Petitioners conned voters into switching to the GOP

[Juana]

 

Petitioners prowling parking lots and community college campuses tricked dozens of young Orange County voters into registering to vote as Republicans, an Orange County Register investigation has found.

The con occurred at the end of January and the beginning of February at places like Cypress College and Golden West College, and outside of discount stores like Wal-Mart and Food 4 Less. It appears to be the same kind of voter registration fraud that engulfed Orange County four years ago and landed eight signature gatherers in jail.

Since mid-March, at least 99 written complaints have been submitted to state elections officials by Orange County residents who say they were registered to vote Republican without their consent. The Register found an additional 74 voters who said they were duped or coerced into registering to vote as a Republican by signature gatherers who initially asked them to sign petitions for causes like legalizing marijuana, fighting cancer or cleaning up beaches.

In all, the Register called 348 registered Republicans in central Orange County and reached 90 of them. Of those, only 16 said they wanted to be Republicans. The rest told stories of fast-talking petitioners, some advertising free sunglasses if they signed.

All of the voters identified by the Register are listed as under 28 years old; many said they knew little about politics or voting. A few, when told they were listed on the county voter rolls as a Republican, asked, "What is a Republican?"

The voters are all residents of the 34th State Senate District in central Orange County, where the Republican Party has high hopes of ousting incumbent Democrat Lou Correa in the fall. Unlike the Democrats, the California Republican Party has a controversial policy of paying signature gatherers who sends them new GOP voter registration cards and the Republicans are offering as much as $8 for each new GOP registration in that district.

Many believe the $8 "bounty" gives petitioners an incentive to commit fraud. In 2006, The Register found a similar fraud pattern in Orange County that was blamed, in part, on the bounty paid to signature gatherers. That year 167 voters complained to election officials that they were switched to Republican registration without their permission; The Register found another 112 voters who said they were tricked. Eleven signature gatherers were eventually convicted of falsifying registrations and other charges; eight went to jail.

The Republican Party isn't likely to benefit from this scheme because many of the voters contacted by the Register said they don't vote Republican. The only beneficiaries appear to be the signature gatherers themselves.

"I'm already anti-Republican and now they have people scamming people just to get money and just to get more voters?" said 25-year-old Bobbi Lee Smart, who says she was tricked into registering to vote as a Republican by a signature gatherer at Cypress College. "You guys suck."

http://www.ocregister.com/news/-244428--.html

[Requia ☣]

Um... does this actually effect the November vote?  Registering as a republican only matters for the primaries I thought?

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Petitioners prowling parking lots and community college campuses tricked dozens of young Orange County voters into registering to vote as Republicans, an Orange County Register investigation has found.

The con occurred at the end of January and the beginning of February at places like Cypress College and Golden West College, and outside of discount stores like Wal-Mart and Food 4 Less. It appears to be the same kind of voter registration fraud that engulfed Orange County four years ago and landed eight signature gatherers in jail.

Since mid-March, at least 99 written complaints have been submitted to state elections officials by Orange County residents who say they were registered to vote Republican without their consent. The Register found an additional 74 voters who said they were duped or coerced into registering to vote as a Republican by signature gatherers who initially asked them to sign petitions for causes like legalizing marijuana, fighting cancer or cleaning up beaches.

In all, the Register called 348 registered Republicans in central Orange County and reached 90 of them. Of those, only 16 said they wanted to be Republicans. The rest told stories of fast-talking petitioners, some advertising free sunglasses if they signed.

All of the voters identified by the Register are listed as under 28 years old; many said they knew little about politics or voting. A few, when told they were listed on the county voter rolls as a Republican, asked, "What is a Republican?"

The voters are all residents of the 34th State Senate District in central Orange County, where the Republican Party has high hopes of ousting incumbent Democrat Lou Correa in the fall. Unlike the Democrats, the California Republican Party has a controversial policy of paying signature gatherers who sends them new GOP voter registration cards and the Republicans are offering as much as $8 for each new GOP registration in that district.

