Guilty of Suppressing Black Voter Turnout

So, for those who believe that the idea of Black voter suppression is the thing of Urban Legend, please take note.


Paul Schurick: Robert Ehrlich Aide Guilty Of Conspiring To Suppress Black Voter Turnout


BALTIMORE — A political aide to former Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich was convicted Tuesday of conspiring to use Election Day robocalls in what prosecutors cast as an effort to suppress black voter turnout during the 2010 gubernatorial election.

Paul Schurick was found guilty of all four counts he faced, including conspiracy to influence or attempt to influence a voter's decision whether to go to the polls through the use of fraud and conspiracy to publish campaign material without an authority line. A stoic Schurick comforted his wife in the courtroom after the Baltimore jury's verdict was read, but declined to comment.

His attorney, A. Dwight Pettit, said they will appeal.

Political experts say the case could have an impact on future campaigns, discouraging attempts to keep voters from casting ballots.

Prosecutors argued the calls that went out on the evening of Election Day to about 110,000 voters in Baltimore and Prince George's County – two jurisdictions with high percentages of black voters – were an effort by the Republican campaign to reduce the number of black Democrats voting in heavily Democratic Maryland.

"Hello. I'm calling to let everybody know that Governor O'Malley and President Obama have been successful," the call said. "Our goals have been met. The polls were correct, and we took it back. We're OK. Relax. Everything's fine. The only thing left is to watch it on TV tonight. Congratulations, and thank you."...

...Schurick testified that he rejected campaign consultant Julius Henson's black voter suppression strategy dubbed "The Schurick Doctrine" but later approved the robocall script. He called it a counterintuitive attempt to mobilize crossover Democrats and said he didn't know the authority line, which would have noted that the message came from Ehrlich's campaign, would be left off. Henson, whose trial on similar charges is set to begin in February, has said he did not believe the calls were illegal and that they weren't meant to suppress the vote...

..."The First Amendment does not protect fraudulent speech," he said. "We think clearly that this was the case here. It was fraudulent. It wasn't just political speech."

The call was fraudulent because the language seemed to come from the point of view of Ehrlich's opponent and lacked an authority line, he said. He didn't believe Schurick's reverse psychology explanation, he said.

"I think it was ridiculous," he said. "I just don't buy it and evidently the jury didn't buy it as well."...


Full story here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/...hurick-voter-suppression_n_1131852.html?ir=DC

 

I knew it, I noticed an earlier version of this article in the newspapers.

Ehrlich and his administration are racists!

 

Now, the only question is how seriously they will deal with the matter during the sentencing phase of the trial.

 

Whoever said that voter supression of Blacks is a urban myth is himself a urban myth. Furthermore any person whose Republican legislature who is proposing voter ID should get off their butts and take action.

 

I am not at all surprised. Good to see justice have been served. But now, let's hit the other states for the very same thing.

And secondly, why isn't it getting more traction?

 

i dont really have a problem with voter ID laws.

if your too lazy to get an id(how can you not have one?) then you shouldnt be voting.

 

You're obviously missing the bigger picture. People aren't lazy when there are certain conditions that prevent people from acquiring them in the first place.

 

what conditions are those?

 

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that you're at LEAST remotely capable of reading into the issues at hand. Aside from that voter fraud is practically nonexistent, which is the basis of the ID Laws in the first place, it's practically meant to be part of a political ploy to literally suppress voters through stringent conditions such as...students don't NEED to show a specific card. A student I.D. is enough to verify someone's information.

 

your posting in a thread where somebody was convicted of voter fraud by suppressing voters.

quit with the victim mentality. nothing is preventing anybody from getting a state issued id. state ids are free for people who cant afford them, nobody is trying to deny you the right to vote because your black. when you go to the voting station and vote with your state issued id and they say no, sorry, then get back to me.

i have no patience for people who refuse to do simple necessary things the majority of people do, which is have a state issued id. the student thing i agree with as well.

the reason why people say this will hurt the black vote is because they say blacks are the highest group without a state id? why the hell is that, and whos fault is that? too many blacks are there own worst enemy.

your telling me some of these people cant even go and get a free id? pathetic.

 

Ehrlich and Steele get the big :butthead: from me.

 

Im sure iggy and paniro are ok with the Black vote suppression

 

That is true man. Of all this anti-government nonsense the right has the gall to proppose a valid ID with the person footing the bill!

 

Isn't it humorous to see that when people have no point, they simply beg the question, lol. If not for the record turn-out of young people, of college age, and African American voters, many older people, this issue of ID's would never have had any traction.

You correctly pointed out that students currently only need student ID's to vote. In the case of many older African Americans, who disproportionately don't have birth certificates, these laws would affect their ability to procure ID's. But, I guess we shouldn't worry since Texas will allow those who have a gun license to circumvent the requirement for a state ID.

The greater question, given the Civil Rights movement, and the tremendous efforts extended to insure unfettered access to the voting polls, why would anyone want to create ANY potential barrier to this constitutional right? It's been estimated the impact of imposing this restrictive measures would be to disenfranchise five million Americans, not only African Americans.

Someone should get back when they can forthrightly answer than question...

 

i dont buy it that people cant get a state issued id, just dont buy it.

 

well buy it because the dude was found guilty. They are also doing some gerrymanding in one of the carolinas to dilute the black vote so the repubs can win and make it tuff for obama

 

That's not responsive to my post, if that was your intent...

 

Why is CHEATING standard operating procedure for the the Republican Party??

Please tell everyone you know to get their voter registration and proper I.D. in lieu of the 2012 Presidential election.

THe GOP believes if they can shave off a few percentage points from the Black, college students and minority votes from BHO's tally, they can win.

 

The GOP has not come to the realization that America is becoming multi-racial and hasn't . . . or will not embrace it.

Also there are plenty of black people who will not take the time to . . . VOTE.

 

You make it sound like a simple thing to do, which would be true if the intent was something other than disenfranchisement. Since each state, county, district, could/would regulate their own programs and the intent has always been questioned, what documentation required could be the first step toward automatic denial or red tape. Many older blacks have baptismal records in lieu of birth certificates and if memory serves me correctly, at least one county refused to accept baptismal records... Others have been raked across the coals for certificates of birth issued by hospitals (Don't "Birthers" still have questions about Obama?)

What solution do propose for the elderly, or anyone lacking mobility or if the issuing agency is outside applicants' range of travel?

Since issuance of any identification is cost to be absorbed by somebody, what solution do the truly poor have if the cost is outside their ability to pay?

Various tactics have been employed and continue to be employed to dilute/disenfranchise voters... Do some research on how redistricting keeps parties in power in local and state elections.... Poll taxes of the past...

You may still choose to disbelieve but you would be naive to believe that politics if full of honest people with noble intentions.