Thousands of Students March 7 Miles To Vote
By Nicole Belle Monday Feb 18, 2008 9:15pm
Early voting starts today in Texas. In Waller County, a primarily rural county about 60 miles outside Houston, the county made the decision to offer only one early voting location: at the County Courthouse in Hempstead, TX, the county seat.
Prairie View A&M students organized to protest the decision, because they felt it hindered their ability to vote. For background, Prairie View A&M is one of Texas' historically Black universities. It has a very different demographic feel than the rest of the county. There has been a long history of dispute over what the students feel is disenfranchisement. There was a lot of outrage in 2006, when students felt they were unfairly denied the right to vote when their registrations somehow did not get processed.
According to an article in today's Houston Chronicle:
Waller County has faced numerous lawsuits involving voting rights in the past 30 years and remains under investigation by the Texas Attorney General's Office based on complaints by local black leaders. Those allegations, concerning the November 2006 general election, related to voting machine failures, inadequate staffing and long delays for voting results.
The article adds,
"I was angry after registering to vote in the 2006 election only to be turned away at the voting booth," said sophomore Dee Dee Williams.
So what are the students doing?
1000 students, along with an additional 1000 friends and supporters, are this morning walking the 7.3 miles between Prairie View and Hempstead in order to vote today. According to the piece I saw on the news (there's no video up, so I can't link to it), the students plan to all vote today. There are only 2 machines available at the courthouse for early voting, so they hope to tie them up all day and into the night.
I love stories like this. In the face of an obvious ploy to suppress the vote, these young people stood up for their rights and showed that they will not be cowed. Republicans should be worried, because this is a committed electorate.
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Yes! Keep fighting the good fight! More power to the students and friends of PVA&M!
Useless bigoted state. Republicans aren't human. Let's run em out on a rail this November and NEVER let them come back. Beat them when they are down.
That's awesome. I hope people all across the nation start doing stuff like this to push back against the voter suppression tactics that the Republican party always employs. It's time to take our country back.
Gee I wonder why Michelle Obama feels the way she does . Leave it to that toilet they call Texas to
prove her right. I hope Mexico takes that piece shit back and makes it into something someone
could be proud of . Remember the Alamo they got their ass kicked just like the south did ....
I live in Houston close the beltway 8 SW side and this is the first time I'm hearing about this story =/
Shows just how our deaf, dumb, and blind media keeps us informed about what really is going on around us even ever so close.
Eh hem, the state I was born and live in isn't useless, but comments like that are. Not all Texans are racist or bigoted, and you'll probably have better luck changing their political leanings by not referring to their state as "useless". That said, you know these guys kept all the money meant to buy more voting machines and bought new hemi's :D
I admire this style of activism. It is both passionate and rational. However, for the sake of honesty, that is not 2000 people. Maybe 300-400, but not 1000 students and 1000 friends and supporters.
Other than that, this is the type of story that inspires.
Kudos to these students! BRAVO!!!
There's a certain aroma in the air. Change, anyone? Yes, the rethuglic**ts are in for quite a dose.
They walked seven miles?
Now those are some young people who want to vote.
"Pro Freedom and Pro Democracy" Republicans still working their sinister magic in the dark art of voter suppression.
WHAT LOOKS INSPIRING ON THE OTHER SIDE, IN WISCONSIN, IS THAT THE D LOSER IS POLLING MORE THAN THE R TOTAL. Sorry, didn't mean to holler, but I hape the difference lasts until November.
CD @ 10:
And those are some young people who stood up to really care about our country instead of being beaten down by apathy. More power to them, we sure need the help.
bmw 528 @ 13:
2008 version of the march on Selma. Conservatives tried to supress then and they are trying it again now. The more things change the more they stay the same. It didn't work then and it doesn't look like it's going to work now.
It feels good to see that! Damn, maybe America is waking up afterall.
Yeah! Love ya, Prairie View!
Let's hope you lit a prairie fire under the behinds of your fellow students nation-wide!
AWESOME!!!!!! this should be a BIG story! (should be)
Video from KHOU
AMAZING!
In view of all that walking these fine folks did, it brings to mind Nike's slogan from the recent past:
Just Do It!
I feel like clapping right now.
O......
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Jaden @ 5:
I hear the NeoCon/Repub apologist argument very often. They praise the "provisional ballot" that the disenfranchised is given and point out how seldom the victim returns (two weeks after the election is over) to confirm their identities.
Of course they don't expect people to return to renew their vote after the race is over. But they know that it SOUNDS reasonable to the type of American who still believes that WMD's were found in Iraq.
