FReepers Against Voter Fraud - (Thread 2)

November 29, 2002 | sweetliberty

[TheLion]

New Jersey

Here you can see the Democrats passing laws to help with their abuse and fraud. They specialize in nursing homes, you know. Anything stopping them is considered FRAUD.


Legislation aims to curtail election fraud

Monday, November 25, 2002

By Myles Doyle
Journal staff writer

State legislation that would protect the voting rights of "incapacitated absentee voters" was unanimously approved earlier this week by the Senate State Government Committee.

The bill, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Bernard F. Kenny, Jr., D-Hoboken, would amend current law to authorize only a single family member or nonpartisan agent to handle absentee ballots on behalf of the incapacitated voter, Kenny said.

"It has come to our attention that these voters in particular have been victims of election fraud," Kenny said. "This legislation would address abuses in our absentee ballot system by protecting incapacitated voters who are in nursing homes and programs for the elderly and the disabled."

The measure would also narrow the definition of an incapacitated absentee voter to anyone who is "usually at the physical location at which he or she is registered to vote, and because of chronic illness, disability or some other medical condition rendering the voter incapacitated, is unable to complete his or her ballot without assistance from another person."

http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-0/103822267895750.xml

[sweetliberty]

Have you seen this one?

GOP cries foul in Maine Senate election

[TheLion]

Georgia:

Democrats have the guts to sue even if they are a little foggy on the facts!...Check it out.


Board examines filing by Walker

Web posted Friday, November 22, 2002 10:21 p.m. EST

By Sylvia Cooper
Staff Writer

The Richmond County Board of Elections met behind closed doors Friday to discuss state Sen. Charles Walker's lawsuit challenging the results of the Nov. 5 election.
Afterward, board attorney Jim Wall said he would file defenses to the suit "at the appropriate time" but had not been furnished any evidence of irregularities.

Mr. Walker, D-Augusta, is contesting the results of the election in which he lost the District 22 seat to Republican newcomer Randy Hall by 266 votes. The suit alleges that some voters in District 22 and District 23 races were given ballots for the wrong districts, which he says could have affected the election's outcome.

Mr. Walker says he does not want a new election, although his suit calls for one.

Mr. Wall said he had no information to indicate redistricting had been implemented improperly in Richmond County and no official complaints about the election had been filed with the county Board of Elections.
"I'm waiting for more information coming from the suits," he said.

James Washburn, the Atlanta attorney representing Mr. Walker, said a comparison of precinct maps from the state reapportionment office and voter lists from the local Board of Elections showed that "more than 500 voters were misplaced."

Mr. Wall said that allegation was not part of the complaint at this point.

A similar lawsuit has been filed by the same law firm in Senate District 11.

Democrats at the hearing voiced support for the suit, while Republicans called it a maneuver to maintain control of the state Senate.

"I can see some justice coming out of it," Democrat Walter Thomas said.

Mr. Thomas said he had heard complaints from voters about being "sent to the wrong place to vote."

"Some of the polling locations have three different polling precincts within one location," he said. "And a person may go to one polling precinct, and their name is not on the books for that particular precinct, so they think they can't vote at all there. They get rejected and just walk away."

Richmond County Republican Party Chairman Dave Barbee said Mr. Walker's suit is not about the board of elections or voter fraud but about control of the state Senate.

"The law firm out of Atlanta is driving this case," he said.

The Nov. 5 election - along with several defections by Democratic senators, including Don Cheeks of Augusta - put 30 Republicans and 26 Democrats in the Senate. If Democrats can get the two close Senate elections thrown out and Democrats elected, each party would have 28 members. That would give Democratic Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, who presides over that body, the deciding vote in a tie.

"So that's what this is about," Mr. Barbee said. "Who's going to have the committee appointments, and who's going to be able to control the state budget?"

Richmond County Democratic Party Chairman Lowell Greenbaum said the "real conspiracy" is in the Republican camp, with senators elected as Democrats switching parties.

