While driving home from work, I was listening to the Tom Hartman Program on Air America. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
Obama supporters and registered Democrats were calling in from Ohio, Michigan, New Mexico, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Florida, describing how they had received Absentee Ballot Applications from John McCain. These applications referenced old addresses and wrong addresses for election offices.
This is disturbing in SOOOOO many ways.
You thought the 2000 election was bad? You ain't seen nothin yet.
After I got home, I did some searching for more information on this issue. I could not find any national stories; only local stories.
McCain sent out 1 MILLION bad absentee ballots in Ohio and they want election officials to notify voters of the bad ballots within 48 hours.
Can you say SUPREME COURT???
Ballot snafu endangers votes
By Jon Craig • jcraig@enquirer.com • September 11, 2008
About one-third of the absentee ballot applications received at the Hamilton County Board of Elections have been ruled invalid because Republican Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign printed a version of the form with an extra, unneeded box on it.
In a narrow interpretation of Ohio law, Democratic Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner says many of the McCain forms have not been completed properly. If the box stating the person is an eligible elector -- or qualified voter – is not checked, Brunner said, the application is no good.
Even though the box is unneeded, by not checking it voters are essentially admitting they’re not eligible, Brunner said.
"I have not seen a ruling that indirectly impacts voters to the enormity of this since I’ve been here,’’ Hamilton County Board of Elections Deputy Director John Williams said of his nearly five-year tenure at the board.
More than 750 absentee ballot requests in Hamilton County have been invalidated because of Brunner’s ruling, Williams said.
Absentee voting begins in 19 days, or on Sept. 30.
If a registered Ohio voter’s application is rejected, Brunner said, "We said you have to notify them within 48 hours and we also suggest that (Board of Elections) send them a new application."
That means county Boards of Election must contact tens of thousands of voters and ask them to fill out a new, valid form in time to vote for the Nov. 4 election.
The McCain campaign says it mailed out about 1 million of the faulty forms.
"If I were a voter, I wouldn’t be very happy," Brunner said. "I’m stuck with the law. You shouldn’t have to check a box."
Here's another interesting article:
Democrats benefit from GOP mailer
By Bill Kisliuk
For The Weekly Calistogan
Thursday, September 11, 2008
A campaign fundraising letter got people on the horn in Napa County in recent days, but not in the way Republican presidential candidate John McCain might have hoped.
About a dozen registered voters contacted the Napa County Elections Department after receiving a letter from the Republican National Committee stating that the recipients were registered Republicans and asking for their help with the McCain campaign.
The problem? Many of the recipients of the letter were Democrats.
Several called Napa County Registrar John Tuteur — both to make sure they hadn’t been registered incorrectly and to register a complaint about the mailer.
"Our office has been inundated with calls from voters who believe that their registration information is incorrect in our files," said Napa County Registrar John Tuteur, in a prepared statement. Tuteur said the voter rolls are accurate, but that the mailer was not.
"This presidential election is too important to have either party sending out confusing material," said Tuteur.
Republican National Committee staffers did not return calls and e-mail seeking comment by press time.
Right.... Sure the Democrats are going to benefit from a McCain mailer.
And our wonderful democracy-loving unpoliticized Department of Justice is going to be on the case!
Poll-Monitor Plan Stirs Activists
Civil-Rights Groups
Decry Justice's Idea
Of Voter Protections
By EVAN PEREZ
September 9, 2008; Page A4
WASHINGTON -- Senior Justice Department officials told civil-rights organizations they plan to deploy hundreds of poll monitors in November to prevent voting-rights violations and deter fraud.
The announcement raised concerns among some rights groups who said helping minorities vote should be Justice's priority, with the presidential race prompting record numbers of new-voter registrations and with states expecting increases in turnout.
Attorney General Michael Mukasey and officials from the Justice Department's civil-rights and criminal divisions met with dozens of state and local election officials, along with civil-rights groups on Monday. Mr. Mukasey told the officials, "Ballot access and vote fraud are two sides of the same coin," according to Grace Chung Becker, acting assistant attorney general for civil rights.
"Vigorous enforcement of all our voting laws is a priority for the Civil Rights Division," Ms. Becker said.
Someone smarter than me needs to piece all of this together. Looks to me like they are trying subvert all voting. Here are some more links:
http://www.usdoj.gov/...
http://online.wsj.com/...
http://news.cincinnati.com/...
http://www.weeklycalistogan.com/...
http://www.wdbj7.com/...