Dog taken off voter rolls -- after three elections (Washington State. Of Course)

The Times of India ^ | July 12, 2007

[Stoat]

Dog taken off voter rolls -- after three elections
12 Jul 2007, 0539 hrs IST,AP

SEATTLE: A dog has been taken off voter rolls after receiving absentee ballots for three elections, said officials in King County, Washington.

Elections Director Sherril Huff said she cancelled voter registration Tuesday for Duncan M McDonald, the Australian shepherd-terrier mix owned by Jane K Balogh.

Balogh, 66, registered her pet to protest a change in the law that she said made it too easy for non-citizens to cast ballots.

Balogh put her telephone in the dog's name, then used that as identification when she mailed in the registration form in April 2006. In November she wrote "VOID" across Duncan's ballot and returned it with an image of a paw print on the signature line.

An election official called and she admitted what she had done, but the dog still was sent absentee ballots for school bond elections in February and May.

"Quite frankly, the process did take too long, and it should have been addressed after the November election," said Bobbie Egan, an elections office spokeswoman.

County election procedures are being reviewed to provide speedier action "whenever fraudulent activity is apparent," Egan said.

The removal came three weeks after Balogh was charged in King County Superior Court with making a false or misleading statement to a public servant, a misdemeanor. A sheriff's investigator wrote that she admitted registering the dog under false pretenses "to make a point that anyone could vote, even an animal."

[Terabitten]

I was dumbfounded by the number of FReepers who thouht what she did was OK.

I consider what she did an act of civil disobedience. She may end up doing the time or paying the fine, and that's okay too.

[HEY4QDEMS]

The point is that the dog just registered but didn't vote. No harm was done to the political process in making her point.

I'm well aware of what the point is. My point is that fraudulently registering to vote is illegal in all 50 states.

Do you really believe it should be legal to file fraudulent registrations so long as you don't actually cast a ballot?

I'm not for intrusive laws but I'm not an anarchist.

[HEY4QDEMS]

I consider what she did an act of civil disobedience.

That's precisely what it was.

She may end up doing the time or paying the fine, and that's okay too.

I hope that's all that happens to her. I wish her the best.

[untrained skeptic]

A news article about her trial was posted on FR a few weeks ago and I was dumbfounded by the number of FReepers who thouht what she did was OK.

She never attempted to vote under false pretenses.

She admitted what she had done as soon as she had made her point.

She broke the law, and there was a tiny cost to taxpayers in the cost of removing the dog from the voting rolls. However, there was no intent to do harm or to undermine the integrity of the elections process.

I'd give her a $50 fine (to cover the costs of her actions) and a few months probation and be done with it.

[untrained skeptic]

Voter fraud is a felony which could result in several years in prison, her charge was reduced to misdemeanor making a false statement for which she was fined and given a short probation.

Um, maybe you missed the part where she never committed voter fraud. She returned the absentee ballot with VOID written across it. Voter fraud is a serious crime, however it is a crime that she did not commit.

[HEY4QDEMS]

She never attempted to vote under false pretenses.
Who's saying she did?

She admitted what she had done as soon as she had made her point.
She admitted what she had done as soon as she was questioned about it.

She broke the law, and there was a tiny cost to taxpayers in the cost of removing the dog from the voting rolls.
Yes she did. and yes there was.

However, there was no intent to do harm or to undermine the integrity of the elections process.
Ok so you also think it's OK to fraudulently register to vote so long as person registering doesn't actually vote.

Not me.

[the OlLine Rebel]

I think she’s somewhat of a hero. Good for her, showing them (and all of us) what fools they are.

[HEY4QDEMS]

Um, maybe you missed the part where she never committed voter fraud.

Um maybe you missed the part where the prosecuter offered to charge her with a misdemeanor instead of "felony frudulent voter registration" which is the original charge.

[the OlLine Rebel]

“Balogh was charged in King County Superior Court with making a false or misleading statement to a public servant, a misdemeanor.”

Oh *I* get it. It’s not OK on the “voter” side to be fraudulent.

But it’s OK when you’re on the OFFICIAL government side perpetrating fraud. Picking up whole graveyards of dead people to vote, bringing in illegal aliens, etc.

[the OlLine Rebel]

“Doing this at the polls would be a great way to end much of the voter fraud. But if you make up a name and info it pretty much renders the point moot.”

