Man working for firm under contract to Va. GOP charged with voter registration fraud

[bemildred]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by NancyBlueINOklahoma (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: WaPo

A man working for a company under contract to the Republican Party of Virginia has been arrested for allegedly discarding Virginia voter registration forms.

Colin Small, 23, of Phoenixville, Pa., was arrested on Thursday by sheriff’s deputies in Rockingham County, in the state’s Shenandoah Valley, on 13 charges of voter registration fraud.

The alleged crime happened on Monday, when a business owner in Harrisonburg, Va., reported that someone had tossed eight voter registration forms in a dump bin behind his store.

The forms had been filled out, placed in a folder and stuffed into a bag, store owner Rob Johnson told a Richmond-area NBC affiliate and said in a posting on his Facebook page.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/republican-campaign-worker-charged-with-voter-registration-fraud/2012/10/19/c07cc378-1a01-11e2-94aa-9240e72ee00b_story.html

[valerief]

1. One could assume all dem voter reg forms have been discarded in that state.

Why think otherwise?

[bemildred]

2. I'd go check. nt

[Pat Riot]

10. No way to tell for sure

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, VA has an open primary policy and voters do not put a party affiliation on the form.

[bemildred]

11. You can check if you are registered or not, which IS the issue. nt

[Hyper_Eye]

3. At least this article mentions his LinkedIn profile.

On his LinkedIn profile, Small is listed as a “Grassroots Field Director” for the Republican National Committee.

I still think this should be a bigger deal as I mentioned here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021582306

Does he work for the RNC or not?

[DreamGypsy]

6. Also a former congressional intern...or at least claims to be...

Congressional Intern
U.S. House of Representatives

Government Agency; 10,001+ employees; Legislative Office industry

September 2011 – December 2011 (4 months) The Hon. Mike Kelly

Pennsylvania, well remembered for Rep. Mike Kelly Stands Behind Remark Comparing Birth Control Mandate To Pearl Harbor, 9/11


Small doesn't list voter suppression among his interests.

[1StrongBlackMan]

7. Maybe he was inflating his credentials ...

but hopefully he wasn't. Generally, Field Directors have direct contact with, and receive direction from, the base operation. And the prosecutor will press Small as to whether he was acting on his own, or on direction from a RNC superior.

When faced with jail time, I would only hope that he would have enough brains to take the Public Defender; rather than RNC attorney that will soon ride to his rescue ... free of charge.

Note to Small: That RNC attorney will sell you out to keep you quite.

[Judi Lynn]

21. GOP voter registration scandal widens

Friday, Oct 19, 2012 01:15 PM CDT
GOP voter registration scandal widens

A Virginia official is busted for tossing voter forms. Turns out he works for the national party, too
By Brad Friedman

A man originally reported to have been working for the Republican Party of Virginia was arrested by the Rockingham County, Va., Sheriff’s Office on Thursday and charged with attempting to destroy voter registration forms by tossing them into a dumpster behind a shopping center in Harrisonburg, Va.

“Prosecutors charged him with four counts of destruction of voter registration applications, eight counts of failing to disclose voter registration applications and one count of obstruction of justice,” according to a report late Thursday afternoon from TPM’s Ryan Reilly. More charges could be forthcoming, according to officials.

But there is more to the story, as evidence emerges to document that it ties into a still-expanding nationwide GOP Voter Registration Fraud Scandal that the BRAD BLOG first began reporting in late September, after we’d learned that the Republican Party of Florida had turned in more than 100 allegedly fraudulent and otherwise suspect voter registration forms in Palm Beach County. The story has continued to widen ever since, to a dozen Florida counties and several other states, now including Virginia, and even to the upper-echelons of the Republican Party itself.

The man arrested today was 23-year-old Colin Small of Phoenixville, Pa. As it turns out, he does not only work for the Virginia Republican Party. According to an online profile, he appears to be working for the Republican National Committee and, prior to that, served as an Intern for Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., in the U.S. House of Representatives.

More:
http://www.salon.com/2012/10/19/gop_voter_registration_scandal_widens/

[oldhippydude]

4. i am old enough to remember a "third rate burglary attempt"

Last edited Fri Oct 19, 2012, 04:03 PM - Edit history (1)

that brought down an administration.. another drip from the faucet , that will become a steady stream... at some point the media will be unable to ignore....

[bemildred]

9. Me too. And there is three weeks left, and he's "in the fold".

Although I expect he will soon be discovered to have been acting on his own.

[Gin]

5. What happened to the registration forms he tossed?

Glad they got him...but the bigger issue is registering voters... IMO

[LiberalLovinLug]

14. I agree

I wonder how many others he has tossed?
And what happens now if he has been doing this for awhile? They can't very well ask the people to re-register as they don't know who they are. One does wonder how many of, not only from his hand, but perhaps others that have trashed Democratic voter registrations. Its happened before.

I don't understand US voter registration I guess. Why do you have to announce who you are going to vote for, by identifying a party affiliation when you register? To me that just invites over-zealous party workers to do what this guy did.

[Hosnon]

8. I hope the prosecutor offers him a deal if he cooperates further.

Assuming there is a "further" and he isn't just a lazy SOB.

[bemildred]

12. I almost feel sorry for him.

He just looks like a naive, mean, dumb kid.

[Carolina]

13. don't feel sorry at all

Karl Rove was once like him!

Catch 'em early and punish 'em severely so we don't get more Roves

[frylock]

15. yep, which is why i don't believe that he took it upon himself to discard those forms..

he was likely ordered to do so.

[bemildred]

17. Incompetent then. Throwing them away intact has gotten them in trouble before.

But yeah, incompetence, that works well here, doesn't it?

[Hosnon]

16. I agree. He is young and probably impressionable. If someone told him to do this, they

may have assured him that it was no big deal (or implied it).

However, he could have been politically motivated. If that's the case, he deserves what he is going to get.

[bemildred]

18. Thanks.

I find excessive hating on people just fucks up my life, so I don't do it. I was kid once, and I cannot believe some of the shit I used to believe before I got out in the real world and got some corners knocked off.

I'm not saying he should not be accountable, but there is no need to get all worked up, he's done us a favor really.

[Plucketeer]

19. You might be right

I kinda get the impression this fellas in the same league as that oafish girl who innocently confessed she was part of a group trying to register Romney followers. She's - I'm sorry to say - about as clueless as the seniors my wife teaches civics to in high school.

[bemildred]

20. Yep. That's what I mean. nt

[OKNancy]

22. Duplicate

Posted yesterday: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014271729