Organization systematicly destroyed voter registration forms

[Omega18]

The fact the Republican National Committee chose to be the primary funder of this private company certainly does not reflect well upon them.

(Oct. 12) -- Employees of a private voter registration company allege that hundreds, perhaps thousands of voters who may think they are registered will be rudely surprised on election day. The company claims hundreds of registration forms were thrown in the trash.

Anyone who has recently registered or re-registered to vote outside a mall or grocery store or even government building may be affected.

The I-Team has obtained information about an alleged widespread pattern of potential registration fraud aimed at democrats. Thee focus of the story is a private registration company called Voters Outreach of America, AKA America Votes.

The out-of-state firm has been in Las Vegas for the past few months, registering voters. It employed up to 300 part-time workers and collected hundreds of registrations per day, but former employees of the company say that Voters Outreach of America only wanted Republican registrations.

Two former workers say they personally witnessed company supervisors rip up and trash registration forms signed by Democrats.

"We caught her taking Democrats out of my pile, handed them to her assistant and he ripped them up right in front of us. I grabbed some of them out of the garbage and she tells her assisatnt to get those from me," said Eric Russell, former Voters Outreach employee.

Eric Russell managed to retrieve a pile of shredded paperwork including signed voter registration forms, all from Democrats. We took them to the Clark County Election Department and confirmed that they had not, in fact, been filed with the county as required by law.

So the people on those forms who think they will be able to vote on Election Day are sadly mistaken. We attempted to speak to Voters Outreach but found that its office has been rented out to someone else.

The landlord says Voters Outreach was evicted for non-payment of rent. Another source said the company has now moved on to Oregon where it is once again registering voters. It's unknown how many registrations may have been tossed out, but another ex-employee told Eyewitness News she had the same suspicions when she worked there...

The company has been largely, if not entirely funded, by the Republican National Committee. Similar complaints have been received in Reno where the registrar has asked the FBI to investigate.

http://www.klas-tv.com/Global/story.asp ... v=168XRvNe

Unfortunately, even if people check to see if they are actually registered, they may not be able to correct the damage done by reregistering since the deadline for registering to vote is now past.

The link also allows you to click on the video for the TV broadcast that shows the torn up voter registration forms and some other incriminating documents.

This could end up being a major voting fraud scandal if the same company is already engaging in the same behavoir in the potential battleground state of Oregon.

[Graeme Dice]

My first question is why a person would be required to be registered in order to vote in the first place?

[Darth Wong]

Why should anyone be surprised by this? A lot of black voters were mysteriously unregistered in Florida in 2000, remember? People who start a war on false pretenses are hardly above election fraud.

[weemadando]

Yay! Electoral fraud make its triumphant return to the US after nearly 3 years on vacation.

[Alex Moon]

Republican group? Here's a list of some of America Votes' members

# ACORN
# AFL-CIO
# AFSCME
# America Coming Together (ACT)
# American Federation of Teachers
# Association of Trial Lawyers of America
# Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence United With the Million Mom March
# Clean Water Action
# Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund
# Democracy for America
# EMILY's List
# Environment2004
# The Human Rights Campaign
# League of Conservation Voters
# The Media Fund
# MoveOn.org Voter Fund
# Moving America Forward
# Music for America
# NAACP National Voter Fund
# NARAL Pro-Choice America
# National Education Association
# National Jewish Democratic Council
# National Treasury Employees Union
# Partnership for America's Families
# People for the American Way
# Planned Parenthood Action Fund
# SEIU
# Sierra Club
# USAction
# Voices for Working Families
# Young Voter Alliance
# 21st Century Democrats

America Votes is "the umbrella organization that will stitch together the activities of various progressive organizations." [2]

The other four allied groups are the Thunder Road Group, which "will concentrate on research and rapid response"; the Media Fund, "the principal vehicle for pro-Democratic television commercials by the coalition"; America Coming Together, "which is responsible for get-out-the-vote efforts"; and Joint Victory Campaign 2004, "a combined fundraising committee." [3]

The Executive Director of America Coming Together is Cecile Richards, previously a top aide to House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, who is "doing double duty as president of America Votes".[4]

[Crayz9000]

My first question is why a person would be required to be registered in order to vote in the first place?

To theoretically make sure that they aren't linked to a foreign influence trying to wrest control of the vote.

Since that's a non-issue now, it would be much better if they just did a literacy test. If you aren't literate, you cannot vote -- it's a priviledge, not a right, anyway. The voters must be educated or it's worthless.

