CONFIRMED: GOP is mailing absentee ballot forms, with anti-Kerry message

[DeepModem Mom]

Thanks to OHIO DUer KUKESA: "The request was a four-page fold out and three of the four pages bashed John Kerry. You know, the regular lies i.e., Kerry will raise your taxes, he voted for a $.50/gal. gasoline tax, he'll raise taxes on Social Security, ad nauseum."


Question: Is this illegal?
(ON EDIT: dralston points out that he/she is handing out ballot requests, with registration forms, for our side; the request form is not the ballot itself, of course. As far as I know, we are not mailing out ballots on what seems to be a large scale, accompanied by phone messages. Does anyone know?)


Voters are also getting recorded PHONE MESSAGES FROM BUSH, as described in this thread by JEAN:

"I just got home and listened to a taped message from bush. He's asking for absentee ballot request forms - that we fill them out and send them back asap.

The call was made at about noon today. Here is the text:

Young man's voice:
'Hold for an important call from President George W Bush.'

Bush:

'Hello.

This is George W Bush calling to ask you to fill out your absentee ballot request form.

It is coming in the mail.

With your help Dick Cheney and I can win in November so we can keep working for a safer world and a more hopeful America.

Our country has overcome a lot and now our economy is recovering and we're making progress on the war on terror.

I'm asking for your vote.

It's important.

Please look for your absentee ballot request form, fill it out and return it as soon as possible.

This call was paid for by Bush/Cheney04 INC.'

Who else is getting this call??? Are the Dems pushing absentee ballot voter reg like this? I live in MINNESOTA."


ON EDIT: We now have these reports from Ohio, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Other DUers, please report if you have received these forms.

[blm]

1. Bush wants them to vote before they see him dissected in the debates.

What a chickenshit tactic.

Everything about Georhe Bush is chickenshit.

[incapsulated]

16. Exactly

And the mail-in votes are increasing this year all over the country, or so I read in the NYT.

They want to get them before they get a chance to change their minds.

Sneaky fucks. This is what they do.

[oasis]

28. Farenheit 9/11 will change a lot of minds. GOP. Game Over.....Panic.

[Guaranteed]

25. Yup, they're at their epogee now.

This tactic shows that they know that.

Good.

[Cha]

50. That's a good bite for us though. To say the gop is

mailing out tons of absentee ballots and messages from bushrot to mail them back in ASAP..so people won't change their minds...especially after the debates!

And who is paying for these absentee ballots?

[smb]

56. Emergency Damage Control?

I'm wondering if the GOP wants to get in as many early absentee votes as possible because they're afraid of an eleventh-hour sh*tstorm breaking that will make the DUI story look like an overdue library book fine.

[flamingpie2500]

2. I got one of those yesterday--northern wisconsin

same phone message

[Cha]

52. Why are they sending them to Dems?

Mistake? Or strategy?

[markus]

3. If you can't electioneer at the polls

how can you electioneer in an absentee ballot mailing.

Every one of these votes, if they can be identified from other ballots, should be disqualified.

Hell, I think a lawyer-press conference announcing that as a strategy should be enough to chill their AB GOTV effort.

It's time to fight fire with fire.

[Toucano]

9. Hold on there.

Bush is sending the "Absentee Ballot Request Form". The Board of Elections will send the actual Ballot.

I'm sure mailing the reqest form isn't considered electioneering. I've handed out dozens of them with registration forms.

[DeepModem Mom]

11. You're right, dralston -- it wouldn't be illegal; thanks...

for your hard work for our side.

[ClassWarrior]

12. Yup. The Kerry campaign is passing out absentee ballot applications...

...at its rallies too. The idea is to lock in the vote now.

[DeepModem Mom]

13. Well, that's good news -- maybe we should do mass mailing also --

[liveoaktx]

14. So maybe we need to put some on our voter registration tables

along with nice fold out Kerry versus Bush flyers

[jus_the_facts]

4. and there is NO way to know if your absentee ballot is counted either.....

