Doesn't this make it more suspicious, rather than less? If it was like all of them, or a whole printing batch (probably hundreds or thousands), then it would be a typo in the source material. But if it's just 50, that seems like they were specifically printed separately or modified.The county's elections office says it mailed out nearly 2 million new voter registration cards. Only about 50 of the cards -- handed out over-the-counter at its offices -- had the error, it said.
Eh, it could have been a misprint on one batch that was then fixed for the remainder, and that one batch didn't get destroyed.Originally Posted by CLWheeljack
Ultimately, while that Sherriff Joe guy is a racist douchebag, I wouldn't really see the point of only screwing up 50 voter registration cards intentionally.
They were cards given to people who took the trouble to come into an office to register, thus would presumably be people most likely to vote. Additionally, the relatively small number would be less likely to be discovered.
It'd also have no real impact on the election, given that it's only 50 people, right? Seems like it'd be silly to risk prosecution for voter registration fraud or something for such a trivial amount of votes.
One question that comes to my mind is whether they handed out some, and then the error was found, and they started handing out good ones... or if they were ALL screwed up, but only handed out 50... or what.
Like I said, I hate that sherriff joe guy anyway, so I wouldn't really put it past him. And I also hate anti-immigration positions. I'm not really arguing from a position of wanting to defend anything he's done, but I'd also avoid jumping to a conclusion.
Due to the small number I'd guess that it wasn't systemic, which means it was probably just one guy in that one post office (this has nothing to do with Sherrif Joe at all, other than proximity). If so, that would explain the risk / reward calculation failure: he's probably not very bright.
Even if he didn't endorse it, it's his job to ensure it didn't happen...
yeah, I did have to call out the Arpaio bit, though in this case, the only thing that would have anything to do with him is that this is the county that thinks he should be Sheriff, and as such may be inclined to have some people in power who might be inclined to do something like that against the dictates of their office. Might.
In other news, some of the left-wing blogs (linked on memeorandum, not read habitually), are harping about the possibility of more voter registration issues in VA:
Not likely to be of any real impact IMHO, but will definitely put a Federal microscope on the State, and possibly some others, I think.This is now a THIRD location where we are hearing about voters in this area being falsely registered. The forms that were collected from the dumpster on Monday that led to the recent indictment came from a local street festival and a registration at the local community college.
It now appears this is more widespread than just these original eight forms- how many people have been disenfranchised by this Republican voter fraud?
Risk of being prosecuted... in Maricopa County?
And as I said a few posts back, I would chock it up to a dumb error and give LITERALLY ANY county in the US the benefit of the doubt... except Maricopa County. That place lost any credibility about four anti-Latino scandals ago and provides a massive trampoline for conclusion-jumping.
I used to live there. Arpaio is just as horrible as you suspect him to be.
So where's the Republican outrage over this voter fraud? Is it just me, or is the Republican Party ready to do anything at any cost to win... even if it means undermining Democracy itself?
I think the Republican party believes that the interests of their party and the interests of the country are identical, and that Democrats are therefore out to destroy both. The tea party believes the hyperbole, and they're driving the car.
Well, is there a clear case that this was fraud? Or even intentional, rather than just a misprint that was then corrected?
I'm honestly not clear on the details of the case.
I think the more pertinent case is the GOP contractor in PA/VA destroying registrations, which appears to be a felony, and that some (uncorroborated as yet) evidence exists to indicate that it may not be isolated behavior.
Given that PA/VA are two of the swing states with the most at stake, this is much more concerning.
Ya, it's totally illegal, and the guy should obviously go to jail.
I'm not sure how much more outraged folks can be?
I'm talking about the Republican who threw away voter registrations.
Shenanigans in Florida?
Or is it just a form of phishing/identity theft?Voters are getting letters that look like they are from local elections offices, questioning their citizenship. But Local 6 has learned the letters are fake, and they are going out across Central Florida and many other parts of the state...
...Officials on Monday said voters who had received the letters thus far are white, registered Republicans who consistently vote in elections.
"This is a major concern," said Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Mike Ertel, who received a letter from a voter mailed from Seattle with no return address. "You should not expect a letter from your elections office saying, 'You're not registered to vote, please don't go to the polls.' That's ridiculous."
On Tuesday, the state of Florida said there have been reports from more than 20 counties where voters have received fraudulent letters impersonating supervisors of elections.
East Naples resident Wayne Hoss said he received his letter on Saturday and immediately knew it was a hoax because he was born in the United States. Hoss says the letter included a form seeking personal information, including his Social Security and driver's license numbers.
Hmm, if it asked for personal info including an SSN, I'm thinking ID theft was the motive. Unless of course whoever wanted to discourage voting wanted it to just look that way.
They need not be mutually exclusive, but it does sound like this was a hard-copy phishing attempt.
The article on Maricopa county cited similar efforts by people going door-to-door, which sounded much more like voter intimidation.
Since you asked, maybe the former Republican Governor of Florida and the former Florida GOP Chair:
A new Florida law that contributed to long voter lines and caused some to abandon voting altogether was intentionally designed by Florida GOP staff and consultants to inhibit Democratic voters, former GOP officials and current GOP consultants have told The Palm Beach Post.
Republican leaders said in proposing the law that it was meant to save money and fight voter fraud. But a former GOP chairman and former Gov. Charlie Crist, both of whom have been ousted from the party, now say that fraud concerns were advanced only as subterfuge for the law’s main purpose: GOP victory...
...But Greer’s statements about the motivations for the party’s legislative efforts, implemented by a GOP-majority House and Senate in Tallahassee in 2011, are backed by Crist — also now on the outs with the party — and two veteran GOP campaign consultants.
I imagine him as a wannabe Gerald Hege, who hopefully ends up with the same fate.
I always picture him as Boss Hog.
Well, I'm dreading the next time my driver's license needs renewing because of all the documentary hoops that are being added to get that voter ID. Just the old license won't cut it any more. My only real hope is that by the time my license expires they'll realize how expensive it will be for the state if folks have to make multiple visits to their offices to get their paperwork sorted out.
And Georgia is a state where a fair number of older residents may not have birth certificates.
The driver's license renewal thing is the main thing that prompted me to renew my passport a few years back. I didn't want to be stuck in a "chicken and egg" situation due to these post 9/11 Real ID laws.
The Ohio senate leader (a Republican) recently stated that they wouldn't pursue any implementation of voter ID law changes for at least the rest of the term. It's almost as if they had just been doing it to diminish voter turnout during the general election.
On the other hand, Ohio's Secretary of State is still busily throwing out those "provisional" ballots.
Conspiracy!
Did Anonymous prevent Karl Rove from stealing the election?
There's nothing to back any of it up but it would be fun if it was true and concrete evidence was leaked. I had not previously heard about Ohio shenanigans in 2004.
The SMARTech story was reported by various sources a few months after the 2004 election. No proof, although the setup sure looked tailor-made for election fraud. I have no idea about Anonymous' claims, but I'd kind of like it to be true.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote