DUers TAKE ACTION! Challenge Alan Keyes Illinois voter's registration!!!

[wndycty]

Did Alan Keyes REALLY register to vote? If so it might not be valid!

In today's Chicago Sun-Times, columnist Michael Sneed reports that Alan Keyes registered to vote yesterday, listing his home address as 502 Garfield Ave. in Calumet City, however according to the Illinois State Board of Elections website, an individual "Must have been a resident of the precinct at least 30 days."

So what is the truth? Did Alan Keyes really register to vote? Was this some publicity stunt? Has he lived in Calumet City for 30 days? If not will his registration be valid? Who told Sneed that he registered? Does she know the law? Did she think to question her source?

From the Chicago Sun-Times 8/11/04:

It's official!

August 11, 2004

BY MICHAEL SNEED ([e-mail]) SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

Republican U.S. Sen. hopeful Alan Keyes registered to vote Monday, listing his address as 502 Garfield Ave. in Calumet City.

Calumet City?
-snip-
http://www.suntimes.com/output/sneed/cst-nws-sneed11.html

From the Illinois State Board of Elections Website:

Registering to Vote in Illinois

What are the voter registration requirements?

*Must be a U.S. Citizen
*Must be at least 18 years of age by election day
*Must have been a resident of the precinct at least 30 days
-snip-
http://www.elections.state.il.us/voteinfo/pages/Register.htm

[e-mail]

Hey I added the info to the Patriots for Progress Website http://www.patriotsforprogress.org if you want to forward the info to friends and family.

[trotsky]

1. Since when have rules meant anything to Republicans?

They broke similar rules in order to make it appear as if Cheney was from Wyoming, so that they wouldn't violate the Constitution's mandate that the Presidential and VP candidates can't be from the same state.

They'll cheat, lie, and bully to get their way. What else is new?

[Ducks In A Row]

61. they'll just have one of their goons backdate the rental agreement

simple

[MoonRiver]

2. What are we supposed to do?

Is there a petition to sign? If so, bring it on!

[wndycty]

3. For starters write Michael Sneed and correct her

And I have added the State Board of Elections e-mail address.

:kick:

[MoonRiver]

4. Would this be effective if we're not IL residents?

[wndycty]

7. Yes because you are calling out stupidity

:kick:

[Walt Starr]

5. YEP, HE BROKE THE LAW!!!

And it could be punishable by imprisonment! IT'S FRAUD!!!!!

[MoonRiver]

6. I sent the SofS an e-mail. Hope it helps!

:kick:

on edit: Maybe not the SofS. I sent my message about the illegality of Keyes run through the link provided.

[wndycty]

8. Or worse. . .

. . .his campaign lied to the press. LOL

[Walt Starr]

9. Calumet city is in Cook county

David Orr is the Cook County Clerk.

Phone # [phone]

Email Address: [e-mail]

[wndycty]

10. Thanks Walt. . .

. . .my dad and I just talked and we wondering if he had TWO FORMS of ID that said he lived at that address. I am sure we have a few deputy registrars who know all the rules.

[Walt Starr]

11. I just called, am on hold

They don't know how to handle this.

[wndycty]

12. I think. . .

. . .you should just let them know that if in fact Alan Keyes did register yesterday his registration should be ruled invalid.

[Walt Starr]

13. Got the number to the legal council for Cook County Suburban elections

[phone]

His name is Dan.

[wndycty]

14. Thanks again Walt

:kick:

[Walt Starr]

20. We're only getting his voice mail

I left a message.

How can we get this to the media? Alan Keyes has already violated election law!

[wndycty]

26. Its easy. . .

E-mail the following people

Michael Sneed (the reporter who claims he registered) [e-mail]

Lynn Sweet (the Sun-Times political writer) [e-mail]

Rick Pearson (Chicago Tribune Political Writer)[e-mail]

[Walt Starr]

33. I've emailed all three

Thanks!

[Walt Starr]

46. I've emailed an official complaint to David Orr

I'll try to get there in person to lodge the complaint as well.

[gasperc]

54. I love it, DU bringing down the IL GOP

oh, gotta love it. A loose nit band of democrats spread out over 50 states may have found a way to have Keyes thrown off the ballot. The GOP millionaires must be throwing fits

[GoneOffShore]

63. Nit?

We have lice? Quick, get the blue ointment!

Oh, I get it, you meant 'knit'. Had me worried for a minute there.

:bounce:

[blondeatlast]

15. I'd love to help, but I need specifics to address. What violations

has he committed?

I know he very recently moved to Illinois, but is there evidence that he has not been there long enough to file? I do find the timing of his announcement very strange...

[wndycty]

16. Its simple. . .

The State Board of Elections website says that a person must be a resident for 30 days. The earliest Keyes could have established residency (if he in fact moved in) would have been yesterday which means that the first day he would be eligible to register would be September 10.

[Walt Starr]

17. He moved on Sunday and registered yesterday

Under the law, he must be a resident for thirty days in order to register. This is enforcable and there is Supreme Court precedent to support it!

