Voting

Legislating Early Voting and Universal Registration Create Partisan Rifts

Kate Klonick | November 7, 2008, 12:13PM

As we spend the day recounting yesterday, there were no incidents of voter fraud in the states where the GOP made a fuss over ACORN and other voter registration groups.

In fact, voting went remarkably smoothly, despite the surge in turnout -- a result, many voter experts say, of the use of early voting in key states.

Which raises key questions -- why isn't there early voting in all states? And after all of the debate over voter registration fraud, why not just institute universal voter registration?

"The single most important thing that Congress can do right now is create universal voter registration, which would mean that all eligible voters are automatically registered," said Rosemary E. Rodriguez, the chairwoman of the federal Election Assistance Commission, in an article on the subject in the New York Times this morning.
The majority of states -- 32 -- have early-voting, with Congress discussing its expansion, the Times reports.

In fact, legislation for universal registration is already in the works in Sen. Hillary Clinton's office -- which would minimize long lines and the problems created by third-party groups like ACORN, which might sate the appetite of the GOP who has long accused ACORN of propagating voter registration fraud.

But, as the Times points out, even though making voting easier might sound like a non-partisan issue accepted by both sides of the aisle, it is anything but:

Lorraine C. Minnite, a political science professor and voting rights expert at Barnard College, said Republicans had generally resisted such efforts in part out of concern about ineligible voters like noncitizens being permitted to vote.

"But the bigger reason that Republicans have resisted expanding the franchise," Dr. Minnite said, "is that the new people who are likely to come into the electorate are more often of lower income and are people of color, who tend to vote Democratic."

Tom Jensen, a Democratic pollster based in Raleigh, N.C., said early voting gave Mr. Obama the edge for his narrow victory in North Carolina by offering his campaign more time to organize rides and get people to the polls. Mr. Jensen noted that Mr. Obama won early balloting by 178,000 votes but lost among Election Day voters by 165,000 votes.

"Obama had a great ground game," he said, "but if you only have 13 hours to get everyone out, it's much harder."

BMW

BMW Direct Candidates Predictably Lose Elections

Kate Klonick | November 6, 2008, 4:33PM

BMW Direct, the notorious direct mail firm famous for striking fundraising deals with loser candidates -- predictably lost two of its high profile races this Tuesday.

We mentioned late last week that a BMW client, Deborah Honeycutt -- a Republican challenging Democratic incumbent Rep. David Scott in Georgia -- looked to be making a small challenge to Scott and had raised almost $4.7 million through BMW Direct, though the vast majority had gone in fees back to the company.

Well Honeycutt lost her race -- by the same margin she'd lost in 2006 -- 38 percentage points. According to FEC records, Honeycutt has spent $4.3 million this election cycle, $47 for every vote she received.

As for BMW's other high-profile loser candidate, the Republican challenger to Jack Murtha in Pennsylvania's 12th District, he lost too. Touted by Michelle Malkin as a "jaw-dropping political miracle" Russell brought in almost $2.5 million through BMW Direct -- but spent more than half of that in payments back to the direct mail firm. While he pulled tighter to Murtha at the end of the race, it was more due to the Congressman's gaffes, than any awe inspired fundraising.

One last thing about Honeycutt -- it looks like she's going to have more to deal with than just a lost election. Scott has filed a federal complaint against Honeycutt for allegedly funding sleazy fliers that called Scott the "worst black congressperson."

Special thanks to TPM Reader BK for the tip.

Voting

Besides Small Tech Glitches, Florida Has Successful Election Day

Kate Klonick | November 6, 2008, 2:19PM

Despite last minute legal wrangling on Election Day eve, Florida's election came off without a hitch, with no reports of voter fraud and few problems.

Democrats and Republicans had reached a truce on Monday evening, that the Florida GOP would not file "frivolous" challenges to voters.

But on Nov. 4, there were glitches at individual polling places, but no major problems

From the Miami Herald:

• The only scanner at Coral Ridge Mall in Fort Lauderdale broke and voters had to put ballots in a bin until it was replaced.

• In the David Park Community Center in Hollywood, the first 20 or so voters were handed misprinted ballots listing Amendment 3 twice.

• A poll worker in Sunny Isles Beach was dismissed for being ``rude and overzealous.''

• Two precincts in Palm Beach County opened late.

Statewide, voting went so smoothly that Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning called Election Day ''almost eerily quiet,'' despite an unofficial record turnout.

''It's been a great day for Florida,'' he said.

