Exposed: Scandal of double voters (68% are Democrats)

nydailynews.com ^ | August 21, 2004 | RUSS BUETTNER

[ApplegateRanch]

For all the headaches it would cause, I would like to see a two-tier voting system, that allowed "double voting".

One would have a Federal voting number (SS#?) and declare when registering which state(s) would issue them a LOCAL-ONLY ballot; and which single state would issue them a complete ballot.

"Taxation without Representation..." People with more than one home; RVers; others, who spend approximately equal time in multiple states get screwed by one or the other on LOCAL issues that affect their local taxes, zoning issues, and referenda/initiatives.

Can of worms? You bet; but that is what we 'hire' politicians to untangle.!

[SpyGuy]

<sarcasm>What a fine piece of journalism by Russ Buettner and the Daily News.<sarcasm>

The article states (in the 10th paragraph):

Of the 46,000 registered in both states, 68% are Democrats, 12% are Republicans and 16% didn't claim a party.

Yet the first example they give (in the 6th paragraph) of a dual voter is a Republican:

One was Norman Siegel, 84, who is registered as a Republican in both Pinellas Park, Fla., and Briarwood, Queens. Siegel has voted twice in seven elections, including the last four presidential races, records show.

Siegel (and his Republican affiliation) is again mentioned in the middle of the article (paragraphs 32 through 39), under the bold sectional heading "Parties can count on 'em–twice":

Norman Seigel puts a new twist on the political adage "vote early, and often."

In Siegel's case, you could add "over and over again."

Siegel (no relation to the civil rights lawyer of the same name) has voted twice in seven elections since 1988, including four presidential races, ­records show.

Registered as a Republican at his home in Briarwood, Queens, and in Pinellas Park, Fla., Siegel has usually filed an absentee ballot in one or both places.

But wait, here's another Republican dual voter they can make an example of (paragraphs 44 & 45) while still not mentioning any Democrat dual voters:

Joseph Moschella, 59, a retired Transit Authority supervisor, said his dual vote in the 2000 presidential election was a mistake caused by his annual snowbird migration.

The registered Republican in Melbourne Beach, Fla., and on Staten Island said he thought his absentee ballot to Florida hit the mail too late, so he voted in New York as well.

In fact, it's not until the LAST TWO paragraphs of this story (paragraphs 47 & 48) that they specifically mention a Democrat dual voter, and even then they blame his crimes on the Republicans:

Edwin Peterson, 66, a registered Democrat in Palm Coast, Fla., and St. Albans, Queens, attributed his dual vote in the 2000 election to his distrust of the party running the Sunshine State.

"That was a situation where Florida is so messed up with the Republicans, you don't know if your vote is even going to be counted," Peterson said. "It's been like that forever."

In fact, the word "Republican" is mentioned SEVEN times in the article, while the word "Democrat" is mentioned only THREE times.

And in the few paragraphs discussing methods for combating the crime of multiple voting, the Republicans are again demonized for (allegedly) denying votes to Democrat "African-Americans."

<sarcasm>Once again, kudos to Mr. Russ Buettner, Daily News Staff Writer. I nominate him for the "Joseph Goebbels Propaganda Award."<sarcasm>

[Grampa Dave]

It isn't just the NY rats who double dip as rat voters.

Boston, New Hampshire, Maryland, and Pa have tons of snowbirds who vote absentee in their home states and by ballot in Floriduh and other winter snowbird states like Arizona, S. California and Texas.

Maybe a bigger double dipper are the college students who vote twice. They reverse the process and vote by absentee ballot in their home and again at the state their college is at.

Voting twice in a federal election should be made a severe federal crime right up there with treason.

[jsbankston]

IF I am taxed in both places, I should be represented in both places.

[jwalsh07]

"I don't think the country is ready for that," Lichtman said. "It may well be that a few hundred people spilling over and voting twice may be an inevitable friction within the system."

"Inevitable friction" when lefties outnimber righties by 5 to 1. A federal case if the numbers are reversed.

[Grampa Dave]

Maybe on state elections.

Are you saying that you deserve two votes to my vote for the presidential race this year?

