Happy Turkey Day!

Letterman's Top 10 excuses for Sarah Palin are pretty good akshully:

"Follow your dreams. Don't let anything stop you." - Brenden Foster

We can't possibly donate to every worthy cause we come across.  In this economy, many of us can't donate to any worthy causes.  For those who can, I'd like to offer the following for consideration:

Brenden died last week but his wish for feeding some of Seattle's homeless was granted.  In tribute to his memory, I am hoping some of you will consider making a donation here (where it says "Donation Options", click the drop down box and select "Brenden Foster's Food Drive").  Alternately, you could make a donation in memory of Brenden Foster to a national or local group who works to feed people in need.  Feeding America gets a 4 star rating from Charity Navigator.

When asked what the best things in life are, Brenden said, "Just having one."

Be seeing you, Brenden.

Action Alert: Georgia Senate Race

The same website Obama used for volunteers to phonebank from home is now set up to help Jim Martin GOTV in GA. Martin faces a December 2 runoff for the Senate seat currently held by Saxby Chambliss (R-GA). Chambliss won that seat by waging a smear campaign against Max Cleland in 2002. At the time, John McCain was against Chambliss' dirty tricks:

McCain: I’d never seen anything like that ad. Putting pictures of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden next to the picture of a man who left three limbs on the battlefield — it’s worse than disgraceful. It’s reprehensible.

Now, not so much.

If you want to learn more about Jim Martin, who seems like a pretty good guy akshully, or help his campaign - visit his website.

Stuff to Read - Friday

Keep up on the MN recount results for the Senate race between Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Dem challenger Al Franken. As of this hour, Coleman is ahead by 136 votes.

hee hee: Obama Puppy Drama

The Bush Admin has been holding 5 Algerians at Gitmo since 2001 but a federal judge ruled yesterday that there is no case (and never has been one) against the men and they should be released. The Bush Admin has freed ZERO Gitmo prisoners when judges have ordered their release so this is probably a somewhat hollow victory. Their best bet, along with all the other prisoners there, will be January 20 when President-Elect Obama, who has promised to close Gitmo, takes office.

Fowl on GOP's 2012 Nominee

Sarah Palin is a living mockumentary of her own darn self.

SC: The Butt of Another Joke

A new report ranks the states in their efforts to fund smoking prevention programs using the money from the gigantor tobacco settlement.  Out of the 50 states, South Carolina is ranked 51st.  *Shakes fist at pesky District of Columbia*

So to what do we owe the honor?  A little history:

The tobacco settlement was reached a decade ago so states could recoup some of costs of treating smoking-related illnesses, with total payments estimated at $246 billion over the first 25 years, according to the report. South Carolina has gotten $912 million in settlement funds so far.

The settlement proceeds were split into four trust funds, one of which was to be spent on health concerns. In 2003, lawmakers withdrew $100 million from the health fund to help offset a budget deficit then, according to the report, and to help with Medicaid. The other funds were designated for economic development, aid for tobacco farmers and water and sewer projects.  [emphasis added]

OK well let's not dwell on the past.  What does Fiscal Year 2009 look like for SC?

For FY2009, South Carolina will receive $1.0 million in federal funds for tobacco prevention and cessation. The state Legislature allocated no funds for tobacco prevention programs for FY09.

Oh.  And:

No tobacco settlement funds have been dedicated to tobacco prevention since 2003.

Well at least we're consistent!  So we got that goin' for us.

Bottom line:  SC will receive $114 million dollars in FY2009 from tobacco settlement payments and our measly cigarette taxes (7 cents a pack - Dang, 51st again).  Of that, we're spending $0 on smoking prevention programs.  But we will pay over $1 billion in smoking related health care costs.  I hate to invoke the Chewbacca Defense but:  That does not make sense.  As someone who lacks health insurance due to the outrageous cost of premiums in SC, I'm jes wondering:  can I get a bailout over here?  

