SPosted on 11/05/2006 2:13:48 PM PST by rface
CLEVELAND -- After watching the 5 On Your Side investigation on dead voters, Cuyahoga County prosecutor Bill Mason said he will prosecute anyone who knowingly cast a vote in the place of a dead person.
In his report, NewsChannel5 chief investigator Duane Pohlman uncovered dozens of votes being cast from the grave, and Mason said the trouble is just beginning for whomever is responsible for casting votes in the name of the dead.
"This really is an attack on the entire system, and it's of paramount importance that we find out how this is happening and we stop it so it can't happen again, one, and, two, find out who's doing it, so we can prosecute them if possible," said Mason.
So-called "ghost voting" is a felony, and Cuyahoga County Board of Elections Director Michael Vu has already launched an investigation into the problem.
"We will investigate that, send it to the county prosecutor's office and determine what had occurred," Vu said.
Mason said prosecution is possible only if the investigation can prove intent.
NewsChannel5 compared the county's voter registration rolls with death records from the Social Security Administration, finding 12,688 people who have died but are still registered to vote.
Many of the dead voters passed away years ago, and a good number of them more than a decade ago.
Vu said slow reporting combined with federal rules require him to keep dead people in the registry.
"It's something that needs to be corrected," he said.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich, stunned by what was uncovered, said he will help do the correcting.
Kucinich said the investigation has convinced him to introduce a bill to clean up all voter registration rolls and close the gap on corruption.
"One thing is for sure: There is an opening here for the commission of fraud that needs to be close," he said.
Better late than never?
Yeah, they've had 2 years (at least) to fix this problem.
Whay have they not done so?
I also would like to know how many elections they voted in after their passing, especially for the individuals who passed more than a decade ago.
Let me guess. All the "dead" voters caught have cast their votes for Dems?
Don't trust Bill Mason - I have a little story I could tell about Bill Mason, the City of Parma, a federal discrimination suit, and a promotion to Cuyahoga County's prosecutor's office. Suffice to say that Mason moved up while Parma's taxpayers got the short end of the stick.
Oh, and BTW, Mason is a dem as are most of the officials in Cuyahoga county. If not for Channel 5's investigation, it would be business (voter fraud) as usual in that county.
So Kucinich wants to purge the voter rolls but he doesn't want voters to have ID.
Yeah, ok.
Have they checked the absentee ballots? That's the preferred method of voting by the dead, and you have to admit, they are very absent.
Bettencourt is the Harris County, Texas Tax-Assessor Collector (Houston area). He has done everything he could to scrub our voter rolls clean and he's very good at his job. The Republican voters of Harris County, TX owe him a great debt of gratitude.
yes.
There is not a doubt in my mind that, like all Democrats, this scumbag Kucinich unfailingly votes against programs which would regularly purge voter rolls, require ID and proof of citizenship, and every other initiative designed to reform the election process.
I use to live in the Cleveland area so I know all about the corruption there too. This will go federal though, so Mason won't matter.
Like it could be done unknowingly?!
In a nation that takes itself seriously (if there is such thing) vote fraud would bring *HARD* prison time.
Flag the dead registrations and when the ghost appears to cast his vote, arrest him.
"Need to be corrected" -- from the people that refuse to allow Voter ID's for voting becuase its 'racist'.
Yeah... I'm buying that...
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