Posted on 11/02/2002 1:02:02 PM PST by CHACHI
Reno Blocks Effort to Stop Vote Fraud Chuck Noe, NewsMax.com Saturday, Nov. 2, 2002 ****************************************************************************************************************************************** Former Attorney General Janet Reno launched a full-scale legal action Friday in Miami to prevent an independent committee from monitoring Tuesday's elections. Reno, acting as a plaintiff and represented by Al Gore's 2000 election lawyer Kendall Coffey, sought and received an emergency injunction to prevent The Emergency Committee to Stop Bill McBride from sending independent poll watchers to precincts in Miami-Dade.
A "liberal Democrat" judge sided with Reno and banned the organization's poll watchers from trying to curb Florida's notorious election fraud.
Miami-Dade Judge Eleanor Schockett decreed Friday that The Emergency Committee to Stop Bill McBride may not supply 456 poll watchers in Miami-Dade County.
Her reason? Merely because Democrats claimed the group might disrupt the election.
'Blindsided'
"We were blindsided by this. We were never even served officially," said Mark Goodrich, political coordinator of The Emergency Committee to Stop Bill McBride.
In an exclusive interview, Goodrich told NewsMax.com that he received a voice mail at 7:30 p.m. Thursday telling him to be in court at 10:30 a.m. Friday.
Without being given reason to believe he needed legal representation, Goodrich had no attorney present and was sandbagged.
"Janet Reno's the plaintiff, Kendall Coffey – Al Gore's lawyer – is the lead lawyer, and there was little old me, getting thrown out of her [Schockett's] office," Goodrich said.
"This is a liberal Democrat judge who's retiring, who said as soon as she sat down at the bench, 'I don't know anything about election law; you're going to have to bear with me.' She's a bankruptcy judge who wrote a new law for herself today," Goodrich fumed.
According to a 1986 ruling by the state board of elections, poll watchers could include political action committees, Goodrich said. "She totally disregarded it."
His group plans to appeal the judge's decision Monday.
Reno and Rep. Carrie Meek, D-Fla., "had said in their complaint that GOP officials unfairly benefited from new rules the Democrats did not learn of until it was too late to submit forms," the Associated Press reported Friday.
Goodrich believes Reno is acting partly on McBride's behalf, "because she knows we are a serious organization, and partly because it's payback for us opposing her in the primary."
Previously, The Emergency Committee was called "Americans for [Jeb] Bush" and led a massive effort to defeat Reno in the Democrat primary.
The Stop McBride committee has no affiliation with the campaign of Republican Gov. Jeb Bush, he said. Still, the organization, which "has over 2,000 volunteers on Election Day to guard our rights," draws from Republicans and conservatives who would like to see Bush re-elected.
Friday's ruling has energized the volunteers, Goodrich told NewsMax.com. He said his organization has been flooded with calls from media and supporters.
Unintended Result
"This is motivating more people." Some volunteers plan protests at campaign appearances Saturday by Bill Clinton and Monday by Gore, he said.
Goodrich said his organization was still moving ahead with a massive get-out-the-vote effort, with phone banks and door-to-door canvassing. He still plans to field poll watchers.
"If the judge overrules them, we go to work Tuesday," he said.
No Repeat of 2000
Stop McBride hopes to prevent the sort of abuses that marred the 2000 election. In Democrat-ruled Miami-Dade, government employees made "efforts to suppress the vote in Republican precincts," he said. Examples he cited:
"They were telling people in line at 7 o'clock [p.m.] they had to leave," but people already in line are allowed by law to vote.
People who had no voter registration card were turned away, but the law calls for a provisional vote to be cast.
People who didn't know how to use the machines were not allowed to have someone help them, which the law permits.
"People voted two and three times."
The Democrats shipped in voters from outside the county.
He recalled news accounts of Democrats ordering frightened, confused Haitian immigrants to vote for Gore and other Democrats. "They were cooking the books. As to what extent, it's undefinable."
Goodrich had one final remark for Reno, Gore, Coffey, Meek, McBride and company:
"What are they afraid of? What is it they don't want us to see?" ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
ALEXANDRIA, VA – In an effort to ensure the integrity of our democratic election process, the American Conservative Union (ACU) has launched a "Voter Fraud Hotline" and online communications portal for voters to report potential cases of voter fraud and illegal electioneering activities. ACU Chairman David A. Keene called the effort an attempt to deter those would-be election violators from even trying to illegally load the ballot boxes on Election Day.
"Already in this election cycle, we've had reports of potential voter fraud in South Dakota, Nevada, Iowa, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Texas, and Rhode Island," said Keene. "Obvious violations have included election officials sending out unsolicited absentee ballots, petitions loaded with forged signatures, vote-buying schemes, and even voter registrations who—according to documents—have the same residence as a certain sex entertainment club."
"We're asking concerned citizens to call (703) 836-8602 or email us at voterfraud@conservative.org to report any observed instances of voter fraud, illegal get-out-the-vote activities, or election officials not properly checking voter identifications," added Keene.
ACU's voter fraud project will immediately refer all legitimate concerns to the Department of Justice, the relevant State Attorney General, and the local U.S. Federal Prosecutor's Office.
"Voter fraud is a direct assault at the heart of American democracy. ACU's nationwide voter fraud project will help ensure that violators are punished to the full extent of the law," said Keene.
To report instances of voter fraud, visit ACU's website at:
Conservative.org
send an e-mail to:
voterfraud@conservative.org
or call (703) 836-8602.
All reports will be forwarded to the proper investigative authorities.
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