Local Papers Need Local Sentiment Headlines

Yesterday's Occupy Local Government session hosted by Free Detroit No Consent at the Occupy The Midwest Conference spent some time looking at the August 24, 2012 front page headline article "Poll: Voters favor EM law; bridge bid falters" published in The Detroit News and subsequently picked up by the other publishing channels around the city and state, many of whom spun the story in the same manner.

The Detroit News is a Local Paper?

The headline speaks of a poll of 600 likely voters as shown in the quote below . The population for the poll has to be considered when attempting to use it as a barometer for state-wide sentiment.

The poll of 600 likely voters in a live-operator telephone survey was conducted Saturday through Monday by Glengariff Group Inc., and has a margin of error is +/- 4 percentage points.

The poll was commissioned by The News, WDIV Local 4 and WZZM.

 Note the figures in this chart are the state-wide numbers that were used, and local figures were simply mentioned in the text of the article.

Local Support for Repealing Public Act 4 is high

The Detroit News chose to go with a headline reflecting state-wide voting interest as is came through the poll. The choice for which side of the story goes up as the headline is the editors', however since this is a local Detroit paper and the support as indicated through this excerpt from the paper - should be what offered an appropriate headline. The existing headline makes the story and newspaper look like a tool of the State of Michigan.

The voter-initiated referendum on Snyder's beefed-up emergency manager law, which was fought all the way to the Michigan Supreme Court, is getting strongest support in Oakland and Macomb counties at 69.3 percent and 64 percent.

In Detroit, 52.5 percent of residents want to repeal the law. Czuba said 30 percent of Detroiters want to keep emergency managers and shouldn't be discounted.

Prepare to Vote on November 6

Please be advised there will be a number of attempts to confuse and keep people in Detroit and communities potentially affected by Emergency Manager Laws. One of these was the Citizenship question on ballot applications which was encountered during the primary vote. Secretary of State Ruth Johnson chose to operate as if Senate Bill 803 was passed, however Governor Snyder VETOED S803 claiming it would cause confusion ... which is exactly what happened. From The Detroit News:

The legislation requiring an affirmation of citizenship was spawned, in part, by Secretary of State Ruth Johnson's office discovering a handful of non-U.S. citizens on the voter rolls who were improperly registered to vote while legally obtaining driver's licenses.

In the February presidential primary, Johnson implemented a policy requiring voters to affirm their citizenship at the polls on a ballot application alongside their name and date of birth.
The vetoed legislation sought to codify Johnson's policy, which she claims successfully identified a dozen non-citizens who tried to vote in Kent, Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties during the presidential primary.

Snyder believes a person's signature on a ballot application would be a better alternative to the check box, spokeswoman Sara Wurfel said.

The "citizenship checkbox" showed up in February 2012, and even with the veto requesting it removed, according to the Detroit News, it seems Ruth Johnson has determined it will appear again on Election Day, November 6.

The legislation requiring an affirmation of citizenship was spawned, in part, by Secretary of State Ruth Johnson's office discovering a handful of non-U.S. citizens on the voter rolls who were improperly registered to vote while legally obtaining driver's licenses.

In the February presidential primary, Johnson implemented a policy requiring voters to affirm their citizenship at the polls on a ballot application alongside their name and date of birth.

The vetoed legislation sought to codify Johnson's policy, which she claims successfully identified a dozen non-citizens who tried to vote in Kent, Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties during the presidential primary.

Snyder believes a person's signature on a ballot application would be a better alternative to the check box, spokeswoman Sara Wurfel said.

Johnson, a Republican and former Oakland County clerk, said Tuesday she will keep the policy in place despite the governor's veto. As the state's chief elections officer, Johnson retains the right to set wording on ballot forms, spokesman Fred Woodhams said.

According to Progress Michigan there is an Election Protection Hotline at 888-OUR-VOTE which will answer questions. Please make sure you carry photo identification with you to the polls, our Secretary of State says 99.5% of Michigan's voters have photo ID. If that is the case, then how do the .5% get handled Ms. Johnson? It seems having a photo printed on voter registration cards would help tremendously.

Michigan chapter of the ACLU has requested the citizenship checkbox removed, but as yet have not pursued it legally in the courts. However, the Michigan Election Reform Alliance may be stepping forward ...

Since October, 2011, Secretary of State Johnson and the staff of the Michigan Bureau of Elections have engaged in conduct which has caused election administrators in every jurisdiction in Michigan to put a hurdle in the way of every voter’s exercise of the right to vote.

By such conduct, they appear to be guilty of a felony under MCL 168.932 (a) "A person shall not attempt, by means of bribery, menace, or other corrupt means or device, either directly or indirectly, to influence an elector in giving his or her vote, or to deter the elector from, or interrupt the elector from, or interrupt the elector in giving his or her vote at any election held in this state." They have also suborned the same felony to be committed by thousands of election assistants, precinct chairs and election inspectors in the February 28 and August 7, 2012 elections.