"The people have voted for a Democrat Senate, and now it is a Republican Senate. So that's where the real conspiracy is," he said.

--From the Saturday, November 23, 2002 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle

http://augustachronicle.com/stories/112302/met_098-7252.000.shtml

[TheLion]

I see the Maine Senate will resolve the dispute...which the Rats just stole. This makes me sick. We need to do a little suing ourselves.

[TheLion]

Here's one on Arkansas. You may have seen this one allready:

Saturday, November 9, 2002

Pulaski County officials set to certify vote today
BRIAN SKOLOFF
Associated Press Writer

---

LITTLE ROCK -- After two days of uncertainty, Pulaski County officials said Friday they were prepared to certify election results.
Election commissioners had been waiting since Tuesday night to finish counting ballots when the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled Thursday that residents of the state's most populous county were not entitled to an extra 90 minutes of voting this week.

A Pulaski County judge delayed poll closing from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, citing the Democratic Party's complaints of long lines at some precincts and the absence of ballots at others. The justices said Thursday that Circuit Judge Collins Kilgore was wrong to do so.

The Supreme Court voided the lower court's order in a 4-3 decision.

While no one knows exactly how many ballots were cast late -- record-keeping practices varied by precinct -- the Pulaski County Election Commission was able to identify and discount about 300.

The Republicans accused Democrats of trying to steal the election by extending voting hours in the predominantly Democratic county.

Election commissioner Ann Smith said the county's election results would be certified this morning.

Meanwhile, Pulaski County Prosecutor Larry Jegley has said he would petition the circuit court next week to convene a grand jury to look into how the voter registration and the election system in the county could be improved, after months of snags in the Pulaski County clerk's office.

In Phillips County, the sanitation director for Helena pleaded guilty to voter fraud charges. And the state Republican Party has said it will ask the U.S. Attorney's office to investigate further allegations of voter fraud there.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Ray White acknowledged that his office would be looking into allegations of voter fraud across the state.

"We've had a lot of calls ... and more than one of them are things that we'll be following up on and investigating," White said.

He would not cite specific cases.

In Sebastian County, election commissioners were conducting a recount Friday night of votes cast in the state Senate race between Republican Denny Altus and Democrat Joe Ellen Carson.

County Clerk Doris Tate said the recount, requested by Carson, could go on until midnight.

Former state Rep. Sue Madison of Fayetteville maintained her victory in a state Senate race after a recount Thursday. Madison's opponent, Republican Bootsie Ackerman of Fayetteville, requested the recount after election results showed a 79-vote difference among more than 21,000 votes cast in the race.

And in Saline County, Democrat Janet Johnson maintained her victory in Tuesday's election for a state House seat after a recount Thursday requested by her Republican opponent Dennis Milligan.

http://www.baxterbulletin.com/news/stories/20021109/localnews/335188.html

[TheLion]

A good article about the fraud in absentee balloting:


An election scam

Both parties are ignoring yet more stories of massive voter fraud--much of which was carried out through illegal manipulation of absentee ballots--that seem to be getting worse each election cycle.


THE SHOCK OF LAST Tuesday's election still hasn't worn off in Washington. Republicans can barely contain their excitement, and Democrats are wondering what went wrong. Meanwhile, both parties are ignoring yet more stories of massive voter fraud--much of it carried out through illegal manipulation of absentee ballots--that seem to get worse each election cycle.

A blizzard of chads in Florida two years ago obscured news reports of a political hack for Al Gore bribing the homeless in Wisconsin with cigarettes to vote for the veep. And while federal investigators were chasing phantom charges of disenfranchisement of African-Americans in the Sunshine State, college students in the Midwest and snowbirds in Florida were freely telling the press that they had illegally cast multiple votes.

They had reason to make such bold admissions. Cheating is so easy and the prosecution of vote fraud is so rare that the payoff--electoral victory--far outweighs the fear of punishment. The smoke-pushing Wisconsin Democrat was fined just $5,000 and got no jail time. And those paid-for votes were still counted for Mr. Gore.