It’s moot because it doesn’t stop the GOVERNMENT types from stuffing the boxes with the votes of illegals and corpses.

[OB1kNOb]

Actually, he was registered as a Republican. The owner pleaded guilty to making a false statement.

Why, was the dog actually a Democrat?

Ahem....a yellow dog democrat.

[the OlLine Rebel]

But would they vote for a blue-merle dog before a Repub?

[the OlLine Rebel]

Yes, it’s kind of like sitting in the white section of the courthouse.

Or (gasp) not wearing a seatbelt.

Oh, the horrors of these scofflaws!

[4woodenboats]

There are a great many people who have been caught double voting, felon voting, using a po box as an address, etc. in King County

None of them wrote VOID on the ballott or drew in a paw print.

None of them called up the elections dept. and asked them to take them off the rolls.

All of them were uncovered by Stephen Sharkosky of Sound Politics after the KC elections dept. refused to investigate.

NONE of them to my knowledge has been prosecuted.

This lady, frustrated with the never ending fraud in this state, set out to prove how easy it is under the "new, fraud proof precautions" the state recently adopted.

She successfully made her point, infuriating the status quo, and, apparently, you.

You're on the wrong side in this one.

[4woodenboats]

You may also recall that the election of present governor of Washington State (a Democrat) was very close and turned on late arriving absentee ballots cast primarily in King County

They weren't late arrivals. The KC elections dept FOUND more votes for the D candidate every time the R candidate pulled ahead (9 Times, over 10,000 votes) in the 1st count, which the R candidate won, then "found" more in the recount, which the R candidate won, then found more in the 3rd which the D candidate pulled out a 49 vote edge.

During the ensuing court battle, it was found that due to the election law tweaking over 40 or so years D rule here, if you are going challenge a voter registration, you have to do it before the election, and you have to prove how the illegal voter voted in the election.

They basically made it impossible to charge anyone with illegal voting - unless they come forth and admit it.

[HEY4QDEMS]

She successfully made her point, infuriating the status quo, and, apparently, you.

I'm not infuriated at all. I've indicated on both threads that I wish her the best, that I understand her motives, and hope all works out for her.

However, I am from the school of thought that breaking the law as a form of protest is inadvisable.

I also believe that if the state lets this slide, it will set a precedent for others to thumb their noses at the law with the canned excuse that "it was to set an example", "it was to prove a point", "I didn't intend to vote", yada yada yada, which according to the DA is exactly why he can't let it slide and I happen to agree with him.

As far as my being on the wrong side, I'll agree that I'm obviously not on the same side as you and just leave it at that.

[publana]

I haven’t read far enough to find out if SHE was okay with dogs, cats, goldfish, etc. being registered, but I certainly am!

The woman is a hero as far as I’m concerned. She proved that she could easily register her dog to vote. Then, instead of voting, she wrote “VOID” across the ballot AND put his paw print on it to ensure the idiots got the point.

NOT wanting attention called to the matter sounds like something for the dem headquarters to me.

[Beatthedrum]

I seem to remember the bitch Cantwell stole the senate seat from Slade Gordon, back in 2000 I believe. I stayed up very late that night watching the nonsense with Gore. I distinctly remember ABC calling the election for Gordon, and said only absentee ballots and mail-in ballots remained to be counted. She ended up winning a ridiculous % of those votes and stole the election.

Then there was this incident you are referring to where another democrap stole a seat in the late absentee ballot count.

Years ago an investigative reporter here in Nashville, Phil Williams did a great expose on voter fraud. First he went to register his dog and followed the correct procedures. When he approached the election commissioner, he affirmed that if the request had been sent in, they would have granted a voter card for the dog.

But far more shocking, he selected a random 700 registered voters from the Davidson county rolls and checked them. It was scary as he found @ 35 unqualified voters - dead people, children registered, felons, illegal aliens, people using a business address, etc. So if 50% vote, that's 350 people out of 700. 35 out of 350 possible illegal votes that could be cast.

Expand that over the entire country and you get an idea of what a joke our election process has become. And democraps all across the country are trying to make it even easier to cheat - fighting every attempt to require proper ID at polling stations, liberalizing the use of mail-in ballots and registrations.

It’s one big freaking mess.

[Captain Rhino]

Yeah. The next step will be to make absentee/mail-in voting mandatory as a money saving measure. Then we can have a voter-optional electoral system.

[Captain Rhino]

Thanks. Hadn’t seen this article.