My Homeowner's Association Sucks, Part 2

A couple weeks ago, I shared with readers of The Great Blog of Kéto my annoyance with my Homeowner's Association who has been preoccupied with persecuting yours truly for having Obama-Biden political yard signs on my lot by the porch of my townhome condo. After speaking with the manager of the property who interfaces between the residents and the HOA, I was directed to write a letter of response which I will share below. Enjoy yourselves!

To the Board of Directors,

This letter is written to you in response to the Letter of Violation I received from the Board on November 26, 2008 regarding my having Obama-Biden political yard signs in my lot next to my porch. I am writing because I feel the Notice of Violation is in error as it pertains to certain facts of the supposed violation. I am also under the impression that my townhome has been singled out possibly due to my political affiliation which would indeed be an unfortunate fact were that the case.

The "Violation" as pasted into Ms. Starr’s letter reads "12.34 No sign, flag, banner, advertisement, notice or other lettering shall be exhibited, displayed, inscribed, painted or affixed in, or upon any part of including without limitation and Home or Lot, that is visible from the outside without the prior approval being first obtained from the ACC; signs displaying the wording, "for rent" or "for lease" shall not be approved by the ACC. Nothwithstanding the foregoing, any Owner may display on his Lot one (1) discreet professionally prepared sign not to exceed twenty-four (24") inches in width and eighteen (18") inches in height and attached to a 2x4 post no higher than three (3) feet from the ground. Such sign shall contain no other wording than "For Sale", the name, address and telephone number of one (1) registered real estate broker, or a telephone number of an Owner or his agent. In no event shall more than (1) sign ever be placed on any Lot at any time."

In the next paragraph, Ms. Starr wrote, "Please remove the political sign from your yard. They are not allowed. Thank you." Regarding this, I would say that having read the HOA, Community Standards/Rules & Regulations from which the above paragraph is cut, that there is absolutely nothing in this section that states that political signs are not allowed, therefore I would submit that the above highlighted interpretation of such bylaws is incorrect. Furthermore, simply cutting and pasting the above sections of the paragraph—as was done in the Letter of Violation mailed to me—is misleading to anyone who does not read the correct bylaw which is actually section 20 on p. 6 of Rules & Regulations as section 12 actually deals with Charcoal Broilers. (By the way, there are a number of neighbors who have charcoal grilles & broilers which remain and are stored on their open porches. I’m interested to know if that does not constitute a violation. Certainly, I’d like to be correctly informed.) Further, the above paragraph is excerpted and upon reading, one realizes that this section actually deals with the situational allowance of patriotic and political flags, not their prohibition. Thus again, as previously noted, there is nowhere in the bylaws stated that political signs are not allowed on the Units, Lots, or Property of . As a matter of fact, section 20 specifies that “…provided, however, any Owner may display one portable, removable, United States flag or official flag of the State of Florida in a respectful way…”. Being that Barack Obama and Joe Biden are now the elected President and Vice President of these United States of America, I can rightfully argue that my banners which have remained up until this time are actually flags and symbols of the United States of America. I have reproduced section 20 in it’s entirety below, and have also attached the relevant pages from the bylaws & governing documents. You will notice that several clauses of section 20 are worded entirely different from those of section 12.34. I wonder why there is such a major discrepancy in wording for bylaws which are supposed to be legally binding upon resident homeowners.

20. Signs and Flags No sign, flag, banner sculpture, fountain, outdoor play equipment, solar equipment, sports equipment, advertisement, notice or other lettering shall be exhibited, displayed, inscribed, painted or affixed in, or upon any part of the Condominium Property, including without limitation any Unit or any vehicle, that is visible from the outside; provided, however, any Owner may display one portable, removable, United States flag or official flag of the State of Florida in a respectful way; provided, further on Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day and Veterans’ Day Owners may display an official flag of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Flags may not exceed 4½ feet by 6 feet. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any Owner may display from within the Unit one (1) discreet professionally prepared sign not to exceed twenty four (24) inches in width and eighteen (18) inches in height. Such sign shall contain no other wording than “For Sale”, the name, address and telephone number of one (1) registered real estate broker, or a telephone number of an Owner or his agent. In no event shall more than one (1) sign ever be placed on any Unit. Developer is exempt from this Section; provided, further the Developer specifically reserves the right, for itself and its agents, employees, nominees and assigns the right, privilege and easement to construct, place and maintain upon any property within the Condominium Property such signs as it deems appropriate in connection with the development, improvement, construction, marketing and sale of any of the Units. The prohibitions on signs displayed on or within vehicles contained above in this Section shall not apply to temporary parking of commercial vehicles such as for construction use or providing pick-up and delivery services and other commercial services.