....to all that have decided to do this instead of the votin' machines...yet one more way to steal this election too. :think:

[rvgwinn]

5. ballot

I hope everyone gets a ballot and votes for John Kerry!

[DeepModem Mom]

6. I wonder if they are sending to all registered voters since DUers...

are receiving these forms. If not, how are they determining whom to send the forms to?

[TeeYiYi]

38. I wonder if they're just sending them to dems . . .

. . . so that the dems will send them in checked for Kerry and then they'll just dissapear . . . :tinfoilhat:

I don't trust the absentee ballot idea OR the touch screen computers. Paper ballot on Nov. 2 for me.

TYY

[seabeyond]

7. does it show democrat/repug vote on outside of envelope

?

[DeepModem Mom]

8. From mikehiggins: absentee form brought to Florida home --

"A woman came to my mother-in-law Gloria's trailer home in Largo Florida last night, bringing absentee ballot forms with her. She urged Gloria to use it because of her age and infirmity.

She asked who Gloria was thinking of voting for and seemed disappointed when she said Kerry. Asked why and seemed disappointed when Gloria said because she was worried about Social Security.

Still left the absentee form though, and Gloria is filling it out as we speak.

If the 'visitor' was a Repug I think everyone should take notice."

[Toucano]

10. Can you confirm the terms

Are you talking about the absentee ballot or the form to request the ballot?

I really don't think people can just walk around with ballots.

[enough]

15. SE Pennsylvania checking in

Just got one in the mail today. Heavily republican area.

What I don't get about it is that the Absentee ballot request form says that you are either sick or will be away from the municipality on election day. Isn't it encouraging outright lying to tell everyone to request this?

Also, the flyer says;

MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT. REQUEST YOUR ABSENTEE BALLOT TODAY.

This seems to suggest that if you vote at the polls, your vote will NOT count.

What the heck is this all about?

[DeepModem Mom]

17. Well they're targeting swing states for sure -- thanks, "enough" --

And you've raised some good questions.

[DeepModem Mom]

23. PENNSYLVANIA, reported by enough

[Debi]

18. In 2000 here in Iowa Gore won because of the Absentee Ballot

program put together by the Iowa Democratic Party.(don't have the exact #'s maybe another Iowan can help with this..I just know that he lost at the polls but won with the Absentee Ballot votes)

The Rep. party is trying to copy it with STOMP...and the GWB calls.

The IDP and ACT are way ahead of the Republicans once again in getting the request forms out to people. I don't know when the actual ballots are mailed out, but there are strict rules on who can handle the ballots once they're filled out.

And the ballot is counted, they're numbered, and it is recorded whether or not the person voted (although how they voted is not attached to their name for privacy reasons).

[NewYorkerfromMass]

19. This is advance groundwork/paperwork for some nastiness post election

If there are any recounts, this will allow all manner of vote tampering AFTER the vote.

[napi21]

20. When do they pull voter cards. when the absentee ballot is sent out

or when it's received back? I know this is one way they control people from voting twice. Anybody out there know?

[Debi]

21. In Iowa

it's when the ballot is mailed out. If a person changes their mind and wants to vote at the polls then they have to bring the ballot with them to have it destroyed at the polling place. If the ballot is lost or damaged they have to either bring the ballot to the auditors office or sign a form stating that the ballot was lost (to keep that ballot from resurfacing) and receive a new one.

[heidiho]

22. We Received Ours Here in Wisconsin

Myself, husband and adult children.

[DeepModem Mom]

24. Thanks, heidiho! another WISCONSIN, reported by heidiho --

[DeepModem Mom]

26. If DUers are getting these, are they sending to all reg. voters...

in certain areas of swing states? The whole list of registered voters in the states?

So far, we've not heard from a non-Swing state.

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

32. not necessarily....

...psst, dont tell anyone...i am registered GOP, and my partner is a Dem.

I got one, he didnt.

[LisaL]

27. I am in Columbus OH

And people here been getting those phone calls from Bush.
WTF is that?

