By Bev Harris, founder of BlackBoxVoting.org
Four hundred and eighty-eight voters, every one of them in the Tennessee district of US Rep Steve Cohen (D-09), all but four lifelong Democrats, and nearly all Black, had their voting history erased by Shelby County election workers, setting them up for purge from the voter list.
To alter voting histories for a selected set of voters, putting them at risk for strategically selected purge, is to demean them, to treat them as if they have less worth as human beings than they do. And to demean them is to wrong them. What Shelby County's election staff has done, in altering the records, is morally wrong.
Below is the list of voters whose voting records have been altered. Scroll down for the rest of the story, after this list. If you know someone on this list, please let them know about this.
First Last VoterID Race Congressional District
BARBARA ABRAM 0672633 B 09
DAVID ACEY 0402377 B 09
YVONNE ACEY 0446013 B 09
MAGNOLIA ACKERS 0680905 O (changed; was Black) 09
RONALD ACKERS 0816075 O 09
STEVEN ALEXANDER 0207441 B 09
DORIS ALLEN 3437222 B 09
MARY ALSTON 0650420 B 09
ANN ANDERSON 3292497 B 09
LUCY ANDERSON 9900111288 O 09
KIMBERLY ANTHONY 9900208037 O 09
CHARLES AVANT 0573646 B 09
PATSY AVANT 0647499 B 09
VIRGIE AYERS 0845206 B 09
HELEN BACHUS 0347236 B 09
LENZINE BACHUS 0786122 B 09
HATTIE BANGER 0758630 B 09
JAMES BANGER 0950834 B 09
GEORGIA BARNES 0628110 B 09
LILLIAN BARNETT 0372368 B 09
BRIAN BARTLETT 3202552 B 09
BOBBIE BATES 0942605 B 09
GILES BATES 0187262 B 09
VIRGIE BELL 3338077 O 09
BROWN BERRY 0446644 B 09
KARL BERRY 0955970 B 09
SYLVIA BLACK 0649991 B 09
GRACIE BOBO 0685084 B 09
HELEN BOBO 0562559 B 09
JERALDINE BOBO 0910511 B 09
LATEISHA BOBO 9900212097 B 09
JAMES BOGARD 0919457 B 09
ELAINE BOLDEN 0820688 B 09
VICKI BOLDEN 0320284 B 09
EUNICE BOLTON 3034757 B 09
GEORGE BONDS 0642808 B 09
E BOOKER 0602308 B 09
FRED BOOKER 0587771 B 09
HELEN BOWEN 3401791 B 09
TOMMIE BOWEN 0604659 B 09
VIRGINIA BOWEN 0403630 B 09
VIVIAN BOWEN 3428437 B 09
LORIE BOWMAN 9900211222 O (changed; was Black) 09
BETTY BOYD 0709496 B 09
CARDELL BOYD 0224301 O (changed; was Black) 09
CLAUDETTE BOYD 3339055 B 09
GERALD BOYD 0793698 B 09
LINDA BOYD 9900007584 O 09
NATHANIEL BOYD 0828780 B 09
ROOSEVELT BOYD 0406109 B 09
ERMA BRADLEY 0511194 B 09
JOHN BRADLEY 0441603 B 09
MELANIE BRADLEY 3367125 O 09
JOHN BRATCHER 0533119 B 09
MARCELL BRATCHER 0482538 B 09
ANTHONY BRIDGFORTH 3181428 O 09
ANNIE BROOKS 0442150 B 09
HATTIE BROOKS 0766184 B 09
RICHARD BROOKS 9900222371 B 09
SAMUEL BROOKS 0471881 B 09
BEATRICE BROWN 0168714 B 09
CAPRICE BROWN 3317541 B 09
CLOREECE BROWN 3097248 B 09
EDDIE BROWN 0644784 B 09
GLORIA BROWN 0630565 B 09
