Posted on 10/12/2012 6:46:51 PM PDT by Maelstorm
Democratic lawmakers and activists nationwide are angry about a crop of billboard signs posted in early October in the Cleveland and Milwaukee areas that warn of stiff penalties for voter fraud.
The roughly 33 signs warn that "Voter Fraud is a Felony" punishable by up to 3-1/2 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, wording flanked by a large picture of a judge's gavel.
The signs will be up through the November 6 election day in the Cleveland and Milwaukee areas and were paid for by an anonymous "Family Foundation," according to a spokesman for Clear Channel Outdoor, which owns the billboards and placed the signs.
Legal and labor activists and community members said the signs deliberately target and seek to intimidate blacks and Hispanics, other minorities and the poor - as well as ex-convicts - groups key to Democrats' campaign voter drives ahead of the vote.
"The billboards create a chilling effect," said Marcia Johnson-Blanco, a co-director at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, an advocacy group that asked Clear Channel Outdoor to remove the signs.
"It certainly leads to an atmosphere where some will think twice about voting," Johnson-Blanco said, adding Clear Channel Outdoor has not responded to the group's request.
Some of the signs were placed in white, although relatively poor, neighborhoods of Cleveland and Lorain, roughly 30 miles (48km) west.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
Those signs would ONLY scare people that DO vote fraud!!!
It is the same reason a legal business owner might be put off by this sign. "Any business owner or stockholder in a company that wrongly contributes money to a political campaign is subject to stiff penalties and a full review by all regulatory agencies."
Those signs are every bit as intimidating as the signs in the bank warning that you are being recorded on camera.
They don’t seem to dissuade legitimate customers from swarming the bank...
We need to get this placed on rolling papers, EBT cards, city buses, stenciled on bongs, etc.
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