POLITICO: Pa. rematch could end in court (Fraudulent Absentee Ballots In Philly Burb!)

Politico ^ | DAN HIRSCHHORN

[tcrlaf]

MORRISVILLE, Pa.-Allegations of absentee ballot fraud are marring the final days of a competitive congressional rematch here, raising the possibility that the outcome in this suburban Philadelphia seat might be decided in a courtroom after Election Day.

The accusations coming from both Democrats and Republicans in Pennsylvania's 8th District have come to define the closing days of the contest between Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy and former congressman he defeated in 2006, Republican Mike Fizpatrick. Both camps say the other is guilty of wrongdoing tantamount to stealing an election.

For the moment, 8,000 absentee ballots have been sequestered in a Bucks County courthouse, and Republicans are challenging the validity of at least a few hundred specific votes. The county elections board is examining the ballots, but unless either candidate wins by a margin of more than 8,000 votes, the conflict could very well end up in a state courtroom.

The sniping between candidates has already begun. Fitzpatrick accuses Murphy's campaign and the Democratic Party of improperly collecting-and possibly altering-absentee ballot applications before submitting them to be counted. Murphy accuses Fitzpatrick's allies on the GOP-controlled county elections board of systematically targeting Democratic absentee votes to be thrown out.

"These aren't allegations, these are facts," Fitzpatrick said before rallying party activists in Bristol Sunday afternoon. "Congressman Murphy needs to explain why his campaign was involved in a fraudulent election scheme to funnel absentee ballots through a private post office box."

Thirty minutes later and 10 miles away at the home of a woman whose absentee vote has been challenged, Murphy countered: "My opponent's strategy of hoping people have amnesia has failed miserably, which is why he's pulled this stunt to steal hundreds, if not thousands, of votes. I don't know how he can look himself in the mirror."

Two issues are at the heart of the dispute. The first is a mailer that the state Democratic Party, in coordination with the Murphy campaign, sent voters in an effort to increase absentee voting. The mailer, while not illegal, was clearly misleading, purporting to be from a state office that doesn't exist and warning recipients that their "participation in the upcoming election may be placed in jeopardy" if they didn't return the enclosed absentee ballot application. Republicans says Democrats could havetampered with those absentee applications.

The second issue is a collection of absentee ballots that have been challenged by Republicans, most of which came from Democrats. The county elections board is allowing people whose absentee ballots were challenged to vote in person-but Democrats are worried that most people don't know their votes are being cast aside, and that time is short to make up for any lost votes in the close race.

[Think free or die]

The silly-looking gerrymandered district also includes part of Montgomery County. Hopefully our folks are keeping an eye peeled for dirty deeds. I intend to be present for counting of absentee ballots in our voting district, but ours is PA-13.

[Luke21]

The shameless whores at Politico trying to muddy the waters.

[Lexinom]

Yes, and Philadelphia proper has been part of a larger shrinking trend for decades, so no reason to assume that 44,768 voting-age people have moved in since then.