HAYWARD BROWN 0879416 B 09
JUANITA BROWN 0468017 B 09
MARTHA BROWN 0922845 B 09
MONICA BROWN 3121405 B 09
BRENDA BUGGS 0888044 B 09
LATASHA BURNETT 3133611 B 09
BETTY BURTON 0608338 B 09
SYLVESTER BUTLER 9900165096 B 09
CHARLENE CALLAHAN 0797275 B 09
GWENDOLYN CALLIAN 0000031 B 09
VINELLA CALVIN 0636212 B 09
APRIL CAMPBELL 9900145637 B 09
DELOIS CAMPBELL 1012060 B 09
DELOIS CAMPBELL 0897680 B 09
ELISHA CAMPBELL 0088536 B 09
HERRY CAMPBELL 0520756 B 09
VELVIS CAMPBELL 0963617 B 09
CHARLES CARPENTER 0766491 O 09
ERNEST CARPENTER 0364270 B 09
WILLIE CARPENTER 9900147719 O 09
FRANK CARR 0865998 B 09
NORMAN CARSON 0489303 B 09
LINDA CARTER-CHILDS 0995363 B 09
MOSES CATHEY 0163980 B 09
REGENIA CATHEY 0104295 B 09
TELITHA CAVINESS 0434866 B 09
LISA CHAIRS 3044255 O 09
DAVID CHAMPION 0768735 B 09
ANITA CHAPA 3412802 O 09
SOL CHEEKS 0369269 B 09
ERNESTINE CLARK 0831528 B 09
NICHELLE COBBS 3132693 O (changed; was Black) 09
MILDRED COBURN 0906505 B 09
CHESTER COLLINS 0430701 B 09
MAUDE COLLINS 0642791 B 09
CYNTHIA COMBS 3090380 B 09
GREGORY CONWAY 3384913 B 09
HARRY CONWAY 3314333 B 09
GEORGE COWAN 0531037 B 09
TODDY COWAN 0857333 B 09
BETTY CUMMINGS 0872150 B 09
WILLIE CUMMINGS 0078727 B 09
WILLIE CUMMINGS 0462526 B 09
BERNIA DAUGHERTY 0613815 B 09
BENNIE DAVIS 3012292 B 09
BERNARD DAVIS 9900129038 B 09
CHERRY DAVIS 3272578 O 09
TEKELIA DAVIS 3432403 B 09
DESSIE DEAN 3018714 B 09
MARY DENNIS 0631246 B 09
FAYE DILWORTH 0689136 B 09
JOHN DILWORTH 0834150 B 09
CLARICE DOCKINS 0443469 B 09
ANNER DOSS 0879404 O (changed; was Black) 09
REGINA DRAKE 0912136 B 09
EDWARD DUMAS 0161087 B 09
CORNELIA DURHAM 0646084 B 09
HARRY DURHAM 0646012 B 09
ROSIE DYE 0605396 B 09
JACQULIN EDWARDS 3321160 B 09
DOROTHY ELLIS 3039838 B 09
ERNEST ELLIS 0851485 B 09
ELIZABETH ENGLISH 0809100 B 09
WILLIAM ENGLISH 0586684 B 09
JULIETTE ESKRIDGE 0686780 O 09
BESSIE EVANS 0531360 B 09
BETTY EVANS 0159637 B 09
TOMMIE EVANS 0306268 B 09
CHARLES EVERETT 3190550 B 09
PEARLIE EVERHEART 0529941 O 09
MARZIE FAYNE 0659163 B 09
JESSIE FISHER 0444159 B 09
ELLA FLANNAGAN 0587504 B 09
CAROLYN FLOWERS 0673219 B 09
CHESTER FLOWERS 0748361 B 09
CLARA FORD 0568183 B 09
EDMUND FORD 3416406 B 09
NINA FORD 0919051 B 09
MAE FREEMAN 0570339 B 09
CELESTINE FRENCH 0599791 B 09
SOLOMON GARRETT 0639038 O (changed; was Black) 09
CARROLL GHOLSTON 0926717 B 09
ANNE GIBSON 0709867 B 09
DONALD GIBSON 0117212 B 09
PRISCILLA GIBSON 3097252 B 09
WALTER GIBSON 0403094 B 09
FREDDIE GILBERT 0754880 B 09
CEASER GILLESPIE 0435150 B 09
ADDIE GILLISPIE 0849793 B 09
ADRIENNE GOOCH 9900060402 B 09
ERNESTINE BILLS 0596462 B 09
DYRIE GOODS 3139438 B 09
FRANKIE GRACE 0208663 W 09
BERNICE GRANT 0439124 B 09
GAVINN GRANT 9900230057 B 09
