Kerry Spot    [ jim geraghty reporting ]
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Via the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, citing vote-fraud concerns, is publicly balking at a City of Milwaukee request for almost 260,000 additional ballots in anticipation of high turnout for the Nov. 2 presidential election.

Mayor Tom Barrett blasted Walker's stance, and Common Council President Willie Hines Jr. immediately joined in, saying it was an attempt to suppress the central-city vote.

"I'm going to lay this at the footsteps of the county if there aren't enough ballots in the city," said Barrett.

Barrett said that the 679,000 ballots the county had agreed to print were less than the amount prepared for the presidential election in 2000 as well as for the the gubernatorial race in 2002. He and the city's top election official said that the city requested 938,000 ballots from the county, which, by law, pays for and prints ballots.

In a letter sent to City Elections chief Lisa Artison, Walker said that he had "serious questions" about the need for that many ballots when the city reported having 382,000 registered voters in September.

Wisconsin radio show host Charlie Sykes observes:

The total population in Milwaukee: 596,974 in 2000 and 593,920 in 2004 The total number of people who are of legal voting age in Milwaukee in 2004: 423,811

Total votes cast in 2000 fall election: 245,670
Total votes cast in 2002 fall election: 141,351 (pre-registration of 335,889)

Okay, Team Bush. When does the President himself make a public statement about this? This appears to be a coordinated effort on the part of local officials to stuff the ballot box and make sure the votes of law-abiding Americans get cancelled out.

UPDATE: The Kerry Spot despises efforts to mess with the ballot box, whoever is doing it. A former employee of Voters Outreach of America claims that this private voter-registration company is throwing out non-Republican voter registration forms. This former employee has gone to the FBI. The feds ought to investigate, and if this organization did what its former employees charged, then they should get the book thrown at them.

UPDATE: Hmm. The KLAS-TV story linked above says the group, "Voters Outreach of America, AKA America Votes..." America Votes is linked to:

ACORN AFL-CIO AFSCME America Coming Together (ACT) American Federation of Teachers Association of Trial Lawyers of America Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence United With the Million Mom March Clean Water Action Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund Democracy for America EMILY's List Environment2004 The Human Rights Campaign League of Conservation Voters The Media Fund MoveOn.org Voter Fund Moving America Forward Music for America NAACP National Voter Fund NARAL Pro-Choice America National Education Association National Jewish Democratic Council National Treasury Employees Union Partnership for America's Families People for the American Way Planned Parenthood Action Fund SEIU Sierra Club USAction Voices for Working Families Young Voter Alliance 21st Century Democrats

ACORN, the first group on that list, has been tied to voter fraud investigations in Colorado, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Just what the heck is going on here?

UPDATE TO THE UPDATE: Josh Marshall - yes, this Josh Marshall — e-mails to Kerry Spot, stating he doesn't think Voters Outreach of America is part of America Votes. He points to this story, where Kevin Looper, a state organizing director for America Votes, says Voters Outreach of America has "absolutely has nothing to do with America Votes."

If this is the case, then Voters Outreach of America has reached a new low. First they fool voters into thinking they're registered, while throwing out their registration forms, and then they claim to be affiliated with groups on the other side.

There is an obvious solution to all of this, obviously. And that is for voters to register themselves, and not to rely on any mysterious organization that claims to be helping them. Today I called my local elections office to make sure I'm still registered here in the vital swing region of the District of Columbia. I think they awarded their three electoral votes to Kerry last Tuesday, actually.

[Posted 10/13 11:54 AM]