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Voters wait in line in Franklin County, Ohio
We've been keeping an eye on the efforts of True the Vote, a Tea Party project accused of organizing voter-intimidation schemes. One True the Vote leader has told volunteers their goal is to give voters a feeling "like driving and seeing the police following you."
As MSNBC's Zach Roth reported today, True the Vote was blocked today from operating in Ohio's second largest county, after the outfit was found by election officials "to have submitted irregular signatures in a bid to gain access to the polls."
"True the Vote doesn't have any observers in Franklin County today," Zachary Manifold, a member of the county's Board of Elections told MSNBC.com Tuesday morning.
In a statement, True the Vote denied doing anything "illegal or unethical."
True the Vote's absence from polls in Franklin County could allow voting to proceed more smoothly there. In 2008, Barack Obama netted over 116,000 votes there, more than in all but one Ohio county.
The decision to block True the Vote was endorsed by election board members from both parties.
The Columbus Dispatch explained that the group received support from several candidates granting them access as poll observers, but most of those candidates later withdrew their support, saying True the Vote officials misrepresented themselves and their intentions.
What's more, True the Vote is accused of falsifying forms requesting observer status in some precincts, and the county elections director said the group may face a felony investigation after today's election.
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Arrest and prosecute every one of those @!$%#s, I say. It's about time someone showed these America-hating right wingers that interfering with democracy won't be tolerated.
Bring your Teabagger Slugger with you to the polls
Indeed!
Suppressing the vote and voter intimidation along with voter tampering should be regarded and treated as self-deportation from American shores Forever for All of the Gomers that are involved All the way to the top and Banished Immediately !
These people are like the Nazis were in Germany. They try to intimidate people into not voting. This should not be permitted in this country. They should be stopped now!
Yes , They Need to be Stopped NOW , Not After the Fact ! After-all , these Illegal Offenses have already been Prov-en to exist and are being Implemented as we blog here and are being allowed to continue to happen -- WHY ? This is Disgusting , Especially in America and in the year 2012 ! It is Just plain Crazy !
So glad to see such a quick and effective response because I quite frankly wasn't sure there would be. A small glimmer of hope in a process that has been slammed by so many people looking to bring it down.
They need to watch the machines that Tagg owns too!!
Yes and Further more , They should NOT even be Allowed to be used !
Some day, maybe we'll have a DOJ that is will to get off it's ass and do it's job. I doubt it as long as Holder is there. The second most worthless AG this country has seen.
No, He has at least three ahead of him. Ashcroft, Gonzales and Michael Mukasey.
While we're prosecuting can we throw John Husted's name into the pot? Just asking....
And John Mitchell..
larry74
Some day, maybe we'll have a DOJ that is will to get off it's ass and do it's job. I doubt it as long as Holder is there. The second most worthless AG this country has seen.
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Better to leave it to state officials -- as does the Constitution. And the Obama campaign has been establishing its ground game for at least two years: they are prepared.
Dave Dorris
No, He has at least three ahead of him. Ashcroft, Gonzales and Michael Mukasey.
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Mitchell, Meese.
Holder has done a fine, though perhaps constrained, job. White folks needn't worry about the "Angry Bkack Man" syndrome if they go "too far".
They would know all my information is correct after they drag me off to jail for punching out the lights of the teapub wacko that tried to challenge me. I'd be asking THEM who they are, where they are from, who they represent and then I would ask THEM for ID. No ID? Lights out.
To anyone standing in line to vote: every state has its own voting laws. In Washington state, the state mails a ballot to each registered voter weeks before election day. We then mail them back or drop them in person, but we know weeks in advance that we HAVE a vote.
Write, call or email your STATE legislators and invite them to the 20th century if not the 21st.
At least one try at voter suppression has been stopped. Good call by the Ohio election board members in Franklin County.
There are rumors that some polling places in Pa. are trying to make voters show a picture ID, but I have not confirmed.......
Les , I Have Also heard of this situation in PA ! The Voters need to stand up to them , tell them to "Bite-Me" and push them out of their way and go in and Vote ! Perhaps get some people to stand out there with them and Warn the incoming Voters of the Situation and help the voters to get in and Vote !
There's a phone-video that shows an obama vote turning to a romney vote before your eyes in Pennsylvania.
http://tv.msnbc.com/2012/11/06/machine-turns-vote-for-obama-into-one-for-romney/
Everybody guarantee your vote counts, bring your phones into the voting booth and record away.
@Lesman: I read about this, too. Election observers requested and poll workers demanded that they leave, citing the law that forbids anyone to make requests, require documentation, obstruct or harass anyone outside a polling place.
Use paper ballots!!!!!!!!!!!
