Democratic Party filed lawsuit to stop Republicans from implementing plan to prevent foreclosure "victims" from voting

Democratic Party filed a lawsuit to stop Michigan Republicans from implementing plan to prevent homeowners who face foreclosure from voting

[link to elections.foxnews.com]

Barack Obama’s campaign and the Democratic Party filed a lawsuit Tuesday to stop Michigan Republicans from implementing what Democrats called an “ugly” and “horrific” plan to prevent homeowners who face foreclosure from voting.

The suit aims to prevent anyone whose address appears on a list of foreclosed properties from being challenged on their ability to vote for that reason alone.

The legal case stems from comments in an article attributed to the Republican Party chairman of Macomb County. The story, “Lose Your House, Lose Your Vote,” appeared on the liberal Michigan Messenger Web site.

The site quoted Chairman James Carabelli as saying, “We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren’t voting from those addresses.”

Carabelli denies he made the remarks.

“It was never said like that,” he told FOXNews.com Tuesday, minutes after the Obama campaign announced its lawsuit, filed in federal court in Michigan, seeking “injunctive relief” against the local GOP actions.

“There never was” such a plan,” Carabelli said. “Never.”

He said he would likely file charges against Michigan Messenger, though he did not say what the charges would be.

Obama and Democratic National Committee representatives said they didn’t buy Carabelli’s denial.

“This is consistent with a pattern and practice of the Republican Party throughout the country,” Obama general counsel Bob Bauer said on a conference call, citing similar allegations in Ohio. “It’s an absolute attack on their right to vote.”

He said the practice of disqualifying voters by questioning their residence in this fashion, known generally as “caging,” is illegal. Bauer added that just because a home appears on a foreclosure list does not mean the homeowner does not live there or that the home will definitely be lost.

He said voters also have a grace period for voting from the old address, even if they are ultimately foreclosed upon.

As a new wave of financial turmoil ripples through the campaign trail, Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer repeatedly linked the allegations against the local GOP to the John McCain campaign.

“So what are the Republican Party, what are John McCain proposing to do to help these families and turn the economy around?” he said. “They want to add insult to injury, and disenfranchise and intimidate the Michigan voters who live in those homes.

“This is as disturbing as it is disgusting,” Brewer said.

The original Michigan Messenger story quoted Carabelli as saying the Republican Party was training election challengers to “make sure that [voters] are who they say who they are.”

Pressed for more information, he was quoted as saying: “I would rather not tell you all the things we are doing.”