GOP Voter Registration Firm Turns in Thousands of 'Invalid' Registration Forms in California

[BradBlog]

Source: BRAD BLOG, News10



GOP Voter Registration Firm Turns in Thousands of 'Invalid' Registration Forms in California
Long history of Republican registration fraud continues, dwarfs allegations against ACORN workers...

You're unlikely to hear a peep about this on Fox "News" (unless they happen to have me on), but the California Secretary of State's Election Fraud Division is now reportedly investigating a firmed hired by the Sacramento County Republican Party said to have submitted thousands of fraudulent voter registration forms.

According to a report today from Sacramento ABC affiliate News10 (see video posted below), a private, for-profit firm calling itself Momentum Political Services, hired by the local Republican Party "to boost GOP registration ranks in key battleground communities" has turned in more than 3,100 hundred invalid voter registration cards during their recent drive.

Voter registration forms have allegedly been turned in with fake addresses, voter names that don't exist, duplicate Social Security numbers, and party affiliations that seem to have been changed "by someone" to Republican. The head of the firm has admitted she has hired workers with criminal backgrounds, as found via Craigslist.

Republican-hired firms found committing massive voter registration fraud of the type described above in California, and elsewhere, is hardly new. It's a pattern that has emerged again and again in recent election cycles, not that you'll hear about it on Fox "News". Overall, GOP chicanery of this sort, particularly in California, now dwarfs anything that ACORN was ever (misleadingly) accused of…

FULL STORY: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=9291

Read more: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=9291

[Tiggeroshii]

1. Why would they do that?

Same reason ACORN might've? Paid by the registrations -trying to meet quota?

When it comes down to it, you aren't actually going to be getting more votes that way.

[3waygeek]

11. That, and to prove the need for

the eventual voter restrictions their ALEC masters have already written laws to implement.

[newspeak]

12. As I read, acorn bundled those voter registrations that they knew were bogus

by law they still had to hand them in. I'm in nevada, I believe the name was voter outreach, for little boot's second bid for president. They registered voters in nevada, and then destroyed those who registered as democrats. One who allegedly destroyed the registrations, stated he was ordered to do it. Those who had their registrations destroyed were not allowed to re-register determined by a judge in nevada, likely a repug judge.

I believe the outreach team moved on to oregon. And yet, we have a cry from the repugs about acorn. These repug cretins have very few morals, it's win at all cost.

[alp227]

20. Does that "turn in all registrations even fake ones" law exist in California?

I live here and am not sure. I vaguely recall likely there is, based on the new book The Fox Effect based on Media matters' research on Fox News bias/lies. FNC was willing to scream and holler about ACORN turning in fake registrations (even when reported) but will be dead silent about republican groups doing the same thing.

[SharonAnn]

22. Generally, if you are allowed by a state to register voters, you MUST TURN IN everything

that has been submitted to you. If you think about it, there's logic to that. No individual other than an actual Election Office employee should be deciding whether or not some person's voter registration is "valid".

What Acorn did, when they suspected a problem, was they separated those Voter Registration forms and identified the suspected problems on them so that an Election Office employee could review them and make a decision.

If you let those who register voters outside the Election Office make the decision about what to submit, they might discard those from people whom they don't want to vote and only submit those whom they do want to vote.

Way too much opportunity for chicanery. And the GO certainly knows how to do that.

[xxqqqzme]

32. Yes. Read the form.

Instructions are clear. You can mail them or deliver them in person to the RoV.

In '04 a woman came up to our registration table w/ a stack of completed forms. She had been hired by a CRP group. She received $10 for each rethug reg. When she turned the forms in, the rethugs gave the Dem reg forms back saying they didn't want those. When she protested, they reminded her, she had signed for the numbered forms. Those were HER responsibility. She was leaving the next morning and would have no opportunity to turn them in until she returned. By then, she would be in violation of the time limit. We took them, dropped them off @ the RoV and made certain those Democrats were registered.

There was a big dust-up here in Orange County in '08 of rethug hired initiative signature gatherers. There were registration forms disguised as a second sheet and party registrations were changed to rethug in huge numbers. They do that in a county where they already outnumber democrats, in some districts, 2-1. Why?

[cstanleytech]

35. I suspect its like someone here said already, they are doing it the hopes that it

will cause draconian ALEC backed voting laws passed, laws which if they arent carefully crafted can cause a certain segment of voters to be silenced that segment mainly being the poor who I suspect vote more for democrats than they do for republicans.

[dragonlady]

30. This is why every state should have same-day registration

I can't imagine going to vote and being told my registration is not valid so there's no way I can vote in that election. One of the only things that Scott Walker missed doing was taking away our ability to register on election day at the polls.

[gratuitous]

26. No, you're not going to get more votes for your side

But you stand a good chance of getting fewer votes for the other side. Folks fill out a voter registration card, turn it in to one of these less-than-reputable groups, and come election day find out they're not registered at all.