WPXI has a story where some people outside a voting place in Homestead (mostly African American neighborhood near Pittsburgh) were trying to lie to people about needing ID: http://www.wpxi.com/news/news/local/judge-orders-partisans-stop-asking-voters-id-outsi/nSyRK/ These liars are of course not in Fox Chapel or Upper St. Clair, majority white voters. Poor little people, left their white hoods at home.
Some story from Faux Noise about Republicans being kicked out of Philly polling places, but no reporter's name attached to it, no addresses of these polling places, no names of the judge supposed giving an order about this, and lot of hysterial about the mean ol' New Black Panthers. Seems a full court press with lies from Fox.
Go to "vote by mail". Easy, conidential, accurate, safe. Use the postal service or drop boxes.
Ashcroft, Gonzales and Michael Mukasey??
You clearly aren't old enough to remember Ed Meese!!
Anything to win. Why aren't these people being prosecuted?
To hell with prosecution. They're like barbarian raiders besieging a castle. I say let's just go with boiling oil.
Can this video please be authenticated? http://www.democraticunderground.com/101776391
WOW! I hope someone sees this and looks into it! WOW!
Yeah they have the same video up on Wonkette
If this is real the manufacturers should be presecuted. There is no way this could be an "accidental mis-allignment"
I think you meant "Prosecuted" but either way...
http://tv.msnbc.com/2012/11/06/machine-turns-vote-for-obama-into-one-for-romney/
Having a bunch of republicans with felony convictions after the election will be nice, but a lot of the damage will not be corrected. A couple more states added to the Voting Rights Act scrutiny will also help in the future but unless questionable voting procedures are investigated and fraudulent votes are corrected the gotp will have gotten what they wanted at the cost of only a few minor henchmen.
Agreed, these states that tried to suppress the vote should join those states that are under scrutiny via the Voting Rights Act.
Unfortunately, in addition to nomoremagicalthinking's comment, once the damage is done and the election is decided - it will be decided.
If you have the proof, turn it into the Obama campaign and they can turn it over to the main office . Then they can do something about it . The votes may have to be done again. Picture of the wrong person being voted for , picture of the machine and one of the room where the voting is being done. This way they can't say it was made up. a lot of the machines came from a family member of one of the Republicans running for office . Think that is who they said the machines were from.It is a sorry thing when a party is so scared to lose an election they have to give missinformation to people, bully them, change districts, cut times when they can vote. There is no reason a person should have to stand in line for 8 hours or more to vote, or miss a day of work. America is made up of a lot of different races. It isn't only black, white or tan. There should be respect for all. Our country was founded for all. I am a white 83 year old woman, worked all my life , well not all quit when I was 74. Was brought up to respect all. I am also one of the 47 per cent Romney doesn't like or care about. I am also a Christian, but religion was never suppose to be mixed with politics, they said that in the beginning and I don't like someone elses shoved down my throat. Tea Party can go and hang . With the things they have been doing They are not very Christian. Romney doesn't even believe in the bible, he uses the book of Mormon. Mormons don't believe in the Bible. Yes something can be done even after the election if proven machines malfunctioned, they could have to have another election in states where it is proven. Ill get off my soap box now, but it makes me so angry.
What about the vote flipping in PA and WV?
Exactly Joyce, this video is really upsetting. I hope many people view it and it goes viral http://www.democraticunderground.com/101776391
http://gizmodo.com/5958105/this-voting-machine-wont-let-you-vote-for-obama when you press the "Obama" button, you record a vote for Romney!!!
Heres is the link to the original post on youtube. If you want it to go viral, it would help if you share it from there rather than a partisan web site. That being said, I too hope it goes viral and gains national attention if in fact it is not simply a calibration issue. I know that the person who posted claims that it's not a calibration issue, but the video shown does not support his claims.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdpGd74DrBM&feature=player_embedded
I'm glad they caught this. Love you Rachel!
In my world, Voter Suppression should equal loss of citizenship for the Suppressor.
In Detroit, while the people voted. The tow trucks towed their cars, you think it's because we have a Republican Mayor and a Republican governer.?????mmmmm
I'm a voter in a precinct in Franklin County that has a large African-American population, so I went into the polling place expecting to be confronted by these idiots. Instead, my voting experience was surprisingly pleasant.
Are you calling African-American people "idiots?" What are you getting at?
I believe he means the "True The Vote" morons. They are targeting minority areas, because they're Teabagger racists.
They are also targeting whites and uneducated in PA and WV
@Lesman - I think maybe he meant the suppressors...
Well, I'm not in Manhattan anymore.....oh I miss it so. Florida is a state that I'm just not familiar with. Spent the last 4 months volunteering for Women for Obama, took our Vote by Mail ballots to the supervisor of Elections, checked up on them and tonight I am going to an Obama Celebration Party even if we don't know the outcome yet. Tomorrow I will be joining a crusade to rid Florida of Govenor Rick Scott who has done nothing but thwart the election process. President Obama will win, but it's crazy that in 2012 there are so many voting frauds and voting suppressions. Thank you again Rachel for being my "Calm in the Storm of Crazy".