[DemocratSinceBirth]

19. Maybe Him And Ken Lay Can Be Cellmates.....

I wonder who will be who's girlfriend during their stay....

[blondeatlast]

66. Thanks. Will do. nt

[Raskolnik]

18. True, but I think there are larger, better issues...

that we can defeat Keyes with.

I understand the desire to try to play gotcha' with Keyes and his new-found residency, but I think if we continually hound him on that, we risk looking small.

I think people will vote FOR Obama and AGAINST Keyes based on more than technicalities.

[Walt Starr]

21. The fact that he violated election law as his first official act

as a campaign is a valid issue to the campaign!

[Raskolnik]

25. I don't like it any more than you do...

but on the scale of things that are horrible about Alan Keyes, this ranks fairly low.

I'm not saying that its not appropriate to make the carpetbagging an issue, I'm just urging that we don't make this our ONLY issue.

We will win this election by thirty points if people vote on issues.

[Walt Starr]

28. This goes to the heart of the Keyes campaign

He doesn't care if he violates the law!

[Raskolnik]

35. Of course he's a hypocrite!

But I think the heart of the Keyes are his vile views on the world.

Like I said, I'm not disagreeing that things like this can't be brought up, I'm just urging that they not remain the focus.

[Walt Starr]

36. This will give Keyes EXTERMELY BAD PRESS

for a few days.

It will serve to piss him off, too.

That will cause him to open his mouth even wider, which, in the end, brings out all of the BIG issues we need to hammer the idiot on.

[Raskolnik]

38. Maybe...

You could be right.

As an aside, did you listen to his interview on 848 the other day?

[blondeatlast]

67. Keyes is on "Fresh Air" tomorrow (so is Barak!, but prolly not the

same time).

[Bandit]

45. Since when does breaking the law rank low in electing a US Senator?

I don't understand you people. Breaking the Law is a Huge thing.

[demwing]

56. No, its critical

You can judge a man by how he lives his life, and by the manner he runs his campaign.

Keyes is a hypocrit, willing to break election law when it suits his own agenda, and equally willing to castigate Hillary Clinton for the mere appearance of impropriety, even though Ms. C ran her campaign with full legitimacy.

It goes to the basis of his campaign. Keyes is not honest. He is not a candidate with a mandate from God. He is judgemental, a liar, a cheater, and quick to bear false witness against his fellow man.

If he wants to wrap himself in the bible, judge him by his own standards.

[Raskolnik]

58. Well by most objective standards...

it is certainly *not* "critical".

His social policiy views are critical. His views on the role of the gov't are critical. A registration technicality is embarrassing, indicative of other aspects of his campaign, but is not critical.

[demwing]

60. When a candidate runs on his values

it is certainly critical to discuss his values, IMO.

Nonetheless, we're going nowhere with this. Let's drop it, ok? :)

[wndycty]

22. LOL

As long as Keyes has to deal with this kind of stuff he cannot get his campaign off the ground. How long does it take to send an e-mail. I think this is important. . .it is an embarrassing mistake that helps define Keyes candidacy. We are not asking Obama to hound him on this, we as interested citizens are. Its not going to take more than 5 minutes of activism.

[Raskolnik]

27. Point taken, but...

have you heard the kind of stuff he talks about when he *does* get a campaign off the ground?

I do understand you point, however.

[wndycty]

29. Yes, I am very well versed on Keyes and why he should not be our senator

However we need to just take a few minutes to make some noise on this.

[Raskolnik]

32. All right.

I'm not really arguing that this can't be an issue, I'm just cautioning against it being the main issue.

I don't think we disagree on that.

[wndycty]

34. Who said anything about this being the main issue. . .LOL

You got to have faith in us DUers. . .we will always have fun with the little issues, but we are all about the big issues.

[Raskolnik]

37. Its a human nature thing...

we *all* tend to focus on the trivial at the expense of the important from time to time.

As I said, I don't think we disagree.

[wndycty]

40. What are disagreeing about. . .we all agree this is a minor issue, however

. . .some of us understand that this could be a minor embarrassment for Keyes which can help delay him actually getting off of the ground. But we agree this is a minor issue.

[Raskolnik]

41. Agreed.

Did you listen to his 848 interview? Holy lord is he a crank!

Steve Edwards did his best to have a reasonable discussion with him, but I'm afraid it was beyond his abilities.

[wndycty]

42. I did not hear the 848 interview, but I saw him on Chicago Tonight. . .

. . .I saw him on FOX32, I saw him on NBC5, I read his comments in the Chicago Sun-Times, I read his comments in the Tribune, etc.

[Raskolnik]

43. You can listen to it on WBEZ's website...

Its really a thing of monstrous, horrible beauty.

Good for a laugh *and* a shudder.

When he talks about a Constitutional Amendment to ban abortion, you realize that he might not be living in the real world.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

23. The Law Is The Law....

If we allow an exception for Mr. Keyes the whole edifice of our legal system will crumble and will be governed by the rule of the jungle not the rule of law....

