The Maricopa County Elections Department plans to spend about $30,000 for television and print ads to correct possible misperceptions among some Spanish-language voters about the date for the Nov. 6 general election.
Incorrect dates on some materials printed in Spanish added to a general feeling that some Spanish-language voters may not be aware of the correct date, elections spokeswoman Yvonne Reed said. The department expects ads to begin running by Saturday.
Friday's announcement by County Recorder Helen Purcell was made with various Latino activist groups, who will also remind voters of the Tuesday, Nov. 6 date, Reed said.
Some liberal activists had accused Purcell of trying to suppress the Hispanic vote.
Reed strongly rebutted that argument.
"We want to make sure that everybody votes, we put out every effort we can to see that all of our registered voters are voting somehow, some way, either through the early ballot or through the polls."
The county distributed about 2,000 promotional bookmarks with the wrong date and at least one voter-ID card with an incorrect date.
County supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox coordinated an effort with Latino activists to educate the Spanish-speaking community about the Nov. 6 date.
Earlier this month, the department said a voter-identification card at the elections office was issued with an incorrect date on cardboard surrounding the punch-out card. The county has handed out only about 50 of those cards since January, but Reed said it is unclear how many had the misprint. In addition, the normal practice would be to punch out the card and discard the surrounding material, where the incorrect date was printed.
Last week the department acknowledged it distributed promotional bookmarks with an incorrect date on the Spanish-language side. Reed took responsibility for the error, saying she failed to change all the dates on an old template.
The department will pay for the $30,000 effort with funds it saved in other areas, including polling place consolidation that means fewer poll workers need to be hired, Reed said.
samkat posted at 6:14 pm on Sat, Oct 27, 2012.
Its time to quit being politically correct and stop concurrent printing the ballots in English and Spanish. Our schools teach in English and all newly naturalized citizens regardless of nationality and ethnicity are required to be proficient in English with only certain exceptions. Since a number of ballots are already printed in just about all languages to accommodate the few citizens who still have no acquired English language proficiency, we should cut our costs in view of our national debt and require all citizens requesting a non English ballot to certify they cannot speak, write or read English under penalty of perjury. Further, they should be given a deadline to learn English unless they are over a certain age.
Cas Lee posted at 7:26 pm on Sun, Oct 28, 2012.
Hello, my fellow American voters!
I watched the 4 October debates which covered 28 topics: jobs; spending/budget deficit/debt; tax reform; federal gov’t economic regulation and role; medicare; social security; entitlements (medicaid, food stamps, etc.); healthcare; gas prices; equal pay; abortion; illegal immigrants; assault weapons; partisan gridlock; negative campaign tactics; candidate misperceptions; Bush policies; Obama’s record; U.S. world role; military policy/spending; U.S. national security threats; Libya, Syria; Egypt; Israel; Iran; Afghanistan; China.
Romney and Ryan won all 4 debates, although Romney slightly won the 2nd and 3rd debates.
In the 3rd debate (unlike in prior debates), Obama reflected his weakness and disrespect by interrupting Romney a lot and using too many “one-line quips” to try to denigrate Romney.
Ryan won despite Biden’s consistently rude behavior (often interrupted Ryan, laughed when Ryan talked, pointed his finger).
Romney/Ryan won with substance, directness, integrity, respect, clarity, facts, commitment, inspiration, credibility, and leadership.
As an INDEPENDENT female feminist (egalitarian) voter, I support the Romney/Ryan ticket.
Romney and Ryan, with their no-nonsense and methodic approach to solving America’s problems, are the best persons in terms of qualifications and character to lead our country and make life better for all Americans. I hope that you are inspired by Romney/Ryan!
Best regards,
Cas Lee