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Today's Poll!Dogs, dead people get election docs from nonprofit
In this photo taken Wednesday, July 11, 2012, Brenda Charlston holds a photo of her long-deceased dog, Rosie, and a voter registration form for "Rosie Charlston" that arrived in the mail for the canine last month, in Seattle. Rosie was a black lab who died in 1998. A left-leaning group called the Voter Participation Center has touted the distribution of some 5 million registration forms in recent weeks, targeting Democratic voting blocs such as unmarried women, blacks, Latinos and young adults. Photo by The Associated Press.
Friday, July 13, 2012
The voter registration form arrived in the mail last month with some key information already filled in: Rosie Charlston's name was complete, as was her Seattle address.
Problem is, Rosie was a black lab who died in 1998.
A group called the Voter Participation Center has touted the distribution of some 5 million registration forms in recent weeks, targeting Democratic-leaning voting blocs such as unmarried women, blacks, Latinos and young adults.
But residents and election administrators around the country also have reported a series of bizarre and questionable mailings addressed to animals, dead people, noncitizens and people already registered to vote.
Brenda Charlston wasn't the only person to get documents for her pet: A Virginia man said similar documents arrived for his dead dog, Mozart, while a woman in the state got forms for her cat, Scampers.
"On a serious note, I think it's tampering with our voting system," Charlston said. "They're fishing for votes: That's how I view it."
Every presidential election cycle brings with it a variety of registration drives targeting people who typically are underrepresented at the polls, and Republicans have long seized on sloppy or questionable registrations as a sign of potential fraud on the part of Democrats.
It's an issue that is particularly sensitive this year. GOP political leaders have used fears of fraud to successfully push laws across the country that could make voting more difficult by requiring voters to show identification. Democrats have fought the laws, arguing that they can disenfranchise citizens, minorities in particular.
The group at the root of the questionable mailings — the Voter Participation Center — acknowledges that the databases it uses to contact possible voters are imperfect because they are developed from commercially collected information. The group also says it expects people who receive misdirected mail to simply throw it away.
Several election officials said they believed the voter registration systems were secure enough to catch people who might improperly submit the misdirected documents, since registrants typically have to furnish ID and election managers use databases — such as death records — to see if someone should be disallowed.
But administrators in New Mexico, a potential swing state in the presidential race, warned that ineligible voters who complete the documents could make it onto the rolls.
New Mexico is one of two states in which noncitizens can qualify for a driver's license by simply proving residency — not necessarily legal residency — and state elections officials have no way of verifying the legal status of those who file registration documents.
Ken Ortiz, the chief of staff at the New Mexico secretary of state's office, said some noncitizens have contacted the state asking why they received the forms when they'd previously been told that they could not vote.
"We fear that some of these individuals who receive this mailing may feel that they are being encouraged to vote by our office or county government," Ortiz said.
The mailings appear official, arriving in privacy envelopes with the headline "VOTER REGISTRATION DOCUMENTS ENCLOSED." Some information is already completed on the voter registration papers, and recipients also get an envelope to send completed forms to local elections officials.
Election leaders in Florida, another major swing state, also said they were receiving complaints about applications going to dead people, noncitizens, minors and pets.
The Voter Participation Center works with a vendor that has access to multiple commercial databases that could include people who subscribe to magazines or junk mail using names of their pet, said Page Gardner, the group's president. She said the nonprofit tries its best to target only eligible and unregistered voters but that some other names inevitably get on the final list.
"Is it a perfect process? No," Gardner said. Ultimately, she said they rely on the integrity of people and the security of the system and notes that the same forms are available to anyone at county offices or on the Internet.
The Voter Participation Center says it is trying to increase participation among minorities, unmarried women and people under the age of 30, with Gardner saying that those groups have historically been underrepresented in the election process. Gardner said it has helped register 1 million people since 2004 and some 300,000 people in the current election cycle.
Election leaders in Florida, another major swing state, said they received at least 8,000 forms initiated by the center in recent weeks. They also complained about some applications going to dead people, noncitizens, minors and pets.
Formed as a nonpartisan nonprofit, the organization has worked recently to produce reports alongside the liberal Center for American Progress. IRS filings show the group — formerly known as Women's Voices. Women Vote — raised and spent about $5 million during 2010, the most recent year available. Individual financial supporters are not identified in the documents.
The center conducted one mailing distribution last year and another earlier this year before its biggest mailing, which went out in June. It is planning one more for later this year.