[DeepModem Mom]

29. Another OHIO report, swing state -- thanks, lizzy!

[LisaL]

46. I personally didn't get the phone call

but my co-worker did.
And he is not a registered republican.

[msterri26]

30. CONFIRMED: GOP is mailing absentee ballot forms, with anti-Kerry message"

Maine checking in to state that I also received an unwanted call from Bush telling me they would be sending me an absentee ballot! I am a registered Democrat and was totally insulted!
Terri

[DeepModem Mom]

35. Thanks, msterri26, and welcome to DU! msterri's 1st post, reporting MAINE!

Sent to a registered Democrat!

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

31. yeah, I got one too..but they are not really ballots....yet. why?

They are requests for absentee ballots.

Im impressed.

The request form actually has my county of board of elections address...this must have cost a pretty penny to customize this mailing.

Why are they doing this..?

[DeepModem Mom]

33. What state, WHH -- if you don't mind saying?

[LisaL]

44. I think it would be illegal

for them to send you an actual ballot.
I think you have to personally ask for your ballot.
If they send you an absentee ballot, I don't think you could even vote in a regular election no more.
This whole thing stinks to high heaven.
What is going on?

[opihimoimoi]

34. Re the Message: Bush forgot to mention the Corner thing....

Recovery?? Its right around the friggen Corner.....

[DeepModem Mom]

37. LOL! He seems to have avoided mentioning the economy --

[derby378]

36. Links, please! (n/t)

[DeepModem Mom]

40. Sorry, d378, no links --

The sequence of events was first a post regarding a recorded phone call from Bush; then a post from another DUer noting that the message seemed to indicate that the person who received the phone message would be getting an absentee ballot request in the mail; then the "confirmation" was DUers from different states posting that they had gotten the phone call, and an absentee ballot request in the mail.

[Hobarticus]

39. Iowa here...friend got one.

[DeepModem Mom]

41. Thanks, Hobarticus -- IOWA reporting!

[DeepModem Mom]

42. MICHIGAN reported in GD by AFSCME girl --

[DeepModem Mom]

43. Calls/forms reported IOWA, MAINE, MI, MN, NH, OH, PA, WI

[zulchzulu]

45. That's illegal

Get them.

[Bluebear]

47. I got the exact same flyer in New Hampshire

Mentioned it here last week, called my board of canvassers and they are supposed to "get back to me"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=685020

[DeepModem Mom]

48. Thanks, pt! Add NEW HAMPSHIRE --

[Bluebear]

53. Additional info

The absentee ballot request was preprinted to my town hall office's address, gave me the reasons I could legally claim for absentee ballot and had emblazoned on it (in addition to Kerry wants 50 cent gas tax etc.) .... KERRY - #1 MOST LIBERAL SENATE MEMBER.

[DeepModem Mom]

54. Thanks, pt -- looks like they're not missing a trick, or a talking point

nt

[Nadeaufan17]

49. I got that call

I recieved the request form and got a call here in Ohio.

[DeepModem Mom]

51. Hi, Nadeaufan17 -- welcome to DU! Another W call to OHIO --

[DeepModem Mom]

55. UPDATE -- from GD, this story got on local news in Iowa -- link here:

"This forum brought a group of us together whereby we found out about a national tactic undertaken by Bushco that could easily depress Dem vote, and we decided to contact our local media. Less than 24 hours later -- GoBlueCub and Haloscan have talked w/media -- and I've talked today twice with a regional tv station reporter, gotten contacted by a Dem county volunteer from another IA county via the JL blog, and we've talked by phone as well, and now a story is slated to appear on our news tonight."

http://forum.johnkerry.com/index.php?showtopic=64381&hl=

[mtnester]

57. OHIO here - We got the form and a recorded message which we SAVED

on our digital answering machine yesterday. So not only do we have the form, we have the actual voice message. We live in Fairfield County, Ohio Just outside Columbus to the southeast.

Also heard that the Cincinnati area got theirs Monday.

[GreenPartyVoter]

58. I got the call the other day too