Husband's nightmare voting

[Mossfern]

We have lived in our town for four decades and have been registered since 1985 at our current address.
My husband went to vote today and was told that he wasn't registered! He has voted in nearly every election.
He called me confused, and I told him to fucking stick up for his rights and fill out a provisional ballot.

Several phone calls later - I finally got in touch with the town Chair of the Democratic County Committee, and she did some sleuthing and found that his birth date had somehow been altered to 1/18/1800. Yup, my hubby is 200 years old (or so) So his registration was purged. We are attempting to get it reinstated.

I gave the Chair all my husband's contact information and turned to process over to him.

My question is: How many people have had this happen to them and just shrugged their shoulders and walked away disenfranchised?

This is an urban County in NJ.

[Prairie Gates]

1. To be fair, the time to check your registration status was months ago

Nevertheless, wish you and him well with the process! Glad he has you on his side.

[lostnfound]

5. Should not blame the victim after GOP malfeasance. This is an intentional tactic used repeatedly. Nt

[Prairie Gates]

10. Nobody's blaming anybody

Everybody should check their voter registration early regardless of smooth sailing in prior elections. It's a complicated system and that's just part of the process.

[rogerballard]

28. I checked mine frequently since September if not earlier...

Especially this election, I think I called the city clerk twice about my ballot and when I can expect it. I did not let up.

[Prairie Gates]

30. Probably overkill, but yeah

Check your registration. That said, the people saying that they were making changes up through last week have a point as well.

[FarPoint]

46. You are giving excellent advice....

The OP is a victim and gave us all a real-time example as to why we all need to check the status almost weekly 3 months before an election....It just takes 60 seconds online to check.

[Rebl2]

56. I have

in recent years checked my registration many times during an election year including the month of the election. I also check my husband’s.

[SCantiGOP]

21. lostnfound:

The story is from NJ, so not likely to be a GOP trick.

[Maru Kitteh]

37. Maybe. But for some reason Freepers are full of stories about NJ today with delusions of winning NH, NJ and NY.

So I don't put it past them to try.






On the other hand, they remain stupid fuckers, so there is that. You're probably correct, but it still warrants checking out.

[Mossfern]

6. Never had a problem before and voted in the last election w/o problem

so we didn't bother. Next time we'll know.

I'm a 5'2" fighter from way back... former Council member and Mayor.
I was the little woman they were afraid of-and they did come after me. Threats to me, my family, flyers inserted in doors with outrageous lies about me..... my 5'1" daughter caught one of the people handing them out and jumped on him and pummeled him "That's my mom, you jerk." Glad she inherited my spunk.

I was warned when I first got involved in politics here that one had to have a thick skin.
My response to the then County Executive: "Scar tissue tends to be thick, thank you for the training."

[Cha]

14. To be More "Fair".. you explained how long your

husband had been voting in the same place for Decades.. Why would he check his registration?

It's their Fault and I hope your husband is able to Vote in this Election, Mossfern!

⭐️ 🕯️🕊️💙🌊🌊🌊💙🇺🇸🌈

[Hope22]

42. I guess if you live in a 100% blue area you might get away with this.

In my state they lift, massage and remove voters for various reasons never clear to me. People were removed as recently as September. I hand deliver my absentee ballot and then go on line to see that it has been approved marked received for the voting process. It has been waiting for three weeks to be counted and I will check multiple times until it is marked voted on the website. I check my family members ballots as well because they think nothing can happen but I want to be certain! Our Republicans are ruthless and are of zero integrity. I take screen shots as well because anything is possible.

[forgotmylogin]

24. That is one of the dirty tricks they are trying to pull.

Some states were purging as recently as last week and there are ongoing lawsuits.

I usually check my registration when I get my sample ballot, which was a couple months ago. If MO suddenly decided last week to purge me I wouldn't have known about it. I actually voted early absentee at the Election Board location with no problems, which is good because if there was an issue I was right there in the office to get it sorted out and have time to re-vote if necessary.

[LisaM]

25. Wow, victim blaming.

Not nice.

[Cirsium]

26. No

We should not expect millions of people to check their registration status months before every election.

[North Coast Lawyer]

32. Mail in voting solves this.

Universal mail in voting solves this problem. If you don't get your ballot when everyone else does you still have time to contact your county election office.

