I can't figure out why the actions we saw during the election aren't actionable under the 1965 voting rights act. The following is from the Dept. of Justice website. As well, following the logic of Congressman Riggs in his attack on Earth First (cited below), someone should ask the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime "to expand the scope of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute to include the illegal activities of these organizations."
Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
The 1965 Enactment
By 1965 concerted efforts to break the grip of state disfranchisement had been under way for some time, but had achieved only modest success overall and in some areas had proved almost entirely ineffectual.
...
President Johnson issued a call for a strong voting rights law and hearings began soon thereafter on the bill that would become the Voting Rights Act.
. . .
Between 1965 and 1969 the Supreme Court also issued several key decisions . . . affirming the broad range of voting practices for which preclearance was required. As the Supreme Court put it in its 1966 decision upholding the constitutionality of the Act:
Congress had found that case-by-case litigation was inadequate to combat wide-spread and persistent discrimination in voting, because of the inordinate amount of time and energy required to overcome the obstructionist tactics invariably encountered in these lawsuits. After enduring nearly a century of systematic resistance to the Fifteenth Amendment, Congress might well decide to shift the advantage of time and inertia from the perpetrators of the evil to its victims.
The primary meaning of fraud (from word net)
1. fraud -- (intentional deception resulting in injury to another person)
Aren't the elements there? Even beyond the (suspected-statistically probable, but no smoking gun exit poll vs. reported results) electronic fraud.
- We have lots of stories the old style, southern voter intimidation and harassment. (That's just harassment and basic violation of the 65 voting rights act.)
We also have systematic exclusion by things like distribution of voting machines, location of and access to polling places, which show intent.
We have no lack of proof that these were organized through political party machines and partisan actions of public office holders. Doesn't that show conspiracy? (In case we've forgotten, the definition from hyper dictionary)
conspiracy
1. [n] a plot to carry out some harmful or illegal act (especially a political plot)
2. [n] a secret agreement between two or more people to perform an unlawful act
3. [n] a group of conspirators banded together to achieve some harmful or illegal purpose
For that matter wouldn't that fall under the RICO statues? The following is Testimony of Representative Frank D. Riggs before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime in calling for the prosecution of earth firsters. Change the language and it would seem we could also apply it to the broader actions surrounding this election.
Riggs: I come before you today to ask this subcommittee to expand the scope of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute to include the illegal activities of these organizations. A casual reading of the RICO statute speaks volumes about the validity of expanding RICO authority to include ecoterrorism and ecotage.
Earth First! engages in a deliberate, orchestrated, systematic criminal conspiracy that should be punishable under the RICO statue. While RICO is stigmatized as a law for "mobsters" or "organized crime," the statute has been expanded to protect all Americans from organized crime syndicates, a moniker I believe that fits Earth First! like a black glove.
(Source
http://www.animalrights.net/archives/year/2004/000275.html)
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/intro/intro_b.htm
More on the voting rights act
What responsibilities does the Justice Department have with regard to voter fraud or intimidation?
The administration of elections is chiefly a function of state government. However, federal authorities sometimes become involved in election fraud matters when a state prosecutor asks for federal assistance. In addition, the Justice Department can become involved when allegations arise that criminal vote fraud has occurred in a federal election. And, in some exceptional cases, where voting fraud or intimidation involving racial bias occurs in local or state elections, federal criminal charges may also be brought are handled by the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division.
If you have information about vote fraud, you should contact the nearest office of the FBI or your local U.S. Attorney's office. If you know of vote fraud that was driven by racial animus, you can either contact the Voting Section, or contact the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division:
Chief, Criminal Section
Civil Rights Division
Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. - PHB
Washington, D.C. 20530