Did Limbaugh Liberals in Ohio commit a Felony?
Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 06:45:33 AM PDT
(This issue was touched on in a diary posted 2 days ago)
A lot of people have covered how in Texas and Mississippi the results were skewed "Limbaugh Liberals", Republicans who crossed over to vote Democrat with the specific intent of messing with the Democrat primary and keeping Clinton in the race. Now, I personally don't think we have any moral ground to stand on and criticize them, thanks to the push during the Michigan primaries for Democrats to vote on the Republican side and keep Romney in the race. That's largely why I didn't think it was a very good idea at the time, I had a sneaking suspicion it would bite us in the ass later on.
But something that hasn't got a lot of play (largely because we attributed Clinton's wins in Ohio to older women and blue collar Democrats) is the "Limbaugh Liberals" that were gaming the Democrat primary in this state, and it turns out that they may have broken Ohio election law.
From Wired
Did Limbaugh's Crossover Voters Break Ohio Law?
A reader tipped me off to an issue that's come up with crossover voters in Ohio. It seems that some Republican voters have bragged online that they voted Democratic ballots in the Ohio March 4th primary in order to influence the outcome of the presidential election. Essentially, they wanted to help Hillary Clinton win the Democratic nomination over Barack Obama because they think she's the weaker candidate and would lose against Republican John McCain in November.
...
Here's a post made by one voter who bragged about switching:
Lastly, they had me sign the affirmation about switching parties and supporting the principles of the Democrat party. I said that would be easy, because they don't have any. Everybody got a good chuckle as there isn't a Democrat within 5 miles any direction from where I vote. I then proceeded to cast my vote for Hillary Clinton. Dirty as it felt at the time, I have a feeling I'll be rewarded in the long run.
...
Ohio's revised election code includes an election falsification clause (Revised Code 3513.20), which says that if a voter who changes parties is challenged by poll workers as to the sincerity of his change of heart and also signs an affidavit stating that he supports the principles of the party to which he's changing -- when in fact he doesn't support them -- then he would be committing election falsification. Election falsification is a felony that is punishable by six to twelve months in jail and a $2,500 fine.
How much of an effect did this have in Ohio? Well, let's look at a county-by-county election map from 2004, when Ohio went 51/49 for Bush. This was an election between an unpopular Republican president and a Senator without half the history and divisiveness of Clinton, mind you.
And let's compare that to a map of the county-by-county results from this primary.
Some samples from there. In Adams county, Clinton won by 74% to 22%, with about 3605 people voting in the Dem primary. About 3233 people voted in the Republican primary. Thing is, in 2004, Adams county went for Bush 64%/36%, with 7,653 people voting for Bush and 4,281 people voting for Kerry. Proportionally, it's pretty clear that unless fully 57% of the Republican voters in a strongly Republican county stayed home (compared to just shy of 19% of the 2004 Democrat voters), a big chunk of Clinton's votes were from Limbaugh liberals.
Or look at the aptly named Clinton county. In 2004, Bush won here 70/30, with 12,938 votes to Kerry's 5,417. In 2008, there were 4,937 voters in the Democrat primary, which Hillary won by 63% to 35%. There were 5,602 voters in the Republican primary. So, did 43% of the Republicans from 2004, Republicans who believe very strongly in their party winning, simply vanish? I'm sure a lot of Republicans felt they could simply stay home because McCain had sewn up the nomination, but come on now.
Course, this is a time-honored and accepted tactic in Ohio. It only breaks the law if the voter is challenged when he or she switches party affiliation, and then they lie about why they're doing about it, and then they brag about it afterwards.
Let's look at the county where this has been covered in depth, Cleveland's Cuyahoga County:
16,000 Republicans in Cuyahoga crossed over and voted Democratic in primary
A staggering 16,000-plus Republicans in Cuyahoga County switched parties when they voted in last week's primary.
That includes 931 in Rocky River, 1,027 in Westlake and 1,142 in Strongsville. More than a third of the Republicans in Solon and Bay Village switched. Pepper Pike had the most dramatic change: just under half its Republicans became Democrats. And some of those who changed - it's difficult to say how many - could be in trouble with the law.
That's 16,000 votes there that Clinton can't count on in the general.
In Cuyahoga County, dozens and dozens of Republicans scribbled addendums onto their pledges as new Democrats:
"For one day only."
"I don't believe in abortion."
A Plain Dealer review of thousands of records showed few of those who switched were challenged by poll workers.
I'm sure these are votes that show Clinton can win Ohio.
But the Cleveland Plains Dealer covers an issue even more troubling, a concentrated behind-the-scenes effort by Republicans to crossover vote, referred to as "the plot".
A movement
is afoot . . .
Some Republicans refer to it as "the plot."
It started a few weeks ago when conservative radio powerhouse Rush Limbaugh suggested that his Republican following cross over during the primary to vote for Clinton. Clinton, Limbaugh argued, would be easier for McCain to beat in November than Obama.
Soon, local morning radio show host Bob Frantz echoed Limbaugh on WTAM AM/1100, and the buzz began to grow.
...
North Ridgeville Republican Hazel Sferry said she was kicking herself all day Tuesday after voting for McCain.
Don't get her wrong. Sferry supports McCain.
But after she voted, she ran into her niece who told her about "the plot."
Her niece, Republican Sherry Newell, crossed over Tuesday after hearing Limbaugh. Newell said she voted for Obama because she thought McCain had a better chance against him.
Regardless, Sferry said she thought it was a great idea to mess with the other party if it helped McCain win.
"I don't mind being deceptive to politicians," she said. "They are deceptive to us."
...
Republican Kitty Anderson began working in voting precincts during the early 1960s, and Tuesday's turnout in the Republican stronghold of Chagrin Falls was the largest she had ever seen.
It also had the most crossover voting.
Anderson, 76, and her husband, Donald, 78, served as poll workers on Tuesday and both helped fellow Republicans change parties all day; when it was time for them to vote, they crossed over, too.
"We are both concerned about what Obama would do if he was president. We don't trust him," Kitty Anderson said. "I have five grandchildren, and I keep thinking I want this world to be safe for these kids. I don't feel good about Obama. He just seems to be so vague." Come November, the Andersons said they'll most likely vote for McCain.
Any state with an open primary it's perfectly legal to go and spoil the opponent's primary. Go for it, whether you're Republican or Democrat. But if it is a closed primary, you could be breaking the law. And we have to be smart enough to look at past history, and realize that not all of the voters we get now are going to be voters we have later... especially when they're being openly dishonest about why they're voting.
The election maps were taken from CNN's 2004 general election Ohio map, the Democrat 2008 primary election Ohio map, and some statistics were taken from the Republican 2008 primary election map.
Permalink | 21 comments