It's been a little cat-and-mouse game for the last couple of decades. Most people who are going to vote Republican are already registered, so the registration drives that target underserved communities sign up a lot more Democrats than Republicans. When the Republicans couldn't keep up with Democrats when it came to registering new voters, so Republican groups resorted to shit-canning cards that didn't meet their standards (that is, the voter registered as a Democrat). People were going to the polls, and finding out that their voter registrations had never been sent in.

So, legislatures passed laws that required all voter registration cards collected by groups to be turned in. The Republicans were getting their butts beat again, so they started a concerted program of signing up with bogus names and addresses. Then they went to county elections officials and screamed about how ACORN and other groups were trying to register Mickey Mouse or someone living at 123 Sesame Street. And they knew these registration cards existed because they'd filled them out themselves.

So registration groups started sequestering questionable cards and when they turned in bunch of registrations, they'd recommend to the county registrar that they take a close look at this card allegedly filled out by Buzz Lightyear, living at Infinity and Beyond Place.

Now, it sounds like Republicans have come full circle, distributing and collecting voter registration cards, but altering or spoiling ones they don't like. Republicans don't like it when too many people vote, because the higher the turnout, the worse they do.

[bemildred]

2. Sounds like that voter fraud they keep worrying about. nt

[surrealAmerican]

15. It's only "voter fraud" ...

... if people who are not eligible show up and vote.

They may actually be obligated to tun in any completed forms they receive. I still think it's better that they do, rather than choosing to discard some that may be from actual eligible voters.

[bemildred]

25. Thanks for clearing that up. nt

[tanyev]

3. Quick! Get James O'Keefe on the case!

You know how he gets so outraged about voter fraud.

[Wait Wut]

4. DAMNIT!!

You said it first. Now, I have nothing to add.

[leveymg]

5. They should be made to pay to track those people down and reregister them. Bill Rove directly.

[CenaW]

6. Voter fraud committed by Republicans is never reported by any news org.

[julian09]

8. Let Rev Al Sharpton know, he'll report on it big time nt

[allan01]

7. re:GOP Voter Registration Firm Turns in Thousands of 'Invalid' Registration Forms in California

not unusual. the repugs have been known to go to grave yards , go look up dead peoples names in obits and use them. etc. and the rethugs scream "voter fraud" . hem . he who screams the loudest usually has something to hide .

[SharonAnn]

23. Also, they have been known to do things that would cause a Democratic voter's registration

to be invalidated.

Can't imagine why they would do that! (sarcasm)

[Iliyah]

9. There it is the effing fraud,

see, when these jerks claim that someone else is doing something not right, in fact, it is them - always.

[Judi Lynn]

10. Thank you for publishing this, and posting it here. People really SHOULD know about it. n/t

[unblock]

13. i think the politically correct term is "physically challenged"

[hayrow1]

14. The Republican Party simply does not believe in representative Democracy,

Last edited Fri May 4, 2012, 11:16 PM - Edit history (1)

and never has in my lifetime. They want a white Prince that will keep the disrespectables in their place. Their ideal leader was Pinochet. (Correction of a stupid mistake noted in the post below.)

[rfranklin]

18. Allende was a Marxist who was overthrown by rightwingers supported by Nixon and CIA chief Bush

Salvador Allende Gossens (Spanish pronunciation: [salβaˈðoɾ aˈʝende ˈɣosens]; 26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America.[1]

Allende's involvement in Chilean political life spanned a period of nearly forty years. As a member of the Socialist Party, he was a senator, deputy and cabinet minister. He unsuccessfully ran for the presidency in the 1952, 1958, and 1964 elections. In 1970, he won the presidency in a close three-way race, formally elected by Congress as no candidate had gained a majority.

Allende adopted the policy of nationalization of industries and collectivization. On 11 September 1973 the military, citing a call by the Chilean Congress to end his presidency, staged a coup against Allende.[2][3] As the armed forces surrounded La Moneda Palace, Allende gave his last speech vowing not to resign,[4] and committed suicide thereafter.[5] After Allende's ouster, Chile was led by a military junta, and then as a dictatorship by General Augusto Pinochet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvador_Allende

[SharonAnn]

24. And Pinochet "privatized" many state owned companies by selling them cheaply to friends.

That way, the wealthy and well-connected could become obscenely wealthy.

I have relatives there who are obscenely wealthy and it's really beyond imagining, the way they live.

