Residents get 6 votes each in suburban NY election

Associated Press ^ | 06/51/10 | JIM FITZGERALD

[surroundedbyblue]

Arthur Furano voted early — five days before Election Day. And he voted often, flipping the lever six times for his favorite candidate.

Furano cast multiple votes on the instructions of a federal judge and the U.S. Department of Justice as part of a new election system crafted to help boost Hispanic representation.

Voters in Port Chester, 25 miles northeast of New York City, are electing village trustees for the first time since the federal government alleged in 2006 that the existing election system was unfair. The election ends Tuesday and results are expected late Tuesday.

Although the village of about 30,000 residents is nearly half Hispanic, no Latino had ever been elected to any of the six trustee seats, which until now were chosen in a conventional at-large election. Most voters were white, and white candidates always won.

[Old North State]

It may not be illegal, but it it is still a farce. The undeniable purpose is to get Hispanics into office by any means necessary.
Why not just give Hispanics a slate of three seats and non-Hispanics a slate of three seats to vote for? Why the charade? This isn't democracy, it is proportional representation based on race. Why not call it what it is.

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

“All men are created equal but some are more equal than others.” George Orwell

[Nam Vet]

This judge should be impeached.

Impeached????

Impeached, tried for human atrocities, found guilty and HUNG BY THE NECK UNTIL DEAD!

I sure in HELL didn't defend the Constitution for this!

Disagree with me??? I'll compromise and have him committed to an insane asylum for life.

Nam Vet

[Wuli]

The Federal courts have been deciding for decades that certain elections reflect de-facto “discrimination” simply because of the OUTCOMES/RESULTS.

Their judicial mindset in those rulings in fact stands in opposition to true American values based on people voting for the candidate and not their race or ethnicity. When a black majority district elects a non-black, their rulings assume something had to be WRONG because the majority MUST HAVE wanted ONE OF THEIR OWN and were somehow thwarted from doing so.

[Leftism is Mentally Deranged]

It’s illegal and unconstitutional. Nothing that would bother any committed leftist.

[GeronL]

retarded judge should be impeached.

[Lmo56]

Isn’t this illegal under say ... the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment ???

If I were a white candidate who loses due to this - I would certainly take it all the way to the Supreme Court ...

This is nothing more than stuffing the ballot box - WHICH IS ILLEGAL ...

And if Hispanics get 6 votes, do Vietnamese get 12 [assuming they are half the population of the Latinos] ???

And lets not forget the GLAAD crowd, and how about the PETA folks, not to mention the senior citizens ...

And here’s an oldie [but a goodie] - how about JUST one person, one vote ... OR IS THAT TOO MUCH OF A NOVEL IDEA ???

SHEESH !!!

[hinckley buzzard]

Alternative voting systems are an old topic in social psychology. Researchers have long wondered if there is a better way to make a choice than the "One man--one vote" system. This "cumulative"(I don't think that is the real name of the system)is one alternative. Others are even more exotic, but yield fair results. I don't advocate any of these for civic elections, but since the judge ordered it, there ought to be someone to follow up and evaluate how it worked.

[garybob]

There is nothing wrong or illegal about it.

Anywhere else you try this, you go to jail. It's called voter fraud. What makes this voter fraud different from any other voter fraud?

[CT-Freeper]

Google “Cumulative Voting” and tell me what you come up with.

EVERYBODY in this instance gets six votes to distribute as they wish amongst x Number of candidates for a certain office. You can even cast more than one of the six votes you get for an individual. Cast them all for one person, cast two votes each for three people, cast one vote for six individuals.

Point is - it is not voter fraud. What makes you think it is fraud?

[Lmo56]

There is nothing wrong or illegal about it.

A little unconventional, maybe - but not illegal.

It is illegal under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment - guess you skipped U.S. Government class in high school ...

[Lmo56]

If everyone gets 6 votes, its fair - in this case, only one ethnic/racial group benefits ...

Its discrimination ...

[CT-Freeper]

What one ethnic group benefits?

E-V-E-R-Y-B-O-D-Y gets six votes to distribute as they see fit.

RTFA

[Lmo56]

My bad ...

[garybob]

Point is - it is not voter fraud. What makes you think it is fraud?

For this reason:

Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, which asserts a principle that the majority should have the right to make all decisions, states, "A minority group, by coordinating its effort in voting for only one candidate who is a member of the group, may be able to secure the election of that candidate as a minority of the board. However, this method of voting, which permits a member to transfer votes, must be viewed with reservation since it violates a fundamental principle of parliamentary law ." (Emphasis mine)