The SC Legislature needs to get their act together pronto.  If they don't, I am considering driving them to Nebraska and dropping them off at a hospital.  Because they certainly won't find any safe haven in my voting booth come election time.

O Thank God - Something to Laugh at

AHAHAHAHA!

And:  

Bizarro Reads

Is anyone minding the store over at Newsweek?

Phyllis Schlafly lets the wacky fly:

The third group that Republicans lost in 2008 was unmarried women. By a colossal 40-plus point spread, unmarried women voted for Barack Obama by 70 percent to 29 percent. 
   
One explanation is economic: The women who cast off husbands look to Big Brother Government to support them. They vote for the party that promises more benefits from the Welfare State. 
   
The other explanation is social: The feminists have carried on a 40-year campaign to destroy marriage and what they deride as the patriarchy. They want to replace it with a matriarchy. 
   
In the 1970s, the feminists achieved unilateral divorce on demand from state legislatures, unilateral abortion on demand from the courts, and unilateral control over children in the welfare class by taxpayer handouts to women that made husbands and fathers unnecessary. 
   

The feminists have continued their campaign against marriage through Joe Biden's favorite legislation, the Violence Against Women Act, which provides a billion dollars a year to feminist centers to promote divorce and oppose reconciliation. The act is based on feminist ideology that women are naturally victims entitled to tax-paid legal and financial assistance, while men are naturally batterers who are not entitled even to due process protections.

The San Diego Union-Tribune printed this Letter to the Editor last week:

Veterans, active duty, retired military – alarm, alarm! President-elect Obama is proposing a National Security Force with allegiance (pay, benefits provided by the executive branch) to him. 

C'mon, some really bad guys have tried that in the past and we know where that went. Not while I draw a breath! 

Stuff to Read

There is still hope that Sarah "I exonerated myself of corruption" Palin will be prevented from appointing herself to replace Sen. Ted "Damn, why didn't I think of that?" Stevens because they are still counting ballots up there in that Alaska, and Stevens' opponent Mark Begich is in the lead.

Recommended for not only a great title but a substantive look at the GOP's prospects: The Next RNC Chair: Captain Of The GOP Titanic?

The NY Times reports that Dan Rather continues to pursue possible Republican influence behind the CBS inquiry which led to his resignation.

Breaking: Bush Effing Sux

Even more than we thought:

With growing talk in Washington that President Bush may be considering an unprecedented "blanket pardon" for people involved in his administration's brutal interrogation policies, advisors to Barack Obama are pressing ahead with plans for a nonpartisan commission to investigate alleged abuses under Bush.

[...]

Constitutional scholars say a pardon of this kind would be an unprecedented move -- the prospective pardon of not just individuals but entire categories of people, perhaps numbering in the thousands, for carrying out the president's orders , which the White House has argued all along were legal.

[...]

"The classic pardon is an identifiable individual; here you are talking about potentially thousands of people involved in illegal activities," explained Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington Law School. A blanket pardon of this variety, Turley said, "would allow a president to engage in massive illegality and generally pardon the world for any involvement in unlawful activity."

Read the full piece at Salon.com.

Dang W, you are like unprecedentedly corrupt. Is it January 20th yet?

Jonestown Massacre: Where Were You?

This month marks the 30th anniversary of the mass murder-suicide in Guyana. Where were you when you heard the news? I was sleeping over my cousin Kathy's house. Her Dad had a couple of extra phones which were not in use and we used to play with them. I was usually getting calls from Andy Gibb (What? I was 10!) and Kathy was always on with Shaun Cassidy. (I'm sure Leif Garrett got through on occasion too.) We were listening to the radio when they cut in with the news of hundreds dead at the Peoples Temple in Jonestown. Our mutual reaction: That is so weird.

