Dissecting the GOP’s ‘in-person voting-fraud’ fraud
And so it continues: Republicans have yet to identify any evidence anywhere in the country of attempts to alter election outcomes through in-person voting fraud.
None.
Yet in the alternative universe that too many of them occupy — the same universe in which Mitt Romney is up 10 points in “unskewed” polling — they are somehow absolutely certain that it occurs, and these supposed “small-government” types are equally certain that new regulations and state bureaucracies all across the country are necessary to prevent it.
This completely imaginary “problem” has acquired great credence on the right because it is so useful. First, it appears to confirm their vague fear that they must be victims of some nefarious plot — somehow involving poor people who are being manipulated against them — to steal elections and thus power. That sense of emotional confirmation is all the evidence that they need, and conservative media are eager to provide it.
Second — whether by intention or happy circumstance — the story offers GOP politicians an excuse to create new and completely unnecessary obstacles to voting by those who do not possess government identification. In Pennsylvania, for example, the state officially estimated that some 759,000 perfectly eligible voters did not possess and identification of the type required by a new state law.
And in Ohio, Republicans are in court insisting that provisional ballots that were cast in the wrong precinct because of mistakes by polling workers must be tossed out and not counted. in other words, through no fault of their own, legally registered voters who did everything by the book would be stripped of their constitutional right to vote. Only a cynic would suggest that the GOP position is driven by the fact that such mistakes occur far more often in more Democratic urban areas, where precincts are much smaller and tightly drawn, making confusion more likely. It’s not an insignificant problem — in 2008, the state tossed 14,355 such ballots, Bloomburg reports.
In fact, the closest we have to evidence of attempted large-scale vote fraud in the current election cycle is a scandal involving a Republican company hired by the Republican National Committee to conduct voter-registration drives in four swing states, including Florida and Colorada.
In at least 10 counties in Florida, numerous voter registration forms submitted by Strategic Alliance Consulting have been found to be fraudulent. The company — founded by Nathan Sproul, a former executive director of the Arizona Republican Party — has since been fired by the RNC because of those problems. In Florida alone, Sproul’s company was paid $1.3 million for its voter-registration efforts.
Even in this specific case, however, there is no evidence that false registrations were generated in an attempt to alter election outcomes. The fraudulent registrations appear to have been submitted by Strategic Alliance workers who were attempting to increase the number of voters they claimed to register. The phantom voters thus created were not going to turn up at the polls attempting to vote.
However, other aspects of the Strategic Alliance effort might be more troubling. Voter registration is supposed to be nonpartisan, with voters of all inclinations allowed to register. In the past, however, registration drives led by Sproul have been accused of collecting and then tossing out registration forms signed by would-be Democratic voters.
Those voters would believe themselves properly registered, only to show up at the voting booth with no record that they had done so. A recent videotape of a Strategic Alliance registration worker outside a Colorado grocery store suggests there may be some basis to those fears:
– Jay Bookman
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765 comments Add your comment
Ahem
October 1st, 2012
12:19 pm
Current TV?!?
Now that’s funny.
getalife
October 1st, 2012
12:20 pm
Martin,
Your words give you away.
getalife
October 1st, 2012
12:21 pm
Or these…
md?
Joe
October 1st, 2012
12:21 pm
How to buy an election
1. Michigan : bail out auto companies ( UAW votes )
2. Ohio: free Obama phones for one million people ( gota love the Cleveland lady )
Jm
October 1st, 2012
12:21 pm
Zzz
Joe Hussein Mama
October 1st, 2012
12:22 pm
K’Chak — “Joe Hussein Mama Is there an estimate on how much this high-tech ID will cost? The estimate of eligible voters in the US is 207,643,594. I’m thinking that the cost of producing and distributing this ID is gonna be enormous.”
I expect it would be pretty doggone costly.
FWIW, (and I’ve posted this several times), this ID would replace several other types of IDs, so it would serve a lot of functions.
It could serve as your voter ID.
Prospective employers could use it to check to ensure you’re authorized to work in the US before hiring you (so resident aliens could get such a card that allows them to work, but wouldn’t allow them to vote).
It could also be your SS and Medicare card.
I’m sure there are other functions it could be used for.
It seems to me that both parties are upset about the amount of dirty tricks and hijinks surrounding the voting system, as well as unauthorized immigrant labor. So why not use this method instead? Seriously, I can’t think of an easier or less costly way to do it.
Ahem
October 1st, 2012
12:22 pm
Why Romney would have made a better 44th president
“The U.S. economy has improved under President Barack Obama. But by all the measures Democrats use, Americans would be better off today if Mitt Romney had led the country for the past four years…Heading into November’s election, voters should be asking which president would have done a better job with the cards Obama was dealt. Although such hypothetical questions are hard to answer, a quick look at the record suggests the winner would be Romney…Romney the pragmatist would have been more likely to focus on the most effective measures to reduce unemployment, rather than on pushing a liberal agenda.” Luigi Zingales in Bloomberg.
larry
October 1st, 2012
12:23 pm
While i agree we need Voter ID laws, i have to agree with Joe , the time the states are given to impliment them is a real giveaway to what is behind these laws.
