Voinovich asks Justice Department to look at possible election fraud

Cleveland Plain Dealer ^ | 10/15/2008 | Stephen Koff

[EBH]

Posted by /Plain Dealer Washington Bureau Chief October 15, 2008 11:22AM

WASHINGTON -- Ohio's Republican U.S. senator has stepped into the fray over claims of attempted voter fraud, asking the Justice Department this morning to assist the Ohio secretary of state in investigating alleged law-breaking involving ACORN.

Jennifer Brunner, the secretary of state, has not asked for that help. But Voinovich's office says it can't hurt to have another set of eyes.

"It's necessary because there have been enough allegations out there, enough suggestions, and right now the people of Ohio don't have confidence" that the election will not be tainted, said Chris Paulitz, Voinovich's spokesman.

He said the senator's office is getting calls from Ohio citizens worried about the Nov. 4 election's integrity in light of revelations that some voter registrations turned in by ACORN were fraudulent. "People aren't convinced that everything is on the up and up, and there's no harm in bringing in the nation's top cop," Paulitz said.

In his letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Voinovich wrote:

"A number of my Ohio constituents have contacted my office to raise concerns regarding statements from ACORN representatives that the voter registration cannot be fraud-free, combined with various accounts about potentially fraudulent voter registration activities. I am deeply concerned about such allegations.

"I know that like me, you share the concern that even the appearance of impropriety and fraudulent voting practices can result in the loss of public confidence in our nation's election process. In 2002, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act, with my strong support, to help restore confidence in the election process. Unfortunately, problems appear to remain, including the potential for significant fraudulent registration practices that have been reported by the media in a number of states.

"As you may know, in Ohio, the Secretary of State is the chief elections officer and oversees the election process. I am confident that Ohio's Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner, is doing what she can to ensure the integrity of the voter registration and election process. I am writing to request that you work with Secretary Brunner to investigate swiftly any allegations of fraud in Ohio's voter registration process. If any investigation finds criminal violations, I am sure that you and Secretary Brunner will work to ensure the appropriate prosecution of such matters."

The Republican National Committee today has been noting claims of registration fraud in Ohio, Missouri, Minnesota, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and elsewhere. ACORN, which stands for Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, acknowledges that some of the 1.3 million registrations it collected were fraudulent. But it says they were a tiny portion and that many were first detected by ACORN itself. Under some state laws, ACORN must turn over the bad registrations anyway, knowing that local elections boards will reject them.

Democrats, Barack Obama's campaign and several public interest groups say the elections boards and secretaries of state have systems that are working to safeguard the election's integrity. The fact that fraudulent registrations have been discovered is proof, they say.

[personalaccts]

I said “crap”. That’s what he is. I say that because we had a man who looked after this country name John Bolton. He didn’t take crap from the UN. He put this country first and this “lame brain” held up his nomination. He cried like a baby on the floor of the US Senate because he couldn’t bring himself to vote on John Bolton. He’s a lame brain piece of crap. I have no respect for him. He’s “yellow”. Pray for the Senator and this country. Pray for leadership for this country. Not for the guy because he wear’s the “R” jersey. that’s the problem.

[press]

I’m not saying he was right with Bolton, although he did change his mind and became his champion later.

I’m saying people like you, people who would call a deeply devout man like Voinovich “crap,” you give conservatives a bad name.

And you show your real lack of intelligence that you can’t argue your points without resorting to such trash.

[personalaccts]

When it comes to people (both parties) that won’t support a man who supports “country first” not the dictators at the UN I have problems with that. I can see liberals not supporting John Bolton (Obama, Clinton, Kerry). These “globalist”. Your guy put dictators first. If I give conservatives a bad name because I love my country over the “R” jersey then so be it.

[Impy]

I’ll do you one better and call him Sh**. He’s the 3rd worst RINO in the Senate.