Michigan legislative action thread
Posted on 09/18/2013 4:44:34 PM PDT by cripplecreek
HAMTRAMCK, MI — A complaint by former Hamtramck Councilwoman Cathie Gordon may have helped expose election fraud in Hamtrmack's August primary.
Gordon, who placed fourth among four primary candidates running for mayor with 12 percent of the vote, says that might not be the last of it.
The findings come weeks after Gov. Rick Snyder appointed Cathy Square the city's new emergency manager tasked with elevating the city of near 22,000 toward fiscal stability.
State Attorney General Bill Schuette on Wednesday charged three Hamtramck men with a total of 41 counts among them of improper possession or return of an absentee ballot.
Armani Asad, a City Council candidate himself who supported Gordon in her campaign and still has one of her signs on his front porch, is charged with 14 counts;Salim Ahmed, 50, with 21 counts; and Russell Mohammed, 32, with six counts. Each of the crimes is a felony that carries up to five years in prison.
Gordon, 66, said there were nearly 50 absentee ballots submitted and rejected by City Clerk Marie Kendzierski, who retired a month before the election. She filed her complaint after Kendzierski's replacement, August Gitschlag, reversed the decision and recorded the votes. It's unclear if the votes that concerned Gordon are the same ones found to be fraudulent.
"During the August 2013 primary election, the Hamtramck City Deputy Clerk, August Gitschlag, found that three unauthorized people had allegedly delivered multiple absentee ballots in violation of state election law," Schuette's office said in a statement. "It is a felony to possess or return an absentee ballot unless you are the person voting, the voter’s family member, a mail carrier, or an authorized official. All Michigan absentee ballots clearly explain the codified election law regarding the proper procedure for obtaining, possessing, and processing absentee ballots."
Gordon said she was "taken aback," to learn that Asad, a "nice young man" whom she supported, was involved in delivery of the illegal absentee ballots.
Gordon has another complaint that she jointly filed with City Council candidate Darla Swift. It's potentially more troubling because it's an accusation against a currently elected official, who she says tried to manipulate the vote. He offered her nearly 200 votes, "but you have to donate some money here," she said was the proposed deal.
Gordon said she was approached by a group of men, one who currently holds office. Because the complaint is under investigation by Schuette's office, Gordon declined to reveal his name.
According to statements Swift made to the Hamtramck Review (see story), Councilman Mohammed Hassan offered her 26 votes in exchange for her support of him in the African-American community.
Swift, who placed third among five candidates vying for two City Council slots, fell short of her goal by 26 votes.
“Preserving the integrity of the voting process is vital to maintaining the foundation of our free democracy,” Schuette said. “On election day, voters cast their ballot to make sure their voice is heard. We will not tolerate election law violations.”
Gordon, although she won't hold elected office when the primary election concludes in November, says she'll remain a political activist. "I want to maintain the integrity of my city," she said Wednesday. "No side-stepping the law.
"Follow the law; if not, get out of this town."
Armani Asad, a City Council candidate himself who supported Gordon in her campaign and still has one of her signs on his front porch, is charged with 14 counts;
Salim Ahmed, 50, with 21 counts; and
Russell Mohammed, 32, with six counts.
Each of the crimes is a felony that carries up to five years in prison.
And what are the odds ANY of these mother f***ers go to jail?
ZER0!
Reminds one of the old expression of being able to take the person out of the desert but being unable to take the desert out of the person.
I wouldn’t be so sure about that. We sent a liberal state supreme court judge to prison a while back.
When GWB controlled the US gov, he had the ability to expose and prosecute fraud. National GOP did not care after they won and swept all the Dem fraud under the rug and figure they can win the next election. GOP gov are starting to figure it out while the ones in Wash DC are too complacent to care. I hope in 2016 we select a GOP gov who is much closer to local situation to get it and take this experience to the national level and use Dem fraud to discredit the Dems like Watergate hurt the GOP. The raw material is out there, all the GOP needs is the right leader and staff to put it all together.
There was major fraud in Detroit in 04 but the GOP didn’t bother to pursue it because they won the general election but Detroit is on notice this time.
We now have a law that automatically audits traditionally “Problem Areas” and just a week or so back the state returned some 40% of the votes to the guy who won the primary in Detroit.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3062241/posts
Notice the utter lack of any mention of party affiliation. That almost tells you more than if they told us outright.
And what are the odds ANY of these mother f***ers go to jail?
If the prosecution is by the state, there's probably a chance; if it's by the feral government, however, a lowly assistant to Eric "the Red" Holder will make a telephone call, and the criminals will have naught to worry about.
Both the Attorney General and Secretary of state were directly targeted by fraudsters and they both take a very dim view of it.
This simply cannot BE!!
Voter fraud doesn’t exist, and only crazy conservatives and weird Christians think it does!! (No matter how many hundreds of Democrats get convicted of it.)
Hamtramck is 80% dem.
What’s really interesting here is that the democrats appear to be turning on each other in Michigan.
Keep an eye on that Duggan crook this November in Detroit.
Detroit will be crook on crook violence. I just plan to enjoy the show.
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