The only thing they care about is making sure a certain canididate wins.
Making sure everyone has an ID is the states’ job since they are the one making the laws. And im not talking about buying an old broken down van that barely runs to go to all the counties to give ID’s to people that need them. The state needs to spend the money to make sure everyone and i mean everyone has an ID.
Martin the Calvinist
October 1st, 2012
12:23 pm
SBinf….here’s another one……http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_rights_in_the_United_States
A national id is expensive but I think we do need it…..It’s not right that non citizens or those not eligible for legitimate reasons to vote….we should guard against that….I thinks that’s reasonable…
It shouldn’t be regarded as voter supression…..any legal US citizen should be able to vote,
AngryRedMarsWoman
October 1st, 2012
12:23 pm
I don’t get it. Whether voting is a “free for all” or requires ten forms of ID and blood test, it still doesn’t matter – unless we get rid of the electoral college and elect the POTUS by popular vote most people are pretty much disenfranchised anyway. Unless you are in a “battleground state” nobody cares. And in a two-party system where neither seems capable of offering a really decent candidate, I tend to be suspicious of people who want to vote for either – not to mention someone who would take the time to try to vote more than once. Welcome to Georgia – neither candidate is going to give us much thought (because one is already a shoe-in) and I am glad I don’t have to put up with all of the BS politicking. Wake me up for Thanksgiving – nothing is going to change.
azazel
October 1st, 2012
12:24 pm
DDR– home-grown propaganda has a long history of sophisticated manipulatuion(e.g., walter Lipmann’s Manufacturing Consent, and more chilling still,from edward Bernays:”The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society.
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
October 1st, 2012
12:24 pm
No ID to vote absentee – where fraud does occur.
Sounds like a typically well thoght out GOP plan to me.
.
.
.
.
Make sure you and yours are ready to vote….and if there is ANY problem demand a provisional ballot.
Brosephus™
October 1st, 2012
12:25 pm
and SBinf, I’ll wait while you show me where in the Constitution that voting is a guaranteed right?
The Constitution doesn’t guarantee rights. The Constitution is design rights that we already have. Hence the amendments that protect women and minority rights to vote. It was understood from the writing of the Constitution that White men already had the right to vote.
—————————
Is there an estimate on how much this high-tech ID will cost?
The estimate of eligible voters in the US is 207,643,594.
I’m thinking that the cost of producing and distributing this ID is gonna be enormous.
Not really, especially when considering that a person is usually born with all the ID that’s needed. We simply need to register and record votes by biometric identification. It’s very difficult to use someone else’s fingerprint to vote whether it’s by absentee ballot or in person.
Martin the Calvinist
October 1st, 2012
12:25 pm
again getalife, you really don’t know me that well for you to assume that I am a true defender of the rich…….
saywhat?
October 1st, 2012
12:25 pm
martin @ 12:00
All the examples you have listed are false equivalencies
Nos. 2,4, and 5 are to verify age in order to comply with laws widely known to be routinely broken by the underaged, unlike voter fraud.
No. 3 is because it involves a transfer of money between two parties who have may no idea of the legitimacy of the written check, and serves to protect both the party paying on the check as well as the account holder. Again, check fraud is a well known and common problem, unlike voter fraud.
No.6 again deals with money, a great incentive for fraud, and again is a common problem.
No.1 has several reasons, including accurate passenger lists in case of a crash,security, etc.
As mentioned by others, registering to vote requires identification on the front end, after which utility bills used to show ID are perfectly sufficient, unless you know somebody who will go through the trouble of figuring out where each individual they want to impersonate lives, generate a false billing statement, and then somehow guarantee the person/people they are impersonating won’t vote and revealing the deception.
getalife
October 1st, 2012
12:26 pm
Ok md………..
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
October 1st, 2012
12:26 pm
How to buy an election…
1. …promise a tax cut using a projected budget surplus.
2. …front load those tax cuts for the very wealthy.
3. …invade a foreign country and then claim tax cuts can’t happen as promised.
Nice Guy
October 1st, 2012
12:26 pm
Here you go, Jay, I’ll fix your typos:
This completely imaginary “problem” has acquired great credence on the Left because it is so useful. First, it appears to confirm their vague fear that they must be victims of some nefarious plot — somehow involving rich people who are being manipulated against them — to steal elections and thus power. That sense of emotional confirmation is all the evidence that they need, and liberal media are eager to provide it.
Brosephus™
October 1st, 2012
12:27 pm
Why Romney would have made a better 44th president
Because it’s somebody’s opinion that he would have been better. There’s no tangible evidence that actually shows that. One can only use assumptions to come to that conclusion.
