Friday, June 15, 2012

Voter Fraud And Voter Fraud Fraud

There's desperation and then there's frantic flailing.

What we are seeing from the right wing falls more into the latter category, most notably fixated on the race in Racine in which former Senator Von "Double Dipper Donut Boy" Wanggaard lost to Senator-elect John Lehman.

The latest thing is a MacIver "news report" which says an unnamed conservative "just happened" to find a bag full of blank, but pre-certified registration forms.  Yet when Channel 6 News looked into the story, they found that no complaint had been made to the election commission, but someone had gone to the DA's Office, but even then, didn't make any allegations regarding the mysterious find.

This reminds me of two things.

One is when the misnamed, teacher-hating Citizens for Responsible Government filed their false criminal complaint against me in retaliation for Walker's staff getting busted and kicking off Walkergate.  After the initial hullabaloo, it was pretty obvious that there was nothing there and that CRG's antics were just a distraction from the real story.

The other is also Walkergate related, wondering if they found Scott Walker's missing files in that dumpster too.

(Sorry, RWNJs, but there is only one Mystery Dumpster'O'Fun.)

In other words, this looks like some concocted stunt to delay Lehman's swearing in and try to get a do over in that election.  And here we thought they were against that sort of thing...

It's not surprising that the Republicans and their supporters/apologists would want to prevent, or at least delay, a Democratic majority in the Senate.  They recognize the fact that Walker has, at best, two or three months before he does the perp walk into a federal court near you, and they still have things like the mining bill and right-to-work-for-less to ram through while they still have their puppet.  And to do that, they would need to call a special session, but they also need a majority in both houses of the legislature.

But what I find to be really interesting is that the right wing "news services" did, at one point, report on a more likely source of voter irregularities and fraud.

Wisconsin Reporter wrote an extensive article about the electronic voting machines that were quietly brought in to the northern counties of the state.  Koch employee Kevin Binversie cited that article and again brought up the specter of voter fraud and the possibility of a recount.

But their focus was on the gubernatorial race and their concern that it might actually have not been bought for Scott Walker.

As it turns out, these propagandists were right for once.  There is some peculiar things that happened where these machines were introduced.

After the recall election, it shows that many northern counties, where they've been decimated by job losses directly due to Walker's budget and policies, suddenly turned from blue to red.  Other reports indicate that the electronic voting machines did not pass muster when the verification process was completed.

Another peculiarity is that 5,000 registered voters in Wausau disappeared in one month's time.

So now the question becomes is the right's questionable stunts in Racine an efforts to try to prevent the Democrats to get a majority in the state senate or a stunt to take everyone's attention off of the northern counties and their irregularities?  Or even both?

20 comments:

  1. I say both. It is a strategy that works.

    The Rovian tactic of distracting the slight of hand fool most people.

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  2. MacIver's crack team just lays out the innuendo. They know others will do their work for them. MacIver doesn't call it vote fraud, but others will. It's not their purpose to actually inform people - it is to inflame people. Do they explain how someone could've used these forms to commit fraud? No. There are commenters on MacIver's page who make the same point.

    Check out the cached version of the Journal-Times article about this. When asked if the people who allegedly found the forms told him they were signed, D’Abbraccio said “I don’t recall if they specifically mentioned they were signed.” In other words, MacIver's "mostly blank" could also mean "completely blank."

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  3. Just to be sure you understand, that first link where voting machines "did not pass muster" was the poster's fantasy story about how it *might* look if someone decided to try to corrupt the machines and 'flip' votes. It is in no way real.

    I went back and forth with the guy (until I couldn't take it anymore), explaining (with my background as both a firmware programmer and as a WI poll worker) how what he had written was nonsense and couldn't happen.

    You shouldn't include it in your post as if it is in any way based in fact.

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    Replies
    1. As the comments of that post clearly show, what I wrote was not nonsense. Optech Eagle optical scanners, used throughout Wisconsin, have an EEPROM that can be electronically reprogrammed.

      Please stop spreading misinformation.

      Delete
    2. People can read the comment thread for themselves and make up their own minds.

      Delete
    3. If it has a program, it can be changed.

      The program also has to make decisions, where if something "does not compute," then it will "default."

      This is "if-then" processing, that's how it works. The "if" part is easily corruptible.

      Delete
  4. Republicans have a plan to stop voter fraud. And as soon as the madison lawyers are done delaying the inevitable it will be in effect. What is the Democrats plan to prevent election fraud?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What is the Republican plan to prevent alien invasions? Because alien invasions are just as likely to occur as individual cases of voter fraud actually swinging an election. Democrats are focuse on reforming voting processes at the county, state and federal levels, because that's where there is actually risk of voter fraud occuring at a systematic level due to incompetent county clerks (hello Waukesha county!) or voter suppression tactics (Hello Gov. Rick Scott!).

