Posted on 12/05/2002 3:02:27 AM PST by KQQL
Several South Dakota Republican pollwatchers and workers say they witnessed serious irregularities in the Nov. 5 election in which incumbent Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson eked out a 528-vote victory. Democrats said the charges are untrue.
Among the allegations leveled in interviews with United Press International and in affidavits collected by the Republican Party:
-- Three people being offered money for voting for Johnson.
-- Voters giving two or three names to election personnel before finding a name that matched on the voter rolls, which they would use to cast their ballot.
-- The Democratic Party organizing voter rides from inside the polling place.
The Republican Senate candidate, U.S. Rep. John Thune, conceded defeat after the Nov. 5 election. Thune's decision does not mean the issue of fraud in the election has gone away, a party spokesman told UPI. "Other entities are looking into the possibility of voter fraud," said the Republican National Committee's Jim Dyke.
"The RNC is very interested in investigating fraud and putting a stop to it if they find it," Dyke said.
Johnson's campaign manager, Steve Hildebrand, dismissed the complaints as unfounded and uncorroborated and said the campaign was conducted honestly.
South Dakota's incoming secretary of state, Chris Nelson, a Republican, said he wasn't aware of any ongoing investigation into possible illegalities.
"If somebody's got evidence of such they need to file a complaint with law enforcement," he said after UPI outlined the allegations.
The race between Johnson and Thune was one of the most closely watched -- and closely fought -- in the country. Thune, who had originally intended to run for governor, decided to make the race for Senate after being lobbied intensely by the White House.
At stake in the South Dakota race and in a half-dozen other key contests across the country was whether the Republicans or Democrats would be the majority party in the U.S. Senate.
As it turned out, Republicans regained control of the Senate even as they lost the South Dakota race. Thune declined to seek a recount, saying that it was in the best interests of the state to avoid a messy post-election challenge.
Some conservatives criticized the decision, saying voters had been deprived of their franchise and the case should be pursued whether or not control of the Senate hung in the balance. Some Republicans say privately they believe Thune did not pursue the matter because he feared the political ramifications would prevent him from challenging Tom Daschle in 2004 should the Democrat's Senate leader seek re-election.
Johnson, the Democrat, defeated Thune by just 528 votes out of 337,497 cast, according to the secretary of state's office.
Allegations of vote-buying came from Republicans in Todd County, home to the Rosebud Indian Reservation. Democrats there outnumber Republicans 5 to 1, making it a target for state Democratic Party and Johnson get-out-the-vote efforts. Johnson won Todd County 2,027-464.
"You know what the going rate was around here? Ten bucks," said Ed Assman (pronounced ahs-mahn), a retired state highway patrol lieutenant, who served as a Republican poll watcher at the Parmalee Precinct in Todd County. "There were several affidavits signed by Natives who either took money or were offered the money."
UPI obtained copies of affidavits taken by the Republicans from two women and one man, all American Indians, who said: "I was promised $10 if I would go vote. I was given a ride to the polls in a van with Tim Johnson for Senate signs in the window. The name of the van driver was Terry. After I voted, the van took me back from the polling place. When Terry dropped me off, he offered me $10 for voting."
It is a Class 2 misdemeanor in South Dakota for any person to pay money to induce a voter to vote. Asked whether there was any scenario under which a payment would be acceptable, Nelson, the incoming secretary of state, said: "No. Not if $10 was in exchange for voting."
Assman said he saw cash exchanging hands between a Democratic poll watcher and the driver of a van used to transport Johnson's supporters to the polls. "Right in front of me at one point," he said. "I had another gentleman there with me and he called it to their attention, that it was inappropriate. I said to (a Democratic poll watcher), 'Boy you're spending a lot of money today,' in reference to the vans -- there must've been 50 vans on the reservation. He said money was not an object, that they had unlimited funds."
UPI outlined the allegation to Steve Hildebrand, manager of Johnson's campaign, who said: "I want the name of the van driver alleged to have paid people to vote. And I won't respond to the charge until I see an affidavit from him saying he did it. Three people claiming to have been paid isn't good enough for me to comment."
Republicans also claimed they witnessed at least 30 incidents where a name given by a potential voter could not be located on the voter registration list. The pollwatchers allege these people were then asked if they might be registered under another name -- and a search for a second or third name would take place until a match allowing the person to vote could be found.
South Dakota election law says anyone impersonating a registered voter is guilty of a felony.
Similar incidents of voter fraud have been reported in Shannon County, home of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, and many sources say it was "much worse" there
Regards,
You can thank Mr. McCain and the "Campaign Funding Reform" for
this new debacle. "Soft money" is legal and can be used in exactly the
manner it has here....... AND in Florida.
Hmmmm. All Daschle needs in '04 to get re-elected is a couple grand.
Betcha this is what happens to SD in 2004--and notice that Dasshole is now talking about retirement because he knows what a honest election would mean to his electoral success. (Hint--he won his first election by 100-something votes which showed up at the last minute.)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.