DebbieDoRight - Minister Of Propaganda, Gangland Style!
October 1st, 2012
12:27 pm
yet, you defend this idiotic notion that anyone should be able to walk up to a polling booth and vote, no need to prove Identity or citizenship…..I don’t get it…..
Ok get this – If Voter Fraud was so rampant, then WHY WAIT to instate Voter
SuppressionDetection laws? If it was sooo rampant in 2007, 2008, 2009,2010, 2011, etc.; then why did the majority of right leaning states wait until THIS YEAR to demand that everyone in the state have the same state ID to vote, and must have the information before they are allowed to vote in November for the presidential race?Why the wait? Why couldn’t they have started this massive drive in say……………2009? Not all states did this, JUST the ones that went majority Democratic in the past major elections…………..
Brosephus™
October 1st, 2012
12:28 pm
ARMW
As long as people blindly vote party over the individual, you’ll continue to see very few “battle states”. When people decide to quit being sheep and start being Americans, I think that would shake things up a bit. That’s just my opinion though.
Nice Guy
October 1st, 2012
12:29 pm
Also, Jay, why is it that you hardly ever write a piece on what Obama/Democrats are doing successfully or are doing correctly? Why?
Instead you just write about what the Republicans are doing wrong.
Some people call that easy money, Jay.
saywhat?
October 1st, 2012
12:29 pm
Ahem @12:22. While Luigi Zengales is free to hold that opinion, it is worth less than what I wiped from my azz and flushed down the toilet this morning.
Martin the Calvinist
October 1st, 2012
12:30 pm
but saywhat, can’t you say that it’s age discrimination to require an ID, owning a weapon is a Constitutional right so aren’t denying people the right to have a weapon by making them have an ID, all I’m saying is that you need an ID to do just about anything in this country….why can’t we have an ID to vote as well or request an absentee ballot…..I have conceded (or find very reasonable) that we should give more time to establish an ID for everyone….makes sense…
Ahem
October 1st, 2012
12:31 pm
Even in the unlikely event of Obama’s re-election, he still loses:
Just look at the mess he will inherit from the previous administration, HIS.
Regnad Kcin
October 1st, 2012
12:32 pm
Joe
October 1st, 2012
12:21 pm
How to buy an election
1. Michigan : bail out auto companies ( UAW votes )
2. Ohio: free Obama phones for one million people ( gota love the Cleveland lady )
==================
Joe – as to #2, I have some questions:
Do the phones says “Obama” on them (why are you calling them “Obama” phones”)?
Has Romney come out against whatever specific program distributes phones?
What is the goal of this “phone” program, and has it achieved it?
And finally, can you link to the “1 million phones in Ohio” cite?
Thanks for your help.
Aquagirl
October 1st, 2012
12:33 pm
A national id is expensive but I think we do need it….
It would be worth it just to hear the screams of the Rapture Ready crowd. If we’re gonna spend that much money I propose we call the national ID card “the mark of the beast.” This should maximize the hilarity. Also I could invest in gold and other end-of-the world nutbag commodities.
Count me in for this idea!
Nice Guy
October 1st, 2012
12:33 pm
Jay – “the story offers GOP politicians an excuse to create new and completely unnecessary obstacles to voting by those who do not possess government identification”
Completely unnecessary?….Really?
We live in a hyper political world with who-knows how many terrorist, and asking for ID is completely unecessary?
Sheesh.
Brosephus™
October 1st, 2012
12:34 pm
DDR @ 12:27
There is empirical evidence to support you.
http://votingrights.news21.com/article/election-fraud/
A News21 analysis of 2,068 alleged election-fraud cases since 2000 shows that while fraud has occurred, the rate is infinitesimal, and in-person voter impersonation on Election Day, which prompted 37 state legislatures to enact or consider tough voter ID laws, is virtually non-existent.
In an exhaustive public records search, News21 reporters sent thousands of requests to elections officers in all 50 states, asking for every case of fraudulent activity including registration fraud, absentee ballot fraud, vote buying, false election counts, campaign fraud, casting an ineligible vote, voting twice, voter impersonation fraud and intimidation.
Analysis of the resulting comprehensive News21 election fraud database turned up 10 cases of voter impersonation. With 146 million registered voters in the United States during that time, those 10 cases represent one out of about every 15 million prospective voters.
“Voter fraud at the polls is an insignificant aspect of American elections,” said elections expert David Schultz, professor of public policy at Hamline University School of Business in St. Paul, Minn.
“There is absolutely no evidence that (voter impersonation fraud) has affected the outcome of any election in the United States, at least any recent election in the United States,” Schultz said.
Ahem
October 1st, 2012
12:34 pm
saywhat?
October 1st, 2012
12:29 pm
Ahem @12:22. While Luigi Zengales is free to hold that opinion, it is worth less than what I wiped from my azz and flushed down the toilet this morning.
