I try to shy away from partisan postings on this web site, but in this case
I believe I am responding in kind.
Let me remind all that it is only one party that stations people at polling
places in minority neighborhoods to challenge and discourage voters and it is
only one part that sends thugs to occupy an elections office and intimidate
workers until the counting of ballots in a Presidential election is halted.
The words sound good: election fraud; waste, fraud and abuse in the welfare
system; balanced budget amendment. But the melody always winds up off key.
Larry Levine
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, September 25, 2010 10:57
AM
Subject: Re: [EL] Check out FOXNews.com -
Citizens' Group Helps Uncover Alleged Rampant Voter F
Voter registration fraud and voter fraud are two different
things. One doesn't necessarily lead to the other. If those 24,000
phantom voters had shown up at their precinct en masse, you'd think people
would have noticed.
A similar thing happened here in Arlington,
VA this year. A strange coalition of public safety unions, the GOP, and
the Green Party attempted to get a change-of-government referendum on the
ballot to oust the Democratic county leadership. They hired out of state
petition gatherers in violation of Virginia law. Their roster included
local convicted felons who were themselves ineligible to solicit
signatures.. Arlington residents living in a homeless shelter attested
to petitions that on their face could not have been circulated by them on the
days indicated. Nearly a third of signatures gathered ended being tossed
once the voter registrar became aware of these abnormalities. The
registrar notified the police and Commonwealth's attorney, but alas no arrests
have been made. That's unfortunate. Of course in the Arlington
case, most (but not all) of the actual signatures were legit, it was the mode
of solicitation that broke the law. Still.
The fact is when
groups pay people to collect signatures, be it for referenda or for
registration, some people will commit fraud (and the problem may not just be
limited to paid circulators). Registrars should really catch examples as
egregious as the one in this article. Eternal vigilance is indeed the price of
liberty.
But the interesting thing is there is not one sentence in this
article suggesting that any person voted multiple times, or voted despite
being ineligible, or that the outcome of any election was ever in doubt as a
result.
It's a nice slight of hand that the GOP attempts every
election season to cast doubt on the validity of America's elections, but
registration irregularities do not necessarily lead to fraudulent votes being
cast. Are such incidents problematic? Sure. Can we conclude
from this that organized efforts are underway to steal elections? Not
remotely (and in fact it would be a rather difficult conspiracy to carry out
in practice).
So, Mr. Bopp, when you get some evidence of actual VOTER
fraud, your sarcasm will be warranted. Until then ...
Regards,
Jason Rylander*
*licensed in DC and Virginia
On Sat, Sep 25, 2010 at 1:14 PM,
<JBoppjr@aol.com> wrote:
Don't bother reading this article, because we have been assured that
there is no such thing as voter fraud. It is a figment of the
GOP's imagination. No, it is really an effort at voter suppression. In
any event, it is Bush's fault (it is Houston after all). Jim
Bopp
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