Many believe the $8 "bounty" gives petitioners an incentive to commit fraud. In 2006, The Register found a similar fraud pattern in Orange County that was blamed, in part, on the bounty paid to signature gatherers. That year 167 voters complained to election officials that they were switched to Republican registration without their permission; The Register found another 112 voters who said they were tricked. Eleven signature gatherers were eventually convicted of falsifying registrations and other charges; eight went to jail.

The Republican Party isn't likely to benefit from this scheme because many of the voters contacted by the Register said they don't vote Republican. The only beneficiaries appear to be the signature gatherers themselves.

"I'm already anti-Republican and now they have people scamming people just to get money and just to get more voters?" said 25-year-old Bobbi Lee Smart, who says she was tricked into registering to vote as a Republican by a signature gatherer at Cypress College. "You guys suck."

http://www.ocregister.com/news/-244428--.html

[Juana]

Um... does this actually effect the November vote?  Registering as a republican only matters for the primaries I thought?

Yes. Which means they wouldn't be able to vote in the Democratic primaries, because of the way California does it.

The Republican Party isn't likely to benefit from this scheme because many of the voters contacted by the Register said they don't vote Republican. The only beneficiaries appear to be the signature gatherers themselves.

http://www.ocregister.com/news/-244428--.html

It occurred to me they're wrong after I posted this here. We have a closed and semi-closed* primary system, so these guys can't vote for anyone other than the Republicans (assuming they're likely to vote in the primaries, which I suppose it somewhat unlikely given the age bracket and all) unless they actively move to change their affiliation.


*Republicans have a closed primary, so no one but Republicans can vote in it. Democrats have a semi-closed, which allows unaffiliated voters to vote in it, too.

[Jasper]

What the fuck barbecue.

[Vene]

All of the voters identified by the Register are listed as under 28 years old; many said they knew little about politics or voting. A few, when told they were listed on the county voter rolls as a Republican, asked, "What is a Republican?"

[Jasper]

Then again, if they're that dumb, they're probably in the right party after all.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Then again, if they're that dumb, they're probably in the right party after all.

That's kind of what I was thinking.

On the other hand, I've been a registered Republican for years, because I thought it was funny.

[Jasper]

Heheh...

Say, what is it with Portlanders and doing things that are "ironic"?  Everything in this town is either "green" or "ironic".

[Doktor Howl]

Then again, if they're that dumb, they're probably in the right party after all.

That's kind of what I was thinking.

On the other hand, I've been a registered Republican for years, because I thought it was funny.

I was a registered republican to get their talking points memos early.

[BabylonHoruv]

Um... does this actually effect the November vote?  Registering as a republican only matters for the primaries I thought?

Yes. Which means they wouldn't be able to vote in the Democratic primaries, because of the way California does it.

The Republican Party isn't likely to benefit from this scheme because many of the voters contacted by the Register said they don't vote Republican. The only beneficiaries appear to be the signature gatherers themselves.

http://www.ocregister.com/news/-244428--.html

It occurred to me they're wrong after I posted this here. We have a closed and semi-closed* primary system, so these guys can't vote for anyone other than the Republicans (assuming they're likely to vote in the primaries, which I suppose it somewhat unlikely given the age bracket and all) unless they actively move to change their affiliation.


*Republicans have a closed primary, so no one but Republicans can vote in it. Democrats have a semi-closed, which allows unaffiliated voters to vote in it, too.

This could actually really hurt the republicans, if all those people decided to vote for someone in particular.  Either a bonkers tea partier, who isn't going to have much chance in California, or someone who was liberal.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Heheh...

Say, what is it with Portlanders and doing things that are "ironic"?  Everything in this town is either "green" or "ironic".

There's nothing ironic about it. I am not an ironic Republican.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Also, you should come to Gospel at the Kenton tonight, 7pm. I'm only going to be there a couple of hours though.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Then again, if they're that dumb, they're probably in the right party after all.

That's kind of what I was thinking.

On the other hand, I've been a registered Republican for years, because I thought it was funny.

I was a registered republican to get their talking points memos early.

The emails are HILARIOUS.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

If done properly, you could probably swing an election by flooding a particular party for the purposes of the primary, and guarantee that an unappealing long-shot wins. Interesting in theory, not sure I trust the average voter though to not vote for the unlikely politician in question.