How To Steal An Election

The fireworks are really going off in Ohio now.  Since Ohio is a key battleground state, let's take a look at what's going on there (get ready to have your blood boil).

It started with hyper-partisan Democrat Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner:

Almost as soon as Brunner was elected in 2006, she tried to remove several Republican county elections officials, including Ohio Republican Party Chairman Robert Bennett. They accused her of "storm trooper tactics" to silence critics.

Then Brunner spread an alarm that Ohio's electronic voting machines were vulnerable to tampering - a favorite claim of the paranoid left. Elections officials who participated in Brunner's study called her conclusions over-hyped "leaps in logic" and said, "The report itself could be viewed as an attack on the elections system … (that) planted seeds in the mind of the public to mistrust those who oversee elections."

So, she's established her hostility to Republicans already.  In this election cycle, she twisted a state law to open up vast new vistas for voter fraud:

Early voting is taking place in Ohio. Through the end of the week, people can register and vote on the same day. The Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner argues that they are merely "casting their ballot" rather than "voting" so the fact that Ohio statute requires 30 days between registering and voting would not interfere.

So here is what is happening today. People are showing up to register and vote. There is no affirmative evidence that these people have not registered or voted somewhere else. There is no control. Normally in an election, partisan election monitors are allowed into polling places so that they can police each other. But not in two counties, Franklin and Montgomery, in Ohio. Brunner also issued an advisory opinion to counties saying that they are not required to allow election monitors.

I'm not sure how any normal, rational person would define 'voting' as being different from 'casting their ballot', but she's apparently not too concerned with following the law, as evidenced by her prevention of observers and monitors.  Also, registrations are supposed to be cross-checked with other government databases, but she's not doing that, either.  So, now Brunner has successfully created a loophole big enough to drive a bus through.  What is the end result of her actions?

ACORN is happily driving the bus, and it's filled with homeless people, dead people, repeated people, pro sports figures, and even some cartoons for good measure:

The guy promoting the free taxi program to register the homeless in Ohio exults: "It's a perfect opportunity for them to come in, register at a temporary address like a homeless shelter or a YMCA or something like that. They can register at that address because they don't know where they're going to be tomorrow or next week."

Another woman describes trolling bus stops and picking up prospects: "I asked 'em if they're registered to vote and if they weren't, I said 'Get in the car, I'm bringing you!'"

A homeless thug now registered to vote comments: "They picked me up. They seen me walkin' around. So day said, 'You wanna vote?' I said, 'Yeah, I'll vote.' (laughs) Day said, 'We'll take you anywhere you want.' I said, 'Dat's cool'…If day say 'sign the ballot,' just give 'em and do exactly what they want you to do.' I mean, hey, dis is America, you know?" (laughs).

Who does this new voter support?

"Barack! I mean, I want him to do his thang. You know, do his thug thizzle. You know. That's how I like it to be. You know. (laughs)."

See my previous links on ACORN here and here.  It's a solidly criminal enterprise if there ever was one.

Anyway, the Ohio GOP sued Brunner for preventing early (legal) votes for McCain, and won:

A unanimous Ohio Supreme Court on Thursday, Oct. 2, ordered Brunner to tell county boards of elections not to reject applications for absentee ballots because of an unmarked box next to next to a statement that the applicant is a qualified elector.

"No vital public purpose or public interest is served by rejecting electors' applications for absentee ballots because of an unmarked check box next to a qualified-elector statement," the Supreme Court decision said.

The absentee ballot applications in question were supplied by Republican presidential candidate John McCain's campaign. Other application forms for absentee ballots don't include the boxes.

Then, in another ruling on election law violations, Brunner got smacked again:

A federal court ruled tonight that Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner violated federal election laws by not taking adequate steps to validate the identity of newly registered voters.

The ruling from U.S. District Court Judge George C. Smith called the identification breakdown "a serious problem" and ordered Brunner to immediately comply with federal requirements to match voter registration data with the information in the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles and Social Security Administration databases. The court accused Brunner of failing to provide county election administrators with "an effective way to access and review mismatches." She immediately appealed the ruling.

"For some reason, Jennifer Brunner does not want these new registrations checked," said Ohio Republican Party Deputy Chairman Kevin DeWine. "Her refusal to comply with federal law raises serious concerns about her ability to objectively oversee this election. It's especially troubling in light of her connection to ACORN and that group's stunning confession this week of fraudulent registration activity happening right here in Ohio."

Brunner's effort to fight the court order comes just two days after the Democrat activist group ACORN admitted to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections that the group engages in fraudulent voter registration activity.

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ruling:

"So far as this record is concerned, the Secretary has given no tenable exlanation why her current interpretation of the statute, as opposed to the office's prior implementation of the law, remotely furthers the anti-fraud objective of the law."

The Ohio Republican Party's position is "not only sensible but it is also fair - and it also furthers both objectives of HAVA …"

The court mocks Brunner's defense as "[t]he bureaucrats' lament - that this will be difficult to do."

