Sanders-backed candidate alleges improper voting in Democratic Party election

[Jose Garcia]

Source: The Hill

A Bernie Sanders-backed candidate running to head the California Democratic Party says she was cheated out of the job, alleging hundreds of improperly cast ballots helped her establishment-backed rival beat her last month.

Kimberly Ellis, a Bay-area Democratic activist who enjoyed support from Sanders and many of his allies, said her campaign has evidence that some delegates to the state convention voted twice, and that other ballots are missing.

The discrepancies she publicized late Monday call into question the results of the election for state Democratic Party chairman, a race won by Los Angeles-area activist Eric Bauman. Bauman beat Ellis by just 62 votes, out of about 3,300 delegates who attended the convention last month in Sacramento.

“Based on the information contained here, the actual vote count is in question,” Ellis’s team wrote in a six-page memo. “It is believed the wrong individual is serving as Chair.”

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/336534-sanders-backed-candidate-alleges-improper-voting-in-democratic-party

[nycbos]

1. Of course.

If a Bernie Bot looses it had to be rigged.


Theses people show up at a bar, they run up a huge tab, and then start a drunken fight when they finally realize that other people won't pay their bar bill.

[Gothmog]

16. Yep

[Jim Lane]

38. Your post is ridiculous

All you need to do is intone "Bernie Bot" and that disproves the charges (at least in your mind). No need to bother with that pesky business of considering the specific allegations and examining the evidence pro and con.

Incidentally, Ms. Ellis (the one filing the complaint) supported Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primary. Would you care to amend your post to refer to her as a "Hillbot"?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

44. She supported Hillary in the California Democratic Presidential Primary

[Blue_Tires]

47. So how did she get to be one of Bernie's people?

[mhw]

58. Good question. If she supported HRC then how'd she end up a bernie peep?

That's an obvious one really.
"Girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do"..

[mhw]

56. + ooooh! Those darned Democrats!!

#0-grid1

[Tarheel_Dem]

62. + a billion!

[trueblue2007]

3. Vote's over....

[snooper2]

4. hey, she has 27 subscribers on her YouTube channel- She obviously has a HUGE following!

[George II]

5. Give me a break!

[hrmjustin]

6. Sounds like a sore loser to me.

[WhiteTara]

7. Eric Bauman has worked hard for the Party in CA

for many years. I would have voted for him too.

[QC]

19. He's worked very hard for the drug companies, too.

http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/Democratic-adviser-Eric-Bauman-collects-cash-to-8088098.php

Not saying that disqualifies him, but presenting him as a selfless martyr is pretty silly.

[George II]

21. And so the attacks begin. From the article you provided at the link:

The REAL truth about why he and others were against it:

“a number of Democrats and their allies are coming out against the measure not because of any backroom politics but because “it’s poorly drafted and not going to lower drug costs.” ”

[QC]

23. Attacks! Alack and alas! The cruelty of it all!

Shall I fetch Aunt Pittypat's smelling salts?

Was Bauman against the proposal solely because “it’s poorly drafted and not going to lower drug costs” or do you think the $12,500 a month he was being paid to oppose it might have something to so with the matter?

A criticism is not an attack, by the way. Bauman does lobbying work while drawing a salary from the state legislature. Some of that lobbying work is from industries that want to keep drug prices higher and malpractice awards lower. It is part of the context of this story, though I do realize that context is out of style now, since we can just wave away anything unpleasant as FAKE NEWS! SAD! like a certain someone else who will remain nameless.

[George II]

32. Sure you can say:

"Some of that lobbying work is from industries that want to keep drug prices higher and malpractice awards lower." That's a negative (and exaggerated) take on it.

How about saying "Some of that lobbying work is from industries that save tens of thousands of lives each year"?

And I think you're mistaken about him "drawing a salary from the state legislature".

[QC]

53. No, I'm not mistaken.

from the link above:

"The paid political work comes while Bauman pulls down $145,000 a year as a full-time senior adviser to Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Los Angeles."

[George II]

61. The only "Eric Bauman" that is on a public payroll in California is this one:

http://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/2016/san-juan-capistrano/eric-bauman/

That Eric Bauman is Assistant Utilities Director for San Juan Capistrano, who also earns $145,000 per year.

There are several people in California named Eric Bauman.

The new Chairman may be getting paid to be a full-time adviser to Rendon, but the salary most likely isn't coming from the state legislature.

[emulatorloo]

52. Who said it was fake news besides you? Nobody.

Who portrayed him as a 'selfless martyr". Nobody.