You can fool some of the people all of the time. Else you woudn't be able to find a Republican in office.
I was born and raised in Texas. Ever since I moved to a so-called "progressive" city in the Midwest, I've gotten lots of snorts and sneers whenever people find out this fact about me. I've gotten so sick of people telling me that they hate Texans...to my face! Listen, there are a lot of things to hate about Texas, Bush being #1, but these people are why you should love Texans. They are out there fighting the good fight, just like people all over the rest of the country.
I hope we see more actions like this with the young voters of this country. Very moving!
"Texas Attorney General"
That is funny. What is that job entail, exactly?
Wouldn't this be a position twice removed from ANY sort of legal background or experience?
I expect this person's only responsibility would be pulling the switch on the electric chair- and it is full time.
Certainly not 2000 people but certainly a lot regardless..
Fantastic!
It just boggles the mind that in 2008, more than a century and a half since the ratification of the 15th Amendment, many states continue to use these despicable tactics to suppress the African American vote.
I think it's about time we invoke the little-known second section of the 14th Amendment, under which states that pull stunts like this are supposed to lose representation in the House, and thus lose electoral votes. They should have done it to Florida in 2000, and they should do it to Texas if the evidence is there.
kahootz @ 7:
How do you know the number of students that marched? How can we possibly know how far back that line of people extends outside the border of the picture?
Finally, a decent protest! I was starting to worry that Americans have just given up trying to fight the republifasiests.
Fucking awesome.
Fired Up Ready to Go!!!!
Its these people that are the we that Obama talks about.
I hope Obama talks about this in his speeches in Texas, because this is what his campaign is all about.
Very impressive. Congrats to those young people! As a number of people stated in previous posts -- the MSM should be highlighting this great story.
Unfortunately, voter suppression WILL be a factor in Texas. Hang on to your seats!
Karen @ 27:
I understand your incredulity. However, you must realize, if there were more students far behind this particular group, the helicopter would have taken pictures of them. Why would it not? It's a helicopter. It's not difficult to hover and get the rest of the shot.
Furthermore, I also recognize the fact that FOX Spews will report this event as having about 10 students.
I am a card-carrying liberal democrat, and proud of it. I fully support everything these students are doing. But I also respect truth. And the truth is this group of dedicated and motivated and passionate activists is not 2000 strong. Why would this be a problem for you?
I lived in Dallas for 11 years. I would recommend staying away from the small towns (Vidor, Jasper, et.al.) but the big cities are quite diverse. There are some mighty fine people that reside in D/FW and there are, of course, the local assholes.
That is smucking beautiful!!!
And btw...how do we know if this pic depicts the totality of marchers/activists?? I'm just sayin'...
And we have the audacity to insist on supervising the voting proctices in other countries.
Fucking A guys, keep up the good work.
Now let me take a second to defend Texas, though I've never even been there. Bush is from Connecticut, just like Lieberman and Ann Coulter. Let's keep our facts straight, it separates us from the animals and neocons.
Thats great.
good for all these young people. more people should stand up
to the gop and let them know that the gop is past tense.
Something is in the air. We should all be proud.
This kind of stories just warm my heart and lead me to tears, its so painfully true that THESE students were going to decide the election so they just HAD to be oppressed. Well you showed them, every vote counts, so you take your uninformed self right to that voting booth and vote....
Yes.............The time for change is NOW. GOBAMA!!!
Awesome - what a great statement. I'm beginning to feel proud of my country again.
i'm a texan and i hate W. and so do a helluva lot of other texans. for most of its history, it's been a democratic state. stories like this give me hope that a sea change is underway and we're back to blueness!
What an experience for those first time voters!
While watching the video I couldn't make the connection as to why not enough voting machines impacted early voting. It seems to me if you break out more of your machines during early voting you will need less machines on election day. Have I missed something?
This is the type of action that brings change. Good for them. This is inspiring to all. Ther is still hope.
Awesome! Too bad that the people in charge are such assholes that it has to come to this (are we still in the 1960's?).
My guess is that if Hillary gets the bid, a lot of young voters like this will feel disenfranchised, and the ensuing voter apathy may really hurt the Democratic party in November. I'll still turn out to vote, but I can understand why people wouldn't.
This is the news that makes me proud to live in Texas.
For all the crap Texas gets from people, it's good to have people see that there are people ready for change here.
After seeing that, "Taking it to the Street" by The Doobie Brothers has been running through my head. Nicely done folks! You are a model for us all.
The 2000 number is the estimate from the local police...they'd have no reason to hype it.
To borrow some '60's phrases- Right on!- Power to the people!
