Posted on 01/26/2005 4:28:22 AM PST by Timeout
CITY WAS WARNED ABOUT SOME BAD VOTER LISTINGS
186 voted from addresses on GOP list
By GREG J. BOROWSKI
In the Nov. 2 election in Milwaukee, at least 186 people voted from invalid addresses that officials had been warned about before the election, according to a new Journal Sentinel analysis of voter information. 49102Related Coverage Election: City was warned about some bad voter listings Loopholes: Openness generates holes in state’s voting system
The votes came from addresses that were among 5,619 the state Republican Party challenged less than a week before the election as non-existent. The city Election Commission rejected the claim, saying the party hadn't met the high legal standard for removing names from poll lists.
That led GOP officials to question Tuesday whether the city complied with its later agreement to have poll workers seek identification from anyone who attempted to vote from those addresses.
"I don't think there should have been anyone voting from the 5,600 addresses," state GOP chairman Rick Graber said. "We had an understanding. We had an agreement. For whatever reason, the city did not live up to its end of the bargain."
Nearly all the 186 votes in the latest Journal Sentinel analysis are among the more than 1,200 votes the newspaper determined this week came from invalid addresses. The 186 votes are noteworthy, however, since the city was warned the addresses were problematic.
Graber and other party officials have said they received reports from poll watchers in the city that the lists of questionable addresses were not being used at some of the wards or were delivered late.
The Journal Sentinel review compared the list against everyone recorded as voting. That revealed 312 votes came from the addresses. Many of those from the GOP list - the accuracy of which city officials had questioned - were from addresses that do exist.
A comparison against the newspaper's more detailed list of invalid addresses found 178 matches out of the 312 votes. Another eight apparently invalid addresses were found when the remaining votes from the GOP list were checked individually against a city property database. That made it at least 186 votes from invalid addresses on the list.
Lisa Artison, executive director of the city Election Commission, said she was concerned by the findings and said: "If anybody perpetuated fraud on election day, we want that referred to the district attorney's office. That is not OK with us."
She noted the heavy turnout Nov. 2. With nearly 2,000 people working at the polls at 300-plus wards, she added: "Obviously, there were some glitches. We're open and amenable to working with anybody who is interested in improving the election process." State review likely
Meanwhile, the state is moving closer to an audit of election procedures that is expected to include a major focus on the problems in Milwaukee.
The statewide audit, which had already been approved by the Legislature, has been accelerated, and a "scope of audit" - the step that formally launches the state probe - could be approved as soon as Thursday.
"To have this information about the addresses out there before the election and have it ignored is another mind-boggling element of this whole thing," said state Rep. Jeff Stone (R-Greendale), who is also preparing to reintroduce a photo identification requirement for all voters.
In the past week, the Journal Sentinel has reported on various shortcomings:
Vote gap --City records list 277,535 votes in the election, about 8,300 more votes than people listed as voting. This appears to be cases where same-day registration cards could not be processed, a figure the city's own estimates had put at more than 10,000.
Similar gaps were found by the newspaper in other elections, including a 3,500 gap in last year's mayoral race.
Spotty compliance --Some communities around the state do not comply with a state law requiring that verification cards be sent to everyone who registers at the polls; others do not send cards that are returned as undeliverable to the district attorney. That is also required under state election laws.
Non-existent addresses --A total of 1,242 people are recorded as voting from 1,135 invalid addresses, based on an extensive computer analysis that checked voters against two separate databases of addresses in the city. A sample showed that about 20% of the problems are due to clerical errors, such as transposed numbers. The identities of the rest could not be easily confirmed through additional checks by the paper.
Of those voting from invalid addresses, 75% registered at the polls on Nov. 2.
In Wisconsin, the presidential race was decided by about 11,000 votes, among the narrowest margins in the country.
On Tuesday, the state GOP issued a news release headlined: "Milwaukee: The new Chicago of election fraud?" In it, Graber questioned whether it was a case of "rank incompetence, widespread fraud or a combination of the two" that led to problems in the city.
"We are talking about a number of suspect votes large enough to throw the Wisconsin results of the 2004 presidential election into question," Graber said in the statement.
System defended Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, who opposes a photo ID requirement, said Tuesday he believes most of the issues raised could be traced back to processing problems, not fraud.
"I think we have a pretty good system," Doyle said. "If you register at the polls, you have to show appropriate identification to show that you are who you claim to be and that you reside at that location."
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has appointed a task force to look into problems, but it has been criticized for including only city employees. Indeed, one task force member is Artison.
In its original challenge, the GOP cited addresses that appeared on the city voter rolls that were vacant lots, a billboard and a gyros stand. At the time, however, the party could not say how many people - if anyone - had voted from the addresses in the past.
The 186 votes represent about 3% of the addresses on the list of the 5,619 addresses the GOP questioned. Graber said Tuesday that the party still had not received the information it had requested Nov. 16 from the city on who voted in the election.
The party's request was filed about a week after a Journal Sentinel request. The newspaper received its information Thursday. The GOP request is somewhat more expansive, including copies of registration cards and other documents - not just a computer database.
City officials have said that information cannot be provided without first blacking out private information, such as birthdates and Social Security numbers.
