Thanks to the Colbert Report, we learn that instances of Shark Attacks outnumber cases of voter fraud in Florida 72-49 since 2008.
That's right, back in March a director from the Florida ACLU told the Colbert Report that
"There are probably a larger number of shark attacks in Florida than there are cases of voter fraud,"
At the time,
Politifact took notice and did the research. They rated this statement: Mostly True.
I had my graphics team put together their findings.
Florida 2008 2009 2010 2011 Total
Shark Attacks 28 19 14 11 72
Voter Fraud Cases 16 9 10 14 49
Since I don't want to be the MinistryOfMostlyTruth I think we should look deeper into this ocean of man-eating sharks and dead voters stealing McCain's Presidency, after all, Florida Governor and noted multi-millionaire super villain Rick Scott is purging tens of thousands of voters from the rolls to protect against the 10 cases of voter fraud in 2010.
Yup. Ten cases total, some of them, in all fairness, involving tens of people. You'd think that if voter fraud has been an epic scourge upon our elections, as Republicans claim, that would mean that Republicans could find
evidence of massive voter fraud or something. Nope. In 2010 there were ten cases in the whole state of Florida that the state government felt was worth investigating, so some of these investigated instances of voter fraud may not even be true, but in all fairness of the 14 shark attacks in 2010 some of the instances may have just been some other native wild life than a shark, maybe a barracuda or an eel, or an aggressive and territorial Allan West with a fin strapped to his back.
Republicans in Florida are using the fear of voter fraud to take away the right to vote from thousands of American citizens, and some of them are starting to notice and fight back for their rights.
According to data from the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections obtained by
ThinkProgress:
- 1638 people in Miami-Dade County were flagged by the state as “non-citizens” and sent letters informing them that they were ineligible to vote.
- Of that group, 359 people have subsquently provided the county with proof of citizenship.
- Another 26 people were identified as U.S. citizens directly by the county.
- The bulk of the remaining 1200 people have simply not responded yet to a letter sent to them by the Supervisor of Elections.
So right there 300 Floridians have already proved that they are citizens. Still, that means there are at least 1,200 possible citizens in Miami-Dade County alone who might be denied their constitutionally guaranteed right to vote.
Republicans are birthering voters now too, making citizens prove they are citizens, but not making SuperPAC donors disclose their donations. Freedom, Republican style. Bring money.
More below the fold
Politfact rated this Mostly True, a term that drives me crazy. Something is either true or it is not, 2+2=3 is not mostly true except on Fox News and Sunday Morning talk shows, but I digress. What earned the Mostly True rating was this . . .
While the shark attack figures are cut and dry (sorry!), the voter fraud numbers are not. There could be more cases than we know about, involving more people. The numbers may not represent total voter fraud cases, as those could be handled by local supervisors and state attorneys.
Yes, what about the sharks who eat people at dawn when they are frolicking for an early swim, like in Jaws? There could be more shark attacks that we don't know about too, right? It's not like people who have been eaten with no witnesses file a complaint about it afterwards.
On the other hand, though . . .
Also, one "case" may represent multiple counts of voter fraud, perpetrated by multiple people, said agency spokesman Chris Cate. He points to a November 2011 case that resulted in the arrests of nine people from the North Florida town of Madison, including the supervisor of elections.
On the other hand, the fraud list does not count only convictions. So some of these cases could be proven unfounded.
The ACLU’s claim is true on its face, but we’re knocking it down a peg with consideration of a few things.
~snip~
We rate this Mostly True.
http://www.politifact.com/...
There have been
72 shark attacks in Florida since 2008 and only 49 cases of voter fraud that the all Republican Florida State Government has bothered to actually investigate. If voter fraud really was a crisis Republicans would have more evidence of it and they would rub it in America's face on Fox, but just because they don't have facts or evidence won't stop the voter disenfranchisement efforts underway in Florida. Of course, just because a voter fraud crisis doesn't actually exist won't stop Florida Republicans from disenfranchising thousands of voters who might (GASP!) not vote for Rmoney.
Republicans are disenfranchising thousands of voters because that is easier than actually winning elections, and this doesn't just effect the Presidency but all of the other elections down-ballot where even a few votes one way or the other make all of the difference.
How ridiculous has it gotten in Florida, how many people have already been denied their right to vote? Meet Bill . . .
Bill Internicola is a 91-year-old, Brooklyn-born, World War II veteran. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge and received the Bronze Star for bravery. He’s voted in Florida for 14 years and never had a problem.
Three weeks ago, Bill received a letter from Broward County Florida stating “[Y]ou are not a U.S. Citizen” and therefore, ineligible to vote. He was given the option of requesting “a hearing with the Supervisor of Elections, for the purpose of providing proof that you are a United States citizens” or forfeit his right to vote.
This decorated World War II veteran is just one of hundreds of fully eligible U.S. citizens being targeted by Governor Scott’s massive voter purge just prior to this year’s election, according to data obtained from Florida election officials by ThinkProgress. The purge list, according to an analysis by the Miami Herald, targets mostly Democrats and Hispanics.
ThinkProgress.org
And sometimes World War II heroes.
Bill Internicola could bring freedom back to Europe in the 1940's but he couldn't keep it in Rick Scott's Florida in 2012. With guys like Rick Scott and Mitt Romney, who needs sharks? Because buying an election doesn't mean you can't steal it too, just to be safe.
You can follow me on Twitter @JesseLaGreca