Republicans cheating in Ohio

[gasperc]

post cut from dailykos.com

<snip>
From the Cincinnati edition of Craigslist.org:
Today, around lunchtime, I went with my parents to the polls to vote in our primary election. When I got there, I found that I had somehow been removed from the books, and hence could not vote.
Frustrated, I took the day off work and my mom took me down to the Election Board at 18th and Walnut. When we got there, we found that the reason I was not on the books is that SOMEONE had sent in an address change card for me. I live near 76th and Troost, but the voting database now had me down as living at 52nd and Locust - I've NEVER lived there, and have in fact lived at this address all of my life <...> It took about two hours, but the elections commission director straightened it out and I was finally able to vote. However, she told me why this has been happening, and it's very worrisome.

Apparently there are groups out there who buy copies of the voter registration rolls, then send in new registrations for registered voters giving them a new address. It's really a more sophisticated version of the whole thing with the felony lists in Florida in the last election - however, people aren't being REMOVED from the voting rolls, and hence there's no red flag being raised. After all, people DO move and send in change of address, so there's no reason for them to suspect voter fraud <...>

By the way, I'll just say that I think it's significant that I happen to live in a largely minority, heavily Democratic district in a swing state.

This needs to be addressed ASAP.

[2Design]

1. Go DNC and Kerry headquartes and the media and let them know

This is how they plan on winning in lots of places.....this is fraud.

[WillyT]

2. Grrr....

:grr:

Thanks for the heads-up!!!

Will be passing it on here. Mom's involved with local election stuff.

:hi:

[merbex]

7. Spread the Word

People should be prepared to bring a valid ID to the polls;in my state it would include a valid photo id,current utility bill, bank statement,gov't check, paycheck or other gov't document showing your name and address.

If they won't accept this or are giving you a hard time INSIST on a provisional ballot.You would then have until the close of the polls to produce a valid form of id for your provisional ballot to be counted

[papau]

3. Posted many times but with State Name changed - a real problem but

a fake report.

[WillyT]

10. I'm Not Gettin Your Meaning There P, Could You Explain Please ???

:shrug:

[papau]

14. This same report - with only Ohio replaced w/ Missouri - has been posted

It is a real problem that you avoid by taking a recent piece of mail to the polling place.

But at the moment - "urban myth" is what the GOP is trying to label this game.

I think it is a real game - and the fact that the web is getting this fake problem letter that allows the GOP to scream "urban myth" seems an indication to me that the GOP plan to actually pull this stunt in Nov 2004.

But then I wear a tin foil hat at all times!

:-)

[WillyT]

16. Thanks... Just Read The Stuff At DailyKos !!!

I think you may be coreect. They're just softening up the ground for November. Scream Urban Myth now, nobody will pay anyattention to the complaints later.

:shrug::hi::shrug:

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

21. Those street names dont sound like Cincy...

.....I dont think they have numbered streets going that far up.

[Philostopher]

27. Troost is in Kansas City, MO.

I had a friend about eight years ago who lived on that street, I went and visited him there -- this lends credence to the poster who said it was originally a Missouri thing.

They didn't even bother to change street names.

That being said, Ohio voters do need to check if they haven't voted in a general election for two cycles -- Ohio does drop you off the active voter rolls if you don't vote. That's nothing new since the Republicans have been mostly in charge -- they always did that -- but I'm sure they've been extra special active about purging voter rolls since they got in charge.

So check with the board of elections if you didn't vote in 2000 in Ohio, or if you've moved. If you've changed your name, make sure you can verify the name change -- birth certificate and whatever verification of the name change -- so they can't refuse you a ballot for that reason. There's plenty going on in Ohio without worrying about things that may or may not have happened.

[Downtown Hound]

4. Bastards!

If they steal this election all bets are off. It's time for a nationwide general strike!

[Tansy_Gold]

19. I think I would do more than just strike

of course, I'm engaged in an involuntary strike now anyway. It's called "unemployed."

[olddem43]

5. Everyone should check their own registration before the election.

And also that of all their relatives and acquaintances, if possible.
Media should be notified and asked to report this.

[calico1]

6. It would do us all good to check our registrations

just prior to the election within the registration time. Especially those of you in swing states. Please tell eveyone you know.