[deurbano]

24. Is someone presenting him as a selfless martyr?

I think the point is he's not a cartoon villain:


http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article86702057.html

[pnwmom]

25. And the delegates voted him in despite that article. nt

[QC]

26. As is their right.

And as someone who lives in a place where the Democrats are Republicans and the Republicans are right out of The Handmaid's Tale, I would gladly take him over anyone on offer around here.

[pnwmom]

28. He's a good guy and the Democratic party in CA is a model for most other states.

The idea that it's somehow broken is very odd. The Dems control both houses of the state legislature and the Governorship, and they have 2 Democratic Senators and the large majority of House seats.

Too bad some of this reform energy couldn't have been shipped to some of the states that really need it.

[LisaM]

29. They're doing that in Washington state, too - acting as if the Democratic party is "broken"

when the reality couldn't be any further from that. What's really broken is the caucus system of electing presidential candidates.

[pnwmom]

30. Yes -- our caucus system is terrible. I'm sure you remember when we voted

to get rid of it. When they asked for donations at the caucuses last year, I told them why they wouldn't be getting mine. Our taxes pay for that primary that only benefits the Republicans -- and that we voters chose. Why should I give money to defray the expenses of caucuses that I don't believe in?

[LisaM]

31. After what I experienced as a Hillary supporter at the 2008 caucus, I didn't even go in 2016.

I filed an affidavit. I have no idea if it counted. They don't give you many options of voting "absentee" for the caucus, but because it was Easter weekend (!!!!) and the place where I go to Mass has it on Saturday, I qualified for an exemption. I even called the church to see if they would be changing it due to the caucus, and they seem completely taken aback that it was the same weekend.

Turnout was pitiful, too.

[pnwmom]

36. Well, that was clever of you!

I don't go on Saturday, so the thought never occurred to me. But you're right, holding it on Easter weekend was a dumb idea -- assuming they wanted everyone to attend.

Which we both realize isn't true. Caucuses are all about holding onto power for the few.

[LisaM]

39. They used to be on a weeknight evening...

Having it on a two-hour window on a Saturday completely panders to college students. I particularly remember in 2008 that Hillary did a town hall for nurses, and then many, many of them couldn't attend the caucuses because they had to work.

[pnwmom]

40. Right, the first one I went to was on a week-night.

And we hated it so much we didn't go to another for years. It was such a joke. No one who voted for our candidate wanted to be the official delegate at the next level for an all day Saturday meeting, so someone who had voted for a different candidate offered to go for us -- and we said yes! No idea how that worked out.

[LisaM]

42. I attended them pretty religiously, staring with Bill Clinton's election

I was actually a Tom Harkin supporter back then. There was no purpose to going in 1996, but in 2000, it was okay (though the Bradley people were sort of the Sanders people of today - acted as if Al Gore was some kind of a right-wing plant). The 2004 caucus was actually fun - just the right size, all worked as it should have (although it was on a Saturday, and probably prevented some from attending). I did notice in 2004, though, that the Dean people were difficult to deal with. They were almost frantic about his not getting chosen, and after Kerry won in our precinct (completely above board, we all witnessed the hand count in our precinct and all the others), they started calling local talk radio shows and griping that the count was rigged!!!

[pnwmom]

43. Good of you to persist through it all. After that first time,

I didn't go to another till Hillary. Fortunately, I was able to persuade Hubby to go, too, because our precinct would have been tied but for Hubby's vote! Then I don't know what the procedure is. Glad we didn't have to find out.

[geek tragedy]

8. sounds like CA Democrats dodged a bullet by not electing this toxic avenger nt

[mhw]

59. Her star has faded. Must be hard to accept.

I agree with your post.

[Dopers_Greed]

9. Complaining that the system is rigged when you can't win?

Sounds a lot like a certain someone in the White House

[NurseJackie]

10. Oh, good grief!

[stevenleser]

11. Hey Ellis, Buh bye

[kimbutgar]

12. The votes were on paper and hand counted.

Sore loser

[SunSeeker]

13. Kimberly Ellis is dead wrong and should be ashamed of herself.

She claims the CA Democratic Party is "moribund." But as the Hill states in that article:

Even as President Trump swept to the White House in 2016, California Democrats notched big wins across the state. Democrats control every executive office at the state level, and they hold supermajorities in both the state Senate and the state Assembly.


And then she complains that there was not enough ID checking of delegates. I love the following quote from the article:

President “Trump must be laughing that Kimberly Ellis is joining him, demanding that all voters (especially African-Americans and Latinos) be denied the right to vote unless they have” an identification, Mulholland wrote in an email.

[George II]

15. If that's "moribund", I wish Democrats in the other 49 states were "moribund".

[SunSeeker]

22. Indeed. nt

[murielm99]

14. I thought this was old news.

Wasn't there a post about all this whining a couple of weeks ago?