ARTHUR GRAY 9900029663 O (changed; was Black) 09
HARRY GRAY 0409058 B 09
NOLA GRAY 0904204 B 09
BRENDA GREEN 3326291 B 09
CARL GREER 0216001 B 09
THELMA GREER 0019361 B 09
JAMES GREGORY 0385798 B 09
DAVID GROSS 0626721 B 09
JOANN GROSS 0697270 B 09
RAY GUICE 1025578 B 09
ANANIAS GUMBUS 0657728 B 09
LILLIE GUMBUS 0727528 B 09
JAMES HALEY 0445491 B 09
EDDLINGTON HALFACRE 0836332 B 09
ALFRED HALL 9900099675 B 09
DOLLIE HALL 0768540 O (changed; was Black) 09
HORACE HALL 0402815 B 09
JAMES HALL 0551651 B 09
LASONYA HALL 9900091109 B 09
CLARENCE HALMON 0686199 B 09
JACQUELINE HAMPTON 0686122 B 09
BILLIE HANSBROUGH 0509941 B 09
BELINDA HARDRICK 0092966 B 09
SANDRA HARDRICK 0934334 B 09
GRACE HARDY 0918630 B 09
WILLIE HARDY 0519550 B 09
JOHNNY HARE 3137297 B 09
GOLDIE HARRELL 0542085 B 09
BOBBIE HARRIS 0537959 B 09
DARRICK HARRIS 1031362 B 09
FRANK HARRIS 0756036 B 09
JOSEPH HARRIS 0453202 O (changed; was Black) 09
JOYCE HARRIS 0021022 B 09
RAYMOND HARRIS 3117019 B 09
EDITH HATLEY 0773116 B 09
ZOLA HAYES 0494503 B 09
JEARLEAN HAYNES 0592208 B 09
JOYCE HAYWOOD 0662224 B 09
BRADY HENDERSON 0667170 B 09
KATIE HENDERSON 0398582 B 09
CYNTHIA HENNING 9900119809 B 09
HERMAN HENNING 9900106150 O 09
DOROTHY HESTER 0393189 B 09
JEFFREY HIGGS 0918129 B 09
FRANCES HIGHTOWER 0439265 O (changed; was Black) 09
DENISE HILL 3096964 B 09
TERRENCE HILL 3435012 B 09
LOUIS HINES 0920465 B 09
EARLIE HOBSON 0710322 B 09
LARQUIETTA HOBSON 0092130 B 09
ELLENORA HOGG 0622847 B 09
MARY HOLLERMAN 0758702 B 09
BARBARA HOLMES 0506224 B 09
DORA HOLMES 0553575 B 09
DERRICK HOLT 9900157371 O (Changed; was Black) 09
EDDIE HOUSTON 0495752 B 09
KATIE HOUSTON 0950894 B 09
FRANCES HUDSON 0945784 B 09
LUCILLE HUGGINS 0670116 B 09
EBONI HUMES 9900039090 B 09
LILLIE HUMES 3098820 B 09
CARITA HURT 0796623 B 09
EARLINE JACKSON 0625260 B 09
GLORIA JACKSON 0562211 B 09
OPAL JACKSON 0358152 B 09
PATRICIA JACKSON 3443575 B 09
ROBERT JACKSON 0586743 B 09
WAYNE JACKSON 0691451 B 09
WERTICE JACKSON 0750195 B 09
CLAUDE JAMES 0549090 B 09
FLORINE JAMES 0593246 B 09
ELSIE JAMISON 0762302 B 09
SAMETRUIS JENKINS 9900202397 B 09
ALICE JOHNSON 0925632 B 09
AUBREY JOHNSON 0434695 B 09
HALLIE JOHNSON 0542164 B 09
JANICE JOHNSON 3160192 O 09
JOSEPH JOHNSON 0870517 B 09
LUERUNIA JOHNSON 0508009 B 09
MARY JOHNSON 0705086 B 09
ALBERT JONES 0820840 B 09
ALONZO JONES 0463018 B 09
BARBARA JONES 0681936 B 09
DOROTHY JONES 0801140 B 09
ESSIE JONES 0691056 B 09
GLADYS JONES 3344121 O 09
JAMES JONES 0326205 B 09
LAVERNE JONES 0906830 B 09
LILLIE JONES 0023096 B 09
MARIAN JONES 0479146 B 09
MARVIS JONES 0426853 B 09
MARY JONES 1023035 B 09
MCQUITA JONES 1032404 B 09
NATHANIEL JONES 3142279 B 09
RUFUS JONES 0422273 B 09