Sometimes forgotten in the immense tragedy is the mass murder which took place immediately prior to the deaths at the Peoples Temple. A group wanting to leave the cult, accompanied by Congressman Leo Ryan (D-CA), members of the media and others, had left the Peoples Temple and were waiting on an airstrip for their planes to take off. On an order given by Jim Jones, gunmen from the Peoples Temple drove up and opened fire:

NBC cameraman Bob Brown, correspondent Don Harris, San Francisco Chronicle photographer Greg Robinson, defector Patricia Parks and Congressman Leo Ryan were all killed. Eleven others were shot. They survived by pretending to be dead until the killers drove off.

Among the survivors was Jackie Speier, aide to Congressman Ryan. Speier was shot five times and lie bleeding on the tarmac for 22 hours before help arrived. She was flown to Andrews Air Force Base for emergency surgery. Her prolonged recovery included another 10 surgeries. In April of this year, she was elected to represent California's 12th Congressional District - Leo Ryan's old seat.

She used her first floor speech, on the day she was sworn in, to excoriate President Bush's handling of the war and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the likely GOP presidential nominee, for suggesting troops could be in Iraq for decades to come. She was heckled by Republicans in response.

"After I was booed, I really felt like I do belong here," she said.

Speier with Ryan, 1978

News Roundup: Oops Edition

You know T. Boone SwiftboatPickens and his campaign to get the US off foreign oil and on to wind and natural gas? Well apparently Pickens only thinks his idea is good if it can put more coins in his coffee cans:

Billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens is delaying his massive Texas wind project, citing a drop in natural gas prices and the tightening credit market.

[...]

But natural gas prices have fallen from over $12 per million British thermal units last summer to current levels of around $6.

The fall in natural gas prices makes switching to wind power a less certain bet, as utilities would be reluctant to replace natural gas with wind now that natural gas prices are so low.

Pickens said Tuesday that natural gas prices need to be about $9/Btu in order for wind power to be competitive.

And by "competitive", I'm assuming he means profitable for T. Boone Pickens.

***

Hank Paulson is now saying basically that the plans for how to spend the $700 billion bailout package are in the round file:

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced Wednesday that the administration had decided to scrap what had originally been the centerpiece of the program _ a proposal to buy troubled assets to get them off the books of banks as a way of promoting increased lending.

[...]

The administration has already spoken for all but $60 billion of the initial $350 billion supplied by Congress, including the $250 billion for direct stock purchases from banks and $40 billion for a new loan supplied on Monday to help stabilize troubled insurance giant American International Group.

***

Speaking of AIG:

A key Democratic lawmaker called Tuesday for the resignation of American International Group's CEO after the troubled insurer held a financial planners conference last week at a posh Arizona resort.

The company responded that the event cost AIG very little and was aimed at boosting income.

AIG had come under sharp criticism for sending executives on a lavish English partridge hunt and a weeklong retreat at a California resort after accepting an $85 billion bailout -- since grown to $150 billion -- from the federal government in September.

[...]

Phoenix TV station KNXV, a CNN affiliate, reported that AIG tried to keep its connection to the 2008 Asset Management Conference a secret by ensuring that no AIG logos were on the property.

Undercover footage shot by KNXV shows top AIG executives, including Larry Roth, president and CEO of AIG Advisor Group, sitting poolside and drinking coffee while conference-goers attended meetings. Another executive -- Art Tambaro, head of AIG subsidiary Royal Alliance -- stayed in one of the resort's two-story villas.

The footage also shows a few executives being shuttled in a luxury Lincoln Town Car one night and enjoying dinner and drinks at a McCormick & Schmick's seafood restaurant, where they spent more than $400, KNXV reported.

AIG's defense on all these luxury junkets seems to be that they are necessary to boost sales. Well maybe in a different economy - one in which US taxpayers are not loaning your company billions to stay afloat - these types of motivational/reward spa holidays might seem worthwhile. But come on AIG, if your people need motivation to sell your product, how about getting in bed with the rest of us and relying on the old If You Want to Keep Your Job motivational tool? And as far as rewards go, why not hop on board the Your Paycheck is the Only Reward You Get train with everybody else in America? I'm sorry but we, the American taxpayers, are now 80% owners of your company. As such, I'm kinda the boss of you AIG. And I'd like to see you in my office. Now.