Work with the people who have kept the lights on for Democrats for years and years or go home, crybabies.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

17. i've always been waiting for the lunatic left to start advocating for voter ID laws

guess, it's happening faster than even i thought it would

[Bradical79]

18. I don't see the edvidence of irregularities

She's just complaining about the voting procedures after the fact. That's not evidence, and any potential for shenanigans works both ways if the process can be compromised as claimed. It certainly can't be used to conclude the wrong person was elected.

[Trial_By_Fire]

45. From the Sacramento Bee:

"Ellis’ team alleges hundreds of ballots have corresponding signatures that don’t match the credential sign-in signatures, or are missing, and said it found “multiple documented instances” of duplicate voting – described as a person voting as a proxy, or someone who casts a vote on behalf of another, on more than one ballot."

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article154517734.html#storylink=cpy

[deurbano]

20. I wrote this on another thread: "My daughter was at the CA State Democratic convention in Sacramento

recently, and some "new" delegates-- who seemed to think they are much more enlightened, saintly and ENTITLED than the stupid grunts who did all the hard work before they showed up to save us-- all came down the escalator en masse, shouting "This is what democracy looks like!" My daughter, who uses a wheelchair, was unable to participate in that inspiring escalator democracy... but not to worry, "identity politics" is yesterday's news! (She said it was as insufferable as watching that disgusting orange thing descend the escalator at Disgusting Orange Thing Tower.)"

Those were Ellis voters, wearing pink tee-shirts that said “Unbought, Unbossed, Kimberly Ellis." Ellis was backed by Christine Pelosi, Jackie Speier and other such Democratic "outsiders," and she, herself, backed Clinton in the primary. A real revolutionary... or opportunist. (Six of one...)

[pnwmom]

27. She also claims there was a "storm of suspicion" around Hillary's 350,000 vote win.

Ellis sounds a bit deluded.

[Docreed2003]

33. Ok....asking for clarification from CA dems

This reeks of an attempt to continue the primary divisions from last year.

My understanding from here, as well as Daily Kos, in the aftermath of the party elections was that the blowup was not so much Hill vs Bernie as it was Northern Cal vs Southern Cal.

If someone with more intimate knowledge could clarify this issue, it would be greatly appreciated.

[nini]

34. I suspect her type want to infiltrate party leadership to work to destroy the party from within.

I don't trust those 'Bernie bro' types one bit, and before people get their panties in a bunch that does NOT mean everyone who supports Bernie falls into that category.

[Eliot Rosewater]

35. This is our epitaph, the end of our country. These so called progressives

made sure Trump won and GOP gained or retained power and they are doing it AGAIN.

Whether they are too stupid to know making these kind of accusations public does horrendous damage or they know that and are doing it on purpose because someone is paying them to, either way.

[sheshe2]

37. Oh puleeeeze.

[Equinox Moon]

41. Why is this attacking and negativity allowed here on DU - against another democrat?

[Lazy Daisy]

48. Because the name

Bernie Sanders was attached

[Equinox Moon]

49. Ellis is a democrat.

The comments of attack on this thread are against a fellow democrat and against DU rules.

[emulatorloo]

51. Eric Bauman is a Democrat and was attacked as well. You should alert on all of these posts.

Fwiw I thought this was old news? Seems like I read about it a while ago.

[ms liberty]

54. This. n/t

[Arazi]

57. Yup. This

[QC]

66. Bingo. The usual Pavlovian frenzy. n/t

[nini]

64. Oh I don't know...

Maybe because she is trashing the entire California Party with things 'she's heard'???

[Trial_By_Fire]

46. It should be easy to validate Ellis' claim:

From SacBee:

"Ellis’ team alleges hundreds of ballots have corresponding signatures that don’t match the credential sign-in signatures, or are missing, and said it found “multiple documented instances” of duplicate voting – described as a person voting as a proxy, or someone who casts a vote on behalf of another, on more than one ballot.
'

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article154517734.html#storylink=cpy

To verify this vote: get all ballots and match the signatures to the the person...

[mcar]

50. Well bless her heart

[Eliot Rosewater]

55. Dont publicly accuse Democratic party of being corrupt, do it privately and ONLY when

you have DEFINITIVE proof do you go public.

period

[R B Garr]

60. +1, they have no credibility with the unsubstantiated

attacks against Democrats. It's been almost a year to the day that Bernie's empty smears lost here in California. He's back to being an Independent, but his duplicity gets a pass.

[geek tragedy]

63. Ellis supported Clinton in the primary.

She is an opportunist

[R B Garr]

65. Exactly! She is an opportunist and

apparently not very credible.