Tea Party Group Targets Trans Voters

[twit]

If that's the case, how stupid do they think the people they are training are?

They are training republicans...     


*hides from Jamie*

[Shana A]

True The Vote Targets Transgender Voters
By: Autumn Sandeen Sunday November 4, 2012 5:55 pm    

http://pamshouseblend.firedoglake.com/2012/11/04/true-the-vote-targets-transgender-voters/

The transgender population is a small population, and to my knowledge until this election trans voters haven't been systematically targeted for voter suppression. Well, this year trans people are being targeted for voter suppression by True The Vote. A graphic from True The Vote's Virginia training materials shows what the organization thinks about trans citizens.

The National Center For Transgender Equality's (NCTE's) Advancing Transgender Equality blog article Tea Party Group Targets Trans Voters explains it this way:

A right-wing, Tea Party organization called "True the Vote" is training their volunteer poll watchers to target transgender voters. True the Vote's training manual features a transphobic image that claims transgender people are fraudulent voters and should be denied the right to vote.

[Sarah Louise]

From True the Vote site (I see nothing about Transgendered):

About True The Vote

Unfortunately, Americans have lost faith in the integrity of our nation's election results and fraud and law-breaking has become all too common in our electoral system. We hope to change that perception. True the Vote is a citizen-led effort to restore truth, faith, and integrity to our elections.

Mission Statement

True the Vote is an initiative developed by citizens for citizens, meant to inspire and equip volunteers for involvement at every stage of our electoral process. We promote ideas that actively protect the rights of legitimate voters, regardless of their political party affiliation.

We are working to restore integrity to the American system of electing its leaders. With True the Vote, we have, "deconstructed the entire process, focusing on educating voters, examining the registry, recruiting, training and mobilizing election workers and poll watchers, training how to collect data all along the way, then use the data to shape government action and legislative agendas to support desperately needed election code reform."

Our government was built upon the belief that election results represent the true will of the people and our election processes were always intended to be supported by citizen volunteers. We are helping stop corruption where it can start – at the polls.

Our initiatives include:
•Mobilizing and training volunteers who are willing to work as election monitors
•Aggressively pursuing fraud reports to ensure prosecution when appropriate
•Providing a support system for our volunteers that includes live and online training, quick reference guides, a call bank to phone in problem reports, information on videotaping at polling places, and security as necessary
•Creating documentaries and instructional videos for use in recruiting and training
•Raising awareness of the problem through strategic outreach efforts including advertising, social networking, media relations, and relational marketing
•Voter registration programs and efforts to validate existing registration lists, including the use of pattern recognition software to detect problem areas

Who is True The Vote?

Based in Houston, Texas and headed by Catherine Engelbrecht (President), True The Vote is staffed by volunteers all across the country. Essentially, True The Vote is you and me. Every day Americans interested in the integrity of the elections in the home district.

[Beth Andrea]

I see both "big" parties as simply another way of "divide and conquer" (with the conqueror(s) being major international Wall Street types...and no, I can't name who "they" are)

Republicans -- favor business, small and large, but mostly large (primary source of money: gov't and international investors). They try to paint themselves as the party of Mom and Pop stores, and maybe they are, but they are also the party of mega corporations.)

Democrats -- favor "the people" (mainly the low-income people), but they also cozy up to businesses by favoring illegal immigration ( = lower wages all around). They have no problem with taking, or tying up, private property, so long as it's not their property (snail darter, spotted owl), and favor making people dependent on gov't (hence they are pro-gun restrictions = criminals knowing most victims are unarmed = more crime = more jails, more prosecutors, more lawyers, etc)

Libertarians = Some people get fed up with the D's and R's, and they wanted to bail, so a third party was created, allegedly via "spontaneous" means, to contain and render harmless the disgruntled D's and R's, so as to not tip the apple cart.

Tea Party = When the "militia" types ran out of steam, they were still itching to make a dent in the US political scene, so they formed the Tea Party. That's why 99% of their people are right- to far-right politically. But, as dalebert said, "(the Tea Party) has no hope of changing the status quo in any substantial way."

It is just another way of containing people who are disgruntled with the current US political situation.

Make them think they're doing something really cool to change things, and people will stand quietly and wave their pretty little signs...

But, I may be off topic...let's see...the topic was about a group within the Tea Party that appears to be training people to "spot" voter fraud. I wonder if they'll go into nursing homes, and observe that many people with Alzheimers (who can't even hold a pencil, let alone know what a "pencil" is) are registered to vote, and actually do vote, with the nurses' help?

Ah well. Such is life in the Empire.

[Sara Thomas]

I'm not so sure they are targeting people who are trans just because of that image. It could just be an easy representation for them to show someone in disguise to cast an illegal ballot in another person's name.  Looking at the image, you have an id that is obviously for a woman and then you have a burly looking guy in a dress to show that you need to match people to their id's properly where it is required.

I'm just concerned our community looks for issues where there really are none and it could cause us to lose credibility over time.

I saw the illustration this morning, and this reflects my initial impression, Jaime.

[Joelene9]

  I'm Joelene,

  I'm transgender,

  I'm a Republican and I've already voted.
 
  I am not Tea Party, my brother is.  He may not like my transitioning, but he complains more about the liberal Communists in government!  My brother and I were in his car on the way to the airport a month ago to pick up his daughter and as he was complaining away, he missed the airport off ramp!  We had to thread our way around downtown San Diego to get back onto the highway and back onto the airport off ramp.

  Joelene

[dalebert]

Excellent timing. I just saw this on my roommate's Facebook page.

[MaidofOrleans]

  I'm Joelene,

  I'm transgender,

  I'm a Republican and I've already voted.
 
