Wisconsin Voters Targeted for Fraud by McCain Campaign

I've heard of some reports of this in other states, but this is the first I've actually seen in print. From The Racine Post:

Democratic voters in at least two Wisconsin communities have received absentee voter forms from the McCain campaign that -- if used -- could cause their votes to be ignored.

Is it a simple error? Or campaign shenanigans and voter fraud? You be the judge.

Keith Heck, a former Racine Unified School Board member who lives in Mount Pleasant, reports receiving a mailing containing two tear-out requests for an absentee ballot. The preprinted request form -- an 11x17 piece of card stock folded over twice for mailing -- is addressed to the clerk in the the village of Caledonia.

Heck says, "I spoke with the Caledonia clerk and learned if we (in Mount Pleasant) used the form and sent it to the pre-printed address they would have to forward it to the right jurisdiction (if they had the time and the people) who would then have to send out the absentee ballot. As the deadline to submit a request is Oct. 30, and the clerks have a deadline of Oct. 31, this bogus form not only gums up and overworks the process to get absentee ballots sent out, it could cause some to not even be mailed."

Read the rest of this Racine Post story here.

Barry Welsh attacked by GOP thug!

Hat tip: Thomas

Last night I wrote about Delaware County Republicans attempts to disenfranchise 100's of new Democratic voters by claiming they "didn't have the time or resources" to go through the huge number of registrations they received on Monday, the deadline to register. There was to be an emergency hearing today at 1 PM at the County Building in Muncie.

That meeting took place, and turned heated afterwards:

A Republican voter registration deputy faces battery charges after he tackled a newspaper reporter and hit the Democratic 6th District congressional candidate after a contentious Delaware County Election Board meeting this afternoon.

The meeting had just ended when Will Statom, GOP registration deputy and secretary of the local Republican Party, attacked Star Press reporter Nick Werner while Werner was interviewing Ball State University student Johanna Perez about hundreds of last-minute voter registrations for Democrat Barack Obama's campaign.

"He did not seem very happy that we were stating our opinions," Perez said afterwards about Statom.

Werner said Statom seemed critical of his reporting, sarcastically saying to make sure he screwed up the story again.

Statom had just walked past Werner when Statom turned around and pushed Werner against the wall, grabbed him and they fell to the ground, according to witnesses.

Barry A. Welsh, Democratic 6th district congressional candidate, who attended the meeting, stepped in, and Statom turned around and hit Welsh in the eye.

"When Nick went to the floor, I tried to break it up," Welsh said.

An eyewitness to the event has stated:

I was at the meeting - it was out of control. The man who attacked everyone was accusing Ball State students of being sloppy and wouldn't even vote anyway and then said to the african americans in the crowd "i dont have to take this crap for 'you people' " ... people were yelling at each other through the entire meeting and then the fight broke out afterward. As a student, I was very surprised to see adults act so childish.

When I hear more from Barry, I'll give you his perspective on the day's events. . .

Muncie GOP: "Ball YOU"

In a sense, Muncie is like nearly every other city and town in our state this active primary season. Folks are registering to vote in record numbers. They're excited about their voice being heard. After all, for the first time in 40 years, our primary votes here in the Hoosier state actually carry some weight. People are rightfully excited and are flocking to join the democratic process this year.

For the last four months, the media has reported on the record number of new voter registrations, the huge interest in participation, and the large turnouts in every primary in every state this season. So states such as Indiana, and cities such as Muncie, have had ample time to prepare for this influx. Most states and municipalities have done an outstanding job of this, preparing extra ballots, adding staff as necessary, whatever it takes. That's where Muncie becomes nearly unlike everyone else - GOP members of the Delaware County’s Election Board are stating that registrations filed on time, will not count because there are too many of them and they are short staffed. This is nothing short of voter disenfranchisement and must not be accepted!

The Election Board office there is staffed by three Democratic appointees and two appointees of the Republican Party, which has declined to fill a third vacant position since 2006. Delaware County GOP Chair Kaye Whitehead stated that there "hadn’t been a need for another worker until the office was flooded with applications on Monday, the final day to register to vote in the May primary". Perhaps if Whitehead had found the time to pick up a newspaper, watch tv news, or surf the web over the last few months, she would have realized that some action was needed on her part.

But, then again, all of these record voter registrations and voter turnouts have been created by, and of benefit to, the Democratic contenders for president. So Whitehead has no reason to grease the wheels on the machine that she is partially in charge of. After all, by doing the right thing and serving the taxpayers of Delaware County, she only makes her own job more difficult come November. Despite the demographics of the area, Muncie is a college town. And college students have been voting for Barack Obama in a big way this election cycle. I can understand Whitehead's fear of allowing these youths to add their voice to the choir. But she has a greater responsibility to the populace that outweighs her partisan views. It's nothing short of a disgrace that she would attempt to deny their votes for the sake of her political party.

Phil Nichols, a Democratic member and president of Delaware County’s Election Board, has called for an an emergency meeting at 1 p.m. Wednesday in the Delaware County Building to discuss how to handle the flood of voter registration applications. Ball State students will be in attendance as well as 6th District Congressional Candidate Barry Welsh. If you are a BSU student or local citizen, I strongly encourage you to attend this event and make your voice heard.