In reference to the above Section 20, the clause referring to the dimensions of signage specifically refers to “For Sale” signage, and has nothing to do with political signage, yard signs, etc. Further, even if those clauses related to my Obama/Biden yard signs, the signs possessed by yours truly fall within the proscribed measurements listed. Further, the section 20 states, “In no event shall more than one (1) sign ever be placed on any Unit.” This would appear to mean that (even though this clause relates to “For Sale” signs) if it were to be interpreted to mean political signs that a resident homeowner may have one (1) sign on their Unit. Again, I would be glad if the Board can provide an alternate understanding of this very simple wording.

Now, I am interested to know about other violations in my community. During the election season, my son and I who both jog around our subdivision every week noticed a number of John McCain/Sarah Palin yard signs on the lots of several neighbors. I’m interested to know whether those neighbors also received letters of violation. Other neighbors have had "For Sale" signs in their windows, etc. and other banners and signs which appear to violate HOA bylaws. Yet another neighbor has a large red STOP sign on their porch… Are these not violations? Also, my house is on the very back side of our subdivision which is separated from the Interstate by a stone wall. The only way anyone would know that I had signs in my yard was if they lived in my townhouse block and were thus parking or jogging/walking on my sidewalk. In other words most people even in my townhome community have to go out of their way to get to my condo. My townhouse block is not a general throughway for the rest of the neighborhood; therefore no one can say that any of my signs detract from the aesthetic appeal of . I look forward to receiving by letter your clarification of these issues.

Best regards,
Kéto N. Hodges, BS/MIS, MBA/MIS, Entrep

My Homeowners' Association Sucks

I knew it would happen sooner or later. The honeymoon officially is over! The grand high potentates of my Homeowners' Association (HOA) known as the Board of Directors have taken it upon themselves to chastise me for having Obama-Biden yard signs in the area next to my porch. I have an affiliation for these signs because they were given to me on election day by the Obama for America campaign after we canvassed Lakeland neighborhoods.

A few weeks ago, one of my neighbors told me that the HOA would say something to us, but I told my wife that I wasn't going to accept word of mouth, I needed to see the HOA rules in their original documentation. She also said that my signs could be seen from the Interstate which is actually impossible because again our gated community, though it faces the Interstate is surrounded by a wall, and the property is set back from the Interstate. Methinks that she told on me. In any case, since we moved in May, there has only been one HOA meeting that I was informed of, and that was held in June. Since then, not once have I or my wife, Shirre received notice of any HOA meetings or bylaws. Now they have chosen to contact me in the spirit of the holidays. I have scanned in and attached the "Notice of Violation" for your perusal as follows.

The "Violation" reads "12.34 No sign, flag, banner, advertisement, notice or other lettering shall be exhibited, displayed, inscribed, painted or affixed in, or upon any part of [Name of Residence] including without limitation and Home or Lot, that is visible from the outside without the prior approval being first obtained from the ACC; signs diplaying the wording, "for rent" or "for lease" shall not be approved by the ACC. Nothwithstanding the foregoing, any Owner may display on his Lot one (1) discreet professionally prepared sign not to exceed twenty-four (24") inches in width and eighteen (18") inches in height and attached to a 2x4 post no higher than three (3) feet from the ground. Such sign shall contain no other wording than "For Sale", the name, address and telephone number of one (1) registered real estate broker, or a telephone number of an Owner or his agent. In no event shall more than (1) sign ever be placed on any Lot at any time." So there you have it! Further, our RS Manager proceeded to highlight bolded words in yellow "Please remove the political sign from your yard. They are not allowed." Really now? (By the way, nice subject-verb agreement :)

I have to wonder, who are these people, and why do they care about the most minor and trivial things? What is it about my having professionally-made political yard signs on my property for which I'm paying hundreds of thousands of dollars that just gets under their skin? Certainly, an HOA is a private group, and as such can enact any bylaws or rules as voted on by it's private membership including myself and the esteemed BoD. At the same time, who is it that is offended and has reported on me? Other neighbors have porch furniture--albeit tasteful and expensive, holiday wreaths and decorations, holiday banners, "For Sale" signs in their windows, etc. Also one interesting fact is that my house is on the very back side of our subdivision which is separated from the Interstate by a stone wall. The only way anyone would know that I had signs in my yard was if they lived in my townhouse block and were thus parking or jogging/walking on my sidewalk. In other words most people even in my subdivision have to go out of their way to get to my condo, which is how I like it, thank you very much! In any case, the means of appeal is to write a letter stating my case to the high and mighty Board of Directors within 30 days of receipt of said letter.