Voting

Colorado Voters Vote Early in Smooth Elections

Kate Klonick | November 6, 2008, 12:55PM

Colorado's Secretary of State Mike Coffman -- who was elected on Tuesday to Tom Tancredo's Congressional seat -- had been ordered by a judge just days before the Election to stop purging voters from the system.

But despite his best efforts to purge voters from the rolls -- voting rights groups who filed suit estimated 35,000 people were purged in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act and settled to get 20,000 back on the rolls just days before Nov. 4 -- Colorado had record turnout and early voting, with few problems.

From the AP:

Colorado Common Cause, one of the groups that sued the state, and another watchdog group, Election Protection, said they received about 800 calls from Colorado voters, mostly about registration questions.

"Compared to 2006, Colorado is doing fabulously," said Jenny Flanagan, executive director of Common Cause.

Flanagan said there were some hiccups, such as provisional ballots being given out "wholesale" in some counties, including Arapahoe and Denver, at the first sign of trouble with a voter's registration.

"I don't know if election judges are overwhelmed or if it's a training issue, but it's something we're going to be looking at in the coming days," she said.

Voting

"Voter Fraud" Van Hollen: Wisconsin Voting Goes Smoothly

Kate Klonick | November 6, 2008, 12:04PM

Though his lawsuit threatened to hold up registrations and his poll watchers threatened to create long lines and frivolous challenges, not even GOP Attorney Gen. J.B. Van Hollen's best efforts to raise the specter of voter fraud could suppress Wisconsin's voter turnout.

Wisconsin's top election official, Kevin Kennedy, estimated between 2.9 million and 3 million voters cast ballots in the election the AP reports. That's just under the number of 2004 and nearly 70 percent of the voting-age population.

"As far as voting, everything seems to be going very smoothly in the state," Van Hollen told WTMJ radio.

"We've had very few problems around the state. It appears as though the reports are that most polling places are conducting themselves very well."

Alaska

Sen. Stevens Fights On

Kate Klonick | November 5, 2008, 3:16PM

Though the race is still too close to be called, Sen. Ted Stevens' slim lead over his Democratic contender, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, has many wondering what exactly would happen if the convicted felon (and perhaps seven term senator) succeeded in his bid for re-election.

Assuming he wins re-election, Stevens with have a two-front battle to wage: one with his colleagues in the Senate, and the second with an appellate court.

Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has already said that "a convicted felon is not going to be able to serve in the United States Senate" shortly after the Alaska Republican's conviction. He has promised that Stevens will face an ethics committee investigation and expulsion, regardless of his appeals process. With Democrats holding a strong majority and many Republicans -- from John McCain to Mitch McConnell -- calling for his resignation, it's unlikely that Stevens would last long after a January swearing in.

So what will happen to Alaska's second senate seat if Stevens is sent back to the wilderness of AK? ProPublica has your answer:

So what happens if the Senate gives Stevens the boot? Under Alaska state law, the current governor--perhaps you remember her--would appoint a temporary replacement. Then a special election would be held to choose a senator to serve out the remainder of Stevens' six-year term. With no primary election in the near future, a special election would need to be held within 90 days of Stevens leaving office.

Could Stevens actually run again via the special election? After all, Alaska's voters and Senate leaders could theoretically end up playing a game of ping-pong--where Alaska votes him in, the Senate expels him and then Alaska votes him back in. We're looking into it.

ProPublica consulted an Alaska law expert in a later article and discovered that it wasn't quite that simple (is it ever?) -- in 2004, Alaska voters approved an initiative that stripped the governor from the power to appoint a replacement to the U.S. Senate, and which conflicts with current state law. It looks like it'll come down to the Alaska Supreme Court -- with nothing even starting to be resolved until the legislature meets in January.

After covering Alaska for the last five months -- and staying up until 4 a.m. refreshing State Election Board results -- I would have to say you shouldn't put anything past Alaska.

As for Stevens' appeal, it hasn't been filed yet, but we can already hypothesize what it will entail: prosecutorial misconduct and perhaps grounds related to the jury.

Voting

Republican Poll Watchers Removed from Indiana Polling Site

Kate Klonick | November 4, 2008, 4:55PM

The Indianapolis Star has the play by play:

The removal of two Republican election workers from a Warren Township polling site - for using improper methods to challenge voters' rights to cast a ballot - has prompted local Republican Party leaders to issue a statement of regret. The two officials - an official challenger and a clerk - were removed by unanimous vote of the Marion County Election Board.

The officials were reportedly challenging voters with information obtained through party affiliation reports, which is not one of the accepted challenges such as a person's address, age or lack of ID.