FANNIE HUNTER 0818218 B 09
CHARLOTTE JOYNER 1028444 O (changed; was Black) 09
ROOSEVELT JOYNER 0996581 B 09
VELMA KELLY 0484029 B 09
SOLOMON KEYS 0784888 O (changed; was Black) 09
HERBERT KING 0681247 B 09
JOYCE KING 0890976 B 09
JOANNE KIRK 3442911 B 09
CLYDE LAKE 0157507 B 09
WANDA LANGFORD 0193783 B 09
DEBORAH LEE 0184729 B 09
JAMES LEWIS 0682893 B 09
SARA LEWIS 0346043 B 09
ALICIA LINDSEY 3024939 O 09
CHARLES LIPSCOMB 3368008 B 09
CLEMMIE LIVINGSTON 0107097 B 09
KATIE LONG 0582103 B 09
TWILLA LOVE 9900081058 O (changed; was Black) 09
MINNIE LOVE-SANDERS 3096172 B 09
MARY MACKEY 9900190813 B 09
KATIE MACLIN 3007214 B 09
CHELSA MAHONE 9900231085 O 09
CHRISTINE MALONE 0383777 B 09
MARY MARSHALL 0701248 B 09
LINDA MARTIN 0918867 O (changed; was Black) 09
CAROLYN MASONJOYNER 3035454 B 09
DARVIS MASSEY 3030171 B 09
EVELYN MATLOCK 0436081 B 09
CHARLES MAXWELL 0730288 W 09
DEBORAH MAXWELL 0109054 O 09
GLORIA MAXWELL 0001228 B 09
BURNETTE MAYS 0845288 B 09
DONISHA MCDANIEL 0955692 B 09
SAMMIE MCDANIEL 0810372 B 09
DOUGLAS MCDONALD 0561863 B 09
GERALINE MCDONALD 0559771 B 09
ZELLA MCDONALD 0486905 B 09
ALBERTA MCDUFFIE 0602029 B 09
ROSIE MCDUFFIE 0791628 B 09
ROBERT MCFARLAND 0394138 B 09
YNELL MCFARLAND 0537499 B 09
GARRY MCGORY 0019024 B 09
GEORGIA MCKINLEY 3392021 B 09
J MCLIN 0907414 B 09
MOLLIE MCLIN 0150283 O (changed; was Black) 09
ALBERT MEEKS 0681156 B 09
THOMAS MILAM 0659649 B 09
BARBARA MILLER 0555609 B 09
LEE MILLER 3277543 B 09
MARTHA MILLER 0843587 B 09
OLGA MILLS 0558433 W 09
REGINALD MILTON 0922699 B 09
ARNETT MONTAGUE 3004291 B 09
VALERIA MONTAGUE 0199077 B 09
BRENDA MOORE 3139931 B 09
MINNIE MOORE 0147906 B 09
RANDY MORGAN 3139727 B 09
ANITRA MORGAN-GILLIOM 3012887 B 09
CHARLES MORRIS 0358889 B 09
JOHNNIE MOSLEY 0989707 B 09
MELANIE MOSLEY 3077820 O 09
ARCHIE MUHAMMAD 0852195 B 09
JOHN NEAL 0333095 B 09
ALFORDSON NELSON 0148965 B 09
GWENDOLYN NELSON 0608501 B 09
MARY NEWBERRY 3210938 B 09
MARVIN NEWSUM 0661162 B 09
RALPH NICHOLS 0954620 O 09
DONNA NOEL 3155001 B 09
TRAKIDA NORFLEET 3408839 B 09
MILDRED NORMAN 0499231 B 09
WILSON NORMAN 0459414 B 09
WILLIE NUNLEY 0857302 B 09
SIDNEY ODELL 0187658 B 09
JAMES OLIVER 0612401 B 09
CARDELL ORRIN 3260448 B 09
CLEOPHES OWENS 0453333 B 09
JAMES OWENS 0989517 B 09
MARIE OWENS 0608218 B 09
MYRON OWENS 3247966 B 09
CONSTANCE PARKER 3453460 B 09
ROSIE PARKS 0535318 B 09
SAM PARKS 0405338 B 09
FRANK PATTERSON 0450269 B 09
JOHN PAYNE 0366580 B 09
JAMES PAYTON 0389723 B 09
CHARLES PENDLETON 0757006 O 09
LURLINE PERRY 0445825 B 09
OTHAREE PERRY 0513414 B 09
RUTH PHELPS 0537477 W 09
WILLIE PHELPS 0639408 B 09
JACQUELYN PHILLIPS 0460940 B 09
CHRISTINE PIPKIN 0564857 B 09
KELVIN POLLARD 3395495 B 09
GLORIA PORTER 3151526 B 09