It also theoretically serves to prevent domestic influences from trying to use non-citizens to get more votes, but since they don't check ID at the polling places that's also worthless.

[Alex Moon]

Here's the link to the info I posted above. You can also check the America Votes website.

Something about this story doesn't sit right.

[LadyTevar]

My first question is why a person would be required to be registered in order to vote in the first place?

To theoretically make sure that they aren't linked to a foreign influence trying to wrest control of the vote.

Since that's a non-issue now, it would be much better if they just did a literacy test. If you aren't literate, you cannot vote -- it's a priviledge, not a right, anyway. The voters must be educated or it's worthless.

It also theoretically serves to prevent domestic influences from trying to use non-citizens to get more votes, but since they don't check ID at the polling places that's also worthless.

I beg to differ... I have to show my Driver's Liscense or ID card before I vote. And the reasons I heard for registration are:
1. To make sure you are living in the polling district. The number of voters in this district can also determine how Federal monie is distributed.
2. To make sure you are legally entitled to vote. (In other words, you're not dead, and you're not an illegal alien)

[EmperorChrostas the Cruel]

Why show ID when you have to register to vote?

What a a STUPID FUCKING question!
To provent voting when you aren'y legaly entitled to stupid!
Like convicted felon, illegal alien, or just plain voting TWICE.
Maybe even to prevent someone from voting in YOUR NAME!

They ask for ID to see if you can buy booze, porn, or cash a check, yet VOTING should be less secure?

This prevents either side from stuffing the ballots, more than they can now with the dead voting in Chicago. Purging the list and requiring reregistration with photo ID would prevent much of this.

It would also purge the election of people would didn't realy care enough to stay on top of current eventss. If you forgot to register in time, you are not truly motivated to vote.

[Graeme Dice]

Since that's a non-issue now, it would be much better if they just did a literacy test. If you aren't literate, you cannot vote -- it's a priviledge, not a right, anyway. The voters must be educated or it's worthless.

Isn't it a right though, since the 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th amendments all refer to it as a right.

[EmperorChrostas the Cruel]

Literacy test.

A black man goes to Booger Holler, (population 7) and wants to vote.

Sherrif Crackerbarrel, and Deputy Podunk administer the test. They give him a ball point pen, and a sheet of waxed paper, and tell his to write his name.
"Funny, I could write this morning." The man says, after failing to write.

The sherrif gives him a newspaper written in Japanese, and says to read some of it to him.

The man says, "I can't make out the little words, but the headline clearly states that "No niggers voting in Booger Holler today!"

[EmperorChrostas the Cruel]

and YES, there is such a place as Booger Hollow, Arkansas.

With names like lake Toad's Eye, Bug Tussle, Titticaca, and Okefenoki, the south is a colorful place.

[salm]

Since that's a non-issue now, it would be much better if they just did a literacy test. If you aren't literate, you cannot vote -- it's a priviledge, not a right, anyway. The voters must be educated or it's worthless.

Isn't it a right though, since the 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th amendments all refer to it as a right.

isn´t it that convicts and insane people are not allowed to vote? so it is a prvilege for non convicts and sane people.

[Xenophobe3691]

Isn't it a right though, since the 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th amendments all refer to it as a right.

isn´t it that convicts and insane people are not allowed to vote? so it is a prvilege for non convicts and sane people.

It's a civil right. As a convict, you've given up almost all of them because of your bad behavior, and if you're insane, then it's deemed you're not even competent enough to take care of yourself, so why should you be in a position to harm the nation?

[MKSheppard]

isn´t it that convicts and insane people are not allowed to vote? so it is a prvilege for non convicts and sane people.

I'm a convict and I can vote in Maryland, despite the screeching of the NAACP. See, in MD you can be a one time convict and vote, but if you're
a twice or thrice convicted convict, fuck you and the horse ya rode in on...

[salm]

It's a civil right. As a convict, you've given up almost all of them because of your bad behavior,

mmmh... i don´t know. electing a leader has nothing to do with your actual crime. you already get punished by going to prison. isn´t that enough?

and if you're insane, then it's deemed you're not even competent enough to take care of yourself, so why should you be in a position to harm the nation?

in paraxis it´s mostly probably quite irrelevant but in theory it would be possible that the government somehow labels political opponents insane.
it´s also possible that people who are diagnosed insane aren´t really insane.

and if you grant insane people the right to vote i can´t see what harm could be done. first of all there are not that many insane people and furthermore i don´t think that insane poeple tend to vote a particular party.