[Zynx]

8. What the hell?! This has to be stopped!

[Pathwalker]

9. Call your local officials everyone - make sure this

doesn't happen to you!!!

[LiberalBushFan]

11. terrorists trying to disrupt our elections

now we know who they are.

The Kerry campaign and other state campaigns should be alerted, and they should sue these groups, not for money, but so the perpetrators can be jailed.

[realFedUp]

12. Thoughtful comments at dailykos

Before losing your perspective, read some
of the comments posted on this thread at
dailykos.com

[Occulus]

13. This is also mail fraud...

...if it's being sent by USPS.

Call the postal inspectors as well.

[WillyT]

15. Which Is A FEDERAL Offense !!!

Maybe these guys are just lookin forward to a cell next to Dick and Bush???

:shrug:

[beyurslf]

17. Advance vote, requesting a ballot be mailed to you. This will alert you if

there is a change sinceyou won't get the ballot and will still have time to correct it before the election.

[Octafish]

18. Contact The Toledo Blade

Speak with a political reporter and explain your story. Say you are concerned and would like to know if this is a widespread problem.

BTW: The Diebold fellah did promise to deliver Ohio for Smirko. Maybe we've been concentrating on BBV rather than old-fashioned sneakiness. Thanks for a most important post, gasperc!

[FrankBooth]

20. This might be a stupid question

But what possible reason could there be for the government to sell Voter Registration rolls to anybody? Why is this legal in the first place?

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

22. This IS Bs

Cincy....

Hamilton County Board of Elections

...824 Broadway.

http://www.hamilton-co.org/BOE/

There is no 18th & Walnut in Cincinnati

[BayouBengal07]

23. This sounds familiar

Wasn't there a guy from Ohio who posted a while back saying he filled out his voter registration card, only to be told he did't check the "Gender" option, and when he went to reapply, he got a different address on his new one?

This is fishy...

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

25. Well, the street names in that post are not from Cincy.

If it was supposed to be Cincinnati they have the location of the board of elections wrong.

[Jai4WKC08]

31. I noticed that too

I live in Kansas, but Troost is definitely in Kansas City MISSOURI, and I'm thinking Locust is too.

'Course, Missoui is a battleground as well. So it really doesn't matter. Maybe the KC Star refused to publish the letter? Otoh, I heard someone on another message board mention that this sort of thing was happening in Ohio, so maybe the letter was written to the Cincy paper in response to something else.

If it's happening in Ohio and Missouri, it's probably a nationally organized effort (most likely), and happening in all the other b/g states as well.

[Bandit]

24. Nobody can be turned away at the polls.... Period

They have to let you vote no matter what. It is called a contested ballot but it is a ballot and it will be checked for detail.

[DeepModem Mom]

26. kick

[NewYorkerfromMass]

28. Provisional ballots are one solution

there are others, but that is one way around it.
The law has to allow it where you vote though, and the laws vary greatly.

[Jack Rabbit]

29. Very interesting

It sounds like something Jeb would have tought of, although it might not take that much imagination.

Are there other cases of this? It sounds like there are.

If so, are the victims of this fraud all Democrats or likely Democrats?

[PATRICK]

30. Florida was a great casebook

It all boiled down to a little bit of this and a bit of that. The vaunted GOP turnout machine was small stuff compared to the wide range of crooked
and semi-legal ways of cooking the election. I gather it was probably the Nixonian determination to borrow every trick in the book and even get every mom and pop GOP operation in the country think of actual ways of disenfranchising the Dem majority. Padding and vote fraud are discernible crimes, but look at how the obtuse and many many methods not only succeed but persist and thrive when caught.

People go to jail for a few instances of vote fraud. In Florida court case after court was lost trying to get satisfaction for the "cute stuff". The convicted felons' list has only partially corrected- maybe.
This same spurt of entrepreneurial disenfranchisement has gone digital with touchscreen voting. Not just hacking but defective hardware, software, knowingly confused poll workers, as many outlets for tampering as your imagination can guess- and then some, smoke and mirrors with security that has been violated all over the process but beautifully unpunished, deflected by new "fixes".

Odd, but a dependence on electronic fraud would make the normal skulduggery rare, no need for intimidators, dirty tricks, unfair advantages, schemes and rigging. A small number of actual vote fixers so that the GOP could more honestly lie to themselves about their innocence.