free Georgia Voter ID from their county elections office. Voters who have questions are encouraged to call the Georgia Secretary of State’s Voter ID Hotline at (877) 725-9797 or visit our website at www.GaPhotoID.com.

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