In today’s USA Today, former DNC interim chair Donna Brazile claims that Republicans are trying to block voters from the polls and reduce the voting rights of ”Democratic-leaning Americans.” She asserts that Republicans are passing state ballot integrity laws — such as voter photo-ID requirements – to limit the participation of minority voters, the young, and the poor (purported Obama voters) heading into the 2012 elections. Brazile asks, ”Do we really want to see Florida’s 2000 election controversy replayed?”
Expect to see lots more of this leading to the presidential election. The 2000 presidential election produced voluminous claims of rampant voter intimidation, suppression, and harassment in Florida. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights investigated these claims over a six-month period immediately after the election. The Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department also conducted a separate investigation.
Despite numerous allegations suggesting widespread voter intimidation, suppression, and harassment, the Commission’s investigation produced just two ostensible instances of perceived voter intimidation. Were there voting problems in Florida? Sure, as in every election. But the Justice Department found no credible evidence that Floridians were intentionally denied the right to vote.
In contrast, a subsequent media analysis showed that at least 2000 votes were cast illegally in Florida in the 2000 presidential election. Since the margin of victory in Florida was 537 votes, the fraudulent votes were sufficient to affect the outcome of the election.
That’s not an isolated example. Evidence adduced at various commission hearings suggests numerous instances of actual voter fraud. The cases involve organizations and individuals who register ineligible voters, dead people, and fictional characters. In an infamous Ohio case during the 2004 presidential election campaign, a canvasser paid with crack cocaine registered Dick Tracy, Mary Poppins, and scores of other equally noteworthy characters.
Again, these aren’t isolated cases. A major 2001 voter registration drive in St. Louis’s black community produced 3,800 new voter cards. When some of the names appeared suspicious, elections officials investigated all of the cards and determined that every single one was fraudulent. Dogs, the dead, and people who simply didn’t want to register were among the new registrants.
The problem isn’t only that canvassers are being paid to produce manifestly fraudulent voter registrations; it’s also that voter rolls throughout the country are being padded with hundreds of thousands of false and fraudulent names. For example, testimony by John Sample before the Senate Rules Committee showed that Alaska had 503,000 people on its voter rolls but only 437,000 people of voting age in the entire state. Before the last presidential election, 140,000 Florida voters were registered in multiple jurisdictions.
This isn’t a minor concern. The 1998 Miami mayoral election actually had to be set aside due to rampant absentee-ballot forgeries.
Voter fraud isn’t the imaginary phenomenon some claim it to be. Brazile bemoans the the expense of voter ID requirements ($10 million over four years in Indiana, according to her). Given the closeness of so many recent elections that could’ve been decided by fraudulent ballots, is $10 million per state too much to spend on improving election integrity?
— Peter Kirsanow is a member of the U.S.Commission on Civil Rights.
Two points: The Democrats really are hoping that we have forgotten the ACORN scandal. We haven't. Someone with some nerve should remind Ms Brazile of that the next time she shows her face on CNN.
Next, liberals and Democrats don't have standards, only goals. And their goal is the advancement of the liberal agenda. If that means trashing the validity of the democratic process in America, that's just fine by them.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseOne of the claims of voter intimidation was the claim that the police had set up a road block to prevent people from getting to a polling place.
The police were chasing a robbery suspect. The roadblock was 5 miles away from the polling place, and the road blocked didn't even lead to the polling place. I don't believe the roadblock lasted much more than an hour.
Brazille knows that in order to survive, the Democrats need rampant vote fraud. That's the reason why they always object so strongly to any attempt to make voting more secure.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abusethis is the biennial democrat pre-emptive strike against enforcing common-sense voting laws, so as to intimidate election officials into letting felons, frauds, foreigners, and the dear-departed vote the democrat line.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"John Sample"? Clearly another made-up name.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAs opposed to slashing tires or standing outside polling places with night sticks? Oh, wait, that's Donna's party who does that. They put this balloon out there every election cycle to stir up trouble, but all the trouble comes from the Democrats.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abusefor every fake registration that gets caught who knows how many get through? thats the real problem. when the voter rolls are artificially inflated it makes it easier to stuff the boxes w/o it looking odd.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI live in Indiana. The 2008 election here was notable for a couple of reasons:
1) It was the first presidential election in which the Voter ID law, having recently been blessed by the Supreme Court, was in full force.
2) It was the first time since 1964 that Indiana cast its electoral votes for the Democratic Party's nominee for President of the United States.
I'm not sure what more needs to be said on the matter. It's much ado about nothing.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseNothing causes me more despair for our democracy than the on-going, transparent campaign by Democrats to corrupt our electoral process and institutionalize the stealing of elections. (And when I think too much about it, I am apt to decide that I could use yet another box of ammo for, you know, home protection.)