[Capricam]

So, by that reasoning, Donald Trump should be able to vote a gazillion times? No way. One person, one vote. That's how it SHOULD be. Unfortunately, most Dems are so 'honesty challenged' and full of hate for Bush, they'd vote as many times as they could this election. We've had FOUR years to fix the screw-ups and voter fraud from the 2000 election. What has been done? Next to nothing is my bet. (eor)

[D Rider]

I own property in four cities and two states. Seems to me that as a property owner I should have a voice in each city and each state.

Gee, I own an apartment with 64 units. As a property owner, I should be able to vote for each unit /sarcasm.

[Capricam]

Nope. State or property taxes should have nothing to do with federal elections. By that reasoning, why not allow upper level tax payers to vote more than once? They all probably own properties in multiple states. Your reasoning is flawed.

[Libertina]

Absolutely correct. This is one for the Media Research Center "awards" book.

[demlosers]

A possible fix here is you vote in all 4 places for local elections. Once for each state in statewide elections. And only vote 1 time for each presidential elections.

I don't think federal and state election laws address your problem.

[ProudVet77]

a fair question - here's a link to the members of the 108th congress from NY:
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/cgi-bin/newseek.cgi?site=ctc&state=ny
19 Demos / 9 Pubs. And both senators are of course Demos.
My count might be off +/- 1
I bet if you check with NJ, CT, RI and MA you'd find quite a few double registered voters as many folks up here go south for the winter. And you'd also find they are at least as democrat as NY.
I'd also bet a bunch of NYers are also registered in VT.

[oldironsides]

The double voting was an issue in the recounts that followed in the 2000 presidential. NJ and NY had snowbirds voting twice. The GOP knows it and this is why it is an issue now. They hope to stop these cheaters and alert them to the penalties. Each absentee ballot should have a warning in large print for anyone voting twice. They should also go after that scumbag that voted twice in the last 4 presidentials and make an example of him. A warning should also be posted at every poll.

[Grampa Dave]

We had a conservative friend from Boston who died a couple of years ago. He and his wife wintered every winter in Palm Beach, Floriduh.

He was screaming about his fellow Bostonians by the thousands voting for Clintoon in 1992, 1996 and Gore in 2000 in Floriduh and Boston. He and his wife couldn't get the registrars in Florida or Boston to do a damn thing. He felt that the only way Gore came close to winning Floriduh was the rat snowbird voters all over Floriduh and that Zogby knew of this double dipping voting.

Out here on the West Coast, we have the same phenom with Rats from Washington and Oregon heading south in their RVs. Then, they vote in Arizona or S California.

[Paul_B]

Dems out-doubleregister Pubs by 5:1, yet the News focuses 1/3 of the story on a Pub offender.

[ProudVet77]

"Maybe a bigger double dipper are the college students who vote twice. They reverse the process and vote by absentee ballot in their home and again at the state their college is at."

Your point is very well taken! I know a lot of people in MA and many are conservative. It's when you go to Cambridge
or the CT River Valley (UMass Amherst, Smith, Mt HollyJoke ect) where you find the leftists. All college students.
Lets go back to an old fashioned idea, whatever address you use on your Federal taxes is your state of record. If you don't file you don't vote.

[A CA Guy]

I agree with all you say, but why not ONE voter data base that is attached to all the states that verifies one person one vote?
They would have to verify by address and SS# who they are and that should stop duplicates from being on voting rolls I would think.

[phroebe]

This story pisses me off on so many levels... because of the obvious bias, as others have noticed (Oooohhh, the stupid incompetent Republicans in Florida [which everyone knows is run by Bush's evil brother] made me have to vote in Queens too!) What a maroon...

...and if a newspaper investigation could find this stuff out, and drivers license departments have their acts together, you would THINK that in this modern computerized world, those in charge of voter registration COULD insure that voters were only registered in ONE state, if they really wanted to, that is...

Just WHO is paying off the Federal Elections Commission under the table to keep this nationwide scandal so conveniently "overlooked", I wonder?

Rant off. Sorry about that. Living in Palm Beach County and all, this sort of article tends to get my hackles up!

Re-Elect "W" in '04!

[ProudVet77]

The FEC is pretty much useless.
But these folks are breaking a federal law, so the DOJ owns their butts. The laws are on the books, enforce them. And if necessary raise the penalty.

[Kaslin]

Re the vote early and vote often. We have the Vote Early system here in Tennessee of which I always take advantage of, but I would never dream to drive to another county to vote again and would never dream to vote again on election day