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View Full Version : GOP was right about voter fraud after all


sidney
October 19th, 2008, 06:28 PM
You may have heard the news (http://news.google.com/news?q=obama+special+prosecutor) about Obama writing to the US Attorney General requesting that the special prosecutor who was appointed to investigate the U.S. attorney firing scandal investigate voter suppression and what he calls fraudulent claims of voter registration fraud. Obama claims that the GOP is trying to suppress new voters in several swing states by raising false claims that ACORN has been committing voter registration fraud, using those claims to get legitimate voters purged from the rolls or make voting more difficult for them.

Well, it turns out that GOP was correct about one thing: There has been actual voter registration fraud, and someone has been arrested for it. I'm quoting a snip from the article in the LA Times because the link may get hidden behind a registration archive in a week.

GOP voter registration fraud case leads to arrest (http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fraud20-2008oct20,0,3842357.story)

Mark Jacoby, who was arrested in Ontario and owns a firm hired by the California Republican Party, violated state registration laws, authorities say.

By Evan Halper, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
2:38 PM PDT, October 19, 2008

SACRAMENTO -- The owner of a firm that the California Republican Party hired to register tens of thousands of voters this year was arrested in Ontario late last night on suspicion of voter registration fraud.

State and local investigators allege that Mark Jacoby fraudulently registered himself to vote at a childhood California address where he no longer lives so he would appear to meet the legal requirement that signature gatherers be eligible to vote in California.

Jacoby's arrest by state investigators and the Ontario Police Department comes after dozens of voters said they were duped into registering as Republicans by his firm, Young Political Majors, or YPM. The voters said YPM tricked them by saying they were signing a petition to toughen penalties against child molesters. The firm was paid $7 to $12 for every Californian it registered as a member of the GOP.

Several agencies had launched investigations into Jacoby's activities, including the Los Angeles County district attorney's office, which issued the warrant for his arrest earlier this month on felony charges of voter registration fraud and perjury.

Judy G. Russell
October 19th, 2008, 07:32 PM
Well, it turns out that GOP was correct about one thing: There has been actual voter registration fraud, and someone has been arrested for it. I'm quoting a snip from the article in the LA Times because the link may get hidden behind a registration archive in a week.GOP voter registration fraud case leads to arrest (http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fraud20-2008oct20,0,3842357.story)And five'll get you ten that McCain finds a way to blame this on race too.

ndebord
October 20th, 2008, 02:09 PM
Sidney,

That is the least of it, Billy Moyers had a guy on NOW the other night who walked our way through the myrid ways the Republican Party is committing vote fraud. His claim? Hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of voters disenfranchised.

http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/348/index.html

Dan in Saint Louis
October 20th, 2008, 03:48 PM
http://tinyurl.com/5cqzae

"When I pushed Obama, it jumped to McCain. When I went down to governor's office and punched [Gov. Joe] Manchin, it went to the other dude. When I went to Karen Facemyer [the incumbent Republican state senator], I pushed the Democrat, but it jumped again....The rest of them were OK, but the machine sent my votes for those top three offices from the Democrat to the Republican."

Judy G. Russell
October 20th, 2008, 10:41 PM
http://tinyurl.com/5cqzae

"When I pushed Obama, it jumped to McCain. When I went down to governor's office and punched [Gov. Joe] Manchin, it went to the other dude. When I went to Karen Facemyer [the incumbent Republican state senator], I pushed the Democrat, but it jumped again....The rest of them were OK, but the machine sent my votes for those top three offices from the Democrat to the Republican."Oh man. Oh man. That is so frustrating.

Bill Hirst
October 21st, 2008, 04:04 AM
Oh man. Oh man. That is so frustrating.
People have been warning us about those infernal machines for some time. Maybe now people are starting to listen. Of course, it's too late to change to a more reliable technology. I do hope some progress is made in the next four years.

-Bill

Judy G. Russell
October 21st, 2008, 09:15 AM
People have been warning us about those infernal machines for some time. Maybe now people are starting to listen. Of course, it's too late to change to a more reliable technology. I do hope some progress is made in the next four years.We can only hope, Bill. They are more dangerous to the electoral process than any voter registration drives gone awry, that's for sure.

ktinkel
October 21st, 2008, 09:55 AM
We can only hope, Bill. They are more dangerous to the electoral process than any voter registration drives gone awry, that's for sure.The lack of attention to all this stuff amidst all the articles and TV/radio pieces nit-picking the campaigns and poll results is shocking.

In a way more troubling than the opacity of the workings of the machines, it seems many states (including Connecticut, I see) lack good oversight at the polls. Few workers there understand the new systems, and lack knowlege of how to identify and fix any problems on voting day. Yikes.

These web sites (all mentioned by Cringely in the comments section of his column) offer information, advice, and many links:

VotersUnite! (http://votersunite.org) Tips (avoid straight-party voting), links, information, and downloadable publications
http://blackboxvoting.org (http://www.blackboxvoting.org/howtouse.html) User-contributed content, a “voting rights work space.” Lots of detail.
Electronic Frontier Foundation (http://www.eff.org/issues/e-voting) Orderly discussion of the issues, relevant events (especially legal), and more*

sidney
October 21st, 2008, 03:39 PM
These web sites (all mentioned by Cringely in the comments section of his column) offer information, advice, and many links

Another one is the non-partisan National Campaign For Fair Elections, http://www.866ourvote.org/ which is also their toll-free number 1-866-OURVOTE (1-866-687-86883) to call to report any voting irregularities or to get advice or help if you have any problems at the polls.

