Supporters of Barack Obama in Texas, and perhaps elsewhere, are receiving fraudulent e-mails telling them that voting a straight Democratic ticket will cancel their vote for Obama. The e-mail purports to have come from the Obama campaign.
The Republicans are concerned that newly registered young, first-time and African-American voters excited by Obama's message of positive change will swing the bottom of ticket plurality to the Democrats. And, this is their effort to distract and confuse or cause the inexperienced to become discouraged to the point of not voting at all.
Barack's campaign and the Texas Democratic party have issued statements to the effect that this is "False information probably initiated by Republican dirty tricksters." Many well meaning Barack supporters have forwarded the e-mail thinking it was factual and believing they were supporting Obama's campaign in getting the message out.
State Republicans, always, as we know, as pure as driven snow in January, disavow any connection to this scurrilous attempt at vote diversion and suppression--the confusion can lead to disallowed ballots.
The e-mail tells voters that if they vote for the straight Democratic option, they must also press the selection next to Obama's name to record a vote for him. THIS IS FALSE INFORMATION. Doing this would actually deselect the vote for Obama and render questionable the validity of the entire ballot.
There are other efforts afloat in attempts to suppress young and African-American first-time votes, and I will be posting notices of them as they come to the surface and will be providing resource phone numbers and contacts to assist everyone in making certain that they get to vote and that your vote get tallied properly. Meanwhile, click here to find the truth about rules, requirements and regulations relating to casting your vote.
But for now, remember this. If you wish to vote straight Democratic, simply mark or push the button by "Straight Democratic". That is it! Your vote includes Barack Obama and all the other Democratic candidates for the various offices.
Do not select straight Democratic and then select individual Democratic candidates. This will cancel your vote for those individual candidates. It also may flag your ballot for scrutiny or challenge.
Remember, Republicans regard it as their entitlement to "be in charge" and regard elections and voting as bothersome hurdles and will focus nearly as much effort on suppressing Democratic votes as they will promoting legitimate Republican votes. Know your rights and stay aware!
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