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McCain Camp Can't Give Example Of Registration Fraud Leading To Voter Fraud
A member of John McCain's "Honest and Open Election Committee" has admitted that he can't give a single example of voter registration fraud leading to actual voter fraud.
In an interview with Pro Publica, which was also published on Politico.com, Ronald Michaelson, a veteran elections administrator, acknowledged:
"Do we have a documented instance of voting fraud that resulted from a phony registration form? No, I can't cite one, chapter and verse."
The Honest and Open Election Committee was set up by the McCain camp to provide a veneer of expertise and non-partisanship to the campaign's efforts to stoke fears about voter fraud. In a September conference call, one of the committee chair's, ex-Missouri senator John Danforth, highlighted reports of faulty registration forms in Michigan, Colorado, and other states, and tried to link ACORN to Barack Obama.
Michaelson also admitted, in Pro Publica's words, that "an election-rigging scheme starting with phony application forms would not make much sense." But he argued that the mere perception of fraud can do damage to the integrity of the election.
Of course, the McCain campaign and other Republicans have been the foremost creators of that perception. Earlier this month in a presidential debate, McCain warned darkly that ACORN -- the community organizing group that Republicans have tried to turn into a voter-fraud boogeyman -- "is now on the verge of maybe perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history in this country, maybe destroying the fabric of democracy."
Pro Publica adds that a McCain campaign spokesman couldn't do much better than Michaelson:
Asked for specifics about the dangers of fake registration, Ben Porritt, a spokesman for the McCain campaign, provided links to 13 news clips and a 2003 Missouri state auditor's report. Eleven of the cases did not involve registration fraud. Two recounted how felons appeared to have cast illegal votes under their own names. The lone example of a forged registration leading to an illegitimate vote comes from The Wall Street Journal's John Fund, who in April 2006 wrote that a community organizer had improperly registered a noncitizen, and then "someone eventually voted in [the noncitizen's] name."
Josh
Zachary
It's very problematic that McCain has willingly and knowingly lied about this fundamental issue. The right to vote is pretty high up on the list for most people. I don't take it kindly that a politician is fraudulently representing this. What it means is he is absolutely willing to take away my and your right to vote and to generally impede our participation in the political process.
All things considered, this one thing alone, examined under it's accurate and true context, should be ample reason to dissuade anyone from voting for McCain. As a Vietnam era vet I happen to think McCain grossly dishonors all the Americans who have fought and died to preserve this right. In my eyes he has no claim to being a patriot. He is just another Bush era liar.
November 2, 2008 12:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
I've always viewed this using Blackstone's "Better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer."
Voting is our most basic right. An occasional voting fraud affects nothing really, but denying a citizen the right to vote is damaging to that individual. I hope the new DoJ investigates voter suppression as an illegal conspiracy, as suggested by Jonathan Turley.
November 2, 2008 1:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Of coursee they can't Only FLa and Cal can have voters named Micky Mouse, Donad Duck and such. And I don't think THEIR citizenship goes past the park gates!
November 3, 2008 9:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
You missed what is the more important quote from the story, I think:
“The fact that so many of these illegal registrations are being made public raises a perception in the minds of people,’’ he said. “That’s more of a general concern. You don’t want to perpetuate the idea that our election process is lacking integrity.”
Asked whether his own party was responsible for fostering that perception, Michaelson said, “Well, it doesn’t help. It has captured the attention of a lot of people.” Why do it, then? “Maybe it’s because there’s nothing else to talk about,” he said.
November 3, 2008 12:21 PM | Reply | Permalink