Voter registration drives of all types can create a small subset of problems. An active voter, for example, may sign up again after encountering a registration drive at an event. Some registration workers at the community activist group ACORN were accused in past years of submitting false forms with names like Mickey Mouse — filings the group said were done by workers to increase their pay.
What makes the Voter Participation Center's work challenging is that the group is identifying voters based on data, instead of during in-person interactions. The mailings include pre-filled information that creates further confusion and concern, said Katie Blinn, a co-director of elections in Washington state.
Blinn said it appeared that many of the mailings were going to people who are already registered to vote. They have heard about a "handful" of pet-related forms in the state of the past few weeks and fielded calls from people wondering whether their registration was canceled.
Julie Anderson, the auditor in Pierce County, Wash., estimates that about two dozen residents have contacted the county about registration forms arriving for dead relatives.
Marry Me
Comments
2warped757 10 months, 1 week ago
Sad thing about this is the incredible waste of people's time with it. The elderly or uneducated get these and either panic because they think it means they aren't registered, or they just blindly fill them in and mail them where the election authority's staff must check them in and then process them, only to find that the person is already registered. Those who are upset and confused, call the election authority, wasting more staff time to explain to the person that they can just throw it away and NO it did not come from the election office, so it isn't the state or county wasting money sending them out. These organizations are a pain in the rear.
kentheco 10 months, 1 week ago
hkchas, two women were mentioned in the article you reference. First, the one without a copy of her marriage license could still vote using an absentee ballot. Her complaint was that she wouldn’t be able to vote where she usually voted. It also states that she knew she needed documents to vote, just not a copy of her marriage certificate (she can get a copy from the state, if she wanted too). The second woman is reported as “may not be able to vote because she wasn’t able to stand in a long line at a DMV to get the necessary ID.” To that, I have the following question/comments. How did she get there, did she go alone or was there someone with her? There are all kinds of portable folding seats for those that can’t stand for long periods; on the other hand, since there were chairs but no one offered her one to sit in, maybe it’s more of a statement of “this is what our society has become.” To blame a political party for making it so these two can’t vote is another way facts are twisted to get sympathy and make others look evil.
kentheco 10 months, 1 week ago
Before posting articles from thinkprogress.org as gospel, you might want to find out who/what they are. Quite interesting reading when you Google "thinkprogress.” I would call it propaganda, but my high school English teacher told me that the US doesn't use propaganda.
kentheco 10 months, 1 week ago
For those who are curious, here's what I found.
ThinkProgress is an American political blog formerly edited by Faiz Shakir that "provide[s] a forum that advances progressive ideas and policies". It is an outlet of the Center for American Progress.
The Center for American Progress is a public policy research and advocacy organization. Its website states that the organization is "dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through progressive ideas and action." It has its headquarters in Washington D.C. Its President and Chief Executive Officer is Neera Tanden, who worked for the Obama and Clinton administrations and for Hillary Clinton’s campaigns. Its first President and Chief Executive Officer was John Podesta, who served as chief of staff to then U.S. President Bill Clinton. Podesta remains with the organization as Chairman of the Board. Located in Washington, D.C., the Center for American Progress has a campus outreach group, Campus Progress, and a sister advocacy organization, the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Citing Podesta's influence in the formation of the Obama Administration, a November 2008 article in Time stated that "not since the Heritage Foundation helped guide Ronald Reagan's transition in 1981 has a single outside group held so much sway."
kentheco 10 months, 1 week ago
I am neither a Republican nor Democrat, I am a citizen who is fed up the all the “BS” when this country has serious problems that need to be fixed. The article states that most to be blocked from voting are “primarily old, college students and democrats,” your words. My daughter is a college student and as such has an ID., My Mother is in her mid-eighties and has a photo ID, and as far as being “democrats,” I would say that they apparently aren’t qualified to vote (if they can’t figure out how to get an ID). P.S. My Mother is a democrat and though not college educated, has an ID and votes according to her desires, as I vote mine. It reminds me of those individuals who weren’t strong enough to push a stylus through a punch card or capable of checking their ballot (as the instructions stated) to ensure that the loose “chad” was removed.