MORRIS PORTER 3214059 O (changed; was Black) 09
PERCY PORTER 3151523 B 09
LYNNWOOD POWELL 0791409 B 09
BEN PRATT 0079192 B 09
LEOLA PREWITT 0662199 B 09
LILLIE PREWITT 0506366 O 09
ERNESTINE PRIMES 0484113 B 09
FAYE PRITCHARD 0731905 B 09
LILLIAN PRITCHARD 0236501 B 09
SUSIE PURDY 9900074153 B 09
TINA QUATTLEBAUM 3370861 B 09
EMMA RANDOLPH 0381506 B 09
PRAMOD RAVADE 0808352 O 09
ALMA REED 0632804 B 09
GLORIA REED 0930587 B 09
JOHNNIE REED 0595529 B 09
ZENOBIA REED 0444496 B 09
ALMA RHODES 0924987 B 09
DOROTHY RHODES 0668772 B 09
LEONIA RICE 0375350 B 09
CURTIS RICHMOND 0902023 B 09
MAMIE RICHMOND 0653508 B 09
OLLIE ROBERTSON 0746750 B 09
CHARLENE ROBINSON 0850791 B 09
MARY ROBINSON 0291601 B 09
NATHAN RODGERS 0829858 B 09
CARLENE ROGERS 0302043 B 09
CHARLES ROGERS 0931013 B 09
DEBRA ROGERS 0847656 B 09
LUCIUS ROGERS 0302350 B(changed; was Black) 09
ARTICE RUFFIN 0595891 O 09
LINDA RUFFIN 0825455 B 09
TOYA SAMUELS 3402459 B 09
CLEO SANDERS 0887121 B 09
CLYDE SAUNDERS 0502140 B 09
GEORGIA SAUNDERS 0507155 B 09
EMMETT SAVAGE 0705018 B 09
BRENDA SCOTT 0700034 B 09
IRA SCOTT 0661330 B 09
MARIE SCOTT 0506216 B 09
SAFIYYAH SHARRIEFF 9900179244 O 09
MARY SHEAD 0651863 B 09
ISABELLA SHERROD 0442993 B 09
JUAN SHIPP 0394034 B 09
JUDY SHIPP 0471481 B 09
WILLIAM SHIPP 0518747 B 09
NANCY SHOLAR 0860077 B 09
ERDYNE SKATES 0895668 B 09
LARRY SKATES 0580055 B 09
ALVIN SMITH 0897404 O (changed; was Black) 09
BESSIE SMITH 0354413 B 09
BOBBIE SMITH 0652181 B 09
DOROTHY SMITH 0474231 O (changed; was Black) 09
GLORIA SMITH 9900001006 O 09
IVORY SMITH 0343116 B 09
JOHNNIE SMITH 0562505 B 09
OPHELIA SMITH 0164821 B 09
RAY SMITH 0643769 B 09
JOAN SOMERVILLE 0930936 B 09
JOHN SOMERVILLE 3429216 B 09
DANIELLE SPEARS 3279151 B 09
JAMES SPRAGGINS 0884043 B 09
DELEON STANLEY 9900156265 B 09
PERRY STEELE 0146465 O 09
MARGARET STEWART 9900294085 O (changed; was Black) 09
GERALDINE STOKES 0670259 B 09
GREGORY STOKES 3280091 B 09
VALERIA STOKES 3268053 B 09
KEITH STREET 0994728 B 09
CHARLIE STRICKLAND 3003388 B 09
ELOISE STRONG 0496227 B 09
HUGH STRONG 0448529 B 09
VERNA PIGUES 0453982 O (changed; was Black) 09
PATRICIA SWIFT 3097379 B 09
MONA TAYLOR 0964720 B 09
PAUL TAYLOR 0799222 B 09
ROSEMARY TAYLOR 3030275 B 09
SHIRLEY TAYLOR 0636969 B 09
BOBBIE THOMAS 0768166 B 09
DEARIS THOMAS 3085459 B 09
DOROTHY THOMAS 0302604 B 09
JAMES THOMAS 3349610 B 09
MARY THOMAS 0424744 B 09
TONEY THOMAS 1003599 B 09
ELSIE THOMPSON 0951883 B 09
RALPH THOMPSON 0354954 B 09
CHRISTOPHER TOMPKINS 3134240 B 09
GEORGE TRUITT 0530933 B 09
GEORGE TRUITT 0993986 B 09
GLORIA TRUITT 0608342 B 09
VIRGINIA TUBBS 0683612 B 09
CARRIE TURNER 0398378 B 09
CORRINE TURNER 0710628 B 09
JOHNNIE TURNER 0516285 B 09
