Voter fraud for dummies
If you aren't registered, they can't steal your vote
This was posted on Kos and while all of you were getting hissy fits about Diebold, one of the easier systems to monitor, good old fashioned voter fraud and supression was the rule of the day. Never, ever discount the ability of old fashioned methods to work in the modern era.
Kos has a entire collection of voter supression/fraud stories
The smoking gun on voter registration fraud: Nathan Sproul
by Bob Johnson
[Subscribe]
Wed Oct 13th, 2004 at 07:28:21 GMT
Searching for information on the voter registration fraud stories breaking tonight in Nevada and Oregon, I kept coming across the same name: Nathan Sproul of Sproul & Associates in Phoenix, Arizona.
Nathan Sproul is the former head of the Arizona Republican Party and of the Arizona Christian Coalition (ah, the irony... a Christian).
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But Nathan Sproul may have made one fatal mistake in his efforts... He got greedy. Yes, he failed to pay many workers and he didn't pay his rent. He pissed some people off. And he raised suspicions. There is a good chance that this may be fraud on a MASSIVE scale...
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Sproul was also instrumental in getting petitions signed for Ralph Nader to get on the ballot in - surprise! - swing states!
How about this newsgroup posting to a forum for librarians warning them of a possible fraud perpetrated by Sproul. It includes a description of the scam in Pennsylvania, an article from a West Virginia newspaper reporting the same scam, and a comment from a librarian in Medford, Oregon outlining the same scam in her library... all fraudulently misrepresenting the organization doing the hiring as America Votes:
From: "McCullough, Holly" mcculloughh@CARNEGIELIBRARY.ORG
Date: Fri Sep 17, 2004 5:49:58 AM US/Eastern
Subject: Re: SCAM ALERT: Voter Registration
We had the same thing happen here in PA. Sproul and Associates hires Kelly temp services to do voter registration. At one library site where they were suppose to be only doing voter registration they were also asking people how they were going to vote. I did some research and found out that they were doing the same thing in WV (see the article below) and one temp worker claims that they were trained to ask people how they were going to vote. If the person said "Bush" they were given a voter registration form. If they said "Kerry" they were just told thank you and no form was given. When we found out we asked them to leave immediately. One explanation from Sproul and Associates was that they were doing "market surveys" at some sites. Later they claimed that it was just a problem with a few temp workers. Sproul and Associates is headed by Nathan Sproul the former head of the GOP and Christian Coalition in Arizona.
They also always said they represented America Votes. When I finally asked them to give me the contact information for America Votes they told me that "America Votes is a non-partisan voter registration drive project of Sproul & Associates. Everything originates from this office. There is a partisan organization with that same name." Clearly they know that when they say they represent America Votes they are misleading people.
Holly
Here is the article from the WV paper for more info.
VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVE 'MISLEADING'
Publication: THE CHARLESTON GAZETTE Published: 08/20/2004 Page: 1A Headline: VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVE 'MISLEADING' Byline: TOM SEARLS tomsearls@wvgazette.com
For a mother of two teens trying to finish up college, $9 an hour as a temporary customer service representative sounded good.
"I wanted to find something that would work around my schedule and be flexible," said St. Albans resident Lisa Bragg.
After spending more than an hour with Charleston personnel agency Kelly Services last week, Bragg was hired. "They wouldn't tell us at first what this job was," the 37-year-old Bragg said Thursday.
Then she found out it was registering Republican voters at One Stop convenience stores throughout the Charleston region.
But she won't be there today, the first day she was scheduled to be on the job.
"I'm giving up a job that I need," she said. "It's the only decent job I've found."
While the job was to last six weeks, the $9 an hour was far above the minimum wage of $5.15 Bragg was offered for most other temporary employment.
Bragg feels her employers were misleading the public, even if it's not illegal. Employees were to approach One Stop customers and ask if they favor George Bush or John Kerry for president. If Bush was their answer, they were then to inquire if the person was registered to vote and offer them a voter registration card.
If the person supported Democrat Kerry, they were only to say thank you and give them a registration card only if asked.
If asked questions, employees were instructed, "Only state you are there to conduct a simple field poll to see what neighborhood support is ... a nonpartisan registration drive."
They were told to quietly listen to any person who becomes angry and to remember, "The goal is to register Republicans and to remain positive."
"Is this the way it has to be? People have to be sneaky to make $9 an hour?" Bragg said.
Employees were also given the number of a Kelly Services employee to contact if there are problems. Contacted Wednesday, two different employees said they would have someone from Sproul & Associates, the firm paying for the survey, answer any questions.
Later, a Kelly Services employee who would identify himself only as "Rob" initially said a message had been left with Ben Decker at Sproul's office. He said he had no contact number for Decker, then agreed to release a Michigan number.
A message left with Decker was not returned.
"[Kelly Services] said the less you know about the company, the better off you are, especially if the media would come asking questions," said Bragg, an admitted Democrat. "That made me more curious than ever as to who's behind this and what's going on."
Sproul & Associates appears to be operated by Nathan Sproul, former head of the Arizona Republican Party and a wealthy GOP activist who has been involved in petition drives. An Internet search shows Sproul has received some financing from national Republican groups, though it was not clear who is paying for the West Virginia work.
Bragg, and another person working for the group, said they were told the owners of the One Stop stores had agreed to allow them to conduct the work on the stores' lots. Patrick C. Graney III and Michael R. Graney are listed as the principal owners of 42 One Stop stores, according to the state Alcohol Beverage Control Administration. Messages left at One Stop's headquarters in Belle were not returned.