I'm a convict and I can vote in Maryland, despite the screeching of the NAACP. See, in MD you can be a one time convict and vote, but if you're
a twice or thrice convicted convict, fuck you and the horse ya rode in on...

ah, ok, so it differs from state to state. on my ballot there was a field that you would have to mark if you´re a convict. i can´t remember anything about twice or three times. i absentee vote for illinois, btw.

[Lord Sander]

Ok, stupid question from a foreigner, but why don't you get automatically registered at birth (or when you become a citizen)? Over here, every citizen automatically gets mail telling us we can come vote there or there at this or that date for such and such persons.

And why are private companies handling registration at all? It's a surprise fraud isn't virulently common.. (or is it? I don't follow your elections that closely)

[Iceberg]

In Minnesota you're allowed to register even on the day of the election at the polls (you need a friend who also lives in your precinct to vouch for you, but how hard is that?). I helped Betsy sign up to vote in 2002 that way.

[EmperorChrostas the Cruel]

It is thought that if you don't want to vote bad enough to register, you don't realy want to vote.
Actualy, this is one of those, until changed, the default mode is off.
There is NO goverrnment agency tasked with making sure you can vote.
Think of it this way. Do you realy want the government tracking you every household moving? You can't vote in the Ventura County election of the Sheriff if you don't live in Ventura county. (or board of supervisors, or dogcatcher for that mastter.) This means the the voters in each city, county, state, and federal election all recieve different ballots, with various voter initiatives and candidates. You only get to vote on what is in your are geographicaly. LA doesn't get to vote for Mayor of Chicago.
This means every time you move, you must reregister. (even inter city, as which district your city counciler will not be the same)
The alternative would be one gigantor class integrated voting system, that tracks your household location.
Such a system does not exsist, would cost too much, and has the obvious "Big Brother" problems.
I don't WANT the government to track the addresses of law abiding citizens, even to make their lazy voting habits more effort free.
Too much money, and too much abuse potential.

In short, freedom isn't free, and if you can't make it to register after a move, like telling the Post Office, DMV, and utilities, you don't want it bad enough.

[Omega18]

Republican group? Here's a list of some of America Votes' members

The problem is the organization we are talking about about here appears to have stolen the other group's name.

MEDFORD -- An Arizona company claiming to be affiliated with the nonpartisan America Votes approached Oregon libraries about setting up voter registration booths.

But a Medford librarian checking on the request discovered that Sproul & Associates Inc. of Phoenix, Ariz., was not affiliated with the national, nonpartisan group.

In fact, the group is a political consulting firm headed up by former Arizona state Republican Party executive director Nathan Sproul.

And as a result of librarian Megan O'Flaherty's inquiry, America Votes -- which works to increase voter registration and education, said it will pursue legal options to get the Arizona group to stop using their name.

"This organization (Sproul) absolutely has nothing to do with America Votes," said Kevin Looper, the state organizing director for America Votes.

But the man behind Sproul & Associates says it was an innocent mistake.

"We were not trying to copy their name," said Nathan Sproul, owner of the consulting and management company. "All we were trying to do is register people to vote."

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonia ... 193300.xml

[Alex Moon]

The problem is the organization we are talking about about here appears to have stolen the other group's name.

Maybe. ACORN is already in trouble in other states for voter fraud, so it's possible this is a dirty trick by either side. I'm not going to start damning one side or the other until this gets resolved.

[LadyTevar]

Ok, stupid question from a foreigner, but why don't you get automatically registered at birth (or when you become a citizen)? Over here, every citizen automatically gets mail telling us we can come vote there or there at this or that date for such and such persons.

And why are private companies handling registration at all? It's a surprise fraud isn't virulently common.. (or is it? I don't follow your elections that closely)

You must be joking. What happens if someone steals that out of your mailbox? (Yes, they do that in the US. That's why we don't mail out free copies of a newborn's birth certificate to the parents anymore; they were being stolen and used to create fake id's.)

Voter's registration is actually taken care of at the county courthouse (at least in my state it is). Private companies can hold registration drives, but the paperwork must be turned in to the county for processing.

[Kon_El]

My first question is why a person would be required to be registered in order to vote in the first place?

I belive voter regestration was created because of an election in the 1800's where large numbers of people left a state where a presidental canadate had a large lead and went into a neighboring state where he was a little bit behind and voted there.

It is to prevent people from voteing in states they dont live in to manupliate the electorial collage.

[Lord Sander]

You must be joking. What happens if someone steals that out of your mailbox?

Well, this is why we don't have our mail put in boxes on poles anyone and hi can get into. Our mail goes through slots in the front door.

[Lord Sander]

anyone and his mother, that was meant to say