Posted on 10/31/2002 10:23:12 AM PST by rwjst4
Detroit's voter rolls in question
Mayor's office says total too high by 150,000; dispute could skew count, prompt challenges
By Darci McConnell / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Despite having died eight years ago, Kathe Beddow still retains one mortal privilege: The right to vote. The city Elections Department in July sent Beddow a voter registration card, even though she hasn't voted in more than a decade. She is also still listed as a registered voter with the Secretary of State's Office. Behind such simple mistakes lies a massive disagreement over the number of registered voters in Detroit that could become a pivotal issue in next week's election. The credibility of the registered-voter rolls came into question last month, in a controversial memo tied to Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. The memo, drafted by Kilpatrick aides and addressed but never delivered to Democrat gubernatorial candidate Jennifer Granholm, claims that the city's total of registered voters -- listed by elections and state officials as topping 600,000 -- is off by more than 150,000 people. In a potentially close gubernatorial race, faulty voter rolls in Detroit can serve as fertile ground for election challenges, especially if antiquated records result in a voter card going to the wrong home. Inaccurate voter rolls also could add a new issue to an already troubled election process in the city. Past problems include insufficient staffing of polling places on Election Day, delayed vote counts and a fight with state officials over how the city reviews spoiled ballots. Detroit election officials say those problems that have surfaced in recent years have been corrected, although some residents doubt it. Frustrated by eight years of faulty mailings, the man who bought Beddow's home in 1994 took the card to his polling site for the Aug. 6 primary. But workers told Detroiter Steve Ogden that they couldn't take it back, and that he'd have to follow up with the City Clerk's Office. "It's frustrating with all the get-out-the-vote efforts that occur during each primary and general election," said Ogden, 39. "There could be a lot of wasted effort by soliciting people that should be purged from the records for several years now." Spokesmen for Democrat Jennifer Granholm and Republican Dick Posthumus said they're hoping for a trouble-free election in Detroit. But Ogden's angst over the city's registration lists was reflected in the Kilpatrick memo. "It has been said that there are 650,000 registered voters in the city of Detroit. We all understand that this is a false number," the memo reads. "... I believe that number will fall somewhere around 450,000 registered voters." Reinforced Kilpatrick spokesman Jamaine Dickens: "We believe that the (650,000) number is inaccurate." When Southfield attorney Geoffrey Fieger ran for governor in 1998, he targeted 300,000 voters, instead of the more than 600,000 that the city says are registered. Fieger, who went on to win 87 percent of the votes that year with 196,624, said he believed the number of registered voters recorded in city and state records was wrong. "I believe that the true number (of registered voters) is somewhere around 400,000," Fieger said. "It was never my understanding that it was 600,000 voters." But Detroit Elections Director Gloria Williams maintains there are 611,321 registered voters in the city. This summer, the city spent $143,363 to mail registration cards. "That's way wrong," Williams said of the 450,000 figure in Kilpatrick's memo.
(Excerpt) Read more at detnews.com ...
MI 2000 Totals 4,232,501 Gore 2,170,418 Bush 1,953,139 difference: 217,279 Wayne County MI Totals 768,417 Gore 530,414 Bush 223,021 difference: 307,393 MI 2000 Totals 4,167,685 Debbie Stabenow 2,061,952 Spence Abraham 1,994,693 difference: 67,259 Wayne County 759,508 Debbie Stabenow 512,759 Spence Abraham 228,547 difference: 284,212 Republican Supreme Court cadidates in bold Justice of the Supreme Court 8 Year Term (1) Position MI 2000 Totals 3,122,360 Marietta Robinson (D) 1,210,809 Clifford Taylor 1,675,147 Robert Roddis (L) 236,404 R/D difference: 464,338 Wayne 549,913 Marietta Robinson (D) 267,099 Clifford Taylor 241,868 Robert Roddis (L) 40,946 223,021 Wayne voters voted for George W. Bush 241,868 Wayne voters voted for Republican Clifford Taylor 18,847 difference (8%) 530,414 Wayne voters voted for Al Gore 267,099 Wayne voters voted for Marietta Robinson 263,315 difference (99%) Justice of the Supreme Court Incumbent - Partial Term Ending 01/01/2005 (1) Position MI 2000 Totals 3,042,826 Stephen Markman 1,707,977 David Raaflaub (L) 194,973 Edward Thomas (D) 1,139,876 Wayne 539,588 Stephen Markman 247,260 David Raaflaub (L) 31,232 Edward Thomas (D) 261,096 223,021 Wayne voters voted for George W. Bush 247,260 Wayne voters voted for Republican Stephen Markman 24,239 difference (10%) 530,414 Wayne voters voted for Al Gore 261,096 Wayne voters voted for Edward Thomas 269,318 difference (103%) Justice of the Supreme Court Incumbent - Partial Term Ending 01/01/2003 (1) Position MI 2000 Totals 3,120,496 E. Fitzgerald (D) 1,194,890 Jerry Kaufman (L) 311,589 Robert Young 1,614,017 Wayne 558,051 E. Fitzgerald (D) 258,276 Jerry Kaufman (L) 53,240 Robert Young 246,535 223,021 Wayne voters voted for George W. Bush 246,535 Wayne voters voted for Republican Robert Young 23,514 difference (10%) 530,414 Wayne voters voted for Al Gore 258,276 Wayne voters voted for E. Fitzgerald 272,138 difference (105%)========================
It's almost like they knew Taylor, Markman and Young were going to win regardless of loaded votes in Wayne, so they didn't even bother messing with it. Notice especially that the number of Bush voters nearly matches the number of Taylor, Markman and Young voters, whereas the Gore voters outnumber the voters for the liberal? candidates by more than 200,000.
They spent the time doctoring ballots for Gore and Liberal Debbie, but couldn't spare it in a losing cause for the Supreme Court candidates.
Probably the main reason for this is that you cannot pull a straight party lever for the Supreme Court candidates. You have to mark them each separately. Strange that the Republicans had time to mark their candidates, but the Democrats did not.
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Wayne difference ~ 230,000 liberal non-voters in Supremes races.
Gore beat Bush by 220,000 in Michigan.
Stabenow beat Abraham by 65,000.
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