[Ms. Toad]

57. In many states,

By the time ballots are mailed out, it is to late to fix registration issues.

[Maru Kitteh]

33. TO BE FAIR, it is seriously MESSED UP TO BLAME THE VICTIM of voter suppression.

Did you ask what E. Jean Carroll was wearing? I'm going to guess probably not.. Same difference.

[pnwmom]

34. That might be good advice, but it's not FAIR. Fairness would mean

not knocking voters off the registration rolls unless you NOTIFIED them and gave them a chance to respond.

[Attilatheblond]

58. When some states/counties were purging voters just a week before the election, that is a rather callous point.

GOP when Obama nominated a justice for the SCOTUS: Oh, it's too near an election, no can do. Then Trump is in and it's full steam ahead even closer to an election.

Ditto with purging voters. It was going on RIGHT BEFORE this election. That is the fault of GOP county officials, not the voters. And those GOP county officials got orders from somebody

[brush]

2. Rethug dirty tricks.

[oasis]

27. Criminal & dirty!

[NameAlreadyTaken]

3. No wonder they accuse dead people of voting.

They're changing birthdates to get voters purged. Sneaky of them.

[bucolic_frolic]

4. Even if you get it resolved today with a provisional ballot

I hope you'll report it to the national reporting hotline because it could be they are doing this to others as well. Data can show a pattern.

Good on you for sticking in there!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

11. Yes, and databases usually have audit trails. They might catch the criminal. . . . . nt

[July]

15. And perhaps to the local news.

It may have happened to others. If it did, it would be useful for them to be informed about provisional ballots.

[summer_in_TX]

16. Yes, please do.

That will become part of data for lawsuits to protect the vote.

[Jrsygrl96]

7. North Jersey girl here

I have been registered in NJ to vote since 1977. Never voted anywhere else. I live in a suburban town where townspeople have actually declared that this is a “Trump” town. Not one Harris/Walz sign. 70% voted for him in 2020.

In 2020 I changed my status from unaffiliated to Democrat so I could vote in the primary. I changed back last year. My voting records currently show unaffiliated again. It is so easy to track your status online.

I don’t know of any purge, and we do have a democratic governor at the moment. It is possible that when all of NJ had to vote by mail back in 2020, records got updated online and it was simply a mistake. I wouldn’t think anything nefarious is going on. Also, if you live in NJ , you must know that our state government messes up more than they get things right! 😂

[Mossfern]

9. Yes they do!

I'm in Essex County - mostly Democratic. It was most likely an error in transferring data. We're working to get his registration reinstated - but my question is How many people will just shrug and go home?

They still have two of my children registered here.
They haven't lived here in over two decades. I let the County know, but it still hasn't been changed.
Fortunately we're an honest family and I just throw the election materials they get in to recycling.

[Jrsygrl96]

39. Essex County also

Good luck to you and hopefully he won’t have a problem getting to vote. Thank goodness we are a blue state! 💙💙💙

[Silent Type]

8. Considering Biden got 77% of vote in NJ, I'm assuming this is not some GOPer trick unless lots of others

were similarly purged.

Hope his ballot is counted and bet it will be.

[Mosby]

12. Dos he complete a provisional ballot?

[Mossfern]

18. Indeed he did!

Kamala and the entire line will win in NJ, but it just sucks knowing that your vote wasn't counted.

[Farmer-Rick]

36. It will/can still be counted

There should have been info on the outside of the provisional ballot saying where to call to find out if that provisional ballot was counted. They will likely take it back to their main office and check out the information compared to their rolls.

Some states don't count provisional ballots unless the election is close to a tie.

I live in deep red territory so I check on my registration regularly. They would love to kick me off.

[Xavier Breath]

13. I hope that at least you're cheering him up today by telling him that he's a young-looking 224.

Sorry that happened to him.

[Wicked Blue]

17. Outrageous

I hope this gets straightened out

[PeaceWave]

19. So, you're married to a 224 year old man, eh? What are ya, an Anna Nicole Smith gold digger?

[Dan]

20. I am surprised...about their computer application.

When I worked on computer systems - elections, etc., - things that required date of birth, we had an exception process that wouldn’t allow you to insert DOBs that were outside some basic parameters. At the very least anyone two hundred years old - would have been highlighted to the operator for verification. And election systems usually maintain a history of your voting history which should also have been a flag to the operator that something was amiss.