Late last month, Milwaukee's NBC affiliate filmed Democratic campaign workers handing out cash and free food to residents at a home for the mentally ill. After a rousing game of bingo, the patients were ushered into another room by their Democratic hosts and handed absentee ballots. But the most outrageous tale this year comes out of South Dakota, where authorities are investigating hundreds of cases of suspected vote fraud.

Republican John Thune lost to incumbent Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson by just 528 votes. Mr. Thune had a comfortable lead at 2 a.m. Wednesday morning with just three counties left to report. Those areas just happened to be where the Johnson campaign had worked hard to register Indians living on reservations--the center of the vote-fraud probe. Dewey County election officials told The Wall Street Journal's John Fund that they had received "a huge envelope of 350 absentee ballot applications postmarked from the Sioux Falls office of the Democratic Party." That county's attorney says that many of the absentee ballot applications were filled out in the same handwriting.

Denise Red Horse, who died in a Sept. 3 car crash, somehow managed to apply for an absentee ballot on Sept. 21--in two different counties. Both applications were mailed from Democratic headquarters, where a party worker was found with a history filled with local names. Many of those listed in the book ended up registering to vote, which contributed to this statistical oddity: The number of people on the voting rolls in Dewey and Ziebach counties far exceeded the 2000 Census count of residents over the age of 18.

Absentee balloting, which accounted for just 5 percent of the vote 20 years ago, now accounts for 30 percent. University of Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato calls absentee voting "the preferred choice of those who commit voter fraud." In an attempt to get more people to the polls, 29 states don't require voters to state any good reason to receive an absentee ballot. Those states--thankfully, Virginia isn't one--have exchanged low voter turnout for a temptation to fraud. Imagine the fun party operatives will have if the idea of Internet voting ever catches on.

Every phony vote--and hundreds of thousands, at least, are manufactured each election--cancels out a legitimate one. It is the ultimate disenfranchisement--nothing less than the hijacking of democracy that corrupts the legitimacy of our government. It seems particularly outrageous on this Veterans Day, a mockery of American soldiers' sacrifice.

President Bush last month signed a bill that will help states pay for new voting machines and update voter databases to help detect fraud. But that will all be for naught if states pass out absentee ballots like cupcakes and continue to put a low priority on the prosecution of election cheaters.

Date published: Mon, 11/11/2002

http://www.freelancestar.com/News/FLS/2002/112002/11112002/785255

[TheLion]

Haskell County, Oklahoma:

Authorities are analyzing notarized signatures on absentee ballots...a good read.


Associated Press Article
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=6141490&BRD=1126&PAG=461&dept_id=434982&rfi=6

[Budge]

I spoke with an old friend yesterday (same fellow who was supposed to come with me to last HW FRmeet) and briefly told him what you, STR and the rest of us here are doing.

I also explained how I thought only through bi-partisism work can we really accomplish anything, in this local especially. The fellow he is to call to put me in contact with is both loved and dispised by locals, but carries a lot of weight in these parts, as with the NAACP locally. We'll see what, if anything, happens. I'll let you know.

AASN, I invited him to ride in the FReepmobile to Hot Springs for our next HWFRmeet. Will also keep you posted on that.

[sweetliberty]

"A Pulaski County judge delayed poll closing from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, citing the Democratic Party's complaints of long lines at some precincts and the absence of ballots at others."

Funny how they did't get concerned that there were not enough voting machines in some predominantly Republican precincts which prevented many people from voting. That was in Jefferson County.

[TheLion]

I guess we should scream just like the Rats when there aren't enough voting machines in our precincts....just not our style, I guess.

[TheLion]

Bump!

[nicmarlo]

I guess we should scream just like the Rats

No....let's just set some Rat traps....with cheese of course! : )

[nicmarlo]

only through bi-partisism work can we really accomplish anything

you have high hopes.....i am more skeptical that they would ever want to accomplish anything other than more deceitful practices, i.e., how to do it better without getting caught.....(I am not talking about the "little guys," who have no clue about what their party is really about).

