The District of Columbia is holding a special election on Tuesday, April 26, to fill a vacancy in the At-Large City Council seat, and also two seats on the Board of Education. On April 15, a U.S. District Court declined to order the Board of Elections to either move the date of the election to another day, or to extend voting hours from 8 p.m. until 10 p.m. A lawsuit had been filed on April 13, arguing that Orthodox Jews are not able to vote at the polls on election day because April 26 is the last day of Passover. Herzfeld v D.C. Board of Elections, 1:11-cv-721.
Passover ends at 8:40 p.m., so if the hours for voting had been extended until 10 p.m., the problem would have resolved itself. The judge noted that anyone can participate in early voting. Also he said if the lawsuit had been filed as soon as the Board of Elections had set the election date, then he would have ordered an extension of voting hours. See this story.
The election for City Council-at-Large is a partisan election, but because it is a special election, parties don’t choose nominees. The ballot lists six Democrats, one Republican, one Green, and one independent candidate. The Green candidate is Alan Page.
More *as soon as* EVIL NON-SENSE by a MORON judge.
BUT – since when is a regime supposed to pay ANY attention to the religion of ANY Elector ???
What is that 1st Amdt all about ???
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“The judge noted that anyone can participate in early voting.”
I suppose in the end of the day this line says it all. Still, some hindsight beforehand might have been better, you can take peoples considerations into mind without actively endorsing them over any other groups.
Richard Winger,
This type of thing got Debra Bowen elected Secrtary of State in California in 2006.
You can confirm this with Attorney Steve Young. In a Special Election in the 48th Congressional District,
Republican Party operatives convinced Congressman Chris
Cox to set his 2005 resignation on a date to give Governor Arnold Schwarzennegger a choice of three days
to set a special election. The date that Governor
Arnold Schwarzennegger picked was October 4, 2005.
October 4, 2005, was Rosh HaShanah 5766, (Jewish New Years). Schwarzennegger was suggested that date by
Secretary of State Bruce McPherson and the Orange County
Registrar of Voters.
One of the reason for the sacking of the then Orange County Registrar of Voters was his involvement in setting the date for the special election. Both Steve Young and I became aware of the plan to attack Jewish voters before they date pick by Governor Schwarzennegger.
I flew to Sacramento and visited staff of the Election
Division before Governor Schwarzennegger did his setting
on that election on Rosh HaSashanah. I was told it was
not their concern and I should go to the Governor Office
in State Capitol. I did. I was asked by Schwartzenneggar office staff to put my concern in writing, I did and left. Within an hour or so, Governor Schwarzennegger set the the special primary
election for Rosh Hashanah. I was told by Steve Young
that John Campbell stated the date picked by the Governor was a good thing, because it would keep “liberal voters” from voting. Now John Campbell is my Congressman.
At the time I was the Chairman of the Orange County Central Committee of the American Independent Party.
I still am the County Chairman.
Rabbi Herzfield should do the same thing.
Sincerely, Mark Seidenberg, Vice Chairman, American Independent Party
So in the General Election of 2006, there was an effort
by many members of a Republic Jewish organization that
was national to do a phone campaign against Bruce McPherson for his attack on Jewish Voters. It worked,
Debra Bowen got elected because Jewish voters and other
Republicans would not vote for Bruce McPherson because
of his involvement in attacking Jewish voters.