One of our alert readers sent this link about a New York trial for election fraud. Our reader’s comment was this: “Mary, it does happen and we shouldn’t think it can’t happen here.” The article, titled “Officials Plead Guilty in New York Voter Fraud Case”, was dated yesterday and includes info like this:
Former Troy Democratic City Clerk William McInerney, Democratic Councilman John Brown, and Democratic political operatives Anthony Renna and Anthony DeFiglio have entered guilty pleas in the case, in which numerous signatures were allegedly forged on absentee ballots in the 2009 Working Families Party primary, the political party that was associated with the now-defunct community group, ACORN…
Numerous voters told Fox News that they were stunned that their signatures were faked on absentee ballot applications and ballots, which were cast as real votes in their names in the 2009 primary election.
Brian Suozzo’s absentee ballot application claimed that he was “at home recovering from medical procedure,” which he told us was not true. “Someone took my signature and voted with it and I feel extremely violated,” Suozzo said when Fox News first broke the story nationally in 2009. “The whole thing seems dirty to me.”
Mary,
Here’s a link to a news article with a little more information about this story.
Notice that an important element of the fraud was to determine which electors did not vote regularly. All of the information needed to increase the odds of success of a similar fraud in Idaho are present.
Notice, too, that the trial was held in front a visiting judge from a different county. Do you think the folks in New York might understand what Idaho doesn’t: That local judges can be subjected to ex parte “influences?”
Comment by Bill — December 22, 2011 @ 11:45 am
The news article stated “In November 2009, Democratic operative Anthony DeFiglio told New York State police investigators that faking absentee ballots was a commonplace and accepted practice in political circles, all intended to swing an election.”
Can you imagine what would happen if no one ever questioned election standards?
Thank God for people who have the courage to ask for accountability and may they be blessed this Christmas and the 2012 New Year!
Comment by LTR — December 22, 2011 @ 11:52 am
Ballot box stuffing in school district election in Kootenai County was a well known problem, Ron Rankin told many a tale of this activity (including one that featured a future and now past County Clerk). I personally witnessed this myself. Millions, many millions of dollars in construction and other monies are at stake.
Believe in Santa if you must, even the Easter Bunny, but do NOT think for a minute that voter fraud is not real, local and now.
Comment by justinian — December 22, 2011 @ 5:14 pm
Justinian,
We know it’s real, and the puzzling thing is, why do voters tolerate it?
It is doubly pathetic that because the impersonated electors were living in low-income housing, they were apparently perceived by the perpetrators as easier marks for impersonation. It was as if somehow the votes of people who live in low-income housing were seen as being of less real value but more fraudulent value to let the perps rationalize stealing their names. It is cruelly ironic that the forgers purported to be on the side of those whom they were exploiting to further their own political and economic gains.
Comment by Bill — December 22, 2011 @ 7:17 pm
Off topic but fun and timely: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SXh7JR9oKVE
Comment by Pariah — December 23, 2011 @ 8:19 am