WARNING: McCain campaign sends out bad absentee ballot applications to Obama donors

[clear eye]

Progressive talk show host Lee Rayburn has gotten dozens of contacts from voters in Wisconsin, mostly recently moved, who are complaining that they have received unsolicited absentee ballot applications sent to their new addresses (not forwarded) from the McCain campaign, and that those applications have as the return address the county clerk of their FORMER address. While he was talking about this on the air today, other voters from Florida and North Carolina, as well as more from Wisconsin called to report that they had received the same. A number said that the were not registered Democrats, but had donated to Obama, so it appears that the public donor lists were the McCain campaign's source of the names. This had to have been cross-checked with change-of-address info at the BOEs.

This dirty trick serves a dual purpose. First the votes won't be counted. Second, and equally distressing, the inaccurate returned applications will be used by Republican state legislators to claim fraud by Democrats, and to push through laws with harsh voter ID provisions with which it is hard for poorer registrants to comply. This will suppress the vote in future elections.

Everyone who receives absentee ballot applications from the McCain campaign, or any unsolicited absentee ballot applications, needs (a)to not use them, (b)to publicize the problem as widely as possible including their state Democratic Party and the media, and (c)to demand an investigation by their Secretary of State immediately.

[clear eye]

1. I've learned since my post that even "good" absentee ballots are a problem

because in many localities, the regs say the precincts don't count the absentee ballots unless the results w/o the absentee ballots are very close. If large #'s of Dems voting absentee causes it to look like the Reps are way ahead in a precinct those absentees won't even be counted. Don't request an absentee ballot this year unless you really have to, and tell your friends about the situation.

[LiberalFighter]

3. I totally disagree.

Absentee voting by mail is a tool used by the Republicans to get their votes lined up.

They are going to count the ballots unless some idiot misplaces the ballots.

[clear eye]

7. So what do you think is the reason they are sending these applications

to Obama donors only? In Florida, they are sending mail-in ballots to Republicans and absentee ballot applications to Democrats. I'm not being snarky; I'd really like your opinion.

[LiberalFighter]

8. I'm referring to those that request the apps themselves.

The ones sent in by Republicans to those that are not their supporters should be questioned.

Republicans have been sending absentee apps to their supporters for many years. It is only in recent years that Democrats have been doing the same. Those apps are will be counted as long as the form is correct.

[dragonlady]

5. This does not apply in Wisconsin

The statute requires that absentee ballots "shall" be counted unless there is some specified reason to the contrary, for instance that the voter is a felon or has died before election day (I know, that last one sucks).

If you have been told this about Wisconsin specifically, I'd be interested in knowing the details, because it is not standard procedure.

[clear eye]

6. No, I've heard this about several other places

and my sister still smarts over a close village election where the person she opposed was declared loser but asked for a count of the absentee ballots, then had a lawyer contest a handful and won that way. That was in Westchester county, NY, but in Suffolk County NY where I was a precinct captain (we call them "committeepeople") we always counted the absentee ballots and recorded them separately on the same sheet as the count from the voting machines.

[PeaceNikki]

2. Interesting. I received one but threw it away.

[sybylla]

4. Mine had the proper clerk

but this does explain alot. Definitely very interesting turn of events. We've been wondering why on earth they would phone us and call us great supporters of John McCain and promise us an absentee ballot app in a few days.

[ginnyinWI]

9. curiouser still...

how did my son-in-law get one mailed to him when he has never voted at all? (isn't a U.S.citizen yet) Where are they getting their lists from? My daughter got a separate one.