Oh, that is brilliant protesting and quite moving and humbling to see. (Someone's been reading their Saul Alinsky, their MLK,Jr., and their Gandhi. (G)) I'll take back every bad thought I ever had about Texas (I'm an OU Alumn, my enmity is earned, dammit!) But I admire the hell out of those Prairie View students. And as someone above said, I do hope Obama, and even Hillary publicize this. Heck, this would be a perfect thing for Edwards to highlight(were he still in it). And I hope none of us forget this in Nov., when the general comes around, we may need to resort to these types of tactics in order to ensure that our votes count.
And to the person above who said that it wasn't 1,000 or 2,000 marchers, please remember, even if there is a vast trail of people behind, even the helicopter crews on the local news don't show that when it makes the ruling cast look bad. Hundreds of thousands marched after the 2000 vote was granted to Bush. Millions marched and protested BEFORE the Iraq war, but popular news accounts of the time edited out the wide shots, and gave low-ball figures for both events. You either had to be their to notice the differences, or read the foreign press to get a better estimate. Do not ever beleive that corporate media will give you anything that makes regular people look strong.
...doing their parents proud!
did they walk back home after too ;)
kahootz @ 32:
I'm a Texan and I have to say that by and large many, maybe most, Texans do deserve the world's contempt. The people in this story, no, but a LOT of white Texans voted for Bush not 2 times but 4 times, for governor and president, and his policies and attitudes were the same when he was governor as they have been while he's been president. For some reason, many white Texans who were Bush supporters until very recently are now feeling the tides of fashion and saying they no longer like him, but they did for well over a decade, much longer than the rest of the country. And here in Texas we even have roads, libraries, airports, and schools named after his execrable family, and there's no sign of those going away anytime soon.
That said, this is just a short list of genuinely progressive Texas notables: Molly Ivins, Jim Hightower, Barbara Jordan, Erykah Badu, Willy Nelson, Dahr Jamail (now calling Alaska home but originally from a Houston Republican family and a graduate of the notoriously right-wing Texas A&M University), and Diane Wilson.
fantastic!
deang @ 56:
Nothing can be more obscene in Texas than that over to top bronze statue of Bush Senior at Huston Airport, I wonder how he managed that one.
deang @ 56:
And I'm 67, a Vietnam veteran, and moved here over 30 years ago by choice. It's been a long time since I felt represented in either branch of Congress, but I haven't given up.
Those idiots who act morally superior to everyone who lives in Texas need to grow up. What they're doing is worthless and counter-productive.
Deang has it right. The list could be much longer. And honey attracts many more flies than vinegar. Not that I'm calling Rethuglicans flies [heh heh].
Damn, that's a beautiful thing...
Boots on the ground. Yeah. Been awhile.
Wonderful! I love this story too. A change is gonna come.
This is SO important.
*
60,61,62
+63
Late to the thread; couldn't read the comments 'cause I've a long day tomorrow too. But, I had to say: These kids rock. There is hope for this country.
yeah! Great story! Great action! Great statement these students are making! While we do obviously have our share of seriously sorry people here in Texas, it's folks like this that make me think there is hope...that yes. A Change is Going to Come!
This story warmed my heart. I hope to see more like it in the very near future.
deang @ 56:
Add Ann Richards to that list...the first Female Texas Governor! She always put Dubya in his place and with a smile!
If it's any consolation, the George Bush Presidential Library sits on the site of the old Texas A&M Swine Farm.
Lived in TX for a short while, glad I got out. Just sayin'.
Lived in FL too, and hated that even worse, if that makes any Texans feel better.
Pete&Pete @ 6:
Useless state.
GO PVA&M!
right on!!!
kahootz @ 32:
My incredulity? I was trusting the report. You were incredulous. Or are you asking about my not believing you?
Maybe the helicopter did take pictures of them, and they're just not shown in the news reports. Or just not worth the bandwidth at C&L. Maybe the helicopter photographer took several pictures, and they're only publishing the ones that look decent for the presentation. There are a number of possibilities to explain the lack of published pictures.
It strikes me as highly tenuous to claim that you know definitively how many people were actually there despite the news reports merely because your informal logic begins with the premise, "why wouldn't they take the pictures if they could?" To then demand that C&L and the news be accurate takes your claim from tenuous to arrogant.
Ok.
Why would you think any of that would be a problem for me? Card-carrying liberal democrat -- all well and good with me, though I didn't realize they handed out cards for that. Supporting the students -- excellent. Respecting the truth -- equally excellent.
The problem I have is that you contradict the empirical claims of a news report, insisting that you have the true and accurate information, but have no basis to make such claims.