kentheco 10 months, 1 week ago
You say that all these laws are Republican. I thought that people are elected to represent their constituents and vote the will of those they are paid to represent. These laws were legally enacted and now the democrats, who weren’t elected in the first place as their constituents found them lacking for one reason or another, are crying foul. Last time I checked, if you want to get married, you have to follow rules to get the license. If you want to drive, there are rules/requirements you must comply with to get a license. If you want to register a vehicle and drive it on public roads, some states require you prove you have insurance. If you want to buy tobacco or alcoholic beverages, you have to prove your age (which college students seem not to have trouble doing). Why is registering to vote such a big problem in the eyes of the Democratic Party? These requirements for voting pose no more burden than those I mentioned, but isn’t easy to blame someone else for not wanting to obey the law? Should we allow criminals to escape confinement by claiming that the law that got them incarcerated was passed by a specific political party solely for convicting them? I would hope not but if we don’t have laws, and I can’t think of any one law that all citizens approve, we wouldn’t need a government, as we would live in chaos.
2warped757 10 months, 1 week ago
Don't know about other states, but the proposal for Missouri is simply "photo ID" and doesn't specify that it be just for voting. Driver license, student ID, non-driver photo ID, all supposed to be acceptable. That being said, I don't believe that the supposed "voter fraud" is as prevalent as some who tout the ID need seem to think. There is the whole issue with those not eligible registering (people filling out bogus forms), but if they don't register in person and show ID at that time, they don't receive voter ID from the local election authority, and would then have to show some form of ID at the polling place. So unless the person who filled out he form as "Mickey Mouse" actually has some ID with that name, they aren't going to be allowed to vote. All they've really accomplished is to waste someone's time.
kentheco 10 months, 1 week ago
I I researched more and found that the group “Voter Participation Center” responsible for sending the voter registration was formerly named Women's Voices Women Vote. It was founded by Page Gardner in 2003 and claimed to be “a nonpartisan project aimed at increasing the participation of unmarried women.” Under the title “Voter Participation Center” is now claims to be a non-partisan group dedicated to increasing voter registration, voting and civic activity among unmarried women, people of color and 18-29 year olds. For this, I am grateful. As citizens, we need to vote and let our voices be heard and getting people registered is part of the voting process. What I find disturbing is that while it claims to be nonpartisan, its founder is clear in her democratic leanings and uses the Voter Participation Center web-site to blame the republicans for keeping people from voting. In one article, written by Page, the following facts are provided. During the 2008 election, “79 million eligible Americans did not vote. Forty-four million of these non-voters were not registered, and another four million were discouraged from voting because of burdensome policies, such as voter identification requirements.” I have to ask, what “burdensome requirements?” I have a drivers’ license, which has my photo, which qualifies as a photo ID. How much of a burden is that? Is it possible that those who find it burdensome to obtain a photo ID have other reasons for not wanting to have to prove they are qualified (non-citizen, loss of voting privileges due to felony convictions, active warrants (though I’m not sure anyone checks when you apply for a driver’s license)? Blaming a political party for the failings of a group of citizens too lazy or unmotivated to register is another finger-pointing tactic. If the group were truly nonpartisan, they would put the blame on that group of people and that group alone.
kentheco 10 months, 1 week ago
Oh, by the way, I am a disabled veteran, and you apparently are an alarmist (like Chicken Little) who would rather make unsubstantiated comments then bother to check for facts. Sorry, I didn't buy your story, I like checking for facts before I decide to comment and that's why no political party can claim me as a member.
kentheco 10 months, 1 week ago
In addition, my Father was a veteran of WWII and voted until he died. You might want to apologize to those veterans who gave of themselves so that you have the privilege to vote. Again, you make unsubstantiated claims demonizing a political party. Wouldn’t you serve more use pointing your finger at those people who don’t make any effort to vote?
connor 10 months, 1 week ago
Democrat / Liberal hypocrisy number 412. They want you to show ID and enforce a wait time to fulfill your right to buy a gun (this is a minimum BTW they would really rather you get approved by the government and give blood samples first) but our right to vote should be open to everyone without so much as a question asked or identity proven.
connor 10 months, 1 week ago
The first 350 or so deal with liberal so-called hate speech and how they can say what they like but if you bring out the truth you're a racist or bigot.
There are about 60 dealing with guns before you get to their ID requirements including how it is alright to sell guns to Mexican gangs if it gets blamed on the industry and aids in more control measures.
