Typically the Justice Department goes after Southern states, alleging intentional voter suppression by Republicans against voters who would be expected to vote predominately Democratic. To me, it usually quacks like that duck. Not so in Connecticut, we apparently do it through incompetence at our “legend in its own line”, DMV.
Hartford Courant, Jon Lender: Officials Tense, Tight-Lipped On Feds’ Probe Of State ‘Motor Voter’ Program <read>
The U.S. Department of Justice’s April 15 threat to sue Connecticut over failures in its “motor voter” program — which is supposed to promote voter registration at Department of Motor Vehicles offices — resulted in a closed-door meeting this past Tuesday aimed at resolving the problem out of court…
But, for the moment, perhaps the most interesting thing about the “It shouldn’t take the threat of a federal lawsuit to get the DMV to do its job,” said Cheri Quickmire, executive director of the good-government advocacy group, Common Cause in Connecticut. “I am really disappointed that there’s even cause [to consider] this kind of action. The reality is that DMV has been supposed to do this … for a very long time.”
Sen. Michael McLachlan, R-Danbury, the top-ranked Republican on the General Assembly committee that oversees voter registration, said Friday that the “motor voter” program falls under DMV and Merrill’s office, and “I would say that both them are really responsible.” Complying with federal law should have been “really simple,” he said, if the DMV had paid more attention and Merrill’s office had “nudged” more.Here’s What CT Legislature Got Right And Wrong This Year
Outside of their remarks, only guarded comments could be elicited from taxpayer-funded communications aides who continually seek to put their bosses in the best light.