So, are you a headless dumb azz now; or just the same ol’ dumb azz as before?
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
October 1st, 2012
12:36 pm
Is there any method of ID that is completely secure?
If we go to a national ID….will it have to be biometric?
Are conservtives ready to pony up a little DNA to the government?
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
October 1st, 2012
12:36 pm
….why can’t we have an ID to vote as well or request an absentee ballot…
How much are you willing to spend — on a per head basis — to accomplish this task?
Again — the estimate of eligible voters in the US is 207,643,594.
At $1 per ID that’s $207,643,594
At $10 per ID that’s $2,076,435,940
At $100 per ID that’s $20,764,359,400
Joe Hussein Mama
October 1st, 2012
12:37 pm
GG — “No ID to vote absentee – where fraud does occur. Sounds like a typically well thoght out GOP plan to me.”
With my national ID card, perhaps that could be fixed, too.
Imagine Ed the Trucker. Ed drives his rig all over the country, delivering freight. One week it could be a load of mattresses to Seattle. The next week, pallets of canned fruit and vegetables to New England. Ed never knows when he’s going to be home or for how long.
So what if Ed was passing thru Gallup, New Mexico on I-40 (probably hauling a load of Pampers to California) and said to himself “I think I’ll go vote today.” Ed could go to the City Hall or county office, present his ID and vote REMOTELY in his local, state and Federal elections. The good people in Gallup would just provide the computer and internet connection, and they’d log on, identify themselves and their location to the Georgia system, which would then handle delivering Ed’s choices to his screen, as well as delivering his votes back to the GA Secretary of State.
Result: Ed votes absentee with a minimum of hassle. AND he has to show ID.
Keep Up the Good Fight! (and only seeing conned poutrage)
October 1st, 2012
12:37 pm
Have not seen any of the conned express their dismay at the video…. why if Little Jimmy had made this video while in his pimp outfit, it would be on Fox in an endless loop.
Normal Free...Pro Human Rights Thug...And liking it!
October 1st, 2012
12:37 pm
Martin the Calvinist
October 1st, 2012
12:19 pm
I don’t think that there is a blogger here that doesn’t want that, but you won’t get it from the GOP.
All you will get is rhetoric and false promises as they move to become an elite corporate society with all the benefits for them and nothing for you. I’ve said it before, if to are not rich and call yourself a Republican, you have been sold a pig in a poke.
Joe Hussein Mama
October 1st, 2012
12:39 pm
GG — Is there any method of ID that is completely secure?”
Nothing’s completely, 100% secure. But I think we can do much better than we currently are.
“If we go to a national ID….will it have to be biometric?”
I think so.
“Are conservtives ready to pony up a little DNA to the government?”
Shrug. They already give up a thumbprint to the State of Georgia.
BuckeyeInGa
October 1st, 2012
12:40 pm
Why Romney would have made a better 44th president
too bad he got beat my McCain in the primary.
Regnad Kcin
October 1st, 2012
12:40 pm
If we’re gonna spend that much money I propose we call the national ID card “the mark of the beast.” This should maximize the hilarity
^THIS^
southpaw
October 1st, 2012
12:41 pm
SBinF @12:11
So much for the Constitution. On to the Voting Rights Act. I searched for “identification” in it, but couldn’t find anything prohibiting identification as a requirement to vote. What section was that, again?
Steve-USA @12:09
Haven’t seen that game yet, but maybe there should be one. Just don’t forget to include Kamchak’s “drudgey spam” posts, as well.
JHM @12:09
I remember when you told me the same thing a few weeks ago. Still can’t improve on your idea, even though I’ve thought about it several times since then.
Joe Hussein Mama
October 1st, 2012
12:41 pm
K’Chak — “How much are you willing to spend — on a per head basis — to accomplish this task?”
“At $100 per ID that’s $20,764,359,400″
How much do Presidential candidates spend per election cycle? I’d think they’d consider it worth it to ensure the security and fidelity of the election system. Plus, if the people wanted it, a candidate would look like a real Richard for opposing it.
Doggone/GA
October 1st, 2012
12:42 pm
“They already give up a thumbprint to the State of Georgia”
Which can be faked.
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
October 1st, 2012
12:42 pm
JHM
I love the idea.
However, back to my question.
How do we make it truly secure?
bob
October 1st, 2012
12:42 pm
Our jails currently house people convicted of voter fraud, mostl dems. Dodge County GA had voter fraud, 4 dem party officials were convicted last year and several ex felon have been arrested in MN that help Franken win. While they are not voter ID we do know that fraudsters are among us and we should do everything we can to stop it. For those wanting to avoid jury duty, show up to the courthouse with no ID, you will not be seated.
Doggone/GA
October 1st, 2012
12:44 pm
“I’d think they’d consider it worth it to ensure the security and fidelity of the election system. ”
It already is. I’m going on an old memory here…and I’m too lazy right now to look it up…but my memory is that the Supreme Court has ruled on national IDs as being unconstitutional.