  I am not Tea Party, my brother is.  He may not like my transitioning, but he complains more about the liberal Communists in government!  My brother and I were in his car on the way to the airport a month ago to pick up his daughter and as he was complaining away, he missed the airport off ramp!  We had to thread our way around downtown San Diego to get back onto the highway and back onto the airport off ramp.

  Joelene

Your brother doesn't know what a Communist is apparently.

I can tell you that the American government is not remotely Communist.

[Stephe]

Your brother doesn't know what a Communist is apparently.

I can tell you that the American government is not remotely Communist.

But he does know how to listen to Shawn Hanity and Rush Limbauh.

[Vicky]

Whatever your political opinions or feelings are, they should not overpower you to the point you take your mind off the highway and where you are driving. I am a political pragmatist!! 

[TheAetherealMeadow]

Voter intimidation is a crime. I'm pretty sure that counts as promoting illegal activity among poll watchers.

[Joelene9]

Your brother doesn't know what a Communist is apparently.

I can tell you that the American government is not remotely Communist.

Thanks, but try to explain it to him!  We both served in the Navy.  Me during Vietnam, him 10 years afterwards.  I came across the Soviets in the North Sea and in the Mediterranean.  We got close enough to each other to see the whites of each others eyes, my brother was in Guam listening to their signals, if any, behind a console.  I met the Red Army types after the fall at my workplace and they said that the only Communists on base were the hated political officers!  My brother has not met any Cold War Russians.  I had ex-Red Army friends. 

  He needs to look in the Lenin closet!

  Joelene

[Shana A]

True the Vote blocked in key Ohio county
By Steve Benen
-
Tue Nov 6, 2012 12:54 PM EST

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/11/06/14972052-true-the-vote-blocked-in-key-ohio-county?lite

We've been keeping an eye on the efforts of True the Vote, a Tea Party project accused of organizing voter-intimidation schemes. One True the Vote leader has told volunteers their goal is to give voters a feeling "like driving and seeing the police following you."

As MSNBC's Zach Roth reported today, True the Vote was blocked today from operating in Ohio's second largest county, after the outfit was found by election officials "to have submitted irregular signatures in a bid to gain access to the polls."

---------

Tea Party poll-watchers shut out in key Ohio county
Zachary Roth
12:35 pm on 11/06/2012

http://tv.msnbc.com/2012/11/06/tea-party-poll-watching-group-denied-access-to-polls-in-key-ohio-county/

True the Vote, a controversial Tea Party-backed poll-watching group, will not be operating in pivotal Ohio's second largest county on Election Day, after it was found by election officials to have submitted irregular signatures in a bid to gain access to the polls.

"True the Vote doesn't have any observers in Franklin County today," Zachary Manifold, a member of the county's Board of Elections told MSNBC.com Tuesday morning.

[Stephe]

LOL! They commit fraud so that they can "stop voter fraud"?

[michelle]

Looking at the picture of what looks like a big burly man dressed like a woman,  it seems rather obvious that it is aimed at transgenders.   What heterosexual male is going to go to vote dressed like a woman with a driver's licence that says he is a male??   

Being 66 years old and being a child of the 1950's listening to Garner Ted Armstrong and  along with Methodist, Baptist, and Congregational Ministers as a teenager and young adult,  living through the ecumenical movement within the religious faiths,  and following the conservative movement since the 1950's,   I am aware of what the message is, that these groups are sending and have seen the same message change clothing over the years.   I admit I have always been a liberal.

Throughout my life until the last ten years,  I have seen a consistent disdain and hatred for transgenders, which is why it has taken me so long to be an open and outed transgender woman in my personal life and my on line life.

True the vote is not needed and groups like this should not be allowed in voting system.   What voters need are outside groups that stand up for them when the people who are running the county voting system are turning voters away and violating their civil rights and denying them the vote. 

Many of the True to Vote volunteers come into communities that they are not even apart of and try and judge people they don't even know. 

I have voted as a transgendered women with a male id on my driver's licence in my community in this election and elections before.   No one has said anything.

True the Vote has obviously been apart of the Conservative Republicans campaign to keep minorities from voting and to make it harder for them to vote.   As seen on November 6 this was a huge fail, because it made these groups angry and they came out to vote in large numbers.

I am interested in hearing what other experiences transgendered people had when they went out to vote.

We transgendered people are going to be one of the last groups in the United States to be recognized as full citizens that no one has the right to discriminate against.    It will probably come soon after all discrimination is ended against all females by males.    Then transgender men will be accepted as men and us transgender women will be accepted as women.

[Devlyn]

To me it looks like it is telling people to watch out for burly guys in dresses using IDs that clearly aren't burly guys. Opinions will vary, though. Hugs, Devlyn

[twit]

Looking at the picture of what looks like a big burly man dressed like a woman,  it seems rather obvious that it is aimed at transgenders.   What heterosexual male is going to go to vote dressed like a woman with a driver's licence that says he is a male??   
*snipped*

The id they show just before the burly guy is obviously that of a female considering the pic and name and obvious difference in appearance.    Its an extreme example of impersonating someone to vote fraudulently. I just don't think they would bother with singling out such a small minority by directly targeting transgender people at the polling places.

[Pippa]

Sounds like fascism to me.  It effectively classes the trans community as subhuman.   Wasn't this why the second world war was fought?

[MaidofOrleans]

Sounds like fascism to me.  It effectively classes the trans community as subhuman.   Wasn't this why the second world war was fought?

No, the genocide thing was kind of a side thing to the war. The war was fought because a bunch of fascist ultranationalists had dreams of building empires with bombs and bullets.