Pictures from Obama Party at Gaspar's Grotto, 11-7-08

In my "Obama Campaign Workers Celebrate in Ybor City " post, I shared my experiences from last Friday's Florida Campaign for Change staff going-away party in Ybor City. The pictures are finally posted on the DemocracyPhoto.com site on the page, Obama 2008 Staff Party - Tampa, FL 11/07/2008. There are over 500 pics up, so I've just posted a couple including some of friends that I made that evening.


The photog told me to rep my O shirt, so I did.


Talking to Erica, Obama Field Organizer & government attorney from South Florida.



Word on the street is...there's been a Change in Address in DC


The 3 amigos...where these guys came from I'll never know. The mustachios are horrible tho.


Tallahassee Obama crew, my man said he bought the fly Obama hat for $5. I told him to get me one.



It's true, Rasta's for Obama


One of the big guys thanking us for our hard work. It was the only speech of the night.



Toby O, Regional Field Director of Tampa for Barack Obama's Campaign for Change from Downtown Tampa Field HQ

Crowd pic w/Toby


Brian, an organizer psyched b/c we won South Florida!

Obama Campaign Workers Celebrate in Ybor City

Friday night, November 7, Obama for America and Florida Campaign for Change staff and officers from all over Florida came together at Gaspar's Grotto in Ybor City to celebrate the Obama's successes in winning the state of Florida and the 2008 Presidential election. This was the last get together of the 2008 campaign season for campaign staff who not only lived in various parts of Florida but who also came from different parts of the country in paid or volunteer roles to build Get-Out-the-Vote efforts in a bottom up, grass roots manner. Many of them were to return to their homes on the weekend.

Due to the leading Democratic Presidential candidates pledging not to campaign in Florida this year during the Democratic primaries, Obama didn't have any active staff in Florida until after he had clinched the nomination in June. Following that, he moved quickly to get staff in Florida under the umbrella of the DNC's Campaign for Change. I remember at the time that a number of political pundits were talking about how Obama had made a huge mistake in not having a presence in Florida to that point and how his Florida efforts would suffer from having a late start in the nation's fifth largest state which went Republican in the last two elections. Needless to say, as he has all throughout this campaign, after winning the DNC nomination for President Obama continued to defy expectations by quickly moving staff into Florida, sending two of his top national officers Paul Tewes & Steve Hildebrand toTampa and Miami, signing up thousands of attorneys and law students in voter protection efforts, running a record number of TV ads, and fielding over 300 paid staffers managing over 200,000 volunteers from 60 offices in the largest get-out-the-vote effort in Florida's history.

It was an awesome time getting to meet different people whom I didn't already know, folks from Miami, Tampa, Hialeah, Tallahassee, Los Angeles, Chicago, and more. Field organizers and officers from all over Florida (from Tally to Miami) were in attendance and there were about 300 of us hanging out. There was a welcome open bar from 8-10pm for which you only had to have an armband, and hors d'ouvres all night. Quite a fun time and photographers were there to capture the evening. I will share those pictures later this week once they are posted online. Meanwhile, I've included a couple of my camera phone pictures as I couldn't find my Digital Elph before the event.

A Day in the Life of an Obama Campaign Volunteer, 11-4-08

Like the countless thousands of Obama for America and Campaign for Change staff and volunteers, I am excited that our efforts helped get out the vote in which fellow Americans elected Barack Obama 44th President of the U.S. by a landslide. Tuesday morning when I woke up, I had a feeling of expectation, knowing that today was the day. I had already requested a half-day off from work, and two different Lakeland captains, Ravi and Jane as well as Max, the local Field Organizer had contacted me about canvassing and phone banking for Election Tuesday.