For Bragg it's an economic loss, but one she carries with pride. She asked about registering voters with another organization - a group that treats those of all political persuasions the same - and found it pays only $5.50 an hour.
"I just don't want to be in my hometown and mislead people," she said.
To contact staff writer Tom Searls, use e-mail or call 348-5192.
Begin forwarded message:
From: "Meghan O'Flaherty"
Date: September 16, 2004 3:29:16 PM PDT
To:
Cc: Subject: [LIBS-OR] SCAM ALERT: Voter Registration
Recently the Jackson County Library has been contacted by persons purporting to represent America Votes. Our director was contacted by a Harry Miller and asked to call an 800 number to give permission for America Votes to conduct a non-partisan voter registration project in our libraries. I received a letter from Sproul and Associates,a consulting firm in Arizona,also saying they represented America Votes, with the same request. I contacted the Kevin Looper, the Oregon State Coordinator for America Votes, to verify the information and received this reply from him:
"Here is what I know: We do not have a Harry Miller in our employ. This organization is absolutely not representing America Votes, and my National leadership is initiating action to get them to cease and desist representations that infringe upon our rights and mislead voters.
Further, Sproul and Associates is a partisan political consulting firm Based in Arizona that works for very conservative causes and has worked to oppose campaign finance reform. Their use of our name to cover their political leanings makes me question the overall intregrity of the voter registation that they seek to conduct. I will be forwarding this information to the Secretary of State's office for further investigation.
"
Meghan O'Flaherty
Headquarters Library Manager
Jackson County Library Services
205 South Central Ave.
Medford, OR 97501
(541) 774-6403
oflahemc@jacksoncounty.org
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The story includes some interesting history on Sproul:
It can be a complicated program. But simplicity is the key for the anti-Clean Elections committee. Even its name, No Taxpayer Money for Politicians, looks to make the question easy for voters in the November election. It doesn't encourage them to query whether the previous system, with lawmakers beholden to monied special interests, would serve them better. And it doesn't get them to ask why the former head of the Arizona Republican Party and the state's Christian Coalition would be pushing the move.
Sproul, who was born and raised in Tempe, has floated between religious and secular politics. He interned in the office of then-Rep. Jon Kyl during his successful 1994 run for the U.S. Senate, a campaign buoyed by Kyl's perfect voting score from the Christian Coalition. Sproul then worked for the Arizona Christian Coalition, eventually becoming head of that organization. He became executive director of the state Republican party in 1999, stepping down in January 2002.
The Christian Coalition was under intense scrutiny for its political activities during the 1990s. As a non-profit organization, it was prohibited from working to elect candidates. But the Federal Election Commission and the Internal Revenue Service determined it was too political.
In particular, the FEC cited the campaign of J.D. Hayworth in 1994, the sportscaster's first run at Congress. The FEC determined that it was improper for Thomas Grabinski, who was head of the Arizona Christian Coalition, to also work for Hayworth's campaign. Especially because the Coalition was preparing voters guides to hand out at churches - guides that were fairly blatant endorsements of Republicans like Hayworth and Kyl.
Usually, any appearance of the Coalition and a campaign working together would be deemed a violation of election law. But a federal judge said it was impossible to prove that Grabinski's work with the Christian Coalition influenced his work on the Hayworth campaign.
Sproul was also accused of questionable tactics. His name comes up in a U.S. Senate committee report on the organization's activities. The report cites an Arizona caucus meeting during the 1995 national Christian Coalition meeting in which Sproul told members to become active in politics, especially as local precinct committeemen, but to not let on that the Coalition told them to do so. An account of that meeting first appeared in The Arizona Republic
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Apparently for Mr. Sproul, the law be damned.
There's a list of election shenangians which keeps growing. Not just the hamfisted methods of Glenda Hood in Florida and Ken Blackwell in Ohio either.
Voter Registrations Possibly Trashed
George Knapp, Investigative Reporter
(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.
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Call the Clark County Election Department at 455-VOTE to see if you are registered.
And this
Voter forms tapped out
Kiffmeyer accused of stifling registration
BY PATRICK SWEENEY
Pioneer Press
Massive voter registration drives in Minnesota by campaigns, political parties and groups whose ideologies run across the political spectrum have caused the secretary of state to nearly exhaust a supply of 1.5 million voter registration forms this year, officials and activists said Tuesday.
Three groups trying to register and organize voters to defeat President Bush or elect Democrats and other progressive candidates complained Tuesday that a shortage of registration cards was threatening their efforts.
Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer, a Republican who is the target of the liberal groups' criticism, said her office had run short of registration cards. And she said an employee recently gave misleading information to representatives of some of the groups seeking large quantities of the cards.
The employee told some people that the secretary of state had run out, or was close to running out, of registration cards, and rationed the cards she gave out. The employee failed to say that more were on the way, according to Kiffmeyer.
But Kiffmeyer said no one was being denied an opportunity to register to vote.
She said she received an additional 10,000 voter registration forms from a printer Tuesday and is scheduled to receive similar orders today and Thursday, and then a much larger delivery on Friday or Monday.
Donald McFarland, Minnesota director of America Votes, a coalition of 23 liberal groups — members include America Coming Together, Wellstone Action and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now — said he suspected Kiffmeyer might be trying to suppress voter turnout by rationing registration cards.
"It seems like almost another incident along a very rocky road with the secretary of state," McFarland said.
Like I've been saying for months, Diebold is a distraction, this is the real issue, naked voter fraud and supression.
Which is why you need to work the polls.
posted by Steve @ 11:00:00 AM