So, let's recap what we've got to this point.  Brunner created an opportunity for people to illegally register and vote on the same day, ACORN drove thousands to the polls to register and vote, ACORN admitted they're conducting voter fraud, and Brunner is refusing to validate the registrations from the early voter drive because it would be 'too difficult' to accomplish.

Got it?

Now we are getting reports of a particular house in Columbus, Ohio where out-of-state activists are registering and voting repeatedly:

An entire houseful of young, non-Ohioan Democrat activists have used the Brownlee Avenue address to register themselves to vote in the Buckeye State and secure absentee ballots under extremely shady circumstances — all while mobilizing a large effort to register thousands of others for absentee and early voting. The activists are leaders of a group called "Vote From Home '08." The group is self-identified as having "extensive experience with political organizing, election administration, and Democratic politics." They were hailed as the "Justice League" by a Daily Kos blogger. Their Facebook page brags: "Want to turn the Presidential election blue in a key swing state? Vote from Home is a political organization that was founded by a team of young people for the purpose of assisting, aiding, and tracking voters to elect progressive candidates to the White House. Encouraged by the excitement of the 2008 elections and the movement around the Democratic candidates, Vote From Home will be in Ohio seeking to deliver 10,000 votes to Democratic candidates statewide."

Fortunately, a prosecutor is on the job:

Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien confirmed that he is investigating alleged voter and registration fraud involving 13 newly registered voters who came to Columbus for a get-out-the-vote campaign and used the same address, a small East Side home.

The Ohio Republican Party requested information about newly registered voters from elections boards in all 88 counties to look into reports of fraudulent voter registration.

O'Brien told The Dispatch that he is investigating allegations that 13 out-of-state residents recently registered to vote, all claiming to live at 2885 Brownlee Rd.

The individuals apparently were in Columbus working for Vote From Home, a group working to increase young-voter turnout in Ohio and using the house as their base of operation, O'Brien said.

"None of the people who registered had prior contacts with Columbus and Franklin County," O'Brien said. "You must be a resident of the state of Ohio in order to register and cast a ballot, and that's the issue being examined - whether they were proper residents of Ohio."

Now, pay attention because this is where things get really start affecting the law-abiding citizens of Ohio...

[F]raud-friendly Democrat Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner acknowledged that some 200,000 voters appear to have driver's license numbers or Social Security numbers that do not match info on their voter registration forms.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Tues day that Brunner must give those mismatched names to county elections boards so they can verify eligibility.

Brunner said that she wants more time to comply with the court's ruling so she can give local boards information needed to contact questionable voters in the most efficient way.

"We are asking the court for a little bit more time, probably into the beginning of next week," Brunner said prior to a speech at the National Press Club in Washington.

Did you catch that?  Brunner is holding back on 200,000 obviously fraudulent voter registrations!  She has now been ordered to get 'em done ASAP.  Ace of Spades has been on the case, and has some information to calm the fears of legitimate voters:

If you're struck from the rolls and show up to vote, that doesn't mean you lose your vote. You can vote by provisional ballot. The envelope remains sealed until your bona fides can be established. Then, once you've been found to be a legal voter, the envelope is opened and your ballot is counted.

So, there really is no reason for anyone to fight this sort of verification at all, but Brunner still does.  Here's the way to think about it:

Brunner is right that some -- perhaps most -- of these registrations will check out, after investigation. In some cases, it could be that the system hasn't yet reflected changes-of-address or so forth. However, many will turn out to be fraudulent -- and she deliberately concealed the existence of these red flags to deny the local boards of election the opportunity to check for themselves.

How man are real, how many are fake? We don't know -- yet.

And if Jennifer Brunner had had her way, we'd have never even have had an opportunity to check at all. She didn't want to check into them, and she actively prevented the local boards of election from checking too. Citing -- get this -- "voter disenfranchisement" as her rationale. Despite the fact that the law compels her to inform the local boards of unmatchable registrants.

Let's say even 3/4s of these turn out legit -- she was hellbent to smuggle the the 50,000 fraudulent ones into the ballot boxes.

That's just a hypothetical.  Given ACORN's history, I think 3/4 is being extremely generous.  Regardless, the numbers are key because of this fact:

Margin of Bush's victory in Ohio in 2004? 118,457 votes.

A few hundred here, a couple thousand there, an early voter drive that nets 200,000...and you've stolen a key battleground state.  And this is happening all over the country, in all the key battleground states.

Elections have consequences.  If Brunner hadn't been elected, it is likely this wouldn't be happening now, but Ohioans can't un-elect her until her term is up.  Think about that - we have to get the right people into office every time, or this is the kind of thing that can happen.

From what I can tell, all we can do about this voter fraud is demand that our officials do their jobs correctly, allowing observers at polling places, doing everything possible to prevent voter fraud, and calling for investigations of ACORN.  Ultimately, what it really means is that the Republican get-out-the-vote absolutely MUST be superior on November 4th, or the Obama-ACORN team will have successfully stolen the White House through fraud.

Spread the truth, spread the word, and make sure you get to the polls.

There's my two cents.