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

Mia T - love the Pardoning Turkeys is a Clintonian Tradition .....

and all of your brilliant work!

Sweet Liberty - this is the BEST information ever on fighting Voter Fraud. You need to be HIRED by President Bush's team and be put to work in the entire country....but then, you might be able to get just as much done here if you keep at it!

Ping to CD for NC Freepers interested in stopping voter fraud - something I am sure took place in Wake County - but failed to stop the Republican FLOOD!

Mtngrl = hello - and if this is not linked to the Dose threads, could you do that at some point? IMportant issue.

Also, prayers for the Louisiana Senatorial Election going up now! Another powerful way to "fight"!

Alamo-Girl - hi there, and just saw your amen - bump - and bumping back to you.

[sweetliberty]

"You need to be HIRED by President Bush's team and be put to work in the entire country....but then, you might be able to get just as much done here"

Wow....what a nice compliment. I think you're right about getting as much done here though. Free Republic doesn't pay worth a hoot, but the fringe benefits are outstanding. LOL!

[TheLion]

Look at these horrible stiff sentences handed down for felonies in Georgia....boy this will put a stop to fraud!/sarcasm

Posted on Thu, Nov. 21, 2002

Gosha jailed for vote fraud
Former Russell County commissioner gets 90 days for ballot crimes in 2001 Phenix City election
BY JIM HOUSTON
Staff Writer

When his name was called, former Russell County Commissioner Nathaniel Gosha rose Wednesday from his seat among spectators in Russell Circuit Court.

Moving slowly and leaning on the metal cane he carried in his left hand, the 65-year-old former Phenix City Council candidate made his way to the front of the courtroom, facing Judge George Greene.

It was sentencing day for Gosha, who was convicted of 25 felony and 12 misdemeanor voter fraud charges on Aug. 15, all in connection with the Sept. 4, 2001, Phenix City election in which Gosha was a council candidate. The convictions include 16 counts of possessing forged documents, nine counts of falsifying absentee ballots and 12 counts of disclosing the votes of others.

Assistant Attorney General Stephanie Billingslea, who led the prosecution team at trial, asked Greene to sentence Gosha to "at least a year and a day" behind bars for his felony misconduct.

Defense attorney Connie Jo Cooper urged Greene to have mercy on Gosha, citing his "previous public service" and his deteriorating physical condition.

Greene ordered Gosha to spend 90 days in jail, followed by three years on probation for the forged documents charges, and a concurrent 90-day jail term with 18 months' probation for the ballot falsification counts. Although he imposed no fine in the forged documents case, the judge ordered the mandatory minimum fine of $500 for each of the nine false ballot convictions, plus a charge of $5 for each day he is behind bars.

Greene also fined Gosha $100 for each of the 12 vote disclosure misdemeanors, but ordered the 90-day jail sentence for each of those charges to be served concurrently with the other terms.

Gosha made no comment and limped to a seat among other convicted defendants who were bound for the Russell County Jail.

Co-defendant Lizzie Mae Perry, 50, was sentenced on Oct. 15 to 30 days in jail and 18 months on probation after pleading guilty to two felony counts of falsifying absentee ballots and two misdemeanor charges of disclosing votes. She testified against Gosha in his Circuit Court trial.

At the trial, Mayor Sonny Coulter and council candidate Gerald Brooks testified that Gosha called them, offering to arrange for them to buy absentee votes in their respective races. Both reported the contact to District Attorney Ken Davis, and Brooks participated in a sting in which Perry was videotaped presenting absentee ballots for his perusal, showing that each for which he was to pay included a vote for him.

Perry turned those same ballots over to Gosha that evening and was taped talking with Gosha about the sale of those votes.

http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/4568183.htm

[TheLion]

New Mexico:

Want to get more people to the polls?.....This Democrat's solution is to send everyone an absentee ballot!