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe GOP is trying to disenfranchise the dead.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe argument that poor, minority, young and elderly people don't have photo ID simply doesn't hold water. Photo ID is required for so many other activities -- from buying liquor, cigarettes, cold medicine and paint to cashing checks, seeing doctors, and renting shoes at the bowling alley ... Holders of photo ID documents almost certainly outnumber legitimately registered voters and the overlap between the two is probably 99.99998%.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhen I worked the polls, almost everybody walked in the door and offered us the photo ID that state law didn't require us to inspect.
If laws passed today requiring photo ID to vote (and accepting driver's licences, state-issued DL-like documents and military ID, as such) only crooks, and the officials who print the rules out for the poll workers, would actually be affected.
The alleged costs of enforcement would likely be absorbed by the savings on the post-election lawsuit end. Though what those costs could be when people already have the documents, and poll workers are already being paid to be present and check people in, I cannot imagine.
This is a huge deal in Wisconsin -- where for the first time ever (as was done in fascist Germany) -- they are going to ask for "your papersss pleaze" before voting! Yes, you will soon have to SHOW A PICTURE ID!!!
Why, next thing you know you'll have to show picture ID to purchase beer or cigarettes!!!!!
Why is it only "democrat-leaning Americans" who think it is unreasonable to show an ID when voting?
These same people make up ridiculous conspiracy theories about hacked voting machines, yet they never take seriously the very simple fraud of "voting twice"? Really???? Or just massively disingenuous?
I figure what they REALLY mean is "the Republicans are already cheating in all sorts of ways (not that we have proof), so therefore it is OK for Democrats to cheat in every way possible" (that's just "social justice" wink wink.)
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI have moved a few times in the last few years, locally but in different voting districts. My mother has told me that my name is still on the register in her district and my sister has told me my name is still on the register in her district. In NJ all you have to do is sign next to your name and the poll worker matches it up to the original signature (from when I was 18 - 27 years ago). So I guess I should vote 3 times in each election.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThis is always what the left alleges right before they intenntionally commit massive election fraud to steal an election they know they cannot win fairly. It is pre-emptive smash mouth against getting caught stuffing the ballot boxes with votes of the dead, foreigners, and felons, and mere voting early and often.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseBrazile must also believe that the TSA is disenfranchising Democrat travelers.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhich is more illustrative of actual voter intimidation - requiring an identification to vote or brandishing firearms outside a polling place? It is shocking how brazen liberals are in their duplicity. It is even more shocking how they can get away with it because not enough people care about the process over the result.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe largest election-fraud loophole, by far, is the absentee ballot (effectively, voting by mail). Any program that better enforces the integrity of both absentee ballots and in-person ballots has my support.
Any program that focuses on in-person ballots (which lean Democratic) but ignores absentee ballots (which lean Republican) reeks of partisan gamesmanship.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAs an earlier commenter said, how does it even cost a single penny to enforce these laws? The poll workers aren't going to be paid any additional money, are they? Another ridiculous point from yet another silly Democrat blowhard.
As for registering to vote, one easy way to avoid these potentially fraudulent registrations is to require a voter to physically register themselves. No proxies, no mail-ins (except military personnel stationed out-of-state, etc). To me, that is one good unintended consequence of the motor-voter law. Everyone needs a driver's license or state-issued ID. That should be your ONLY opportunity to initially register to vote. Every time you renew, you re-register. And, every time you vote, you automatically re-register. If your license or ID expires (due to death, or moving out of state and acquiring another one), your voter registration automatically expires.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseA volunteer poll watcher in Harris County was there to do nothing but document any voter fraud that might be happening. The watcher wrote that a man presented the poll worker with his voter registration card and when told that he was not listed on their records, he presented them with another registration card, again, not on the records. But it seems third time was charm and he was registed by a different name that was on the registered voter list for that precinct. The poll watcher wrote on her summary "All three cards had different names." This was in Sheila Jackson Lee's district.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseA new voter ID law is now going to Governor Perry's desk for signature. No more is someone going to be able to vote without presenting a photo ID in Texas. And the Democrats start screaming about that in 3....2....
A friend in Boston, a resident alien, mistakenly filed out a motor voter form when they applied for a license.
Result? For about 8 years they were on the voting roll in Boston. They weren't even taken off when they replied to a census form, listing them as a voter, that they WERE NOT a citizen.
Anyone with knowledge about this circumstance could have walked in and voted, no questions asked, for several years.
Does anyone imagine that all the voter registration people are apolitical in BOSTON? That this is an anomaly? If anything, the voter registration process should be TIGHTENED.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAnd all these years of alleged vote fraud evidence has led to how many convictions? Keep in mind that registering a fake name for yourself or someone else is not illegal. These are obviously cases in which someone is paid for the number of registrations and turning in whatever to get the check. A horrible system, but not illegal.
Check back in when you've actually found someone who committed vote fraud.
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