Foreclosed Homeowners May Lose Voting Rights

Dems: GOP plans to challenge addresses

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 25, 2008 5:15 AM CDT

(Newser) – Many of the million Americans who lost their homes through foreclosure in the last couple of years may discover at the polls that they've lost their right to vote in the upcoming election as well, the New York Times reports. Election officials and voter rights groups fear that failure to update addresses will disqualify thousands. Democrats charge that Republicans plan to use foreclosure lists to challenge voters in swing states.

Some of the states with the highest foreclosures rates—including Florida, Michigan, and Ohio—are likely to be the ones that prove pivotal in the election. Barack Obama's campaign has filed a lawsuit seeking to block Michigan's Republican party from using foreclosure lists to single out and challenge voters. A spokesman for Michigan's GOP denied any such plans exist.

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (2)]

The front door of a foreclosed home in Salt Lake City is marked with a message. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac)

A sign labels a foreclosed house in Glendale, Calif. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

A foreclosure sign tops a sale sign outside a home in northwest Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Foreclosure victims are distinctly vulnerable because they are not officially recognized as a group needing voting help. - Robert M. Brandon, president of the Fair Elections Legal Network

Our biggest concern is that many of these voters will stay home or that poll workers will give misinformation. - Rosemary E. Rodriguez, chairwoman of the federal Election Assistance Commission

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Foreclosed Homeowners May Lose Voting Rights