Foreclosure rate will help Karl Rove on E-Day?

[Mark Crispin Miller]

Foreclosures Pose Potential Trouble on Election Day
By ANDREW KEH

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/02/us/politics/02voting.html?_r=1

Home foreclosures, the epidemic spawned by the crash of the real estate market, are once again a potential election-year bugaboo.

With midterm elections nearing, advocacy groups and election officials around the country are concerned that homeowners and renters affected by foreclosure will face complications at the polls, if not ignore the election altogether. They fear the problem may be more prevalent than in 2008 because the number of property foreclosures this year is expected to be more than 3 million - 30 percent greater than two years ago, according to RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure database.

By law, voters must register in the county in which they reside, meaning eligibility is tied to home address. Foreclosure proceedings, however, can make figuring out which address to use confusing. Some people continue to live in foreclosed homes. Some move out, but maintain a right of redemption on the property. Still others live in temporary housing or move from place to place.

"Unfortunately, voting is probably not the No. 1 thing that's on their mind right now," said Robert M. Brandon, president of Fair Elections Legal Network, a liberal-leaning voting rights group. The organization released a report Wednesday detailing the pitfalls confronting victims of foreclosure who want to vote this fall and the processes necessary to avoid disenfranchisement.

The issue became a political flashpoint in the 2008 presidential campaign because some of the nation's highest foreclosure rates were in swing states. The Obama campaign filed a lawsuit in federal court, seeking to prohibit the Michigan Republican Party from using foreclosure lists to single out and challenge voters. The state Republican Party said it had no intention of doing that.

No such accusations have surfaced this year. But people whose homes have been foreclosed remain at the mercy of idiosyncratic state laws, possibly leading to misunderstandings on Election Day.

Each state differs in its definition of a citizen's "domicile." Certain states allow people to vote from an old address, if they have not established a new one; others do not. Some allow voters to update their voting registration up until Election Day, while others enforce a deadline of 30 days before. Only a handful of states provide additional leeway for voters who move into the state at the last minute.

"People move very frequently, and we have an outdated system that relies on individual voters to notify election officials every time they do," said Wendy R. Weiser, who directs the voting rights and elections project at the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law.

Traci Carnes, who last year lost her house and her job as the executive director of a nonprofit housing organization in Lancaster, S.C., is among those who will have to navigate the system if they want to participate in the midterm elections. Ms. Carnes said she used to keep abreast of politics and community issues, always finding the time to vote. Now, voting is one of the activities she calls "luxuries."

"When I started losing everything, you are just focusing on that bottom rung on Maslow's hierarchy of needs," she said, referring to the popular theory of human motivation.

Ms. Carnes, 36, said that after losing her home, she and her 13-year-old son briefly moved into a hotel. She is now staying at a relative's house, unsure if she will take the time to vote in November.

Mr. Brandon of Fair Elections Legal Network said, "Even in states where people are relatively well protected, the key is whether they know their rights. This is just not an issue that has been well publicized."

State department offices and election officials around the country said they had not received an inordinate number of calls from concerned voters. Nonetheless, most plan to start informational campaigns of some sort in the coming weeks.

Jennifer Brunner, the secretary of state in Ohio, said that educating election officials and poll workers was a top priority. Before the 2008 presidential election, Ms. Brunner issued a directive outlining voters' rights.

"Our officials received a lot of instruction from me, some probably thought too much" Ms. Brunner said. "But it resulted in a smooth election."

Mark Ritchie, Minnesota's secretary of state, said he and members of his office would pass out fliers at the Minnesota State Fair, which runs until Labor Day.

Ms. Weiser of the Brennan Center said: "People should know that they can vote in most cases, and they just need to look at the rules. There are very few circumstances where they might be out of luck."

And for all voters, it seems, the earlier you engage in the process, the better.

"The more time you give us, the easier it is for us to offer a solution," said Gail Pellerin, the county clerk in California's Santa Cruz County. "Planning ahead, like in anything else, is essential in voting."