"We were disappointed to hear of the incident regarding these two workers. The Marion County Republican Party was not aware of these alleged activities, nor did the Party instruct any worker to engage in such behavior," Marion County Republican Party Chairman Tom John said in a statement issued at 2 p.m.

Voting

OH GOP Preempts Election Day Results With "Placeholder" Complaints

Kate Klonick | November 4, 2008, 4:27PM

With the polls closing in just hours, the Ohio Republican party -- already thwarted in their attempts at voter suppression by the DOJ and the Supreme Court -- have continued to file complaints against Democratic Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, the Wall Street Journal blog Washington Wire reports:

Republicans also raised new concerns about the counting of provisional ballots and other voting procedures. The party wants an injunction that would require Brunner to rescind some of her voting directives.

Brunner filed a motion asking to have the case consolidated with another federal suit pending in Cleveland. In the Cleveland case, the secretary of state recently reached an agreement with the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless that county boards of election will have consistent standards for counting provisional ballots. Such ballots require additional checks and aren't counted until well after Election Day.

The WSJ quotes Edward B. Foley, director of the election-law program at the Ohio State University, who calls the Republicans' suit a "placeholder" in case the voting results in Ohio are close -- an idea echoed by a voting expert

Rick Hasen, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and an election expert, echoed this to TPMmuckraker saying it was "a way to have a foot in court" in the event that the vote is tight in Ohio and litigaiton is needed.

Voting

WI GOP "Volunteers" Admit They Lied To Voters

Kate Klonick | November 4, 2008, 11:49AM

Four people in Wisconsin who were hired by a temp agency to pass out absentee ballots and encourage voting for John McCain have admitted they were instructed to tell people that they were GOP volunteers, the AP reports.

From the AP:

The employees told The Associated Press on Monday they were hired by Allstaff Labor Group to go door to door in the Milwaukee suburbs locating McCain supporters and distributing absentee ballot request forms. Allstaff recruited them under a contract with a consulting firm hired by the Republican Party of Wisconsin to run its absentee ballot program.

The workers claim they were told to say they were GOP volunteers even though they were getting paid $10 an hour. They were required to sign agreements stating they would not publicly discuss their work but said they decided to speak out because they were angry they had not been paid for the last few days. They claim they are owed between $200 and $300.

GOP spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski confirmed there was a dispute over how many hours the employees worked and said the party's vendor was working to resolve it.

Alaska

Palin's Emails Reveal a Habit of Bringing Up Troubles With Wooten

Kate Klonick | November 3, 2008, 9:15PM

Today's new Trooper-Gate report (pdf), shows a number of the emails between Gov. Sarah Palin and fired Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan that discuss Trooper Mike Wooten. While the report finds that Palin did not violate any ethics code in firing Monegan, it's worth looking at the emails between the governor and Monegan -- many of which seem to go out of their way to bring up the governor's grievances against her former brother-in-law Wooten.

An e-mail sent on Feb. 7, 2007 from Palin to Monegan with the title "CONFIDENTIAL cop bill" actually spends little time discussing the cop bill at all. While the email briefly touches on the bill -- which addressed jail time for police officers after killing someone -- the governor spends a full three paragraphs discussing her family's history with Wooten.

It was a joke, the whole year long "investigation" of him - in fact those who passed along the serious information about him to Julia Grimes and Tandeske were threatened with legal action from the trooper's union for speaking about it. (This is the same trooper who's out there today telling people the new administration is going to destroy the trooper organization, and that he'd "never work for that b****, Palin")

Three months later, after a flair up with another state trooper, Palin used the incident as an excuse to mention Wooten again to Monegan:

[B]etween this and the message I received the other night where an Ak [sic] State Trooper recently told a friend of family [sic] that he could further "mess with the governor's sister" by claiming falsehoods about us. . .

In July of that same year, Palin emailed Monegan about a legislative proposal on guns. Again, Palin used the opportunity to bring up Wooten:

The first thought that hit me when reading Gara's quote about people not being able to buy guns when they're threatening to kill someone went to my ex-brother-in-law, the trooper, who threatened to kill my dad yet was not even reprimanded by his bosses and still to this day carries a gun, of course. We can't have double standards.

And in Sept. of 2007, Palin brought up Wooten as the "trooper we've talked about before" in an email to Monegan relating to a state settlement with another trooper.

The take-away on Palin's emails to Monegan listed in the exhibits, is that she didn't shy away from inserting her personal history into her official dealings. Whether or not it was Monegan's failure to pay deference to these (not-so) subtle hints that led to his firing, is still unknown -- but this report would have you believe it didn't.