I've only been living in Lakeland for 6 months, so I'm only familiar with my immediate North Lakeland community. Jan took my address and sent me to the nearest Lakeland Obama office, the UFCW Union Hall off I-4 East, Exit 38. Most volunteers were already out that morning as of 10:00am canvassing Lakeland neighborhoods encouraging voters identified as Democratic or Obama-leaning voters to get out and vote. For those voters who hadn't already early voted and needed a ride, volunteers were to check off the names of those persons and inform the Obama staff which voters would need transportation to the polls. So while there were more McCain sign wavers--at least at the 3 precincts closest to my house--the Obama volunteers were doing something more practical, which was making sure our voters actually arrived at the polls. This was something that was being done, not just in Tampa Bay, but all over the country, and was certainly effective in geting out the vote. I'm happy to report that though we did not win Polk County, we made Polk County very competitive and beat the 2000 and 2004 election totals (Gore 45%, Kerry 41%, Obama 46%). The campaign however, won neighboring Hillsborough County (Tampa), Pinellas (St. Petersburg), as well Osceola and Orange Counties (Orlando) to the north east, Alachua (Gainesville), Gadsden, Leon (Tallahassee) & Jefferson counties in the north, Flagler & Volusia counties (Daytona Beach), Palm Beach (W. Palm Beach), Broward (Ft. Lauderdale) & Miami-Dade (Miami), Monroe (Key West) & St. Lucie counties in South Florida by 51% to 67%. Max had already told 200 of us in our October 2 Polk County organizing meeting that if we won along I-4, we would win the state of Florida.

To facilitate getting out the vote, neighborhood captains had access to voter registration databases which had already identified where all Polk County registered Democrats and Democrat-leaning Independents and Republicans lived. Each voter contact page had fields for address, voter first & last name, party affiliation, Vote by Mail status, and check boxes for whether or not the voter had already voted, and if so whether they voted for Obama or needed a ride to the polls. This was all the result of Howard Dean and the DNC creating the first truly unified voter file which allowed the Obama Campaign and each state organization to pinpoint accurately every Democratic or Democratic-leaning voter by neighborhood, city, county and state. Finally the top of each page identified the voting precinct for the particular neighborhood in question. Canvassers were also given door hangers to distribute if no one was home with the voter's precinct information and voter protection phone numbers to call if they had trouble voting. The Obama for America Campaign certainly was not going to allow a repeat of 2000, when there were innumerable election "irregularities" in Florida, but no one to address those problems in a timely manner.

Upon arriving athe UFCW, I was given a folder of voter addresses in a middle-class subdivision very close to my own in North Lakeland as well as door hangers for those that I couldn't contact. Once I arrived at my destination courtesy of Google Maps directions, I was amazed to see how open voters were. I certainly expected to have a few doors closed in my face, but almost everyone who was at home, Black, White, or Latino acted like they were glad to see me, and let me know that they or their relatives had already voted for Obama earlier in the day or had early voted in the previous two weeks. A couple folks were not sure of their voter status so I gave them relevant phone numbers so they could check. Overall, it was a good canvass, and I was glad to see that very close to my neighborhood there was nearly an entire subdivision where the majority of home owners are Obama supporters. Because I had to go return to work at 1:30pm, I couldn't quite finish my voter sheet. However, I met my captain, Jane who took the list off my hands at my precinct, and said everything was fine because the plan was to canvass each neighborhood at least twice on Tuesday if time and events allowed.

About 4:30pm, I had to return home due to a family emergency. Once that was taken care of, I called Jane and Max to find out what was going on. The polls closed at 7pm, so everyone was moving from neighborhood to neighborhood. By 5:30pm, word came that residents of one particular area of town were not voting at their precinct as expected, so we all went to the St. Mark's Church, the Obama office in that area to canvass and phonebank. Inside the church we were provided with complimentary cubanettes, donuts, fruit, and drink. There was a rumor that due to the record voting, Governor Charlie Crist would extend the voting past 7pm, which would have slightly changed our phone scripts, but about 6:30pm, we confirmed that this was not accurate, and then wrapped up a few minutes later. Our phone script was simply, "Hello, this is ___ calling from the Obama campaign. I'm checking to see if you had the opportunity to vote early or to vote today. If not, do you need a ride to the polls? If you voted, may I ask if you voted for Obama? If you are in line when the polls close at 7pm, you have the right to vote. Please call this number if you have any questions. Thank you." Following our wrap-up for the evening, Obama staff headed to the Lakeland Center on Lime Street for an Election night celebration for Polk County. I figured I had done enough and wanted to get back to my family in time for dinner, since I rarely miss that time with them, so I went home happy that I had contributed in some small way to what I was sure was going to be an Obama win in Florida.