They are looking for volunteers (http://www.nationalcampaignforfairelections.org/page/s/vol08ep)
If you are an attorney, law student, or paralegal, we need your help to protect the right to vote. We're recruiting legal volunteers to staff Election Protection Hotlines across the country and work on the ground as mobile legal volunteers.

Judy G. Russell
October 21st, 2008, 04:13 PM
The lack of attention to all this stuff amidst all the articles and TV/radio pieces nit-picking the campaigns and poll results is shocking. In a way more troubling than the opacity of the workings of the machines, it seems many states (including Connecticut, I see) lack good oversight at the polls. Few workers there understand the new systems, and lack knowlege of how to identify and fix any problems on voting day. Yikes.There certainly could be major problems, that's for sure. Scary stuff...

Judy G. Russell
October 21st, 2008, 04:15 PM
They are looking for volunteers (http://www.nationalcampaignforfairelections.org/page/s/vol08ep)They don't want anybody in my zipcode. I'm not sure whether to be comforted by that or not...

sidney
October 21st, 2008, 08:09 PM
I'm not sure whether to be comforted by that or not...

I prefer to look at the bright side about that -- They have more people volunteering than they have phones and polling places.

If you really need to do something, you can always put on an armband that says VL for Vigilante Law and drive around town with a baseball bat looking for voter fraud punks to beat up.

ktinkel
October 21st, 2008, 09:19 PM
Another one is Steal Back Your Vote (http://www.gregpalast.com/sbyv/) site, managed by Greg Palast and Robert Kennedy, Jr. There is a comic book with tips for voters and information on voter rights (a bit disorganized in my view, but I probably betray my age). You can download the comic book (or send for print copies — one was bound into this week’s issue of The Nation).

Kennedy was on Rachel Maddow’s program this evening with information about voter problems, especially in Colorado (those are pretty astonishing).

Judy G. Russell
October 21st, 2008, 11:57 PM
If you really need to do something, you can always put on an armband that says VL for Vigilante Law and drive around town with a baseball bat looking for voter fraud punks to beat up.Uh... um... if you don't mind, I think I'll take a pass on that one.

Jeff
October 22nd, 2008, 11:41 AM
Kennedy was on Rachel Maddow’s program this evening with information about voter problems, especially in Colorado (those are pretty astonishing).

How so in Colorado? Machines? I voted on Monday via mail.

- Jeff

ktinkel
October 22nd, 2008, 01:45 PM
How so in Colorado? Machines? I voted on Monday via mail.I believe it is mainly a registration issue affecting people who have registered in the past month or so.

There are articles about it in USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/2004-10-16-colorado-voters_x.htm) and The Colorado Statesman (http://www.coloradostatesman.com/content/democrats-fear-secretary-state%3Fs-error-compounds-voter-registration-mistakes).

If there are machine problems, I suppose those we get to hear about after the election. They are expected all over the country, but will of course be most dramatically pursued in the battleground states. Like Colorado — lucky you.

sidney
October 22nd, 2008, 08:52 PM
How so in Colorado? Machines?

I didn't see the Rachel Maddow interview, but Kennedy and Greg Palast co-wrote an article in the current Rolling Stone Block the Vote (http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/23638322/block_the_vote/print)

All told, states reported scrubbing at least 10 million voters from their rolls on questionable grounds between 2004 and 2006. Colorado holds the record: Donetta Davidson, the Republican secretary of state, and her GOP successor oversaw the elimination of nearly one of every six of their state's voters. Bush has since appointed Davidson to the Election Assistance Commission, the federal agency created by HAVA, which provides guidance to the states on "list maintenance" methods.

And of course the article talks about current ongoing efforts to purge voters for this election.

ktinkel
October 23rd, 2008, 09:51 AM
Thanks for the link — for some reason I couldn’t get to it, just found endless promos.

This morning’s Times has an editorial: “Sorry, I Can’t Find Your Name (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/23/opinion/23thu1.html)” with a story of more than 8,000 Mississippi voters being knocked off the list. A Republican congressional candidate was included. Somehow, the error was discovered in time and corrected.

Many states rely on cross-checks between voter registration and SS or drivers’ license records. Some states require a 100% match — voter records can be deleted if there is a middle initial on one source, not on another, for example; or a spelling error. There is typically no publication of deleted voter names, no notification to the voter.

Jeff
October 23rd, 2008, 01:38 PM
I believe it is mainly a registration issue affecting people who have registered in the past month or so.

There are articles about it in USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/2004-10-16-colorado-voters_x.htm) and The Colorado Statesman (http://www.coloradostatesman.com/content/democrats-fear-secretary-state%3Fs-error-compounds-voter-registration-mistakes).

If there are machine problems, I suppose those we get to hear about after the election. They are expected all over the country, but will of course be most dramatically pursued in the battleground states. Like Colorado — lucky you.

OMG. I remember the fraud of '04. I thought the State was doing better, at least that this seriously battleground gasfield county is. However, it turns up that here this year's fraud may well be a repug from two counties away suddenly and seriously funding two repug county commissioner candidates. Drill baby, drill! Damn the locals, full speed ahead!

- Jeff