Gov. Sanford on Republican Losers and Fakers

Gov. Mark Sanford (R- SC) has a post-election analysis piece up on CNN.com:

Beyond the presidential race, it goes without saying the Republican Party took a shellacking nationally. Some on the left will say our electoral losses are a repudiation of our principles of lower taxes, smaller government and individual liberty. But Tuesday was not in fact a rejection of those principles -- it was a rejection of Republicans' failure to live up to those principles.

I'm listening. [Gov. Sanford making sense Alert Button on standby]

America didn't turn away from conservatism, they turned away from many who faked it.

Sanford cites Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) as an example. O sure, pick on the convicted felon.

Borrowing from Medicare, Social Security, our grandkids and the Chinese to remedy a problem created by too much borrowing strikes me as odd, and hardly the "change" Americans really want. Accordingly, on these and other issues that involve borrowing to spend, I will work with others to change this kind of change.

[Stand down on the alert. Back to partisanship as usual.]

The thing is Gov. Sanford, the GOP's idea of lower taxes is lower taxes for the wealthy. Trickle down economics has been failing us for years. Or are you in the "fundamentals of our economy are strong" camp?

As far as your party's idea of smaller government goes, we gave that principle a real try with deregulation of the financial industry. Turns out, greedy bastards will not keep their bastardy greed in check when left to self-regulate. Huh, whodathunkit?

And when you talk about individual liberty, I'm assuming you are excluding women, whom your party seeks to deny the right to choose; political opponents, whom your party seeks to smear with McCarthy-esque attacks of guilt by association - even when no substantive "association" exists; and registered voters whom your party seeks to disenfranchise at the slightest hint of dropping poll numbers.

America didn't turn away from conservatism or the principles you mention - they voted down the Republican platform of dismissing the middle and lower classes, enabling corporations to line their pockets while grinding the working man under their heels, and attempting to divide us by color, religion, sexual orientation or whatever other wedge issue your polls show might win your party more votes.

And speaking of fakers, change starts at the top. Your party put at the top of its ticket a man who went back on every principle he ever held, trading in his integrity to campaign with the most unqualified VP candidate in history who drove the Hate Talk Express into a ditch then walked away chuckling about her prospects in 2012. The GOP allowed their rallies to become lynch mob gatherings and sent their mouthpieces on missions to plant the seeds of UnAmerican Activities and faux outrage in the media, in the halls of our representative government and in living rooms across America.

Governor, it's time to do more than scratch the surface of what's wrong with the GOP. Blaming Ted Stevens on his way to prison is a little too convenient. Before you dash back into the open arms of politics as usual and continue your efforts to sabotage the Obama administration before it even sets foot in the White House, you might keep in mind that Americans voted against your party for some tangible reasons. You can deny, ignore or try to spin those reasons at your own risk. Which would qualify, to my mind, as faking it.

Keith Olbermann on Prop. 8

Proposition 8 in CA denies equal rights to gays and lesbians to marry. It passed on November 4. Humanity FAIL.



Transcript available here. An excerpt:

"If you voted for this Proposition or support those who did or the sentiment they expressed, I have some questions, because, truly, I do not... understand. Why does this matter to you? What is it to you? In a time of impermanence and fly-by-night relationships, these people over here want the same chance at permanence and happiness that is your option. They don't want to deny you yours. They don't want to take anything away from you. They want what you want -- a chance to be a little less alone in the world.

Only now you are saying to them -- no. You can't have it on these terms. Maybe something similar. If they behave. If they don't cause too much trouble. You'll even give them all the same legal rights -- even as you're taking away the legal right, which they already had. A world around them, still anchored in love and marriage, and you are saying, no, you can't marry. What if somebody passed a law that said you couldn't marry?

I keep hearing this term "re-defining" marriage.

If this country hadn't re-defined marriage, black people still couldn't marry white people. Sixteen states had laws on the books which made that illegal... in 1967. 1967.