Jamvet
October 1st, 2012
12:44 pm
But any Republic worth its salt should encourage voter participation amongst all its citizens, rather than looking for new and creative ways to restrict it.
Our new GOPers seem very unwilling to participate.
Unless endless bellyaching counts!
They have become so servile that to them, protest and redress of grievances is now unforgivable. Unless the protesters are tea partiers. (They apparetnly never read Paine, Douglass, Thoreau and Jefferson)
They prefer that the “monied interests” and talking heads do their thinking for them, so they can stay completely self-sidelined save once every four years.
Also note how they have gone completely apopectic over the word democracy, when used to descibe the United States of America.
To the point where they do not even care that the sacred sovereignty of we the pople has been usurped by those monied interests.
Sad…
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
October 1st, 2012
12:44 pm
JHM
I think the public will balk at $207 million
Joe Hussein Mama
October 1st, 2012
12:44 pm
southpaw — “JHM @12:09
I remember when you told me the same thing a few weeks ago. Still can’t improve on your idea, even though I’ve thought about it several times since then.”
I know my idea’s not perfect, but I think on the whole, it can be refined and made pretty doggone good — certainly good enough to satisfy both conservative and liberal complaints about our current system.
The Libertarian in me doesn’t like it, but I honestly can’t see a way to accomplish the job *without* some sort of national ID and database.
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
October 1st, 2012
12:45 pm
JHM
You answered it.
Now, conservatives….
How many of you are willing to provide a DNA sample for a National ID?
larry
October 1st, 2012
12:46 pm
And between now and 2016, look for states to do away with early voting. Ohio tried it by stating that only the military could early vote, until the courts came it and said everyone could early vote. Also , look for them to say it costs too much to early vote and they will be cutting the secretary of states’ budget. Because they cant cut the education budget any more.
Aquagirl
October 1st, 2012
12:46 pm
“They already give up a thumbprint to the State of Georgia”
Which can be faked.
How? Are they selling fake thumbs on eBay?
Keep Up the Good Fight! (and only seeing conned poutrage)
October 1st, 2012
12:46 pm
I’d think they’d consider it worth it to ensure the security and fidelity of the election system.
Joe, on this one, I have to laugh. Do you really think that any of the voter suppression efforts are about real security of the system? For the record, I agree that the system needs to be secure but before it would be worthwhile to spend billions or more on a “secure” system, it should be shown to address the real security issues in voting and to remove barriers to voting by citizens.
Doggone/GA
October 1st, 2012
12:47 pm
“How many of you are willing to provide a DNA sample for a National ID?”
A DNA sample would be useless for voter ID…unless you’re also willing to pony up to have testing labs installed in very polling place in the country.
Joe Hussein Mama
October 1st, 2012
12:47 pm
Doggone — “Which can be faked.”
The beauty of storing those prints digitally is that they can be compared and the database scrubbed. If you have (for example) twenty exact print matches on valid IDs, the system can flag those IDs. The next time they try to use those IDs for something, the bearers can be directed to their nearest county/state office to have the discrepancy resolved.
FWIW, you’re not going to have twenty matching prints running around the state unless someone’s making fake IDs. But if you *find* matching prints, the system can flag the IDs.
Ron
October 1st, 2012
12:48 pm
I don’t see any problems showing an ID when it comes to voting. You need one to cash your welfare check, to drive, and are expected to have one when the police stop you. The Dem’s don’t like anything that could prevent them from stealing elections. This is necessary to prevent foreign nationals (Illegals) from voting in our elections. Why don’t we let the people decide – put it on the ballot!
DebbieDoRight - Minister Of Propaganda, Gangland Style!
October 1st, 2012
12:49 pm
This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society.
Ooh me likey!!! Big Brother Lives!!
“Do you begin to see, then, what kind of world we are creating? It is the exact opposite of the stupid hedonistic Utopias that the old reformers imagined. A world of fear and treachery and torment, a world of trampling and being trampled upon, a world which will grow not less but more merciless as it refines itself. Progress in our world will be progress toward more pain.” — George Orwell 1984
Buckeye: This is key. No matter how long your voter history is, someone can say you’re not eligible to vote. Another issue with the law is which type of id is considered valid.. is a gun id valid? is a college id valid? are certain college ids valid and other are not valid?
First off, BOOOO! BOOO!! Buckeyes = Suckeyes!! Urban Meyer BURN IN HELL!!!
OK now I can comment – good point! In some states, Texas is one, you can vote with a Gun ID but NOT a student ID. It seems to me since both have holes in verification for each one; they should BOTH be eligible for use, but they’re not. IMO its because there was a vast turnout by people under 24 yo (college students most likely), for Obama last election.