[JustAnotherGen]

22. I'm sorry

I expect those shenanigans in Hunterdon County - but not the exUrban areas and counties. That's bullshit.

I would send a brief note to Leroy in a day or two. Maybe we can use it next November as a rallying cry in the Governor's race.

If it makes you feel better - Flemington's numbers are insane. Waiting to see where we are at - at 2:00 PM.

[Mossfern]

48. I know Leroy -

and I'll give him a call after the election. I'm sure he's occupied with heavier issues right now.
It will be fun catching up with him.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

23. Confirm voter registration (usa.gov link)...

https://www.usa.gov/confirm-voter-registration

[mwooldri]

29. Next stop... Social Security Admin

Want back pay for past due social security benefits ehehe....

[Warpy]

31. Fucking Republican crooks tried something similar on me in 2004

Fortunately, we have early voting and it wasn't busy so I let my Inner Dowager Duchess out and blew the kind of well mannered fit that said they weren't going to get rid of her unless they did their jobs and straightened it all out because I'd voted in the primary and the special election earlier that year and wasn't going to skip the general because Republicans are crooks. It was straightened out quickly. I asked them if they'd had a lot of problems like mine and they said "a few" and the shifty looks on a few faces told me the rest of the story.

If it happens to you, stick up for yourself. Republicans are crooks. They know they can't win without cheating. It's whyour best hope is to overwhelm them completely. Pity we can't just deport the crooks to Russia.

[Fla Dem]

35. Even though I live in a 60/30 Republic district, I always vote in the primaries even though there's

rarely any Democrats to vote for. It's more of a check on my voting status.

[jmbar2]

38. What do you get a 224 year-old man for Christmas?

[LudwigPastorius]

40. !

https://vampire.com/products/vampire-super-deluxe-holiday-gift-box

[jmbar2]

44. bwahahaha!

[James48]

41. I know how this happens.

The birthdate wasn’t part of the voter registration in many states. In the 1990’s it became a federal requirement of state lists. But many clerks entered in “1/1/1800” to indicate that they did not know their birthday. It was supposed to clue the poll worker in to ask for it at the next election.

We did that, as poll workers, for about a decade around 1995-2005. Most of the people we got. I haven’t seen a “1/1/1800” birthday on a master voter file list in a while. But that is what it means.

[calimary]

43. I hope he at least got to use his provisional ballot.

But frankly, I hope they FIX THE PROBLEM! If it happened to your husband, it makes me wonder how many other people it happened to.

[Mossfern]

49. Exactly my concern

n/t

[AlexSFCA]

45. No one should ever be purged from the rolls without notification

and time to respond. The idea of automatic purging without notification is ludicrous (address is on file).

[Evolve Dammit]

47. Crap like this is how people get discouraged.

[Mossfern]

50. Hmmmmm......

I see a chance at part time employment helping the County Election Board/Clerk verify and update the files.
Surely my husband is not the only one. I was told that the Dems will give us an attorney if necessary to straighten this out.

[live love laugh]

51. Provisional ballots are useless.

[Qutzupalotl]

52. Did you contact the FBI?

Sounds like NJ's voter database was breached and altered. Now I think it was widespread.

[Mossfern]

53. I contacted the County and Dem leadership and

the County Clerk himself is taking care of the issue. I'm sure he will be thorough, he's very good and a thorough - someone I admire.

[DFW]

54. That happened to my wife in Germany

When our daughters were 5 and 7, she went to vote in our town outside of Düsseldorf. She was refused the right to vote because they said she lived in München (Munich), at the other end of Germany. She said she had never lived in München and had only been there once. The election officials said their computer said she lived in München so she lived in München (welcome to the German mentality). She got an idea, and said look up my two daughters. Where do you have them living? They found our two daughters, ages 5 and 7, living at the correct address. She said she was calling the police due to the election officials falsely accusing her of child abandonment (social workers know about the subject). They backed down, and let her vote.

[SpikeDash]

55. vote by mail

If you don't want to be confronted when voting. Choose mail-in voting and check your status beforehand. Then check to find out if your ballot was received.