The parents of the President-Elect of the United States couldn't have married in nearly one third of the states of the country their son grew up to lead. But it's worse than that. If this country had not "re-defined" marriage, some black people still couldn't marry...black people. It is one of the most overlooked and cruelest parts of our sad story of slavery. Marriages were not legally recognized, if the people were slaves. Since slaves were property, they could not legally be husband and wife, or mother and child. Their marriage vows were different: not "Until Death, Do You Part," but "Until Death or Distance, Do You Part." Marriages among slaves were not legally recognized.

You know, just like marriages today in California are not legally recognized, if the people are... gay."

Click here for info on nationwide protests Saturday, November 15.

President-Elect Obama Links

Not sure when Obama is planning the ninja overtake of the country where we all have to burn our flags, become Muslims and start having abortions, but in the meantime:

Barack Obama's new website

A pdf worth clicking to see how the Obama administration views the US Government.

And from Bark Obama (yeah, we're still going!), a political cartoon with an agenda.

President-Elect Barack Obama

Change has come.  Now it's up to all of us to do something good with it.  Keep going.

From Barack Obama's acceptance speech in Chicago last night:

This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. 


It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice. 


So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other. 


Let us remember that, if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers. 


In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.

[...]

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. 

And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.

[...]

This is our moment. 


This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

Election Day Assistance

If you need help:

South Carolina Democratic Party

1529 Hampton Street
Suite 200
Columbia, SC 29201

OFFICE: 803-799-7798
TOLL-FREE: 800-841-1817

***

Nationwide:  1-866-OUR-VOTE 

Barack Obama's Voter Protection Hotline:  1-877-US-4-OBAMA (1-877-874-6226)

***

It's November 4:  ZERO disenfranchised voters.

SC Voter Empowerment Card from ACLU

Download yours to printout here.  Bring it with you to the polls in case you have a question or run into a problem.

November 4:  ZERO disenfranchised voters.

2008 SOUTH CAROLINA 

VOTER EMPOWERMENT CARD

Can I vote in South Carolina?
You can vote in the November 4 election if you’re
registered to vote by Saturday, October 4, 2008.
You can register if you meet all of the following
qualifications:
(1) you’re a U.S. citizen;
(2) you’ll be at least 18 years old on Election Day;
(3) you’re a resident of South Carolina, your
county, and your precinct;
(4) you’re not under a court order declaring you
“mentally incompetent;”
(5) you’re not incarcerated for a felony or
misdemeanor offense; and
(6) you’re not on probation or parole for a felony or
a misdemeanor violation of an election law.

What if I’m a student?
You can register to vote at whatever address you
regard as your primary legal residence. This can be
your school address or your home address.

What if I’ve been convicted of a crime?
If you were convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor
involving a violation of election law, you can vote if
you’re not currently incarcerated or on probation or
parole.
If you were convicted of any other misdemeanor in
South Carolina you can’t vote while incarcerated, but
you can automatically vote when you’re released
from incarceration.
Once you’ve completed your sentence, you can
register to vote. It’s recommended that you include
proof of completion of sentence with your voter
registration form—even though it’s not legally
required that you do so.

What if I’m homeless?
You don’t need a home to register, but you do have
to identify a place of residence (which can be a street
corner, a park, a shelter, or any other place where
you usually stay).

How do I register?
You can register to vote:
(1) in person, by filling out a voter registration
form at your county board of registration;
(2) by mail, by filling out a mail-in voter
registration form and mailing it to your county
board of registration; or
(3) when you apply for services at the Division of
Motor Vehicles and state agencies that provide
public assistance (such as Medicaid, WIC, and food
stamps) or services to people with disabilities. You
may also be able to register at many other state
and federal offices and agencies.
You can get mail-in voter registration forms from
your county board of registration, from most
libraries, colleges and high schools, or online at
http://www.scvotes.org/files/VR_Blank_Form.pdf.

What’s the registration deadline?
Saturday, October 4

What if I miss the deadline?
You won’t be able to vote in the November 4
election, but you can register to vote in future
elections.

