Longtime readers of The BRAD BLOG know, by now, that disenfranchising polling place Photo ID restrictions have nothing to do with stopping voter fraud, and everything to do with stopping legal, Democratic-leaning voters from casting their legal vote.
They also know that while Republicans have long pretended there is massive Democratic voter fraud occurring, what they don’t want you to know is how many Republicans — very high-level Republicans, in fact — are actually committing real fraud (both election fraud and voter fraud), as we summarized once again last week after four GOP U.S. House staffers of Rep. Thad McCotter (R-MI) were charged with 36 criminal felony and misdemeanor election fraud-related charges for allegedly turning in fake signatures and petitions in a failed scheme to get McCotter on the ballot this year.
And what do we learn just days later? Another Republican appears to be involved in another massive election scheme — this time, to fraudulently defeat a fellow Republican. And, as is almost always the case, no polling place Photo ID restrictions in the world would have deterred the allegedly fraudulent absentee ballot scheme (which is said to have included illegally changing Democratic registrations into Republican ones, among other appalling crimes)…
Courtesy of Ray Medeiros at the USA Progressive:
State election officials were tipped off to the potential voter fraud when a suspiciously large number of residents of the Springfield suburb of East Longmeadow suddenly changed party registration from Democrat to independent, making them eligible to vote in the upcoming Republican primary.
Before Scott Brown or any other Republican operative claim this as another “Democratic machine” hit job. Marie Angelides, the other Republican candidate tipped off the officials when she was getting information at the town clerk’s office pertaining to registered Republican voters who were requesting absentee ballots.
As they gathered the list and started following up on the requests and contacting these voters, they found that they didn’t request any such ballot. In fact some of them were not even registered Republicans, they were registered Democrats.
Spencer H. Kimball, ÂAngelides’s attorney said,
“We recognized there may be a problem,†since some of those listed as requesting Republican absentee ballots were “hard-core Democrats, includÂing members of the Town Democratic Committee and a retired judge.†At that point, Kimball contacted Secretary of State ÂGalvin’s office. “Something was really wrong,â€
Medeiros goes on to correctly note: “So, Massachusetts Republicans, its not the voters you have to worry about, its your own candidates. Now can we stop complaining about poor people voting and clean up your own party.”
The Reminder has more details and has posted a letter from the office of MA Secretary of the Commonwealth William Frances Gavin explaining the investigation of the “almost 450 people listed as having asked for an absentee ballot” for the Republican Primary, many of whom had been registered Democrats until their records were recently changed just prior to the absentee ballot requests.
This scheme, of course, is election fraud, not voter fraud. As usual, the voters did nothing wrong. Leave them alone. Again, it was election insiders and campaign officials gaming the system, as is almost always the case.
If you’re looking for actual voter fraud in Massachusetts, however, might we recommend you look no further than the GOP’s presumptive 2012 nominee for President of the United States.
You’re welcome.
WELL IF THAT DON’T FIX ANY MISCONCEPTION THAT YOUR PARTISAN, THEN THEIR JUST DAMNED BRAINWASHED!
The Republican suspected in this matter is Enrico “Jack” Villamaino III.
Villamaino had previously been endorsed by Scott Brown.
According to Masslive.com, Villamaino “left the state Friday as the town voter fraud probe continued following the search of his home three weeks before the Sept. 6 primary.”
Villamaino had refused to respond to reporters’ inquiries even before state and local police executed search warrants at his home and the East Longmeadow Town Hall where Villamaino serves as the Selectman Chairman.
Hampden DA Mark Mastroianni described the investigation as “very active” and Sec. of Commonwealth Wm. Galvin (D) described “the situation [as] a ‘brazen’ attempt at voter fraud.” His office “will send watchdogs to Western Massachusetts to monitor balloting” in the upcoming election.
Speaking of Repuglicans eating their own, Ernest, your mention of Scott Brown prompts me to share a recent insight regarding the Akin Affair. It just hit me — Akin is the designated sacrificial lamb “proving”, ahem, there’s no GOP War Against Women. Tricky, tricky! Rovean, practically.
Akin is on the growing list of Republicans who have been accused of committing voter fraud. That list, as observed by Brad in this article, includes one Willard Mitt Romney.
Yes, indeed; in fact I’m quite fond of citing “It’s Romney’s Voter Fraud, Stupid” in any discussion involving Romney. (Did it again!) Wingnuts flounder amusingly at its mention.
If I might digress slightly….
Hey, Brad, I recently received my NYC voting instruction flyer. Unfortunately, despite its lucid (some might say tedious) account of how to mark and scan one’s ballot and a fairly substantial FAQ section, nowhere in the document was it explained how to verify that one’s vote has been correctly recorded by the system after the scanning. And of course we know how important a step that is considering that “Paper Ballot Op-Scan Systems in FL, WI, NY, OH Confirmed to Overheat, Mistally 70% of Votes”! Although a help-line phone number was cited in the flyer, I’d really prefer to inquire about this via e-mail — to, you know, get something in writing? Would you happen to have any good contacts among the Board of Elections in NYC to whom I could write? Thanks.
An Infinitude of Tortoises asked @ 6:
You’d have to check their website or give them a call and ask them for an email address. I’m sure they have one. I’d love to hear Doug Kellner’s response to ya 🙂
As you probably know already, there is no way for you, the voter, to “verify that one’s vote has been correctly recorded by the system after the scanning”. And that’s exactly the problem with them. (Among many others.)
Voting for the registered non-voter?
Who’d a thunk it? lmfao
Time to awaken peeps…
Hey Flo, peeps exist all over this world! 🙂 The ones who believe they run shit are a handful that could be drown in a bathtub if we were into that shit…but since we’re not this is good to show the difference. Nice to see ya my friend.
An hey Flo, you know me…I can forgive people who eggmit they are wrong. If they can’t, well… you really don’t have a friend.
Brad, you might want to check out the story in western MI about the GOP hacks who conspired with the allegedly Dem candidate to switch parties at the last minute so no other Dem could file in time to get on the ballot. To make matters worse, the GOP itself put up a phony Dem instead. The GOP prosecutor is accused of dismissing potential criminal charges prematurely. Sorry I don’t have a link. Maybe I’ll dig one up later.
Here’s a link:
http://www.macombdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120822/NEWS06/120829814&template=printart
If that doesn’t work:
http://tinyurl.com/9uy536j
Mass Live.com reported that embattled East Longmeadow Board of Selectmen chairman Enrico “Jack” Villamaino III tendered his resignation “in abstentia.”
They linked to an earlier article which revealed that Villamaino resigned via email, which stated:
Mass Live did not expand upon their earlier report that Villamaino had left the state.