Jump to content
kytwell

Judge refuses to halt Pennsylvania’s voter identification law

 Share

37 posts in this topic

Recommended Posts

Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Greece
Timeline
A Pennsylvania judge on Wednesday refused to stop a tough new voter identification law from going into effect,

read the entire article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/judge-wont-halt-pa-voter-identification-law/2012/08/15/f0620852-e6d8-11e1-9739-eef99c5fb285_story.html

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Filed: Timeline
The original Republican rationale for the law - to prevent election fraud - played little role in the court case. Government lawyers acknowledged that they are "not aware of any incidents of in person voter fraud."

At least they admit that they are fighting a problem they know does not really exist. The election manipulation that is going on here is disgusting.

Edited by Mr. Big Dog
Link to comment
Share on other sites

At least they admit that they are fighting a problem they know does not really exist. The election manipulation that is going on here is disgusting.

It would be impossible to know how big of a problem this is because without mandatory id's there is no way of knowing if everyone voting is actually who they say they are.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Greece
Timeline

It would be impossible to know how big of a problem this is because without mandatory id's there is no way of knowing if everyone voting is actually who they say they are.

:thumbs: Exactly! How can we know for sure it isn't a problem, if the tools that are needed to detect a problem are not in place?

Here is an article out of Philly in '95 regarding voter fraud

But election fraud on a smaller level has proven to be a reality.
the '93 scandal in the Second Senatorial District, in which backers of Democrat Bill Stinson paid $1 bonuses to volunteers who rounded up absentee ballots. The Stinson affair is a prime example. The dispute came down to roughly 600 absentee ballots (250 tainted)
There are last-minute registrations taxing the system. In 1992, 193,000 people signed up to vote in the presidential election, with 40,000 enlisting on the final day. Of the 300,000 who signed up to vote for the 1983 Goode/ Rizzo primary, 60,000 procrastinators entered at the last minute.

Election Day itself is a monster. The city opens 1,680 polling districts covering 66 wards and relies on more than 15,000 people to make it all work. Election Day workers, mostly volunteers, pull 15-hour days. All of this eases the way for dirty politicos to dabble in dirty tricks.

"I don't know if you can ever eliminate irregularities in any system, whether it's voting or accounting," admits Swirsky. "The key is to limit opportunities. You can't extinguish people who have felony in their hearts."

Rigging elections comes down to registration. Which in Philly, like any urban area, means enrolling out-of-towners, the dead or the exploitable — the homeless and ex-cons.

How is it done? City Hall insiders — nameless in order to save jobs — cite a litany of registration methods available to the would-be election rigger.

Do dead men die? Not always. Corpses, say the sources, are perfect tools for election abuse.

The scam works like this. A registered voter dies near the registration deadline (Oct. 10 this year) but remains eligible. A hack sends somebody to pose as the dearly departed. If the fraudulent voter slips by poll watchers, the "ghost" ballot glides through.

Is this fraud prevalent? Nobody can say. Conventional wisdom suggests not. Then again, Fani Papanikolau's story raises questions.

Papanikolau, a 37-year-old Democratic committeewoman from Feltonville, cast an absentee vote in the 1993 primary. That is, Papanikolau voted in the 42nd Ward on behalf of a woman who was absent — permanently. She had departed the earth six months before. Papanikolau later owned up to 22 counts of election fraud when busted.

Beyond "ghosts," many non-Philly residents reportedly vote. This long-standing method boils down to strong city ties and vested interests.

Say a former city resident with family members in politics has moved to the 'burbs. The resident maintains a Philly address (usually a one-time residence or a business), then shows up at the polls. Easy to pull and very hard to detect (though not impossible — election officials caught a Wildwood, NJ resident voting during the '93 election).'

Then there are empty lot registrations. If somebody registers right before deadline at the address of a vacant lot, say sources, there's not enough time for investigators to catch up.

One can also enlist voters at places such as homeless shelters, halfway houses, pretty much any address. Voight and others claim many people register to obtain welfare benefits. Indeed, a man went to prison last year after bilking $9,000 worth of emergency food stamps via 50 false voter registrations.

But sources insist a shady operative can also buy or use these votes. The Inquirer has written about unsubstantiated reports where campaigns allegedly paid bounties to volunteers who registered homeless people.

Finally, there is double-voting — when somebody votes in two divisions during one election. The city's registration computer is supposed to weed out people who are registered in different divisions but in 1994, the Inquirer found more than 200 people who signed up to vote in two places.

These problems have been limited, judging from past inquiries and studies. Yet nobody can accurately say how much voter fraud exists in Philly. (News accounts place the highest estimate of fraudulently registered voters at 10 percent of all voters, roughly 80,000 in 1993.)

So dead men can and do vote! Read on:

http://archives.citypaper.net/articles/101295/article009.shtml

Edited by kytwell

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Filed: Timeline
It would be impossible to know how big of a problem this is because without mandatory id's there is no way of knowing if everyone voting is actually who they say they are.

The government lawyers defending this law in court acknowledge that they are not aware of a single incident of in person vioter fraud. To me, that would indicate that there's no substance to the claim of in person voter fraud being a wide spread problem requiring a draconian response.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Filed: AOS (apr) Country: Philippines
Timeline

What is the big deal of showing ID? We show our IDs routinely for other everyday matters.

Sent I-129 Application to VSC 2/1/12
NOA1 2/8/12
RFE 8/2/12
RFE reply 8/3/12
NOA2 8/16/12
NVC received 8/27/12
NVC left 8/29/12
Manila Embassy received 9/5/12
Visa appointment & approval 9/7/12
Arrived in US 10/5/2012
Married 11/24/2012
AOS application sent 12/19/12

AOS approved 8/24/13

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Filed: Timeline

In fact, there are lots of rights you can't just exercise without filling out a form or showing some ID. Buying a firearm in most states. Peaceably assembling in a public square, etc.

Now, it's not that I'm unsympathetic to the old woman in rural bumblefukc who has never bothered getting her id in order because she's never needed to. It bothers me that maybe she can no longer vote but laws like this will set into motion a process (which will last a few election cycles) that brings our (the Democratic) voters in line with their voters in terms of having the necessary paperwork and documentation. Non profits will spring up that make it happen and at the far end of this process we will all enjoy a cleaner electoral process.

In the meanwhile, yes this will be cause for some disruption and yes rmoney will probably win Pennsyltucky. It's a shame but that's ok. It could be worse, it could have been Santorum.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is no legitimate reason for opposing a voter id law. If you are a functioning member of society, you already have one. If you are a non-functioning member of society, I really don't want you voting anyway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
- Back to Top -

Important Disclaimer: Please read carefully the Visajourney.com Terms of Service. If you do not agree to the Terms of Service you should not access or view any page (including this page) on VisaJourney.com. Answers and comments provided on Visajourney.com Forums are general information, and are not intended to substitute for informed professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, tax, legal, investment, accounting, or other professional advice. Visajourney.com does not endorse, and expressly disclaims liability for any product, manufacturer, distributor, service or service provider mentioned or any opinion expressed in answers or comments. VisaJourney.com does not condone immigration fraud in any way, shape or manner. VisaJourney.com recommends that if any member or user knows directly of someone involved in fraudulent or illegal activity, that they report such activity directly to the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. You can contact ICE via email at Immigration.Reply@dhs.gov or you can telephone ICE at 1-866-347-2423. All reported threads/posts containing reference to immigration fraud or illegal activities will be removed from this board. If you feel that you have found inappropriate content, please let us know by contacting us here with a url link to that content. Thank you.
×
×
  • Create New...