What if I’ve moved or changed my name?
You have to update your registration every time
you move or change your name. This form can be
printed online at http://www.scvotes.org/files/
changeofaddress.pdf.
If you moved within the same county before
Saturday, October 4, and didn’t notify your county
board of registration, you can vote by going to your
county board of registration on Election Day. You can
also go to your old precinct and cast a fail-safe ballot
for federal, statewide and countywide elections.
If you moved to a new county within South
Carolina before October 4 and didn’t update your
registration, you won’t be able to vote in the
November 4 election.
If you moved from another state to South Carolina
after October 4, or if you moved from South Carolina
to another state after your new state’s registration
deadline, you can vote a special presidential
(3) your job prevents you from voting on Election
Day;
(4) you’re physically disabled or hospitalized;
(5) you’re away on vacation;
(6) you’re 65 or older;
(7) you had a death or funeral in your family on or
after Saturday, November 1;
(8) you’re in jail or pre-trial facility awaiting
arraignment or trial;
(9) you’re attending to someone who’s sick or
disabled; or
(10) you’re a certified poll watcher or poll worker.

How do I know if I’m registered?
You should receive a written notification of
registration from your county board of registration.
You can also check your registration status online
at https://webprod.cio.sc.gov/SCSECVoterWeb/voter
InformationSearch.do, or by calling your county
board of registration.

Can I vote before Election Day?
Maybe. You can vote by absentee ballot before
Election Day if you’re registered to vote and you meet
any of the following conditions:
(1) you’re a student (or the spouse or dependent
child of a student);
(2) you’re a member of the Armed Forces,
Merchant Marines, Red Cross, USO, a government
employee (or the spouse or dependent child of any
one of these);
absentee ballot by contacting the local elections
office for your old address.


How do I get an absentee ballot?
You can get an application for an absentee ballot by
contacting your county board of registration.
If you apply by mail, your county board of
registration office must receive your application no
later than Friday, October 31. Your request must
contain your name and the address to which you
want the ballot mailed.
You can also apply and vote in person until 5 p.m.
on Monday, November 3.

What’s the deadline for returning my absentee
ballot?
To be counted, your absentee ballot must be
received by county board of registration office no
later than 7 p.m. on Election Day.

When is Election Day?
Tuesday, November 4

When are the polls open?
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. You have the
right to vote if you’re in line or inside your polling place
when the polls close.

Can I get time off from work to vote?
Maybe. The law doesn’t require employers to give
their employees paid or unpaid time off from work to
vote, but your employer might have its own policy
allowing you to do so. Ask your employer well before
Election Day.

Where do I vote?
On Election Day, you have to vote at the polling
place to which you’re assigned.
Your assigned polling place will be listed on voter
registration card that you should receive in the mail
when you register.
If you don’t have your card, you can call your
county voter registration office or look up your
polling place online at http://www.scvotes.org/find_
your_precinct.

What if my polling place is not accessible?
If you find this out before Election Day, call your
county voter registration office right away and ask
for a reassignment to an accessible polling place.
You must request reassignment by Saturday,
October 4. You have the right to an accessible polling
place and an accessible voting machine. Or, if you
prefer, you can vote by absentee ballot.
On Election Day, you can send someone into the
polling place to request curbside voting on your
behalf. Poll managers will bring a ballot or voting
machine outside so you can vote.
Otherwise, bring one or more people to assist you.
You have the right to have anyone you choose assist
you as long as the person is not your employer, an
agent of your employer, or an officer or agent of your
labor union.

Can I get a ballot in my native language?
Election materials in South Carolina are generally
available in English only, but you have the right to
bring an interpreter with you to the polls or to get
assistance in your language from anyone you
choose, including a poll manager, as long as the
person is not your employer, an agent of your
employer, or an officer or agent of your labor union.