[chiburb]

24. You're right that people will vote for Obama, but...

How do "we" look small if we hound him on the little things? "We" don't even exist to most pols, media, or neighbors. So what if "we" stir up a little shit to hopefully throw Keyes on the defensive for a news cycle.
Have you no sense of duty or humor?

[Raskolnik]

30. I'm just saying that there are a whole range...

of issues where Keyes is worthy of ridicule.

Lets not neglect those in favor of easier, smaller targets.

[wndycty]

31. Hey here are the first pics of Keyes new home!

Keyes new home
Illinois Republican U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes has rented the second floor of this Calumet City two-flat to establish residency in the state. He was a longtime Maryland resident.
(Tribune photos by Chuck Berman)
August 11, 2004

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/elections/chi-0408110139aug11,1,2195999.story?coll=chi-news-hed&vote13718912=1

[Raskolnik]

39. Yeah, would anyone like to take odds...

on how many nights he or his wife spend in Calumet City?

My guess is not too damn many.

[Norquist Nemesis]

44. Someone needs to find out who the landlord is

The extremists of the GOP are trying to maximize their opportunity to take control during the shambles this party is in. We really need to expose them in every way for this.

[MallRat]

47. Unfortunately, I think he's OK.

http://www.elections.state.il.us/elecinfo/pages/downloads/pdf/R-19.pdf

Read step 10 of the Illinois Voter Registration Form.

I swear or affirm that:

• I am a citizen of the United States;
  
• I will be at least 18 years old on or before the next election;
  
• I will have lived in the State of Illinois and in my election precinct at least 30 days as of the date of the next election.

That little clause, "I will have lived..." is what makes it legal.

Now, PROVING that he's actually living in Calumet City is another story entirely.

-MR

[Walt Starr]

48. When I first registered, I needed to provide PROOF

I had to provide an envelope sent to me at the address.

[MallRat]

50. But you didn't have to prove that you had already been there 30 days.

n/t

[Walt Starr]

55. Oh yes I did!

I produced a bill that was more than thirty days old!

This was when I first got an Illinois Driver's license years ago!

[MallRat]

57. Hmmm... interesting contradiction.

Is the law being misapplied in practice (i.e., you shouldn't have had to prove that you had already been a resident for 30 days), or is the wording on the voter application wrong (i.e., the "will have been" clause)?

Anyone have access to the actual Illinois election laws, and not simply brief digests of them?

-MR

[Walt Starr]

59. Well, a big celebrity like Alan Keyes will have it applied one way

and a nobody like me gets treated a different way.

:shrug:

That's Bush's America.

[wndycty]

52. Yeap, I understand that too. . .

. . .this just might mean he can't vote absentee. But lets see what comes of this.

[wndycty]

49. Interesting

:kick:

[Ducks In A Row]

62. you must be reading another form

nevermind


I still think there's something screwy going on

[stevebreeze]

72. I will have lived...that is the key

It is the rational for closing voter registration 30 days before the election.

[Walt Starr]

73. Under Illinois law, registration closes 27 days before the election

Look it up.

[stevebreeze]

74. You are correct, I was just rounding

[in_cog_ni_to]

51. done.

I emailed all 3 people. I hope it helps. :hi:

[wndycty]

53. Thanks. . .

:kick:

[in_cog_ni_to]

64. Here's a reply from Rick Pearson.

Thank you for writing and reading the Tribune. According to the State Board of Elections, the 30-day requirement is a pledge that you will be a resident 30 days prior to the election. Even if this rule were to be challenged, it would likely be struck down by the constitutional provision that requires only that residency be established by election day.
Thanks again for reading.
Rick Pearson
Chicago Tribune

[Walt Starr]

65. I got the same reply, here was my response

The constitutional issue only applies to running for the Senate, not registering to vote (Article I. Section 3. Clause 3 of the United States Constitution). There is no constitutional requirement that one must be able to vote for oneself in order to run for the Senate.

Registering to vote is an entirely different matter. There is Supreme Court precedence for the 30 day rule. As evidence I cite Dunn V. Blumstein decided on March 21, 1972. After this ruling, the maximum number of days that can be required to establish residency in order to vote is 30. This is the Illinois requirement.

[barb162]

68. good idea

I believe that's Cook County, right? WHat's he doing, showing them a MD driver's license. I will call cook county, I think..Daley doesn't want that jerk around, does he? Hey, let the idiot wait his full 30 days and then Obama can say this jerk isn't even a registered voter yet.

[barb162]

69. am I correct?

that you can register but the Bd. of Elections won't accept the registration because he doesn't satisfy the 30 day rule. So they won't give him a voter's card?

[barb162]

70. from the IL site above

"When can I consider myself officially registered to vote?
As soon as you receive a voter ID card in the mail, you can consider yourself registered. If you do not receive an ID card within 3 weeks after you registered, call your elections office"

------
So they theoretically won't send Keyes a card for at least 30 days because they know he only got his phony apt. this week. So he registered, but he is not officially registered/recognized by the state yet (if they follow their own laws)
I think I will call the Cook County office tomorrow just for kicks.

[barb162]

71. from IL Leader on same

they are wondering about the SUn Times story & what the heck is going on too and talking about the 30 day rule.