As we noted before, this report is the result of the investigation at the behest of Palin herself -- so it's not any kind of big surprise that it exonerates her.

Voting

FL GOP Promises No "Frivolous" Voter Challenges in Legal Truce with Dems

Kate Klonick | November 3, 2008, 6:23PM

Specters of the 2000 election have risen in Florida, with Democrats and Republicans engaging in legal wrangling just days before Election Day.

Last week, the Florida Democratic Party joined a suit against Republicans, asking a judge to clearly define what constitutes a challenge to a voter, in anticipation of problems tomorrow.

The suit makes multiple allegations, including claims that the GOP tried to ''cage'' a Duval County voter, and that a Republican sheriff's candidate challenged approximately 300 voters. Democrats also accused Republicans of planning a ''lose your home, lose your vote'' challenge, similar to the threats allegedly made by a GOP county leader in Michigan. "Caging" refers to the practice of sending mail -- marked "Do Not Forward" -- to voters to see who has moved and prompt removal from the rolls.

But today, with just hours until polls open in the state, the two parties have reached an agreement -- putting the lawsuit on hold in exchange for a promise from state Republicans to not engage in "frivolous mass voter challenges."

From the Fort Mills Times:

That came after the GOP filed sworn statements Monday saying the state and national Republican parties "have not and will not" engage in frivolous mass voter challenges.

Circuit Judge Kevin Davey, though, will remain on standby Tuesday in case Democrats present evidence that Republicans have broken their promise.

It's still not clear what this means for Florida Democrats, since it seems to hinge on a court's definition of "frivolous."

Voting

WI Attorney General Won't Appeal Lawsuit Before Election Day

Kate Klonick | November 3, 2008, 2:43PM

Looks like the clock has run out for Wisconsin's Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, who won't file an appeal to his lawsuit tossed out by a judge late last month.

Van Hollen, a Republican and co-chair of the McCain campaign in Wisconsin, filed the lawsuit in an attempt to force the state's non-partisan General Accountability Board to re-confirm thousands of voter registrations.

From the AP:

The lawsuit demanded state election officials verify the identity of tens of thousands of voters registered since Jan. 1, 2006, and do it by Election Day Tuesday.

. . . Justice Department officials said that day they planned to appeal, but spokesman Bill Cosh said Monday the agency realizes there's no chance of relief before the election.

Alaska

Missing Stevens' Juror Lied About Father's Death

Kate Klonick | November 3, 2008, 12:03PM

And it gets better. . . she lied so she could attend a horse race.

From Roll Call:

The juror who was dismissed from the criminal trial of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) to attend the funeral of her father in California admitted Monday that her father had not died, and that she went to California to attend a horse race.

We'll have more on this as it develops.

Late update. . . 12:55 pm: Roll Call expands on the story coming out of the hearing today. The juror, who had been replaced by an alternate, appeared "disheveled and confused" and held a "thick stack of dog-eared papers" when she appeared before judge Emmet Sullivan this morning, telling him that she had purchased tickets to the horse race in the spring:

Hinnant then began to tell a convoluted story about criminal activity in the horse racing industry, alleging that her phone had been tapped and that someone she once worked with in the industry was involved in crime and drugs.

The judge attempted to dismiss her, but Hinnant continued to tell her tale, ultimately asking the judge, "Can I have a case of my own?"

Sullivan suggested that she take that up with the federal public defender, whom he had appointed to represent her at today's hearing.

Sullivan told her that he was simply concerned for her well-being, and that seeing that she was fine, he was satisfied that she would not have been able to complete deliberations with the rest of the jury. He did not suggest any sanction for her actions.

After Hinnant left the courtroom, Sullivan told the attorneys in Stevens' case that he had dismissed her because she was unable to continue to serve on the jury, and "what you heard today just reinforces the correctness of the court's decision."

Robert Cary, one of Stevens' lawyers, said "we don't necessarily agree with the court's findings," and the judge invited both sides to file briefs on the issue.

Jim Gibbons

Gibbons Cleared In FBI Investigation

Kate Klonick | November 3, 2008, 9:43AM

Maybe things are starting to look up for Jim Gibbons, Nevada's beleaguered Republican governor, who has had a host of problems in the last few months. According to the Associated Press, the FBI has cleared him of wrong-doing after an 18-month investigation into claims that he helped a friend win defense contracts and received luxury vacations and private flights in exchange.

