Dkos: Blackwell Performed Major Purge of Ohio Voter Rolls on Oct. 1

[BurtWorm]

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/10/18/85915/109


ACTION ALERT: Blackwell purged Ohio Voter Rolls Oct 1st.- Vote Early.
by KStreetProjector
Wed Oct 18, 2006 at 05:59:14 AM PDT

A friend, in a position to be present at lunches of GOP insiders here in DC called me on Thursday, they know of my ongoing efforts to make hackable voting end.

My friend was present as a group of Moderate GOP members with Ohio ties lamented how far the party had strayed. There was consensus at the table there was no way they should retain control. The table conversation began with the assumption they party would lose control in this election. The moderates started planning how to take back control of the GOP from the extremists.

Then, one insider, probably an extremist, but certainly very close to Mr. Ken Mehlman abruptly stopped the conversation. He told table that it was impossible they would lose either house. He also predicts an Ohio GOP sweep.

He informed the group that over the last year, in four critical states the GOP needs to hold huge purges of the voter rolls have just been finished.

The insider did not say which four states, but did say Ohio was among them.

His claim was a new Diebold voter registry system had been installed over the last year. The last week of July and the first week of August a "test run" was made of the systems ability to purge ineligable voters. The purge generated names and test letters sent out to 1.2 million Ohio addresses with a focus on University's, Apartment addresses with high turnover. He claims they made the letters seem just functionary, but they have an action component to avoid being purged from the rolls.

The Insider warmed and said that Blackwell was brilliant in how he did this. The letter went on for a long time about changes in Ohio voting and security and suggested people who might have any concerns about their voting status could come by county offices and confirm their continued voting eligability before election day.

He further added, that since it was conducted as a "test" they only sent letters to a limited number of suspect addresses and "I suspect Blackwell chose criteria very very favorable for us."


<more at link>

[NOLADEM]

1. I oppose capital punishment, but I may have to make an exception for this

This kind of shit destroys the belief that your vote may count.

I wish people cared more about this kind of horrid perversion of our system.

[tblue]

8. Thom Hartmann was just talking about this very thing. He said we must

1) Contact anyone and everyone you know in Ohio. Tell them to go to the registrar NOW, WAY BEFORE ELECTION DAY, and confirm that they are still registered to vote. If they can vote early, tell them to do it!
2) Contact the media and tell them to cover this story. Start here: http://capwiz.com/pfaw/dbq/media/

My idea: Can we buy billboards or our own publicity about this somehow? Pass out flyers? What else? Anybody?

There are 4 states where we now know voters are being purged. One is Ohio. The other three are also key battleground state, but we don't know which ones. Maybe somebody can make an educated guess. What other states have Republican Secretaries of State???

This purge targeted student housing and apartments — all typically Democratic-leaning communities. This is a PARTISAN purge, make no mistake about it.

We cannot allow them to get away with this. We're fortunate to have a heads up, so we'd better take advantage of it.

[alfredo]

11. We had one here Ky, but the Att General

said it was not legal. The victims got reinstated.

[tblue]

15. THREE CHEERS FOR KENTUCKY!!!

[alfredo]

17. We've got a good Att General. Greg Stumbo. He's the one

that gave Ernie Fletcher a big scare and probably ended his career. Ernie was able to wiggle out, but not without admitting guilt.

[Gabi Hayes]

2. doesn't Kos consider vote fraud a verboten, TF hat item?

I don't go there, but I thought that was the deal

what's up?

are they getting real, finally?

[BurtWorm]

5. I never heard that.

Where did you get that idea from? It could be true, but I've never noticed it being off limits.

[Gabi Hayes]

10. I've read it here that Kos considers hacking/vote fraud, etc., as tinfoil

hat territory

this is the only discussion forum I look at, so it had to be here that I read about it

I could be crazy, but I can't be that delusional.

anyway, doesn't matter now, as long as they're getting the story out there

this could, indeed, be the October Surprise

[Richard Steele]

18. You are half right.

Awhile back, he announced that COMPUTER election-fraud (Diebold)
was an off-limits topic. He may have altered his stance since then;
I don't know because that was the day I stopped reading and posting there.

But either way, this story isn't about digital vote manipulation,
so it wouldn't fall under his "forbidden topic" description.

[Gabi Hayes]

26. whew....I'm only half crazy....thanks!

anybody else as worried about this as I am?

certainly seems to account for the inexplicable confidence of the pug "leadership"

[jimshoes]

3. If what he did was to send out election

related mail with return service requested to "certain" registered voters to see if that mail would get to its intended recipient or get returned to sender in order to match adresses up to people. In other words, if Blackwells mail piece came back to his office, then by default that name would be automatically purged from the voting roll. If this is what happened, can't someone get this in front of a judge that can issue a stay untill it can be decided that it has been done in a fair and equitable manner? That would at least unpurge the rolls till after the vote maybe.

[AndyTiedye]

4. That's The "October Surprise"!

SURPRISE! YOU CAN'T VOTE!

[C_U_L8R]

7. If that's the case

this nation will erupt if the people's right to vote is fucked with.

[tblue]

9. One can hope

If the nation doesn't erupt, my head will! :banghead:

[tblue]

12. Hate to say it, but a Democratic Sec of State should do

the same damned thing. Then we'll see a crackdown on this kinda BS. Really, until the shoe is on the other foot, it will only ever be Democrats complaining and we'll never get our votes back.