Joe Hussein Mama
October 1st, 2012
12:49 pm
GG — “JHM I love the idea. However, back to my question. How do we make it truly secure?”
Perhaps multi-factor authentication?
Ahem
October 1st, 2012
12:49 pm
PublicPolicyPolling says Ohio is still in play; liberals freak out
PPP, a Democrat-leaning firm, came out with a new poll tonight showing President Barack Obama leading GOP nominee Mitt Romney in Ohio by 4 points, 49-45.
(Posted at 10:06 pm on September 30, 2012)
Six percent of the respondents were undecided. Historically, in a race with an incumbent, undecided voters break heavily toward the challenger, and PPP found evidence that this will probably be the case in Ohio:
In other words, only 13 percent of undecided respondents said Obama is doing a good job, whereas 65 percent said he stinks. By comparison, Romney’s favorability rating among undecided respondents was a relatively even 26/37.
The news that Ohio is still in play was not warmly received by PPP’s liberal readers.
Doggone/GA
October 1st, 2012
12:49 pm
“How? Are they selling fake thumbs on eBay”
As long as the fingerprint on the ID matches the fingerprint of the person presenting it…it would be a “legal” ID. Even if the person isn’t really the person the ID says they are. There is NO ID system that can’t be faked.
Joe Hussein Mama
October 1st, 2012
12:51 pm
Doggone — “I’m going on an old memory here…and I’m too lazy right now to look it up…but my memory is that the Supreme Court has ruled on national IDs as being unconstitutional.”
If you can dredge the memory up, I’m interested in reading the ruling.
Maybe I can bang on my idea with a wrench in order to bring it into compliance with whatever the SCOTUS said on that topic.
stands for decibels
October 1st, 2012
12:51 pm
And im not talking about buying an old broken down van that barely runs to go to all the counties to give ID’s to people that need them.
In case people think Larry was just making this up? He wasn’t.
Georgian were promised by Sonny Perdue that in exchange for onerous new voter ID requirements, he’d make sure that seniors and shut-ins were provided transportation to offices where they could get such ID free of charge.
I don’t really have to tell you how that turned out in practice, do I?
http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2005/12/20/met_34168.shtml
Mr. Snarky
October 1st, 2012
12:51 pm
Fraud from the right…who woulda thunk it?!
They also appear to hire morons, so if any of you cons who comment on this blog are looking for work, head to Arizona.
Ahem
October 1st, 2012
12:51 pm
@
Ron
October 1st, 2012
12:48 pm
Good post; I agree. What is the problem with showing an ID, just like required in so many other instances?
Just Saying..
October 1st, 2012
12:52 pm
Any chance ‘Pubs might implement their ACORN remedies on their own vendor?
Naw, didn’t think so…
Tealiban Party
October 1st, 2012
12:52 pm
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
October 1st, 2012
11:47 am
How about a thread on how the Obama Administration is trying to keep military personnel from voting !!!!!!!!!!!
How about doing your own research instead of spreading falsehoods of the FWD emails your receive. Obama’s team filed a lawsuit in Ohio to allow all citizens of the Buckeye State the same early voting as military members.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/is-obama-challenging-voting-privileges-of-ohio-military-members/2012/08/07/b9cf76ac-e080-11e1-8fc5-a7dcf1fc161d_blog.html
yuzeyurbrane
October 1st, 2012
12:52 pm
This voter suppression campaign did not just happen to emerge in Republican controlled states this year by chance. It is planned with a lot of input from Koch front group ALEC, the RNC, and other right-wing groups. There are laws on the books about voting rights, harassment, conspiracy to violate these laws and the like which should be enforced to their fullest extent. Many are felonies. The people behind all of this should be prosecuted, convicted and sent to the slammer. What they are doing is not silly little “dirty tricks” but are a dagger aimed right at the essence of representative democracy. Elections are not a game. Every eligible person should be allowed to vote without harassment and let the chips fall where they may as far as election results. That is democracy my friends on the right.
Ahem
October 1st, 2012
12:53 pm
BuckeyeInGa
October 1st, 2012
12:40 pm
I agree.
Joe Hussein Mama
October 1st, 2012
12:53 pm
KUTGF — “Joe, on this one, I have to laugh. Do you really think that any of the voter suppression efforts are about real security of the system?”
My wife pointed out to me that this is an unanticipated benefit of my idea — it calls the bluff of those Richards who are more interested in voter suppression than in securing the system.
“For the record, I agree that the system needs to be secure but before it would be worthwhile to spend billions or more on a “secure” system, it should be shown to address the real security issues in voting and to remove barriers to voting by citizens.”
Fair enough. Any ideas on how to adjust my idea to accomplish that? Or perhaps you have something completely different in mind?
SBinf
October 1st, 2012
12:53 pm
“here you go SBinf……there are things in the Constitution that says you can’t put restrictions on voting but no right to Vote is in the Constitution….”
