Officials Investigate 3 Alabama Counties in Voter Fraud Accusations

nytimes.com ^ | July 10, 2008 | Adam Nossiter

[Free ThinkerNY]

MARION, Ala. — Federal and state authorities are looking into accusations of voting fraud in three largely black counties of Alabama, including Perry and Lowndes Counties, which played a historic role in the struggle for black voting rights in the 1960s.

In May, a local citizens group gathered affidavits detailing several cases in which at least one Democratic county official paid citizens for their votes, or encouraged them to vote multiple times. The affidavits were presented to state officials in Montgomery, the capital, and after the June 3 primary, the Alabama attorney general, Troy King, a Republican, seized voting records from the primary election in Bullock, Lowndes and Perry Counties.

The United States Department of Justice posted a team of observers to monitor the primary, and the Alabama secretary of state, Beth Chapman, a Republican, reported hearing from one of the federal observers that a candidate had “free rein” of a polling place, where campaigning is prohibited, passing out sample ballots and instructing voters how to vote.

Ms. Chapman also raised questions about the possible abuse of absentee ballots. In the election on June 3, a quarter of the voters here, 1,114, cast absentee ballots, a percentage that is six times the state average and a figure that Ms. Chapman called “astronomical.” In Jefferson County, which includes Birmingham and has 60 times Perry County’s population of 10,600, there were 365 absentee ballots.

Blacks hold a majority on the five-member Perry County Commission. And an influential political organization, the Perry County Civic League, founded during the civil rights movement by one of the movement’s leaders, Albert Turner Sr., plays a large role in filling other offices.

The Democracy Defense League, a biracial citizens group that has been critical of voting abuses in the area for the last three years, submitted affidavits...

[FlingWingFlyer]

A peek at what is coming in November. The upcoming election is going to be nothing but a farce.

[Post Toasties]

Hey, Left Wingers. It was not a struggle for voting fraud.

[Paige]

This has been an ongoing investigation by the AG in Alabama. What has been rather interesting, the Justice Department gave Roy King the run around for months.

Most of all, this is not the first time there has been voter fraud problems in the southern counties of Alabama. As noted, these are the counties that were part of civil rights movement.

If any of you can participate in working with the GOP during the election in November, please contact your local or state GOP immediately and sign up to be a poll watcher. The Democrats will do anything they possibly can to steal this election. Therefore, if possible, please volunteer. Most of the local GOP offices have training, etc.

Thanks!

[justiceseeker93]

The 'Rat Party has been the party of fraud for over a century, so this is hardly a surpise. What is pleasantly surprising, though, is that (1) the fraud is being investigated by government and (2) the New York Times is reporting it.

It must be extremely blatant to draw this kind of scrutiny. In the recent past, any attempts to get to the bottom of this kind of shady stuff in black districts have been met by charges of "racism" and "intimidating blacks from voting," etc. I am sure we may be in for a repeat of this old saw this time around.

[Post Toasties]

The common thread here is that virtually all vote fraud in Alabama, as is the case virtually everywhere, has always been and is still caused by Democrat officials, or Democrats in general.

'Suppress' vote fraud? Hell, we ought to kill it dead.

[Timeout]

I’m in Alabama. I’ve also been complaining about vote fraud for decades!

Guess it’s time to put my money where my mouth is. I’ll call the office tomorrow and volunteer.

Thanks for the nudge.

[Marie2]

How about being a paid poll worker? Would that be an important job for FReepers to fill?

[SunkenCiv]

Ping!

[DesScorp]

But... but... but... Democrats say that voter fraud doesn’t happen, that it’s nothing but a straw-man excuse for racist black voter suppression schemes! You know, schemes like proving you are who you say you are at the polls by showing a driver’s license. The very thought!

[taxesareforever]

It’s no wonder the demorats don’t want photo ID for voting.

[Wally_Kalbacken]

1,114 absentee ballots? Well, Andy we gots ta tell the Kingfisher ‘bout dis!

[rawcatslyentist]

Hey! You're free to vote for whomever They SELECT for you to vote for!

Go on, take yer pick from the loaded deck. It's a "free" country.

[Fundamentally Fair]

Although state law prohibits candidates from being within 30 feet of a polling place, Mr. Turner said another law allowed voters to choose someone to assist them in voting. He said he had helped as many as 60 people on primary day, when he was easily re-elected for a second term.

“As long as the voter requests my help, I come in and assist them,” Mr. Turner said.

They don't even both with good excuses.

[Fundamentally Fair]

both = bother

[bikerman]

Your showing your age, I loved the Amos and Andy show myself.

[meyer]

The upcoming election is going to be nothing but a farce.

The election process in most heavily-democRAT areas has been a farce for years. That is the nature of the socialist utopia that the democRATS promise (and partially deliver, thanks to taxpayers like myself). When the gravy train is on the line, even the dead gain a voice. That is why the rats are against voter ID.