Democrat Looks At Ways To Up Voter Turnout

By BARRY MASSEY | Associated Press 12/03/2002

Jamie Koch
tate Democratic chairman Jamie Koch wants the Legislature to consider ways to reverse the slide in voter turnout in New Mexico elections.

Koch said Monday that he plans to ask lawmakers next year to rewrite election laws to make it easier to get an absentee ballot. He also wants to shorten the ballot in general elections by having constitutional amendments and bond issues decided separately through mail-only voting.

New Mexico reached a new low in voter participation in this year's general election.

About 38 percent of the state's voting-age population cast ballots, down from about 41 percent in the previous midterm election in 1998.

Nationally, turnout was estimated at about 39 percent, up slightly from four years ago, according to unofficial figures from the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate, an independent research group based in Washington, D.C.

Voter turnout typically is higher in presidential-election years.

For New Mexico, voter turnout was the lowest in a gubernatorial election year since 1990 and 1986, when 39 percent of the voting-age population cast ballots, according to records kept by the Federal Election Commission. Turnout reached 51 percent in 1966.

Fewer New Mexicans voted this year than four years ago - the first decline in total votes cast in a midterm election in almost two decades.

"We have to do something about turnout," said Koch.

He wants the Legislature to streamline the procedure for obtaining an absentee ballot and hopes that will encourage more people to vote. Koch proposes to require county clerks to automatically send an application for an absentee ballot to all registered voters in a general election.

Currently, voters must request an application, fill it out and return it to the clerk to obtain an absentee ballot. Koch said that system is too confusing and discourages some people from voting.

State Republican Party Chairman John Dendahl said Koch's proposal is a step toward an election by mail, which is done in Oregon, and could increase the potential for voter fraud.

"He's talking about a huge amount of additional mail expense," Dendahl said of the Democratic chairman's proposal.

The state GOP and Democratic Party used to mass mail ballot applications to targeted registered voters, but that practice was banned by a rule in 2000 by Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron.

This year, for instance, the GOP sent postcards that voters could mail to their county clerks to request an absentee-ballot application.

Koch attributes the decline in voter turnout to several factors, including negative campaign advertising and mailings. He speculates this year's long ballot, which included nine constitutional amendments and five general-obligation bond questions, caused some people to skip the election because they feared long waits at voting locations.

Dendahl said he is not overly concerned about the decline in voter turnout in New Mexico. "I don't wring my hands in agony over the fact that turnout is low. I don't want uninterested people coming to the polls and pushing a bunch of buttons," said Dendahl.

He also doubts that changing election laws will do much to improve voter participation.

"I think there is a declining civic spirit among the population of the U.S., and an awful lot of people are sitting on their hands and just delegating responsibilities of making government leadership decisions to other people," said Dendahl.

Curtis Gans, director of the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate, said his research has found that early voting and relaxed absentee voting have hurt turnout.

He contends those election-law changes have merely shifted voting patterns - away from Election Day - rather than encouraging more people to cast ballots. Early-voting systems have diffused the focus of get-out-the-vote efforts away from a single day.

©Santa Fe New Mexican 2002

http://santafenewmexican.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=6257509&BRD=2144&PAG=461&dept_id=367954&rfi=6

[nicmarlo]

Yeah, that conviction is bound to prevent future voter fraud. /sarcasm.

[nicmarlo]

New Mexico ping; Tornado or CougarGA7....this is FYI and asking if you would be able to/be interested in pinging to New Mexico FReepers.

Democrat Looks At Ways To Up Voter Turnout

12/03/2002

State Democratic chairman Jamie Koch wants the Legislature to consider ways to reverse the slide in voter turnout in New Mexico elections.

Koch said Monday that he plans to ask lawmakers next year to rewrite election laws to make it easier to get an absentee ballot. He also wants to shorten the ballot in general elections by having constitutional amendments and bond issues decided separately through mail-only voting. . . .

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

Yes they are.