Are you trolling me? That’s the same thing! If the Constitution says you can’t restrict voting, it’s protecting the right to vote.
Check the 14th, 15th, 19th, 23rd and 24th amendments to the Constitution. Then get back to me about how the Constitution doesn’t address voting rights.
stands for decibels
October 1st, 2012
12:53 pm
Obama’s team filed a lawsuit in Ohio to allow all citizens of the Buckeye State the same early voting as military members.
Conservatives lie about this, repeatedly. I expect I will hear about this bullsh-t “military vote suppression” business at least once a day until the election is finally freaking over.
Regnad Kcin
October 1st, 2012
12:53 pm
Off-topic here – even UnSkewedPolls.com has Obama ahead today! LOL
Doggone/GA
October 1st, 2012
12:54 pm
“Maybe I can bang on my idea with a wrench in order to bring it into compliance with whatever the SCOTUS said on that topic.”
The best I can suggest at the moment is to go to the SC website and search around to see if you can find it.
Aquagirl
October 1st, 2012
12:55 pm
How many of you are willing to provide a DNA sample for a National ID?
I’m sure this woman would strenuously object.
http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2010/04/19/delusions-the-legislature-and-an-implanted-microchip/
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
October 1st, 2012
12:55 pm
Tealiban Party
October 1st, 2012
12:52 pm
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
October 1st, 2012
11:47 am
How about a thread on how the Obama Administration is trying to keep military personnel from voting !!!!!!!!!!!
How about doing your own research instead of spreading falsehoods of the FWD emails your receive. Obama’s team filed a lawsuit in Ohio to allow all citizens of the Buckeye State the same early voting as military members.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/is-obama-challenging-voting-privileges-of-ohio-military-members/2012/08/07/b9cf76ac-e080-11e1-8fc5-a7dcf1fc161d_blog.html
.
.
.
.
How about a post for the seriously under informed
and intellectually lazy?
Joe Hussein Mama
October 1st, 2012
12:55 pm
Ahem — “Historically, in a race with an incumbent, undecided voters break heavily toward the challenger”
No, they don’t. This has been studied for many years among statisticians, and the opposite generally happens.
Ahem
October 1st, 2012
12:56 pm
yuzeyurbrane
October 1st, 2012
12:52 pm
You are obviously suffering from koch envy.
Ahem
October 1st, 2012
12:56 pm
Joe Hussein Mama
October 1st, 2012
12:55 pm
You are wrong, but I respect your right to be such.
redneckbluedog
October 1st, 2012
12:57 pm
TBAGGERS BEWARE……Mitt Romney is going to throw you completely under the bus Wednesday night….!!!!!
He is going to undergo A-N-O-T-H-E-R “Etch-a-Sketch” transformation……from “severely conservative” to “more liberal than Ted Kennedy”……!!!!!!
Joe Hussein Mama
October 1st, 2012
12:57 pm
R. Kcin — “Off-topic here – even UnSkewedPolls.com has Obama ahead today! LOL”
And Rasmussen dissed UnskewedPolls over the weekend, too.
stands for decibels
October 1st, 2012
12:57 pm
This is necessary to prevent foreign nationals (Illegals) from voting in our elections.
which has happened–how often again?
Does the term “risk:reward” ratio mean anything to you at all?
Here’s a risk I take. I do not sleep with a mosquito net around my bed, even though it is possible a wee critter with a deadly virus might enter my home and bite me.
Because you see, the possibility that I might be harmed by such an event is roughly similar to the possibility that any election, ANYWHERE, might be affected by marauding bands of foreigners somehow, inexplicably, decided to commit voter ID fraud.
These dumbass voter ID laws are the equivalent of requiring everyone to use mosquito netting around their beds.
Dirty Dawg
October 1st, 2012
12:57 pm
Why would anyone, other than the cognitive dissonant, not believe that the Republican Party is not only capable of this kind of systemic and orchestrated lying and cheating? A party that would try to overthrow FDR (Nazi sympathizer Prestcott Bush – yes, one of those Bushes)…to successfully sabotage Johnson’s efforts to bring Vietnam to a close in ‘68 and another 25,000 GIs died, just so Nixon/Agnew could be elected…Nixon’s dirty tricks/Watergate cesspool…to illegally negotiate with Iran to hold onto the hostages so that Carter would be assured of being defeated…to rig Florida in ‘00 and Ohio in ‘04 to ensure another Bush Presidency (and that doesn’t even account for a partisan SCOTUS)….and even a Diebold-rigged ‘02 Georgia election (practice for future electronic vote flipping). No, there’s nothing Republicans won’t do, nothing they won’t stoop to, when it comes getting and keeping power…and you question whether or not they’d hire some crooks to do their dirty work? Oh yeah, I forgot about impeaching a President over nothing, or Jack Abramoff, or Tom Delay, or Ralph Reed…hell, I could go on for hours…and you people still be in denial.