Florida is my home state. I grew up there. I married my high school sweetheart in 2007 and the next week he was off to boot camp. I voted absentee from Alaska just fine (when Charlie Crist was governor) but when I checked my registration a couple of months ago I was told I wasn't even registered, not even under my maiden name (because I registered as soon as I turned 18). So I filled out the new registration and listed my current address (in Fort Drum, NY) because it said valid address. It's the address that's on my freaking Florida driver's license. I got a letter dated Oct. 12--and voter registration in FL ended on the 8th--saying that my registration was invalid and not to use a business address or P.O. Box. Neither of which I had done! A friend sent me a link to a voter support site and they said I should have used my last Florida address...so they'd know the district. Never mind that I mailed my form in to the correct district--the one I'd voted in in 2004 and 2008. So FML and here, have an example of Florida Republicans not giving a crap about military Floridians and their Floridian family members.
After the election, regardless of who wins, something has to be told about how Rick Scott did everything he could possibly do to suppress the vote for this election. He truly deserves to be run out of town, tarred & feathered or both. Cannot think of anyone better to do that than Rachel & Steve. How about it you two?
Orbital diamonds, it's the governor Rick Scott. He also declined to increase early voting days. He's a real jackass and as corrupt as they come. I've lived in Fl for 30 years and he's the worse we've had.I think we have seen the tip of the iceberg if Obama is reelected and has to deal with the Tea Party house. Thank your husband for his service.
One more thing, he makes Katherine Harris look like an amateur
Good for you! I am so glad that Floridians are coming together to do something about the awful people who somewhat got positions in their state! Hope you can get him recalled or impeached!
Republicans like Rick Scott and Jon Husted are burning their reputations by going to such extremes to try and win an election that won't bring their candidate to office. When president Obama is reelected and there are less tea party representatives in Congress, it'll be extremists like this who will be left in the cold and every one of us will continually remind everyone else what they've done.
How did a criminal like Scott get elected in the first place? Did he run unopposed?
they towed cars in Florida too
I watch Rachel's show daily and saw her reporting on the cars being towed. What she did fail to mention though, was whether or not the vehicles were parked legally. If they were illegally parked, then they should have been towed
True the Vote should simply change its name to Cock-block the Vote! -Kevo
Actually they should just go back to their old name: the Ku Klux Klan.
sock it to 'em.
We need a serious reform of our voting process in this country. This year is revealing just how dirty the GOP fights. E.g. Husted's last minute software "patch". No good manager in his right mind would insert an untested patch on a bunch of machines at the last minute in a high stakes situation. If he does not have evil intent, he is incompetent. But I believe it's really the former. Doesn't pass the sniff test. We await the judge's ruling today... Voting reforms need to take the Husteds of the world (and the .01%ers' money) out of the process entirely.
And we the people need to make a lot of noise about this so it is not swept under the rug as in the past. It HAS to be a high priority for the 2014 election or we can kiss our democracy goodby. They are losing the demographics, so they HAVE to fix the voting... and WE have to stop them before they take on so much power that we have nothing left to do but give in or revolt (which usually takes about a generation of really bad experience before people get desperate enough to do that).
MIT and Caltech had some sort of joint voting research project in the past. Time to dust off the research, put excellent minds to this, and figure out a way to insure an honest, feasible process for national elections. There HAS to be a better way. Oh, and if the GOP guys who own some of the current voting machines lose some $, too bad so sorry.
I cannot imagine anyone who thinks normally who would disagree wth your post. It is something that must be done . The discussing & waiting part is over with.
....and it needs to start tomorrow....not wait until 2016.
Or 2014 even.
YES!!! No Soup For You!!!
GOOD!
BE CAREFUL USING ES&S AND HART VOTING MACHINES THEY ARE SWITCHING VOTEShttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdpGd74DrBM&feature=player_embedded
Ah, the Supressionists. True teh Stupid..
Wow! And double Wow! So they think that voter intimidation is American? They're disgusting and a bloody embarrassment to us all...
"One True the Vote leader has told volunteers their goal is to give voters a feeling "like driving and seeing the police following you."
And they should have been blocked from observing in ANY other county!
Can Mittens win with the White Vote?
No.
Only if he cheats, he has already lied...
This election is not one of a republic but of an oligarchy. We will indeed have the best government money can buy after the votes have been counted. Wish I could be altruistic but when a wealthy donor makes a contribution he wants something in return.
PETE; We need to abolish Citizens United ruling. The only way to do that is to add an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
"True the Vote denied doing anything 'illegal or unethical.'"
Everything they are about is unethical, and many of the things they do are illegal.
Way to go, Rachel! Thanks for keeping this in the news! We cannot allow the cheaters to alter the intent of the public vote.