      Do Republicans feels that voter fraud is more likely to swing an election at the individual level or at the systematic level? What is the Republican plan to fight potential fraud at the county, state, and federal level?

      Delete
    2. Trying to keep as many people as possible isn't a plan, it's a violation of the constitution.

      But to prevent voter fraud, it appears that the solution would be to forbid Republicans from coming anywhere near a polling place.

      Delete
    3. The Republican voter fraud plan is useless.

      How many fake ID's just bought alcohol and cigarettes today?

      Showing someone a picture on an "official" card is not security in anyway.

      Mr. IMBR, we need to have genetic-testing at every poll place to be sure we are who we say we are.

      Mr. IMBR, we need to have a 2-year waiting period if someone moves houses or apartments being being allowed to vote.

      Mr. IMBR, only those with bank accounts showing at least 2 years worth of activity are true Americans, and this should be a requirement to vote. (and as this plan is implemented, eligible voters must also have a certain amount of documented wealth...)



      But, fear not, Mr. IMBR, your Republican support has helped to bring in groups of people from outside of our states borders to help us get things back in control. Because control is what Republicans do.

      Because the Guilded Age must return to replace this liberal free market.

      The workers must be put down to their rightful place, and women need to have their voting rights rescinded.

      The lesser species should never be in control or have a say in matters, correct, MR. IMBR?

      Delete
    4. It doesn't pay to argue it. its already the law. Especially when your points are as nonsense.
      Go argue your case when you try to buy alcohol, or cash a check. Quite frankly, yes, if you cannot obtain an ID, you are probably not qualified to vote anyway. Well, other than to be told how to vote. And that's what we are trying to protect isn't it?
      At least you will have something to blame it on when we vote as a red state for the first time in a presidential election since Reagan.

      Delete
    5. Well, your second point is why your first point is incorrect. Everyone has a right to vote. And because that law prevents people who should be able to vote their right, is why the law was struck down in court and we don't have to show ID.

      Your attitude against the poor, disabled and elderly, which is sadly all to common among conservatives, shows why conservatives should never be put in power.

      Delete
  5. Has anyone heard anything more on this story? Speaking of voter suppression and outrageously bad behavior...

    http://rootriversiren.blogspot.com/2012/06/racine-voter-suppressor-turns-out-to-be.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was re-reading the statutes and procedures regarding observers and challenges this morning, and I came across something that i didn't know, or remember: while any member of the public can act as an observer, to challenge a voter's eligibilty to vote, one MUST themselves be eligible to be an elector (ie voter) in WI. That means that while this woman had the right to be ther observing, she did not have the right to do much of anything else she did.

      Delete
    2. Take what Kelly Gallagher says with a grain of salt. Her blog posts are more about extracting a pound of flesh and grudges she has then actual fact based articles.

      Delete
  6. The code was rigged once again. Nothing else can explain the anomolies that saved the Walker crowd anew. Afternoon polling figures read like bad fiction. It was as if the recallers all ran home to drag Walkerites to the polls...while refusing to vote themselves. Record breaking A.M. Dem turnouts took simultaneous nosedives when commuters should have been hitting the polls. Meanwhile, GOP turnout after 4 P.M. indicated that neocon commuters virtually laid seige at strong GOP polling locations.....so much so that east coast media sources were able to declare a Walker lead by 4:00 P.M. Funny how the Marquette polls (heavily weighted with conservatives)matched the outcome more closely than exit polls indicating a dead heat. The GOP has a history of screaming fire while holding a torch and pointing at someone else. Same old M.O., different day.

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    Replies
    1. Damn straight.

      The game is rigged, Carlin was spot-on.

      Delete
  7. The code can be rigged from one computer and then spread to many. You only need one person and one computer.

    Here is a video showing how one computer can be placed in an insecure environment. The voting machines were taken home by poll workers to keep them safe. As one admitted she is not home every day all day, but she has never had a break in. so the machines are secure. Yeah, until an operative who probably suggested taking them home prearranged a breakin to tamper with the machines.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Jkgwp5atC4

    When it comes to a disputed result and a recount is called, it's easy enough to know which 3% of the vote was not tampered with, verify the count of that and proceed with an electronic recount.

    The whole system is a sham... and same day registration, and fraudulant voters are the least of our problems.

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  8. Same Day Registration is a feather in the Wisconsin hat of voting access. It should be mandatory in every state!

    ReplyDelete