Help These 3 Leading Democrats Stop the GOP 'Lose Your Home, Lose Your Vote' Attack on Voters!

 

3 TOP FORMER ELECTED OFFICIALS FROM MARYLAND, ILLINOIS AND OREGON URGE ATTORNEYS GENERAL, ELECTION OFFICIALS IN ALL 50 STATES TO PUBLICLY BAR "LOSE YOUR HOME, LOSE YOUR VOTE" ATTACK Speaking Out From Across the Nation: Former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and Oregon Gov. Barbara Roberts Call For Action; NoVoterLeftBehind.net Seeks Volunteers, Support to Keep GOP From Stealing the 2008 Election WASHINGTON, D.C.///October 8, 2008///Three leading former elected officials from Maryland, Illinois and Oregon today called on every state attorney general and every state election head to come out publicly against any "lose your home, lose your vote" strategy that might be used to keep home foreclosure victims from exercising their right to vote. Organized by NoVoterLeftBehind.net (NVLB), the outreach effort is being undertaken by: Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former lieutenant governor of the state of Maryland; Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, former U.S. Senator from the state of Illinois and a 2004 presidential candidate; and Barbara Roberts, former governor of Oregon and also a onetime Oregon Secretary of State. NoVoterLeftBehind.net (www.NoVoterLeftBehind.net) is monitoring voter registration and the actual vote on Election Day in 2008. The campaign will shine a public spotlight on every last irregularity. The NoVoterLeftBehind.net Web site shows interested Democrats how to donate to support the effort, where to learn more about how Republicans steal elections and also ways to volunteer before and on Election Day 2008. The text of the Kennedy Townsend-Moseley Braun-Roberts letter to state attorneys general and state election officials reads as follows: "We are writing on behalf of NOVOTERLEFTBEHIND.ORG to ask the top election officials and Attorneys General in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia to rule in writing or by means of other public statement within the next two weeks that any attempts to block the voting rights of Americans in foreclosure is not permissible under state law. We are so concerned by reports of a possible lose-your-home, lose-your-vote campaign, we urge you to take action now and to notify us via email at foreclosurevoters@novotersleftbehind.org when you have done so that we may inform voters in a timely manner before the election. We will post your responses on our website and share them with the media. Here are the facts about the victims of any strategy to target the voting right of foreclosure victims. According to the Center for Responsible Lending: One out of five subprime loans issued during 2005-2006 will fail – leaving a total of 2.2 million home borrowers facing foreclosure. (See http://www.responsiblelending.org/issues/mortgage/research/page.jsp?itemID=31214551.) Attacks on voting rights based on mortgage foreclosure status are a real concern since subprime loans were made far more frequently to African Americans, Latinos and lower income Americans. (See http://www.responsiblelending.org/issues/mortgage/quick-references/a-snapshot-of-the-subprime.html.) The impact of foreclosure-based vote suppression could have a huge impact on swing states and thus deny Americans the right to elect their choice at President of the United States. For example, there are 23,000 home foreclosures in major metro areas in Ohio and 28,000 in Michigan cities. (See http://www.responsiblelending.org/issues/mortgage/research/subprime-spillover.html.) Please join us in sending the message loud and clear to Americans: "You don't lose your right to vote when you lose your home!" 4 TIPS: VOTING RIGHTS FOR HOME FORECLOSURE VICTIMS In a September 17, 2008 news release, NoVoterLeftBehind.net emphasized the four things every American going through home mortgage foreclosure needs to know about their vote: Voting is an inalienable right that you can't lose due an inability to meet mortgage payments. If any Republican tries to tell you don't different, don't listen to him or her! If you are in the foreclosure process – but still living in your home – you still vote where you live. The foreclosure process itself does not bear on your right to vote or where you exercise that right. If you are forced to move due to foreclosure before the voting registration deadline, you should re-register at your new home location. Go to http://novoterleftbehind.net/knowrules.cfm to find your states rules on voter registration. If you move due to foreclosure after the voting registration deadline -- but before the election -- go to vote where you were last registered to vote. Keep in mind the following: You have the right to vote by signing an affirmation (or similar form) if your right to vote is challenged for any reason; and if your name isn't on the registered voter list, you have the right to vote by provisional ballot. ABOUT NOVOTERLEFTBEHIND.NET Launched on August 29, 2008, NoVoterLeftBehind.net is a project of Democrats for America's Future (www.americasdemocrats.org). In his appeal to Democrats launching NoVoterLeftBehind.net, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. writes: "No more 2000s and 2004s! … The Republican Party mounted a coordinated, criminal campaign to steal the 2004 Presidential election -- and it worked. Now, as another election approaches, you and I need to stand together to make absolutely certain it doesn't happen again … We need your support to raise the funds now to make sure that 'no voter is left behind' on Election Day!" ABOUT DEMOCRATS FOR AMERICA'S FUTURE Democrats for America's Future (http://www.americasdemocrats.org) is dedicated to getting everyday Democrats involved in returning the Democratic party to its roots – and success at the ballot box. Democrats for America's Future makes a difference by: recruiting grassroots Democrats across the country and providing them with up-to-date information; urging Democratic leaders to stand up to President Bush and his right-wing allies; and educating the public about the Bush Administration's true record. Membership sign-ups and member donations are accepted through the Democrats for America's Future Web site at http://www.americasdemocrats.org. The DAF board of advisors consists of: James Carville; former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich; Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, former U.S. Senator from the state of Illinois and a 2004 presidential candidate; Donald L. Fowler, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee; David Bonior, former Michigan member of Congress and majority whip of the U.S. House of Representatives; and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former lieutenant governor of the state of Maryland.