Go read it if you want to see a perfect example of anti-GOP bias.
Bookmarked, with my thanks.
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I wish you had challenged the governor a little more on his response to your inquiry about voter I.D. Here's that portion of your article:Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, who opposes a photo ID requirement, said Tuesday he believes most of the issues raised could be traced back to processing problems, not fraud.That really isn't a full answer. According to the City of Milwaukee website (below), there is no requirement to show I.D. for those who register every day of the year, other than election day."I think we have a pretty good system," Doyle said. "If you register at the polls, you have to show appropriate identification to show that you are who you claim to be and that you reside at that location."
Interestingly, here are the requirements to get a library card at the Milwaukee Public Library (link below):
Adults must provide two forms of identification showing name and current address within Milwaukee County. (Acceptable forms of identification are a driver's license, a current utility bill, or mail postmarked within the last 30 days.)The next time you call the governor for comment, would you please press him to be more specific about system-wide voter I.D. Perhaps he sees gettting a library card as a hardship? The legislature should require that I.D. be shown at registration and at voting time. If the governor is going to oppose it , then let him do so honestly and openly rather than with "artful" statements.XXXXXX
Milwaukee Elections Office: http://www.milwaukee.gov/display/router.asp?docid=854
Milwaukee Public Library:
http://www.mpl.org/File/libcard_about.htm#how
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I don't even live in Wisconsin and this is really pi**ing me off.
Oh.
And I notice that, to a democrat voting official, outright fraud in a close election is called a "glitch", but NOT finding any fraud AT ALL is "disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of black voters" and is promoted at every speech and "hate-the-white-republicans" interview they can find.
I'd rather not break out the catapults this early in the morning. I will say to Lisa Artison, "The GOP told you so."
IDs and registrations actually are worse than what you portray them as. At the polls, all you need is someone to swear to the lie (that's right, you don't even need to forge a cable bill, as long as you know someone who is already "in the system"). Outside of election day, while there is a requirement to show an ID sometime between registration and election day (those that don't do so at the time of registration are "required" to do so before getting their first ballot), various city clerks were busy deputizing DemonRAT-linked GOTV groups and thus allowing them to say that the appropriate ID was "produced".
I've heard a lot about that provision for having someone "affirm" a new registrant without I.D.
But I was going only by what it says on the City of Milwaukee website. There's nothing there about this affirming process. Where would one find that cited?
Also, the City's website says NOTHING about requiring I.D. for those registering on non-election days.
Anyone wishing to vote in the state of Wisconsin, where they are required to register, has three options to register:....So, all you need is someone willing to swear to the lie in Wisconsin.3. AT THE POLLING PLACE ON ELECTION DAY: If you wish to register to vote at your polling place, you must bring proof that you have lived at your present location for 10 days preceding the election. For purposes of voter registration, a form of identification constitutes acceptable proof of residence if it includes:
1. A current and complete name, including both the given and family name; and
2. A current and complete residential address, including a numbered street address, if any, and the name of a municipality.Forms of identification which constitute acceptable Proof-of-Residence (see numbers 2 and 3 above), when they contain the information specified above, include the following:
1. A Wisconsin motor vehicle operator's license.
2. A Wisconsin identification card.
3. Any other official identification card or license issued by a Wisconsin governmental body or unit or by an employer in the normal course of business, but not including a business card.
4. A credit card or plate.
5. A library card.
6. A check-cashing or courtesy card issued by a merchant in the normal course of business.
7. A real estate tax bill or receipt for the current year or the year preceding the date of the election.
8. A residential lease which is effective for a period that includes election day.
9. A university, college or technical institute fee card.
10. A university, college or technical institute identification card.
11. An airplane pilot's license.
12. A gas, electric or telephone service statement for the period commencing not earlier than 90 days before election day.At this time, Proof-of-Residence is all that is required of a voter in order to register at the polling place on Election Day. Although the Registration Form may ask for either the Driver’s License number or the last 4 digits of the Social Security Number a voter should not be turned away if they lack that information. If you cannot supply acceptable Proof-of-Residence, your registration form can be substantiated and signed by one other elector who resides in your municipality, corroborating your residency information. The corroborator must then provide acceptable Proof-of-Residence. (emphasis added)
Sheesh.
Thanks for the link. I checked out the req'mts for non-election day registration. It says you have to attach a copy of "identification" if registering by mail.
Does anyone know if this is actually done? Someone in Milwaukee should try it. Call the elections office and request a mail-in voter registration form for your kid. I just want to see what kind of instructions accompany it. DON't actually REGISTER YOUR KID! LOL!
The Journal Sentinel has posted this short note...full length article to follow.
Wooo Hoooo! The feds are coming!Task force to probe Milwaukee election
Local and federal law enforcement authorities are finalizing a task force that is to look into potential fraud in Milwaukee in the Nov. 2 election, sources confirmed today.The details are being worked out between Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann, U.S. Attorney Steve Biskupic, Milwaukee Police Chief Nannette Hegerty and the local office of the FBI.
Now for Washington state.
I wish.
I started a thread on the Task Force story:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1329417/posts
BTT!!!!!!
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