My only question was, "How do you know?" You haven't answered that questions satisfactorily.
Awesome!
Do these boots on the ground think the MI and FL voters should be disenfranchised from the Democratic base? Seems a little hypocritical to care so much about themselves being left out, but not the millions + voters from MI & FL! That is united alright!
Concerned American @ 74:
You're spamming about any thread you can with the same crap...
MAtt @ 75:
No I am not a spammer! I am concerned because these people do not want to be disenfranchised but yet they want the voters from other states to not count at all, with or with out stupid delegates. Real people still voted for both Obama and Hillary and their votes are not being counted. It is not fair!
Concerned American @ 76:
It's nice to see you're so worried after the rules were enforced. I can't help but find it suspicious that you and Hillary suddenly care about this matter after she won the primaries practically uncontested (wasn't she the only one on the ballet in MI?)...
You break the rules you pay the price...
Besides these people will be able to vote just like everyone else when the actual election rolls around..
And this is the reason we are fighting. This is the picture we have waited for years to see.
Our kids are now taking the rains of power and just running away with it and how sweet it is.
Gekke @ 54:
Before my mom died in 2005, I used to have to come through IAH with some frequency. I always managed [discreetly enough to avoid arrest] to flip that statue the bird.
MAtt @ 77:
I did not agree to any rules as a Democratic voter and American citizen with just as much right as the rest of the country. If you knew anything, you would realize it was a Republican legislation that put these "rules" in place. How is that in the best interest of the Democratic base?
None of us, including you were not even aware of these rules until the primary election coverage started and that was after it was decided. Just because I care about this issue does not make me bias or only for Hillary...I am for the strongest Democratic Party to be strong in Nov for the GE you nit wit! Grow up and learn about reality. You sound like a fraternity troll with way too much adrenaline and not enough to do! Go do something productive like learn how to be unified and stop trying to win by division and disenfranchising real citizens who count as much as you do! Rules or not!
BTW...Anyone in MI could have voted "uncommitted" or for Dennis Kucinich. Hillary was not the only one on the ballot in MI, even that is what you choose to believe in your delusional Saint Obama world!
The voters in MI could have voted for Dennis Kucinich or "uncommitted." Hillary Clinton was not the only one on the ballot in MI despite what you choose to believe!
Texass is a BIG f*cking state. I seriously doubt this issue (insufficient # of early voting places) is limited to this particular county!
More power to these people! THESE are the kind of people we need to be involved in this country's future for it to survive.
I do not know why this is not posting, so if it is posted twice, I am sorry...but,
The voters in MI could have voted for Dennis Kucinich or "uncommitted." Hillary Clinton was not the only one on the ballot in MI despite what you choose to believe!
wow, voting in this coutry has really taken a turn for the worse since 2000. I thought we had the right to vote.
That?
ROCKS.
To Shannon #22 - In Ohio, provisional ballots are not even counted unless it's a close race. I love seeing this kind of protest: peaceful, organized, and able to accomplish their goal. In Ohio, if you are in line to vote when the polls close at 7:30 p.m., the polls must stay open to allow you to vote. Therefore, all these students were in line so they all got to vote. I hope there were a few dozen provisionals thrown in - they take about 10 minutes each to fill out!
I am beginning to think that the youth of America woke up one morning and came to the conclusion that YES,"The king has no clothes" A huge shift in public opinion!
We all should be outraged at anyone in any party trying to keep people from voting.
It is an awful feeling knowing your vote has been taken away from you. I personally have had it happen twice. Once during Nixon years and 2000!
I also love stories like this. Good for all those who marched to vote!!! I salute you and send you hugs!
I am so proud. Thank you PV A&M.
Texas Democrat @ 67:
I'm pretty sure Joe Galloway isn't a registered Democrat, but he hates the Bush regime, hates the war, and says John McCain lost his vote when he kowtowed to the religious right -- and he lives in Texas.
One more comment. I admire what these students are doing, but I wonder about the rules for early voting in Texas. In Virginia, you have to provide some reason that you can't get to the polls during normal election hours in order to vote early. They don't let you vote early just to "vote early." Even though I planned to work all day at the polls, except for about 3 hours when I had to travel to a nearby town for a doctor's appointment, they didn't accept the "I'm too busy on election day" excuse. So, I told them I was going out of town.
Jess @ 23:
Progressive Midwestern city, where the hell is THAT?
-from someone who's lived most of her life in Chicago and Kansas City.
WAIT A SECOND !!!!
If the PVA&M students tie up the 2 voting machines all day long, how are all the WHITE people gonna vote ????
pol @ 90: