“The absentee ballot provisions are there for permanent residents, to make sure those otherwise occupied have the ability to cast a vote in elections where they live,” said State Senator Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend). “A dorm contract that expires in May or a lease that begins in September does not qualify you to vote on August 9. The law is not there to simply make things easy to cheat.”Summer elections are unusual around here.
August 5, 2011
The problem of absentee voting in the Wisconsin recall elections.
If any of the elections in the next 2 weeks are close, I think we'll be hearing a lot about the students sending in ballots from out of state.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
63 comments:
This is so off my radar.
Russ Feingold told them to game the system and cheat if they have to:
"The game's not over until we win!"
The law is not there to simply make things easy to cheat.
Just like “Food And Anonymous Sex Don’t Mix.”
Wait a minute,...
Surprised you missed that little problem with Koch/AFP sending out absentee ballots with a nonexistent return address and a return date after the election is over.
Russ Feingold told them to game the system and cheat if they have to:
No he didn't.
Yeah, I always go to Colbert for reliable news.
I see Garage is once again practicing the politics of civility. In a country with more restrictive libel laws, say Britain, a comment like that could prove very expensive.
Wha?
Garage, you just accused the Koch brothers of a crime. That is known as defamation per se.
Oh, goody, vote fraud on the half shell.
Garage, you just accused the Koch brothers of a crime. That is known as defamation per se.
Then they are guilty, they admitted to it.
What are we teaching young adults today when they feel they can violate voting rules because, in their opinion, it is all for the greater good [by voting DEM]?
@garage- The Democrats did the same thing in Chicago and Cook County. They ere never debased over it. No one even was investigated. This was the party, not some outside group.
They same party- machine- :"this president" sprung from.
Why is it OK for Dems to commit "vote fraud" and not others?
Then they are guilty, they admitted to it.
The Koch brothers admitted to a crime? Do you have a source for this?
Is anyone surprised that Democrats will encourage voter fraud?
Seriously. Anyone?
ANYONE?
When you are not restricted by a moral compass - and that pretty much describes the Democrat Party in the United States today - why is anyone surprised that voter fraud is encouraged everyday by Democrats?
The Koch brothers admitted to a crime? Do you have a source for this?
I said Koch/AFP. Yes, Koch/AFP admitted sending out ballots with the wrong return address and dates. So you are saying this is a crime?
I said Koch/AFP
You say Koch/AFP because you can't just say Koch, because they have no connection other than providing funds to AFP. And also you intentionally don't mention that what they admitted to was a typo not wrongdoing.
Elections that matter are rare around there.
Ain't no problem. Kids go away to school but can vote back home. No big deal.
"And also you intentionally don't mention that what they admitted to was a typo not wrongdoing."
And if it wasn't a typo, their likely would not have been an admission.
The point is, lying liars lie.
Garbage in = garbage out.
Why anyone argues or bothers with 'it' is beyond me.
Hey garage if the Koch brothers admitted a crime, why haven't they been frog-marched?
Why would a lease or dorm contract have any bearing on voting rights? If a student has a right to vote at the polling place, aren't they eligible to vote absentee if they are working the Summer in Minnesota or some other godforsaken pit?
And if it wasn't a typo, their likely would not have been an admission.
Wow, brilliant observation.
I said Koch/AFP. Yes, Koch/AFP admitted sending out ballots...
I'm not talking about AFP. I'm talking about Koch. By referring to Koch/AFP you are intentionally asserting they are responsible.
It's the equivalent of referring to Soros/Acorn voter fraud. Unless the Koch brothers "admitted" wrongdoing it's a smear.
It's a smear and in some places actionable as defamation.
I'm not talking about AFP. I'm talking about Koch. By referring to Koch/AFP you are intentionally asserting they are responsible.
They founded it, and finance it. If they don't want their names associated with it that's not my problem.
Yup. Cheating going on!
Milwaukee's got an absentee ballot for twice as many people whom they've got listed as voters on their public rolls.
Do you know why?
There's gonna be a grab, ahead, to make voting "electronic." No paper trails. And, all you'll need is your cell phone. You can practically score November 2012's outcome from here. From your own front porch!
Otherwise, the whole recall "thing" in Wisconsin goes to waste.
Nothing surprises me.
You go by polls?
I go by "stones." The weight of what Boehner and McConnell did to our stock market. Can't fool me. Losers on both sides!
Up ahead? Nobody OF the people will get elected. And, the stupid party doesn't mind being in the minority. They just don't have that many members in their country club.
According to AFP, they sent absentee ballots to their members. Some of the ballots are for members in areas of the Aug 16th election, some are for earlier voting dates. "By mistake", all of the instructions were printed with the "mail by the 11th" statement. AFP says they are calling all of those on the mailing list to correct the error.
Other than Colbert's little edits, what is the problem?
My point is only left-wing hate sites are promoting the "Koch brothers committed voting fraud". Where is the Wisconsin AG on this?
This is the problem in general with absentee ballots.
It is one of the reasons why we don't have them, except in extreme cases, in Puerto Rico USA. (We also have voter ID cards with pictures)
We typically get 60% or better of the total over-18 population voting. Not just registered voters, total population.
If you do not care enough to go to the polls, why should you be allowed to vote at all?
I think any system that has more than 2-3% of votes cast absentee is broken.
John Henry
(We also have voter ID cards with pictures)
Why do you hate minorities, poor people, and single moms?
Scott M said...
Why do you hate minorities, poor people, and single moms?
You forgot old people, people in assisted living, and people who live far from the city.
Oh, and people who live in majority Democrat counties.
There's probably some other imaginary grievance group I'm forgetting.
Other than Colbert's little edits, what is the problem?
What's the problem?
My god man. It's the Koch brothers!
LOL
Just funny how the "voting integrity" truth squads are always barking about nonexistent voter fraud taking place, yet this stuff always comes up from Republicans.
Huh? What? Just a little typo. What's the big deal. Sorry!
yet this stuff always comes up from Republicans
I normally give you a lot more credit than that statement deserves.
Hey garage - if a crime was committed why is the Dane county prosecutor silent?
why is the Dane county prosecutor silent?
He was choked?
Gag order, issued by you-know-who.
hand delivered.
Here's the latest on Koch/AFP:
WI Dems file complaint against Koch/AFP alleging election fraud
The corporate front group Americans For Prosperity has in at least two recall districts reportedly been distributing absentee ballots with return instructions that would render the votes ineligible.
allegedly.
AFP statement
http://www.americansforprosperity.org/080211-statement-afp-wisconsin-state-director-matt-seaholm-regards-absentee-ballot-application-typo
Now it appears the errant ballots have been sent to all 8 recall districts.
hey garage - the AFP says they made a mistake. I thought liberals were supposed to be merciful and compassionate.
garage mahal said...
Surprised you missed that little problem with Koch/AFP sending out absentee ballots with a nonexistent return address and a return date after the election is over.
Groan! Even without doing any research, this doesn't stand up to even a cursory thought. Do you think private organizations can send out ballots? What they actually sent were applications for an absentee ballot. To mostly easily misled minorities? No. They sent them to members of their organization, so other conservatives. Why would they mean to mislead and disenfranchise voters who would be expected to vote their way?
This is beyond moronic.
They sent them to members of their organization, so other conservatives.
Then why are Democrats getting them? Link
A Democrat on the ground in Wisconsin said the fliers were discovered to be hitting doors in District 2 and District 10 over the weekend.
"These are people who are our 1's in the voterfile who we already knew. They ain't AFP members, that's for damn sure," the source said.
Nothing new in the state, it sounds like AFP has lists of all sorts of people. link.
Cheating rotten bastards.
Garage,
How did Koch found AFP. It has been in existence for over 50 years. I highly doubt that the Koch brothers were around to found this organization 50 + years ago. I think you are lying and trying to connect Koch brothers to somethign they are not responsible for.
Those darn Koch brothers. They're like boogie men hiding under the bed to the left. Every time the light goes out, there they are just trying to keep the good folks down.
After reading those links, it appears that 2 Democrats appear to have received the application (as reported by a "Democrat on the ground"). Also, the application clearly states that it is intended for AFP members. And isn't it interesting that one of the Democrats who received it, Cora Pynenberg, was also writing articles critical of absentee voting changes last May In the Wisconsin State Journal. What a coincidence that she would get the application.
@garage mahal: If there is any of these shenanigans going on it undermines your assertion last spring that there was little to no voter fraud in Wisconsin. Of course, I really didn't believe you back then.
Carol_Herman wrote: And, the stupid party doesn't mind being in the minority. They just don't have that many members in their country club.
Where do get off with this "country club" resentment? I have many relatives back in Wisconsin, some of whom vote republican (or act like they do), and none of them belong to country clubs.
I said Koch/AFP. Yes, Koch/AFP admitted sending out ballots with the wrong return address and dates. So you are saying this is a crime?
Where did Koch admit to anything? You keep mentioning them.
And, hey, didn't you defend ACORN?
Sorry, Soros/ACORN. With all of the convictions they've suffered for voter registration fraud, Soros/ACORN were a criminal racket, weren't they?
The cheating on the left is so blatant if I were a lefty I wouldn't even bring the subject up.
Scott M asked, in reference to our voter ID cards:
"Why do you hate minorities, poor people, and single moms?"
I know. It is terrible the way we discriminate against these folk.
This is Puerto Rico. Most of us here are minority black/hispanic/Puerto Rican. Lots of poor folk. Per capita income is well below Missisipi. Even lots of single moms.
It is a bit of a pain in the ass getting a voter ID card. You have to go to an election office and apply. No motor voter here.
And yet somehow we manage to have registration, with cards, of about 85% of the total population over 18.
Of those, we normally get better than 80% turnout on election day.
With very few absentee ballots. Less than 5%. They are very hard to come by. Basically they are reserved for military and students.
There are some special arrangements for police, firefighters, election workers and so on. But they still cast a paper ballot, marked with a pencil, on election day.
We get pretty crappy politicians but we get them honestly and democratically.
If I lived up north, I would probably not even register. Nobody else seems to take them seriously.
John Henry
We are not in Vietnam, anymore.
I'd bet today's youth vote is not something a democrap automatically grabs.
Let alone, IF your vote is traced to a "lease you hold between September and May" ... AND, you could be sued by the state while you're in school. And, "using" your lease to get IN STATE tuition ... How apt are you to put a stamp on an envelope ... and return it?
I vote Absentee. It's true my "punch card" ... (now an affair with bubbles), goes into a sleeve ... MY VOTE is still cast in an envelope. WHERE I PROVIDE THE POSTAGE. And, I'm signing my name. As well as printing it.
AND, my envelope has a unique bar code. And, a number.
What's the issue that will bring out these out-of-town students, now?
Yes. I expect hanky-panky.
But Walker is a republican. And, he is NOT chopped liver! Besides showing up for photo ops. And, hoping his name is spelled correctly. He's got real powers! He can make a cheater's life very, very difficult!
And, if Walker is anything like Tommy Thompson. He's been to campus. And, he's befriended students.
Maybe? Well, Thommy Thompson was known to ask students to come back to his mansion ... instead of facing loneliness on a holiday weekend.
I heard this story from a mom. And, I believe it is true.)
The cheating on the left is so blatant if I were a lefty I wouldn't even bring the subject up.
The Left has to pretend the Right cheats so they can go out and commit voter fraud with the "both sides do it, so its okay" equivalence in their mind.
Those darn Koch brothers. They're like boogie men hiding under the bed to the left.
Koch is the new Emmanuel Goldstein.
Serious question: Where are students supposed to be voting?
When I was in college, I voted absentee in the state my parents still lived in -- and to which I returned for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
I'd argue that that state -- where I technically had a room to sleep in "permanently" -- had an even better case that I wasn't a real resident, since I probably spent less than thirty total days there in a year.
So, should I have registered to vote in my college's state, and gotten my driver's license switched over, and so on? Or would that have been a fraud because a college dorm isn't a permanent residence?
clint,
"Serious question: Where are students supposed to be voting?"
What is with so many people thinking this is a hard question?
1. As a US citizen, you are entitled to vote in the presidential election.
2. For everything else, you are only entitled to vote in your place of permanent residence. Regardless of how unusual your personal case is, and how hard it is to figure out what that location is, once you've made that determination, you're set and the question is settled.
For students, by the way, the question is not usually difficult.
Serious question: Where are students supposed to be voting?
Where you came from.
A state shouldn't be held hostage to the whims of college kids who don't live in the state full-time, won't live there when they graduate, and don't know how the residents feel about issues.
Kirk Parker said...
For students, by the way, the question is not usually difficult.
Some common sense suggestions:
1. If the student is claimed on mom or dad's tax return as a dependent; or the student is covered by mom or dad's health insurance or car insurance; or the parent is listed on financial aid forms or pays more than 25% of tuition and expenses... Then the student's true address is the parent's address. In a divorce or separation, choose the address of one parent, preferably the one who pays the larger portion of support.
2. If the parents aren't supporting the student, choose the address the student lists on his or her federal tax return.
And under no circumstances does the student get to vote in both jurisdictions.
Post a Comment