Posted on 11/01/2010 11:48:47 AM PDT by tcrlaf
MORRISVILLE, Pa.-Allegations of absentee ballot fraud are marring the final days of a competitive congressional rematch here, raising the possibility that the outcome in this suburban Philadelphia seat might be decided in a courtroom after Election Day.
The accusations coming from both Democrats and Republicans in Pennsylvania's 8th District have come to define the closing days of the contest between Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy and former congressman he defeated in 2006, Republican Mike Fizpatrick. Both camps say the other is guilty of wrongdoing tantamount to stealing an election.
For the moment, 8,000 absentee ballots have been sequestered in a Bucks County courthouse, and Republicans are challenging the validity of at least a few hundred specific votes. The county elections board is examining the ballots, but unless either candidate wins by a margin of more than 8,000 votes, the conflict could very well end up in a state courtroom.
The sniping between candidates has already begun. Fitzpatrick accuses Murphy's campaign and the Democratic Party of improperly collecting-and possibly altering-absentee ballot applications before submitting them to be counted. Murphy accuses Fitzpatrick's allies on the GOP-controlled county elections board of systematically targeting Democratic absentee votes to be thrown out.
"These aren't allegations, these are facts," Fitzpatrick said before rallying party activists in Bristol Sunday afternoon. "Congressman Murphy needs to explain why his campaign was involved in a fraudulent election scheme to funnel absentee ballots through a private post office box."
Thirty minutes later and 10 miles away at the home of a woman whose absentee vote has been challenged, Murphy countered: "My opponent's strategy of hoping people have amnesia has failed miserably, which is why he's pulled this stunt to steal hundreds, if not thousands, of votes. I don't know how he can look himself in the mirror."
Two issues are at the heart of the dispute. The first is a mailer that the state Democratic Party, in coordination with the Murphy campaign, sent voters in an effort to increase absentee voting. The mailer, while not illegal, was clearly misleading, purporting to be from a state office that doesn't exist and warning recipients that their "participation in the upcoming election may be placed in jeopardy" if they didn't return the enclosed absentee ballot application. Republicans says Democrats could havetampered with those absentee applications.
The second issue is a collection of absentee ballots that have been challenged by Republicans, most of which came from Democrats. The county elections board is allowing people whose absentee ballots were challenged to vote in person-but Democrats are worried that most people don't know their votes are being cast aside, and that time is short to make up for any lost votes in the close race.
The key here is that Repubs have several hundred ACTUAL NAMES.
Corrupt democrat politicians in Philadelphia?
Why that’s UNHEARD OF!
/s
The slime of democrats knows no bounds...
But is it a RAT controlled board of elections? If so, nothing will be found out of order.
Bucks used to be a GOP stronghold, but it’s starting to trend Rat. Fitzpatrick won before, he can win again!
ping
(( ping ))
thanks for the ping
The holders of absentee ballots are acting in the name of those who are ... well ... like absent! What be wrong with that?
In regard to those registered in Philadelphia: when the British held Philadelphia during the Revolution, they destroyed the voter rolls. Those people who were disenfranchised are owed the vote! That is why they are still registered and we count their votes, and if we lose track, we count'em again. It's the Philly way..
Stand by for sensitive topic: As a key stop on the Underground Railway, and a Quaker stronghold, Phila. attracted many black residents. These people were disenfranchised for over 400 years in this country! Now, in all fairness, we allow their descendants to make up for those missed votes. Ditto womenfolk! Of course they vote more than once. They have 400 years of missed ballots to make up. This is facilitated by the Black Churches, each of which has a van fleet that delivers the patriots to precincts around town that were, or may have been, stops on the underground railroad of pre-Civil War times. Of course, this is done after a hearty breakfast, distribution of funds, and filling out more absentee ballots.
You Republicans bitch and moan about the dead. What? Do Republicans have no dead relatives? Don't you VRWC people know how your dead relatives would want to vote? Just because you wealthy tax cheats have no family spirit doesn't meant WE don't! Again, in all fairness, the dead are absent. So, we issue them absentee ballots for distribution in every precinct where the dearly departed may have lived at one time. Or driven through.
Republicans. Suppressing the vote again! When Fast Eddie registers legal aliens, you bitch and moan almost as loudly as when he gives the millions of "undocumented" workers their rights!
You people and your "One Man-One Vote" nonsense. A blatant attempt to disenfranchise Democrats! Damn you all!
Yours truly,
Donna (Just Get Me Close) Brazile
PS: The creation of "virtual" voters on the computer, and their families, and their addresses, is as the name implies, "Virtuous."
Give questionable elections visibility, and hopefully justice will prevail.
All voter fraud cases should be fast-tracked to the Supreme Court, and let Justice Roberts sort it out, quickly.
Don’t count the vote before the liberal judges do. :)
Plus last I heard, Philadelphia has, as of November 2008, 1,126,768 registered voters, which is substantially larger than the number of adults living in Philadelphia, 1,082,000 (74.7% of 1,448,394 - source: US Census Bureau estimate, 2006).
The majority in the new house has the right to delay seating of or even refusing to seat membership who were elected under a cloud of suspicion of fraudulent votes. They need to use that power.
Awesome advice. This should be passed on to Limbaugh and/or Hannity, Beck, O'Reilly, etc.
Philadelphia fraud has been costing Republicans elections for years in Pennsylvania. I’m unaware of any other instance of fraud in Bucks County but the Congressional district that I’m in, PA-8, does encompass a small portion of Northeast Philly along with the entire county of Bucks. I promise myself that if this gutter snipe tries to steal this election with absentee ballot fraud, me, and whole lot of other like minded citizens are going to be making our voices heard loud and clear, in person.
Thanks tcrlaf.
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