The allegations against the governor and his friend, Warren Trepp, who owns eTreppid Technologies, arose during the legal tussle between Trepp and former employee Dennis Montgomery over ownership of anti-terrorist software. The two men settled their lawsuit in September, but the FBI probe had expanded to include thousands of dollars in consulting payments from a military contractor that had gone to the governor's wife, Dawn.

From the AP:

Defense attorney Abbe Lowell said the Justice Department told him that Gibbons would not be charged. Such assurances are commonplace when prosecutors have completed a case.

"The prosecutors in the case confirmed what the governor has been saying for the past two years -- that he did nothing wrong and there was no basis for any allegations against him," Lowell said in a prepared statement.

The Justice Department had no comment on Lowell's assertion Sunday. But a law enforcement official close to the case, speaking on condition of anonymity because authorities have not even officially acknowledged the investigation, confirmed the substance of Lowell's statement.

"I anticipated this would be the result," Gibbons said in a telephone interview Sunday. "This is taking a little of the weight off my shoulders. I hope the public is starting to see that the partisan attacks and attacks of personal destruction against me are false."

With the FBI probe concluded, now Gibbons only has to deal with his acrimonious divorce, his rapscallion reputation, and an ongoing suit filed by a cocktail waitress who accuses him of battery, second-degree kidnapping, false imprisonment, and threats of rape.

Voting

Dems. Question WI Attorney General's Intent with Voter Checks

Kate Klonick | November 2, 2008, 1:09PM

While Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle (D) and Junior Sen. Russ Feingold (D) have both questioned the state Attorney Gen. J.B. Van Hollen's authority to dispatch state prosecutors to poll watch on Election Day, state Democrats came together again to question Van Hollen's newest move: asking chief district court judges across the state to alert him on Election Day in case he has to "initiate emergency election-related proceedings."

From the AP:

Governor Jim Doyle is one of the Democrats who say they don't understand Van Hollen's intent. Doyle adds that "Looking at this letter, you can only imagine what kinds of things he's dreaming up doing on Election Day."

Chief Judge Sue Bischel of Green Bay asked Van Hollen for more details. She says Brown County doesn't even have "duty judges." Also, she says chief judges don't belong anywhere near politics because the independence of the judiciary is absolutely critical.

Voting

CO's Secretary of State Calls Reinstating Voters "Absolutely Ridiculous"

Kate Klonick | November 2, 2008, 12:04PM

On Friday, a Colorado judge was forced to issue a cease and desist order against the Secretary of State Mike Coffman, who had continued to purge voters from the rolls despite an agreement reached earlier in the week with voter rights groups.

Apparently, Coffman still thought he could be removing duplicate registrations and voters who had reportedly died. Needless to say, the judge didn't agree.

And today Coffman -- who by all accounts has complied with the judge's order -- spoke out against the decision that states he will have to reinstate 146 voters, purged since the agreement Wednesday.

"I think it's absolutely ridiculous for me to be ordered to go back and reinstate those registrations," Coffman said according to the Denver Post. "Fortunately I think it's late enough in the process that whatever damage that will be done is so marginal it won't compromise the integrity of the election. Had it happened earlier, it absolutely would have compromised the integrity of the election."

Voting

GA Secretary of State Calls Dem Calls for Extended Hours on Early Voting "Grandstanding"

Kate Klonick | November 2, 2008, 11:43AM

We told you yesterday about the Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel's refusal to extend early voting hours after record turnout across the state. Handel claimed her hands were tied because of Department of Justice rules which require Georgia to received DOJ approval before any changes are made to election rules -- a dubious claim given that the DOJ is fully equipped to handle expedited claims in the final hours before Election Day.

But in statement last night from her office, Handel claims that it's not her politicizing early voting -- it's the media, elected officials and activist groups:

Secretary Handel is extremely pleased with early voting turnout and how the overwhelming majority of Georgia's county election offices prepared for and managed the early voting process. Two million Georgians voted early, nearly 90 percent in person with photo ID. This historic turnout will ease pressures on the state's 3,000 precincts on Election Day. County election officials will now spend Saturday, Sunday and Monday making critical final preparations for Election Day, and the Secretary of State's office will deploy election monitors and technicians to assist them.

At the same time, Secretary Handel is disappointed that a handful of elected officials, political party organizations, activist groups and media outlets used this occasion to politicize the early voting process. Their failed attempts to find fault with the Secretary of State's role in election oversight through grandstanding, patently false allegations and biased reporting revealed their desire to create confusion and chaos among voters to further their political agendas.

With just hours to go until Election Day, it looks like Handel has successfully thwarted extending early voting hours -- how that will affect Election Day voting remains uncertain.