What if I need help in the voting booth?
If you need help because of a physical disability or
because you can’t read the ballot, tell a poll manager
when you get to your polling place. You have the right
to vote on an accessible voting machine. You also
have the right to have anyone you choose assist you
in the voting booth, including a poll manager, as long
as the person is not your employer, an agent of your
employer, or an officer or agent of your labor union.

Do I have to show ID?
Yes. South Carolina law requires all voters to show
some form of identification.

What are the accepted forms of ID?
Accepted forms of ID for most voters include a
valid South Carolina driver’s license or non-driver ID
card, or your voter registration card.
If you’re a first-time voter who registered by mail
and didn’t include any identification with your voter
registration application, the accepted forms of ID
also include a current utility bill, bank statement,
government check, paycheck, or any other
government document that shows your name and
address. A voter registration card is NOT an accepted
form of ID if the first-time-voter requirements apply
to you.
If you need instructions on how to use the voting
equipment, ask a poll manager for help. Poll
workers are required to help you at any time you
ask—even after you’ve entered the voting booth.
Check your voter registration status at least 30
days before the election.
Vote before Election Day, using absentee voting, if
you’re eligible to do so.
If you plan to vote at the polls, locate your polling
place at least 30 days before the election.
Vote early in the day to avoid the last-minute rush.
Bring some form of identification.
Read all instructions carefully.
Ask for help if you need it.
Take your time. You may take up to three minutes in
the voting booth.

What if I don’t have any ID?
If you’ve lost or misplaced your voter registration
card, you can get a replacement from your county
board of registration in person, by mail, or by
telephone.
On Election Day, you can cast a provisional ballot.
If you have time and have ID at home or work, it’s
usually better to get your ID and return to the polls
to cast a regular ballot.

What if I’m not on the voter list?
First, ask a poll manager to check the list again
and to confirm that you’re at the right polling place.
If you have shown valid ID, the poll manager must
call the county registration office and give your name
as it appears on the driver's license or other form of
identification. If your name is found and if you’re
eligible to vote, they will ask you to provide your date
of birth. If you answer correctly, you can cast a
regular ballot.
If you’re at the right polling place but your name
isn’t on the voter list and you either lack valid
identification or don’t answer with the right date of
birth, ask for a provisional ballot. You have the right
to cast a provisional ballot, even if your name is not
on the voter list, as long as you’re willing to swear
that you believe you registered to vote.

What if I go to the wrong polling place?
Go to the right polling place. You can ask a poll
manager to help you find the polling place where
you’re registered. You can also call your county board
of registration or look up your polling place online at
http://www.scvotes.org/find_your_precinct.
If you can’t figure out where you’re registered, go
the polling place that you think is most likely to be
the right one and ask for a provisional ballot. You
have the right to cast a provisional ballot even if
you’re not sure that you’re at the right polling place.

What if someone challenges my right to vote?
Ask for a provisional ballot. Election officials will
rule on the challenge before the election results
become final.

What if someone tries to intimidate or harass me?
Tell a poll manager right away. If the poll manager
is the problem, tell a poll watcher, call county voter
registration office, call one of the election hotline
numbers listed at the end of this card, or make a
complaint online at http://www.votingrights.org.

What if I make a mistake on my ballot or the
voting machine malfunctions?
Tell a poll manager before you cast your vote. If
your voting machine malfunctions, you can request a
different machine.

How do I make a complaint?
First, ask for the poll manager at your polling
place. He or she can handle most routine complaints
that arise on Election Day. Candidates, political
parties, and nonprofit groups may also have poll
watchers at your polling place who might be able to
assist you. If any of those people ask you who you
voted for, or if they can’t resolve your complaint, call
your county board of voter registration or the South
Carolina State Elections Commission.
You can also call one of the election hotline
numbers listed at the end of this card or make a
complaint online at http://www.votingrights.org.


SC Election Commission: 803-734-9060
US Dept. of Justice: 800-253-3931
ACLU Voting Rights Project: 877-523-2792
http://www.votingrights.org
Election Protection Hotline: 866-OUR-VOTE