Regnad Kcin
October 1st, 2012
12:57 pm
Ahem
October 1st, 2012
12:56 pm
yuzeyurbrane
October 1st, 2012
12:52 pm
You are obviously suffering from koch envy.
+++++++++++
Yuze, I agree with you, but THAT’S funny! LOL!
Joe Hussein Mama
October 1st, 2012
12:57 pm
Ahem — “You are wrong, but I respect your right to be such.”
No, I’m not, and I welcome your presentation of statistical evidence to the contrary.
southpaw
October 1st, 2012
12:58 pm
Aquagirl @12:33
Just be ready to shout down Pat Robertson, et al. Even he will calmly observe that a card that’s carried around, as opposed to something embedded subcutaneously, doesn’t fit the description of “the mark of the beast.” Bye-bye to most of the hilarity.
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
October 1st, 2012
12:59 pm
Well…if we can’t have a fool proof ID why would the GOP want to do some half assed option?
I wonder…..
stands for decibels
October 1st, 2012
1:00 pm
Lest anyone forget how far back this modern voter suppression effort by conservatives goes back, here’s Paul Weyrich, in 1980, explaining how it works.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GBAsFwPglw
BuckeyeInGa
October 1st, 2012
1:01 pm
Ron
October 1st, 2012
12:48 pm
@Ahem 12:51
Good post; I agree. What is the problem with showing an ID, just like required in so many other instances?
again..what is considered a valid id?
Doggone/GA
October 1st, 2012
1:01 pm
“Well…if we can’t have a fool proof ID why would the GOP want to do some half assed option?”
You have to turn it over to the other side. The whole point is not to require ID…but to stop those who can’t or won’t get one from voting.
southpaw
October 1st, 2012
1:04 pm
TBAGGERS BEWARE……Mitt Romney is going to throw you completely under the bus Wednesday night….!!!!!
So which company is (or companies are) in the crosshairs? Lipton, Luzianne, or Tetley? Or some other tea company that’s escaped my attention?
stands for decibels
October 1st, 2012
1:04 pm
And Rasmussen dissed UnskewedPolls over the weekend, too.
Glad to hear it. Otherwise, though, they’re up to their usual tricks.
Here is how they worded their polling question about providing NYC students with contraception, including morning-after pills:
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/questions/october_2012/questions_sex_ed_and_morning_after_pill_september_28_29_2012
See if you can find where they mention that NYC parents can opt out of this program?
godless heathen
October 1st, 2012
1:05 pm
Regnad Kcin
October 1st, 2012
12:32 pm
Joe
October 1st, 2012
12:21 pm
Do the phones says “Obama” on them (why are you calling them “Obama” phones”)?
http://obamaphone.net/obama-phone
East Cobb RINO, Inc. (LLC)
October 1st, 2012
1:05 pm
“I’m sure this woman would strenuously object”
*******************
You mean like Demi Moore’s character in A Few Good Men?
Lawyer: I object
Judge: Overruled
Lawyer: I strenuously object
Judge: Still overruled
Whatever
October 1st, 2012
1:06 pm
Sorry, but you should have to prove your identity to vote.
scrappy
October 1st, 2012
1:06 pm
If the only way you can win an election is by preventing people who are perfectly legal & eligible from voting – your platform & ideas suck.
GOP – that would be you.
All legal & eligible citizens should be encouraged to vote and particpate, to do otherwise by either party is disgraceful. Too bad the GOP wear it as a badge of honor instead of disgrace.
Doggone/GA
October 1st, 2012
1:07 pm
“Sorry, but you should have to prove your identity to vote”
Rest easy…you do.
Goldie
October 1st, 2012
1:07 pm
Pee-ewwwww, the GOP stinks to high heaven these days!
TiredOfIt
October 1st, 2012
1:08 pm
If anyone knows fraud, it’s the republicans.
yuzeyurbrane
October 1st, 2012
1:09 pm
Ahem–it has been written by someone that a pun is the lowest form of humor. Probably true, but nonetheless I will credit you for funny pun.
Whatever
October 1st, 2012
1:09 pm
Dog,
Only in three of the four counties I vote in do they make me prove my identity.
Keep Up the Good Fight! (and only seeing conned poutrage)
October 1st, 2012
1:11 pm
Joe, a national ID card will be a significant privacy issue for many. And would require a government agency to oversee and to make sure they are not falsified or stolen. The cross-checks on the electronic ballot system pose a greater risk to our voting system. I don’t have the answers but voter ID does not appear to address the greater risk.
A somewhat related article: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/05/09/US-Supreme-Court-Justices-might-like-national-ID-card/UPI-66231273391340/
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
October 1st, 2012
1:11 pm
Whatever
October 1st, 2012
1:06 pm
Sorry, but you should have to prove your identity to vote.
.
.
.
Ok, HOW?
Or do we have to wait til after the elections for specifics?