VOTER FRAUD ALERT!

A secret document obtained from inside Bush campaign headquarters in Florida suggests a plan - possibly in violation of US law - to disrupt voting in the state's African-American voting districts, a BBC Newsnight investigation reveals.
Election supervisor Ion Sancho believes some voters are being intimidated

Two e-mails, prepared for the executive director of the Bush campaign in Florida and the campaign's national research director in Washington DC, contain a 15-page so-called "caging list".

It lists 1,886 names and addresses of voters in predominantly black and traditionally Democrat areas of Jacksonville, Florida.

An elections supervisor in Tallahassee, when shown the list, told Newsnight: "The only possible reason why they would keep such a thing is to challenge voters on election day." [...]

In Jacksonville, to determine if Republicans were using the lists or other means of intimidating voters, we filmed a private detective filming every "early voter" - the majority of whom are black - from behind a vehicle with blacked-out windows.

The private detective claimed not to know who was paying for his all-day services.

On the scene, Democratic Congresswoman Corinne Brown said the surveillance operation was part of a campaign of intimidation tactics used by the Republican Party to intimate and scare off African American voters, almost all of whom are registered Democrats

Filming polling places should only scare off people who are voting illegally. And the GOP has every right to have a list of people it suspects are registered illegally, in order to challenge them if and when they try to vote. The Democrats should have a similar list.

How is it "intimidating" to a legal voter to be filmed at the polls? If it is, indeed, "intimidating," then I guess the news media will not be rolling tape at any polling places on Nov. 2.

Get a grip, TomJ - rolling tape at a polling place isn't "intimidation". It's videotaping.

I didn't read this in paper I saw it with my own eyes: At a nursing home the social director "registered" the residents and then filled in thier absentee ballots for them..These residents can't remember who is running, and if you told them they were voting for Roosevelt they would agree. They don't even KNOW who they are...let alone who the candidates are.

Then when I was voting at the election headquarters...there were van loads of mentally retarded people being brought in from the local day care center where they are kept each day...all registered and there to vote.

These are people that are at best on second grade level and have been brought in to VoTE.

So my question is: are there no rules at all regarding who can vote? Isn't there any rule in election process that addresses mental awareness?

Is it legal for someone to register these people all at one address and then to fill in the ballots for them?

It's incredibly illegal for someone to register someone else, and it's INCREDIBLY INCREDIBLY illegal for them to fill in their ballot.

It even illegal for someone to handle someone else's absentee ballot unless they are a member of that person's direct family, are a postal worker delivering that ballot after it was being returned to the election office via mail, or are *specifically requested and allowed* by that person due to the voter's physical incapacity to return the ballot themselves.

In the case of the nursing home social director, they are blatantly breaking the law, and I believe are guilty of a felony. I would personally love to watch them get arrested for the crap they're pulling, no matter which side they're on.

Most people believe our electoral process is in serious trouble. Allegations of voter fraud and voter disenfranchisment dominate the public debate. I believe something needs to be done. Here are six possible steps toward reforming the process and getting us back on track.

First, criminalize false allegations of voting abuse. Some would say this would be a violation of free speech rights. I submit it is in line with the proviso that free speech doesn't allow you to stand up in a crowded theater and scream "FIRE." Unfounded accusations undermine the confidence of our citizens in a process that requires their confidence. Therefore it ought to be illegal to make allegations without supporting evidence.

Second, when someone is caught engaging in voting fraud (voting twice, voting in a state other than their state of residence, selling their vote or voting because of some form of a bribe) the offending person needs to pay a substantial fine and lose time either in jail or in doing community service. The law provides for a $10,000 fine and up to 3 years imprisonment and it needs to be enforced!

Third, Congress needs to pass a law so that crimes committed for the purpose of interfering with the democratic process are treated more severely than otherwise. A drunken teenager slashing a tire on a Friday night is a crime against an individual. When Radical Activists slash the tires of 30 vehicles to prevent a rival party from getting out the vote it is the democratic process that is vandelized. (This happened today in Wisconsin) Theft, bribery, intimidation, vandalization etc deserve much harsher penalties when used to undermine the democratic process.

Forth, we need to standardize the voting machinery. Period. It is just too important to leave it up to county officials. The equipment procurment needs to be Federalized.

Fifth, there needs to be a CLEAR, FAIR and STANDARDIZED policy regarding:
1. Absentee ballots
2. Provisional ballots
3. Early Ballots.
The criteria for using each of these needs to be clearly spelled out in a bipartisian way long before the election.

Finally, Congress needs to make a law that any party official convicted of engaging in illegal activity on behalf of their party (or of knowing about such activity and doing nothing about it) will serve a mandatory 5 year prison term. (No time off for good behavior, no parole, no deals, no exceptions!)

Our entire system of government rests on the voting process. It is time our national law makers act to protect that process. The work needs to begin right now.

I am registered in two states. Texas and California. I moved and as far as I know there is no way of Un-registering that I know of. Maybe people moving around would account for some of the numbers not adding up.