[sakabatou]

16. IOKIYAR

[LiberalFighter]

17. Wouldn't there be federal charges when using Social Security numbers?

[freshwest]

19. Thanks for keeping us posted, Brad, there are very few as dedicated to this facet of democracy.

[annm4peace]

21. Legalizing Marijuana - A New Republican Strategy? (to get voters) in 2006

and lets not forget when the CA GOP did this
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/08/03/18294421.php

in 2006 in Fresno, MIke Rhodes reported
The Republican Party has a new voter registration project in Fresno. It involves luring people to sign a LEGALIZE MARIJUANA petition and then re-registering them as Republicans.

Legalizing Marijuana - A New Republican Strategy?
By Mike Rhodes

The attractive young woman says to me, "would you sign our petition to legalize marijuana?" I don’t have to think twice and say "sure, where do I sign?" That is when it got interesting. She says, "Do you have your ID with you?" "Well, yes I do, but what does that have to do with..." I say as she responds with "oh, we just have to verify your ID." Thinking that this has something to do with making sure they have valid names for a ballot initiative I comply.

As I’m filling out my name and address on the petition I notice that the young lady is filling out a very official looking form. Probably just the ballot initiative form, I think to myself. Then, she says "is it OK if I register you as a Republican?" "What?!?" I say "yes, I do mind! What are you doing?" She says that if I register Republican she will get an extra 10 cents. But, I complain, "I don’t want to re-register." She explains that this is just to update the records for the County Clerks office. I repeat that "I do not want or need to update my records." I am repeatedly told that it is OK and that they just want to update my voter registration records. She also tells me that she is working for the Republican party, being paid hourly, and that the ploy about the "10 cent bonus" was not accurate.

This Republican party employee goes on to tell me that she is there to attract people to the table that is set up in Fresno’s Courthouse Park, and that the legalize marijuana petition is just a prop. She confirmed that there is no ballot initiative to legalize marijuana. She said that the petition will be given to an elected official in Sacramento. I have my doubts about that.

At this point in the conversation, she called over her "boss" who was talking with someone a short distance away. I introduced myself as the editor of the Community Alliance newspaper and said I was interested in writing a story about the petition campaign and their registering people with the Republican party. I guess that wasn’t the right approach to get him to open up to me. The "boss" gave me no information. He even refused to give me a copy of the marijuana legalization petition I had just signed.

Later that day I called Victor Salazar, the Fresno County Clerk. Salazar said that the process sounded deceptive and that I might want to call the Secretary of State fraud investigation unit. I called the number for the fraud investigation unit repeatedly today. Apparently, nobody was in the office today and all I got was an answering machine. I will continue to call.

I also went back to Courthouse Park today to see the Republican Party project was again in full operation. They seemed to have different approaches to different groups. To white men that looked like they might be attorneys, they asked if they were registered to vote. When Latinos walked by they would throw out the legalize marijuana angle.

http://fresnoalliance.com/wordpress/?page_id=309


* if you think it is important that there is independent and liberal/progressive newspaper in Fresno, CA.. they could sure use your donations.. no amount is too small. the editor and main writer MIke puts out some incredible newspapers in the heart of the beast.. very conservative controlled Central valley.

[saras]

27. Conspiracy charges for the owner, election fraud charges for all the workers...

...let God sort it out, as they say.

[davidpdx]

28. Brad thanks for reporting this

I have so many people on Facebook that scream about voter fraud as they defend the new voter repression laws. Just posted your story on my Facebook page and am waiting for the fur to fly. This should be really *bleeping* interesting...

[voltage spyker]

29. Predictable GOP response in 3...2...1...

How long until we hear Fox pundits falling all over themselves to explain to their viewers that fraudulent voter applications don't mean that any of these people actually tried to vote, which would be a crime (shock, horror). Instead it's just a harmless prank performed by overzealous volunteers. Which, of course, was precisely the situation with alleged ACORN crew.

[drm604]

31. Thank you Brad.

[underpants]

34. I would suspect that Fox News would report this as PROOF of a problem (that doesn't exist)

they will never mention who hired the firm

[jillan]

36. I think Faux will report on this. They will "mistakenly" say it was a Democratic-hired firm &

the thousands of invalid forms were registering as Democrats.

Then they will issue a written apology that their listeners will never know about.

oopsie!

[hrmjustin]

37. They peopbably did it to say look...

... we need Voter ID laws all over the country.

[BradBlog]

38. Voter ID ALREADY required in cases like this, as per Federal law!

Just a reminder. When someone does not register in person, such as the 3rd Party registrations (phony or otherwise) as described in my article, the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 already requires that they be flagged, and show an ID the first time they show up to vote at the polling place.

That's already federal law. So anyone who points to my article claiming "this is a reason we need polling place Photo ID restrictions" doesn't know what they are talking about.

Of course, you won't be surprised when they do it anyway!

[AnotherMcIntosh]

39. What are the odds that there won't be even one prosecution?

[SunSeeker]

40. The only way Repukes can win elections is by cheating and lying.

Especially in CA. CA Republicans seem to be the worst--because they are so desperate.