After 412 we start getting into gender bias and female superiority hypocrisy and the numbers really swell.
connor 10 months, 1 week ago
I am sure you would even it out by busing in illegals to vote if we even tried.
connor 10 months, 1 week ago
I bet you could get some New Black Panthers to help you with that as well. You really live in a fantasy land there Chucky
connor 10 months, 1 week ago
And if your a liberal your motto is to vote early and often and take some friends to other states as well.
connor 10 months, 1 week ago
Roger Hedge(and I cannot finish his last name due to the language rules) detailed a good sized voter fraud scheme by the dems in 2010 Kalifornia. Florida's number are pretty high with one illegal traced to voting 6 times in the last 10 years.
Of course the Liberal Dems try and hide it or downplay it. Which is Liberal Hypocrisy number 720. BTW
tonto_goldberg 10 months, 1 week ago
Like this one?
The owner of Momentum Political Services, Monica Harris, has an extensive criminal history, including a prison sentence for stealing from a family she befriended and buying a van with funds stolen from a youth agency, court records show. Two of her victims called Harris a "professional con artist."
Jill LaVine, Sacramento County's registrar of voters, has turned over evidence of what she called registration fraud to the California Secretary of State's Office. She said that at least one-fourth of the 31,000 registration cards submitted by Harris and her circulators since September have been rejected for inaccuracies.
Momentum Political Services was hired by the Republican Party of Sacramento County to conduct voter registration drives. LaVine said her office found numerous examples of people of having their political party affiliation switched to Republican against their wishes.
The controversy over Harris' operation has renewed debate over "bounty hunting," the practice of paying for each voter registered to a party. Officials say the payments are responsible for cases of registration fraud that happen every election cycle throughout California.
The Republican Party of Sacramento County paid Harris $5 for each voter registered to the party, Harris said. Those are the only payments that circulators receive during registration drives, yet they are supposed to remain neutral about which party a potential voter selects.
In a three-month period ending in February, Republicans paid Momentum Political Services about $54,000, federal election records show.
Read more here: h ttp://ww w.sacbee.com/2012/05/13/4486043/public-eye-bounty-hunting-at-heart.html#storylink=cpy (extra spaces added - stupid potty filter!)
No - wait. It can't be.
connor 10 months, 1 week ago
After the ACORN voter fraud drive I am surprised you would even want to mention such things :)
tonto_goldberg 10 months, 1 week ago
Be careful when you start down that road. Registration fraud is not the same as voter fraud.
You hinted at a California scandal, and that one is the first thing and the only major California scandal that came up in a quick search. Note that Ms. Harris got a 25% error rate on some 31,000 registration forms in Sacramento County (population 1.4 million) alone. That makes ACORN look like the amateurs they are.
You should also be aware that the voter registratioin authorities did their job just like they did in the ACORN cases and screened out the bogus cards. Then they referred the situation to law enforcement like they should.
You are welcome.
connor 10 months, 1 week ago
And here is one as well. We can do this all day.
nation.foxnews.com/voter-fraud/2012/01/19/ny-democrat-voter-fraud-normal-political-tactic
kentheco 10 months, 1 week ago
I agree that "every single citizen of the United States" should be able to vote and should vote. Under your plan, non-citizens could also vote and I don't think that is allowed by the Constitution. How do we identify "non-citizens" who attempt to vote fraudulently? When you come up with a way to verify that only “citizens” vote I think everyone would be interested. Until that time, having them prove citizenship by presenting a valid ID is the proposed method to ensure that “non-citizens” aren’t voting. Don’t the Democrats want to follow the Constitution when it comes to voting?
tonto_goldberg 10 months, 1 week ago
I'm waiting for some to suggest that the founding fathers intended to require voters to present a special voter ID at the polling places - isn't there something about that in the Federalist Papers? NO?
Dan 10 months, 1 week ago
You didn't answer the question "don't the Democrats want to follow the Constitution?". What's the answer?
Littleinvestor 10 months, 1 week ago
Us sort of Democrats who often vote Republican want the rules to be followed. But I have taken a disabled relative to get a non-driver photo ID so they could vote and it took all afternoon what with loading and unloading the traveling wheelchair and oxygen tank. (By the way, his doctor actually makes house calls so his family can avoid doing all of that every couple of weeks when the home health care nurse can't handle whatever is going on.) It can be a major undertaking. It would be nice if there was some kind of traveling unit that could visit the homes of severely disabled people.
JDub 10 months, 1 week ago
You still have to be REGISTERED to vote - illegal immigrants can't register. Fraud doesn't exist according to the last two Secretaries of State - one of which was Matt Blunt.
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