Pepsi
11-04-2008, 03:15 PM
Sheehan Campaign Volunteers Arrested and Harassed at San Francisco Polling Sites
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Sheehan-Campaign-Volunteers-Harassed-San/story.aspx?guid=%7B4E58A73C-3E89-4FD2-9906-D4F7F2005B8A%7D
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 04, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Katherine Fish, 24, and Renee Davis, 58, both volunteers for Cindy Sheehan's campaign for Congress, were detained by police this morning at a polling location in San Francisco's Excelsior district.
"Our volunteers were well outside of the 100 foot limit," said Tiffany Burns, the Cindy for Congress campaign manager. "They were not the only people there campaigning, but they were the only ones who were harassed by poll workers and detained by police."
Although several supporters for John Avalos, a candidate for District 11 Supervisor, were campaigning at the same location, witnesses at the scene confirmed that shortly after the polls opened at 7:00am poll workers told Sheehan's supporters that if they didn't move they would be arrested. Poll workers called the police sometime before 8:30am and officers arrived on the scene by 9:00am.
"This is just the latest in a long series of very suspicious events during this campaign," says Cindy Sheehan. "Our offices have been repeatedly vandalized, computers with campaign information have been stolen, our volunteers have been attacked, and now we're being prohibited from exercising our constitutional right to free speech -- on an election day no less. This is not how democracy is supposed to work. And that's exactly why I'm running for Congress."
At 9:30am, another Sheehan campaign volunteer at the 24th & Guerrero polling location alerted campaign staff that people were being turned away because the polling location was out of ballots. "I called the San Francisco department of elections immediately to confirm and was shocked to find out it was true," said Tiffany Burns. "When people aren't permitted to speak, and aren't able to vote, something is seriously wrong with the system."
So far informal exit polls conducted by Sheehan supporters indicate that votes for Sheehan and Pelosi are almost evenly split. In the Mission Dolores district, 40% of respondents had voted for Sheehan, 40% voted for Pelosi, and 10% did not answer. In Pacific heights, 34% of respondents had voted for Sheehan, 44% voted for Pelosi, and 22% did not answer.
"We're encouraged by the results we're seeing so far," says Burns. We expect to be celebrating along with our supporters tonight when all the votes are in."
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Sheehan-Campaign-Volunteers-Harassed-San/story.aspx?guid=%7B4E58A73C-3E89-4FD2-9906-D4F7F2005B8A%7D
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 04, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Katherine Fish, 24, and Renee Davis, 58, both volunteers for Cindy Sheehan's campaign for Congress, were detained by police this morning at a polling location in San Francisco's Excelsior district.
"Our volunteers were well outside of the 100 foot limit," said Tiffany Burns, the Cindy for Congress campaign manager. "They were not the only people there campaigning, but they were the only ones who were harassed by poll workers and detained by police."
Although several supporters for John Avalos, a candidate for District 11 Supervisor, were campaigning at the same location, witnesses at the scene confirmed that shortly after the polls opened at 7:00am poll workers told Sheehan's supporters that if they didn't move they would be arrested. Poll workers called the police sometime before 8:30am and officers arrived on the scene by 9:00am.
"This is just the latest in a long series of very suspicious events during this campaign," says Cindy Sheehan. "Our offices have been repeatedly vandalized, computers with campaign information have been stolen, our volunteers have been attacked, and now we're being prohibited from exercising our constitutional right to free speech -- on an election day no less. This is not how democracy is supposed to work. And that's exactly why I'm running for Congress."
At 9:30am, another Sheehan campaign volunteer at the 24th & Guerrero polling location alerted campaign staff that people were being turned away because the polling location was out of ballots. "I called the San Francisco department of elections immediately to confirm and was shocked to find out it was true," said Tiffany Burns. "When people aren't permitted to speak, and aren't able to vote, something is seriously wrong with the system."
So far informal exit polls conducted by Sheehan supporters indicate that votes for Sheehan and Pelosi are almost evenly split. In the Mission Dolores district, 40% of respondents had voted for Sheehan, 40% voted for Pelosi, and 10% did not answer. In Pacific heights, 34% of respondents had voted for Sheehan, 44% voted for Pelosi, and 22% did not answer.
"We're encouraged by the results we're seeing so far," says Burns. We expect to be celebrating along with our supporters tonight when all the votes are in."