To sum it all up, I'm thankful that I had the opportunity to get in a national grass roots campaign for the first time in my adult life. I've been a registered Democrat and voter since 1999, and have previously campaigned for local races including judgeships since my college days, but never have I seen a campaign as well organized and professional as that run by our next President, Barack Obama. This campaign was successful in several ways. The Obama Campaign for Change proved that not only does bottom-up political organizing work when provided leadership, motivation, and sufficient money and resources from the top, but also that America identified with Change. Not just any kind of Change (as ANY new President would represent change), but Change which truly allowed the individual voter to have a voice in electing his/her leaders. The campaign also proved that utilizing social networking, a relatively new Web 2.0 phenomenon, and the Internet, a campaign could rewrite the political game in terms of providing organizing tools, ad hoc communication with supporters, and tapping unlimited small donors like myself who gave $5, $25, $100 at a time for an average of $86 for September, Obama's $150 million month, and proved more powerful than any big special interest lobbyists. This is the ultimate form of campaign finance reform. Many have talked about it and have attempted to pass legilslation to limit big money contributions, but until Obama, no one was able to successfully use it to affect the outcome of an election, not even Howard Dean whose online campaigning and 50-state strategy were both perfected by Obama's team.

Obama Campaign for Change Election Day Advice

Received this morning from the Barack Obama campaign. Let's go out and make history today! The Great Blog of Kéto

	VOLUNTEER: Help get out the vote. Sign up for a volunteer shift near you. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: Learn about your voting rights and some common rumors: http://fl.barackobama.com/FLvoterprotection Here are some tips to help you make sure Election Day in Florida goes smoothly: Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Even if you're in line at 7:00 p.m., you still have the right to vote. You will be asked to show an approved form of ID when you arrive at the polls. Bring your Florida driver's license or other acceptable ID with your photo and signature. The address on your ID does NOT need to match your present address. To find your polling location, call 1-877-2FLOBAMA (1-877-235-6226) or go to FL.VoteForChange.com.

If Pictures Could Talk, 10/31/08

If pictures could talk, here's what today's picture of the day would say:


Obama--look old man, I've about had it with you.
McCain--ya see here sonny, I'm STILL a POW and war hero and dammit, it's my turn to be President. You wouldn't want to deny a dying man's request would you?
Obama--Look Pappy, the people have spoken and after the last 8 years they want a sane, smart President who isn't always shouting, "Hey, hey get off my lawn!"
McCain--Why I oughta... You, you just wait...Bill Ayers...terrorists...ACORN...cheating...fundamentals...not experienced...suspend a campaign...the media hates me...Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!

Voter Suppression, the GOP's Not-So-Secret Weapon

More disturbing news that should make all lovers of freedom and equal voting rights sick has been reported by several news sources. The Washington Independent published an eye-opening article on the recent spate of voter registration laws being challenged by the Republican party on a state-by-state basis. It is entirely possible that we could be seeing a national replay of Florida 2000 all over again, unless either these challenges are stopped in the courts or the newly registered Democratic voters, independents, and youth voters come out and vote in record numbers for the Democratic Presidential ticket on November 4, 2008. These three groups of voters tend not to vote in numbers comparable to long-time voters because they are not in the habit of voting and may forget to vote or think that their "one" vote won't make much difference in the outcome of an election.

As my Pastor, Bishop Matthew Williams says about people's character, "A man will do what he has always done," meaning a person's character will cause him to do those things that he is accustomed to doing or in the habit of doing. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the GOP--after successfully rigging the vote nationally by manipulating Diebold voting machines whose owner publicly committed to delivering Ohio to Bush in 2000 and conducting successful voter's challenges in 2000 and 2004 Presidential elections--would seek to gain advantage by doing the same thing again! It doesn't help that recently ACORN offices in Las Vegas were raided in a supposed voter registration fraud sting. The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, a popular national community organizing group was targeted because of allegations of submitting nearly 300 inaccurate voter registration cards in their voter registration effort. I believe this organization was purposely targeted because in this election cycle, the Obama campaign is said to have collaborated with ACORN to assist in it's Get Out the Vote efforts due to ACORN's reputation for helping register and turn out new voters. Also, new Democratic voter registration in Nevada has risen by record numbers this year, threatening to turn the state blue in November. See the connection? Republicans conveniently forget that John McCain was a 2006 keynote speaker at an immigration reform rally sponsored by ACORN, and that the organization enjoys bi-partisan support around the country. McCain has turned on the organization now that it is politically expedient.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) seated with Congressman Kendrick Meeks (D-FL) at February 2006 ACORN Rally

