David Orr

Cook County Clerk: Voter Fraud Fears 'Totally Blown Out Of Whack'

Ryan J. Reilly | October 25, 2010, 8:44AM

Cook County Clerk David Orr

Fears over the potential for voter fraud in Illinois -- where the state GOP has reportedly partnered with a variety of conservative organizations to recruit poll watchers -- have been "totally blown out of whack," Cook County Clerk David Orr tells TPMMuckraker.

Orr, a Democrat who was first elected as County Clerk in 1990, oversees elections in the suburban parts of Cook County. He said that poll watchers are an important part of the election process, so long as they follow the rules.

"Poll watchers are good. You have to separate the fact that it's good for campaigns, it's good for the body politic to have people there that are watching, I think that's important," Orr told TPMMuckraker on Friday. "The only problem comes if people abuse that, and we've certainly seen that in the past. We saw it in the last presidential election, we saw it in Michigan."

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2010 Elections

Illinois Democrat: Mark Kirk's 'Voter Integrity' Effort Is 'Karl Rove Politics'

Ryan J. Reilly | October 13, 2010, 5:28PM

IL Senate candidates Alexi Giannoulias (D) and Mark Kirk (R)

Illinois GOP Senate candidate Mark Kirk is taking some heat from his Democratic opponent Alexi Giannoulias for bragging on a secretly-recorded phone call about his "voter integrity" project, which he said focused on two largely African-American sections of Chicago and two other urban areas in the state.

Kirk said on the tape recorded last week that he had arranged for lawyers and other people to be "deployed in key, vulnerable precincts, for example, South and West sides of Chicago, Rockford, Metro East, where the other side might be tempted to jigger the numbers somewhat."

Giannoulias said in a statement on Wednesday that he would have his lawyers look into Kirk's effort.

"That sort of Florida-style voter intimidation is disgusting, illegal, and smacks of the Karl Rove politics that Illinois voters are sick of," Giannoulias said.

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Israel-Palestine

GOP Senate Contender Kirk Is Favorite Of Pro-Israel PACs

Justin Elliott | February 4, 2010, 11:28AM

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL)

Republican Rep. Mark Kirk enters the Illinois Senate race as the member of the House who has consistently reaped the biggest contribution totals from pro-Israel PACs, making a name for himself through five terms in Congress as a hardline leader on legislation relating to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Kirk, who is considered a moderate Republican on most issues, sailed to an easy victory in the GOP primary this week and goes into the general election race as a strong contender for Barack Obama's old Senate seat.

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