EMMA VASSAR 0940746 B 09
ROY VAUGHN 0894496 B 09
DOROTHY WALK 0607761 B 09
EDDIE WALSH 0520812 B 09
ALGENOY WARD 0918488 B 09
SAM WARD 0816439 B 09
PATRICIA WARE 0023504 B 09
MAGGIE WARREN 3227828 B 09
TAMARA WASHINGTON 3279580 B 09
BARBARA WATSON 0679876 B 09
FANNIE WEBB 9900086630 B 09
MCLISSA WEBB 0934259 B 09
JAMES WHERRY 0522471 B 09
CLARK WHITE 0526327 B 09
DEMETRA WHITE 0988042 B 09
MAURICE WHITE 0389080 B 09
MILDRED WHITE 0381356 B 09
OPHELIA WHITE 0903730 B 09
ROSIE WHITE 0878298 B 09
WALTER WHITE 0707400 O (changed; was Black) 09
GRETA RAINEY 9900056881 B 09
JEWEL WHITING 0442099 B 09
BETTYE WILLIAMS 0909345 B 09
ERMA WILLIAMS 3211092 O 09
GILDA WILLIAMS 3088991 B 09
MATTIE WILLIAMS 0847463 B 09
PEARLINE WILLIAMS 0323909 B 09
SHANTELLE WILLIAMS 3055029 O 09
FRANCETTA WILLINGHAM 9900058789 B 09
O WILLINGHAM 0505052 B 09
ROSIE WILLINGHAM 0611604 B 09
PAULINE WILLIS 0783869 B 09
JEANETTE WILSON 0064270 B 09
KAY WINTERS 0110893 B 09
BETTY WOODARD 0077166 B 09
MAGGIE WOODARD 0427437 B 09
MARY WOODS 3004252 B 09
STEVELEAN WOODY 0857317 B 09
CHARLES WOOTEN 0619429 B 09
JEROME WRIGHT 0630355 B 09
ELEANOR YATES 0709619 B 09
EMMA YATES 0449703 B 09
IMOGENE YOUNG 0500253 B 09
DETAILS ON SHELBY COUNTY VOTER LIST ALTERATIONS
Shelby County voters owe a debt of gratitude to Darrick "D" Harris (no relation). This information has come to light because, when I spoke with Harris by telephone recently, he expressed concern to me about his discovery that his voting history had somehow evaporated.
An active Democratic voter and political consultant, Harris had copies of voter databases containing his own voter history. He knows he votes regularly, but as of Oct. 2011, the voter list reports that he has never voted -- not once!
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
When voters fail to vote for two federal general elections, a purge process is initiated.
Your voter history should never vary. If it says you voted in the Nov. 2008 presidential election in 2010, in 2011 it should not report that you DIDN'T vote in 2008. The only way the database can alter your voting history is if someone changes the information in the database.
D. Harris did not just have his 2008 voting history erased. Every vote he had ever cast, going back to 2000, had been erased. I took the official Shelby County voter list, filedate 2010 (obtained by court order in a lawsuit) and compared it with the voter history list from 2011.
488 voters had their histories erased.
ALMOST ALL VOTERS WERE BLACK
Of these, according to the 2011 database, 430 are Black. It is against the law to alter voter records. It is a civil rights violation to select Black voter records for alteration.