Let's see, what are the Republican precincts? Hmmmm..... Neighborhoods with Hummer drivers and more than one American flag on their car, or any number of Confederate flags, rural areas, anywhere you hear Toby Keith, or where people don't bathe every day.........? cackle cackle

ONE GOOD THING: They must not (I hope) have the voting machines all rigged if they have to purge voters off the legal voting rolls. Though you never can underestimate these bastards.

This is Katherine Harris 2000 all over again! We are literally watching it happen. I am about to tear my hair out!

[Imagevision]

6. Well, we can't say we haven't been warned...

[Poiuyt]

13. K&R

[JFN1]

14. This story has been debunked

on Kos. The letter the story speaks of apparently does not exist. Commenters on Kos speculate the story was a plant by a right-winger, specifically to reduce the number of Democratic voters who show up in Ohio. While I am a fan of being on guard against the very things this story speaks about, we must be ever vigilant of the facts; otherwise, panic and despair win out above our good sense, and stories like this who's apparent intention is to demoralize, should be confirmed before we believe them.

[tblue]

16. Please post a link to that debunking

I can't find it. I say let's redouble our efforts in Ohio regardless. Go after it like we are 20 points behind.

[BurtWorm]

19. I would need to see the "debunking" before I take your word for it.

Mark Crispin Miller, who is extremely vocal about the fraud committed in Ohio and elsewhere in 2004 and who is saying point blank that the GOP is preparing to try it again this year, is urging people to go to the polls on Nov. 7 and do everything in your power to vote. This information is not likely to demoralize voters. Agitate maybe. I'm extremely agitated by it. Agitation may be what is ultimately required to get people to respond to theft with a more energetic attitude than than resignation.

[JFN1]

20. Here's the link

And again, I just don't think this story is true - but I AM certain there are plenty of shenanigans afoot in Ohio, with Blackwell still running the election, so we must be on guard, but must not allow ourselves to be baited or misdirected - that's all I'm saying.

http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2006/10/18/85915/109/503#503

[BurtWorm]

21. I wouldn't call that a "debunking."

We'll just have to see how many provisional ballots get handed out and how quickly they run out in Ohio and elsewhere on election day.

[BurtWorm]

22. kick

[flpoljunkie]

23. It's happening in Florida, too, and HAVA gave them the ammunition.

http://news.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBWY94TDTE.html

This link was posted by rzemanfl yesterday on DU: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

If They Miss 1 Number, Some Won't Get To Vote

By CATHERINE DOLINSKI The Tampa Tribune

Published: Oct 17, 2006

TALLAHASSEE - Mistaking a single number on a driver's license or reversing the month and day of a birth date could keep untold numbers of residents from registering to vote this year.

That's because, for the first time, the state is cross-checking applications from potential new voters against databases of driver's license and Social Security numbers.

Thousands of applications are failing the test.

The new process, a state response to changes in federal election law, applies only to first-time applicants. It does not affect registered Florida voters who update their existing registrations.

But some civic activists say that, with thousands of applicants failing that check and new identification rules for all voters at the polls, Florida is impeding the voting process.

"Even if one voter is being adversely affected by these barriers, it's one too many," Mary Wilson, national president of the League of Women Voters, said in Tallahassee earlier this month.

[Poiuyt]

24. This scares me more than electronic vote switching

[faithnotgreed]

25. i am kicking - hope everyone will check their voter registration

you could be part of this purge

[Gabi Hayes]

27. SO....is this story TRUE, or not? If it is, what story is MORE important?

I'd sure like to know

who knows what to believe....

[JFN1]

28. This story is NOT TRUE

Check it out:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/10/19/202627/72

[BurtWorm]

29. It may have been based on a misunderstanding of what really happened

See this from the Washington Monthly election blog (my emphasis):

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/showdown06/archives/individual/2006_10/009835.php

by Christopher Hayes

THE PURGE THAT WASN'T Yesterday a Kossack posted a diary that got a lot of attention. Referring to a source on the inside, it alleged that in Ohio, GOP Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell had engineered a massive purge of Democratic voters from the rolls. The allegation was that Blackwell had sent letters from the SOS offices to thousands of registered voters who were presumed to be Democrats -- university students and apartment dwellers -- and if the recipients failed to respond to confirm their identity, they were scrubbed from the voter rolls. Obviously, if such a thing took place, it would be an outrage, and likely illegal...

But I just spoke to the Randy Borntrager, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party who says it's almost certainly not true. "We're investigating it," he told me. "But it doesn't look like it's that credible. We can't find any examples of this supposed letter; we can't find examples of this supposed problem."

Borntrager did point out a related issue. Each county in Ohio did send out a mailing to registered voters telling them their polling location. If those letters were returned to sender, then the voter in question will have to either vote provisionally or produce ID on election day. (From what I understand, from Borntrager, all voters in Ohio this year have to produce ID) This might cause problems for groups that move around a lot, like college students, but as long as people provide identification they shouldn't be disenfranchised.

In our brief conversation, Borntrager was at pains to point out that no one should be discouraged or intimidated from voting, and they should take advantage of voting early, which Ohio has instituted state-wide this year. "We do not want people to be discouraged to go and vote early or on election day," he said. (Those who vote early by heading down to their local board of elections do not have to produce ID.)

...