One thing worth noting... voter fraud is only voter fraud if a person actually votes fraudulently! Since it is difficult to physically vote if one's name and address are not on the voter rolls of their local supervisor of elections office, such a charge would generally be baseless, though that fact hasn't stopped Republican operatives from targeting alleged fraudulent voters who voted legally. If one does not vote, there is no fraud whether intentional or actual. Think for a minute about what happened the last time you voted (at least in the Sunshine State, Florida, where most of my readers live). Like me, you probably received a letter from your county Supervisor of Elections possibly with a sample ballot and informing you of the address of your voter precinct along with voting rules (bring legal photo ID, etc.). When you walked into your precinct, you most likely walked over to a check-in or sign-in point, where you were asked to produce your ID. Your ID was then checked against the voter database either on a laptop or a voter printout. If your information matched the rolls AND you were at the correct precinct, you were then allowed to vote. Otherwise, you would be directed to the correct precinct (I had this happen earlier this year in the 2008 Florida primary elections because I had moved to a new neighborhood and forgot to inform the local SOE office) OR handed a provisional ballot which is not processed until the days following the election, and counted only if you are confirmed as a registered voter. Of course, the process may differ due to voting laws which vary by state.

Now down to the brass tacks as they say. There are several ways that the Republican Party under the guidance of Karl Rove, architect of the George W. Bush elections, have themselves been engaging in voter fraud & suppression leading up to the crucial 2008 elections. Caging which involves compiling lists of registered voters whose registration is challenged after an election, purging state voter rolls either randomly or by targeting groups of people more likely to vote Democratic such as former felons who have had their voting rights restored just before elections, etc. The good folks over at Inteldaily.com have posted an article detailing various voter suppression tactics:

Voter suppression also includes tactics like false notices announcing changes of election dates; police cruisers at intersections near voting places; threats that voters will be challenged; poorly trained poll workers who send registered voters away; special identification requirements proven to reduce the vote (e.g., photo identification); and much, much more. The newest rage is "cleansing" centralized registration databases. The Florida pre-2000 voter registration purge of tens of thousands of minority voters cost Al Gore the election and inspired federal policies supporting registration cleansing around the country.

Then there are the seemingly endless examples of electronic voting machines improperly recording and counting votes plus security problems. There are no real methods of checking electronic voting. Even if you could and proved fraud, state recount laws are very difficult to invoke and highly restrictive. In Virginia and Florida, for example, it is illegal to recount the paper forms for optical scan voting machines as part of a recount.

What a total mess and a complete mockery of the democracy that we deserve. But when you add up all of these strategies, based on past performance, they work at the margins - maybe a 3-4% shift in votes to the Republican candidate.

A telling NY Times article from April 2007, "In 5-Year Effort, Scant Evidence of Voter Fraud" discusses the alleged voter fraud problem and provides a useful graphic showing statistics of US government trials from 2002-2007 and the resulting convictions, acquittals, and dismissals of cases involving alleged voter fraud. The statistics clearly speak for themselves, and out of 95 total persons prosecuted for voter fraud in those 5 years, 25 people/cases were acquitted or dismissed. Of the convictions 26 cases involved individual voters, some of whom were simply people who forgot a minor detail on their application, 31 cases involved party or campaign workers, 10 involved government officials, and 3 involved election workers. Though to hear the GOP talk about it, one would think that the problem is so wide-spread that millions of people must be voting illegally, but NO that is not actually the case.

The final analysis is that we as individual voters must be vigilant when it comes to protecting our voting rights and immediately report any voting discrepancies to voter watchdog agencies, the ACLU, voting rights attorneys, etc. Thankfully the Democratic Party and Obama for America will have attorneys and certified poll watchers blanketing precincts throughout the entire state of Florida on Tuesday, November 4 to ensure that shenanigans don't occur. It will be one of the largest legal efforts in the history of US Presidential elections. Let's hope it helps. One of my current focuses in my blogging and voter awareness efforts is educating Tampa Bay voters about their rights as well as voting rules passed by the State of Florida. Later this week I will post information from the Obama campaign debunking several viral voting myths that have circulated online and on several radio stations in Florida.

Darren Hauck for The New York Times
Nashawna Prude, 9, with a family photo that includes her grandmother, Kimberly, second from left, jailed for more than a year for voter fraud.