Vote fraud is nothing more than a BOOGEYMAN
By ClarusVisum
@ClarusVisum (2163)
United States
November 2, 2008 9:32pm CST
Make no mistake--phony registrations that some lazy bum makes up from random names in a phone book do not turn into fraudulent votes. They just DON'T. This whole thing is a bunk premise used as a smokescreen to enable suppression of REAL votes.
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"Numerous election experts, including Barnard College political scientist Lorraine Minnite and Justice Department veteran Gerald Hebert of the Campaign Legal Center, told ProPublica that fake registrations were an unlikely and unwieldy means of stealing an election.
Such a scheme would have to involve a substantial crew of fraudsters—tens of thousands of people—willing to risk the hefty prison sentences and fines if caught.
Michaelson agreed that the scenario is implausible. “We have to distinguish between voter registration fraud and voter election fraud,” he said...he could not name a type of voting fraud that would begin with the filing of false registrations. [...]
Scholars who have authored books documenting election fraud — political scientists R. Michael Alvarez of the California Institute of Technology, Thad Hall of the University of Utah and University of Kentucky historian Tracy Campbell — told ProPublica they could not think of an example of registration-driven voter fraud." -- http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/15155_Page3.html
3 people like this
5 responses
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
3 Nov 08
Don't be so hard on them, Clarus. The McCain campaign need all the boogeymen they can make up! 
When the reports of voter registration fraud first surfaced a few things became painfully obvious:
A)Don't trust out of work folks who are paid per registered voter to register voters.
B)Mickey Mouse may be registered 50 times but he's not going to show up to vote
C)Someone obviously caught the irregularities
Now the fear mongering is advancing to voter fraud. Those who are screaming the loudest seem to have forgotten that the McCain campaign also had problems with voter registration fraud.
When the reports of voter registration fraud first surfaced a few things became painfully obvious:
A)Don't trust out of work folks who are paid per registered voter to register voters.
B)Mickey Mouse may be registered 50 times but he's not going to show up to vote
C)Someone obviously caught the irregularities
Now the fear mongering is advancing to voter fraud. Those who are screaming the loudest seem to have forgotten that the McCain campaign also had problems with voter registration fraud.
@chameleonsdream (1230)
• United States
3 Nov 08
There is one form of voter registration fraud that does do harm - taking registrations and then throwing them away rather than handing them in. Young Political Majors, a company that exists for no other purpose than to register voters and to collect signatures on petitions (for both state referendums and political campaigns), has also been under investigation for several years in many different states for voter registration fraud and for fraudulently collecting signatures on various petitions. YPM is regularly used by the Republican party, both national and local offices, to register voters and to get petitions signed. The owner of YPM has been indicted in California for voter registration fraud - for fraudulently registering himself to vote using the address for a home at which he had not lived for years, and at which none of the current residents knows him or his family. The reason? So that he could legally collect signatures and registrations in California.
1 person likes this
@bdugas (3578)
• United States
3 Nov 08
Well you beleive what ever you want, it was just reported that 15,000 names in OHio just showed up on Fla voting people that has voted in bothe states, want to guess who they voted for. It is too damn bad that a man can't run for an office with out the b/s or trying to buy votes. So when you get Obama I hope you all get just what you deserve, too damn bad that the rest of us have to take it along with you.
@sharra1 (6340)
• Australia
3 Nov 08
Yes I wondered about then when I saw people going on about it. They risk a huge penalty and if you have to show id then that would make it even harder. It does seem that it would take a lot of work to vote in multiple states. But they just need something to yell about so they come up with anything.
@lilwonders456 (8214)
• United States
3 Nov 08
I hate to tell you this but voter fraud is a problem and always has been a problem. The question is what are we going to do about it? Nothing gets done about it now. Which is sad. Our voter registration system needs an overhaul. We need security measure that allowed qualified American citizens to vote the rest not to. Who know if it has ever cost anyone an election. Neither side is willing to look at it too hard because of their own skeleton in their own closets when it comes to voters.