WHY DILUTION OF RACIAL IDENTITY IS SIGNIFICANT
Last year, I reported that in Shelby County, they have been diluting the racial identifier so that thousands of Black voters are now reported as "other." Twenty-four of the voters with histories erased had also had their racial identifiers removed. In fact, 454 out of 488 on the erased list are Black, and only four are White, leaving all the others marked "other." Most likely, out of 488 erasures, 484 are Black.
ALMOST ALL ARE DEMOCRAT
Only five voters in the erased list show that they have ever voted Republican, but you'll notice that I listed that as just four in my opening paragraph. That's because Shelby County has also been altering party choice in its voter records. It is possible that Ruth Ann Phelps, one of the five so-called Republicans, never voted Republican at all.
Ruth Ann Phelps is reported as selecting a Republican ballot in the May 2010 primary, but her records show she is a lifelong Democrat. I found hundreds of lifelong Democrats whose voter history preference was altered in the May and August 2010 elections.
Phelps is an interesting case. She used to be one of the key employees at Shelby County Elections. She at one time had a password to the GEMS election management system, but the audit log for the GEMS database shows that Ruth Ann Phelps password was revoked in June 2010. Phelps at one time worked at the main elections operation center, where she had access to voter list maintenance systems, but in 2010 she was transferred to a downtown office. By 2011, her voter history had been erased. Right around this time, she retired.
THE SELECTIVE PREPARATION FOR PURGE TARGETS U.S. CONGRESSMAN STEVE COHEN
Not only are almost all the altered records Democrat, not only are they almost all Black, but every single one of them is in Congressional District 09.
POLITICAL TALK
I have heard that Cohen's seat is not considered at risk, though with redistricting and a well financed opponent, and paperless touchscreen voting machines, and selective removal of voters from his voting base, who knows?
I have also heard that the most astute political strategists focus on changing not just the weather (short term election results), but the climate (long term voting environment).
At any rate, it doesn't matter what Cohen's chances are. The rights that were violated are those of Shelby County VOTERS, who have a right to vote for the candidate of their choice, and who are entitled to accurate records.
And I have a question: How widespread is this problem? Are there other counties where voter histories are strategically eroding? I have spoken with both Democratic and Republican election integrity enthusiasts, and one of my frustrations is that the Democrats count on their VAN system and the Republicans count on their VOTER VAULT system to keep them up to date on voter list data. Neither of these systems is the real, working data. It should be possible to detect alterations like this in other counties, but since purges are performed using the actual county database, skip the VAN and VOTER VAULT: Examine the actual lists. As we see in Shelby County, there is no reason to believe that the raw data matches VAN or VOTER VAULT. The raw data is getting altered from time to time.
To detect this kind of alteration, a database created and saved in 2010 should be compared for changes with more recent iterations, but the actual county database should be used for the exam, rather than relying on proprietary party databases.
THEY SEND A LETTER BEFORE PURGING, DON'T THEY?
Altering the records is illegal, and a civil rights violation, regardless of whether voters can halt the purge process by responding to a letter. If voters were purged after wrongfully being targeted, set in motion by illegally altering their permanent voter record, it is not appropriate to blame the voter, whether or not they responded to a letter.
Taking the position that this is a minor matter, or that a purge would be the voter's own fault, claiming that voters wrongfully targeted for purge can always reinstate themselves by responding to a purge letter is like saying "false arrest doesn't matter, because you can always prove you are innocent".
The wrongful act, in case of purge for voters whose histories were altered, is not on the part of the voter.
And there is such a thing as justice.
"Oppressors do all they can to prevent use of the category of justice; they do all they can to cast the situation in terms of good behavior and bad behavior ... sometimes our frameworks of conviction lead us to discount the significance of what we see and hear. We regard the one before us as a candidate for charity, should we be so inclined, or we insist that his condition is his own fault."
-- Justice: Rights and Wrongs, by Nicholas Wolterstorff.
What happened to the strategically selected voters in Shelby County, whose records were altered to put them at special risk for purge, is a moral wrong.
And it is illegal.
I cannot tell whether more voters may have been affected. Comparing the two databases, I see that over 8,000 voters in District 09 were removed after August 2010 but before the Oct. 2011 database was produced. I do not know the reason for these 8,000 removals.
