Editorial: Widen election day focus (Wisconsin Voter Fraud, the liberal media spin)

JS online ^ | 1-25-05

[Indy Pendance]

The Journal Sentinel has thoroughly reviewed Milwaukee records from the last presidential election and has pinpointed 1,200 voters with invalid addresses. That's fact. The debate is over what to make of it.

Republicans are quick to jump on discrepancies, real or imagined, in voting data in Milwaukee as proof of widespread fraud in the big city. In their minds, the Journal Sentinel's findings fit that pattern.

A more plausible explanation, however, is that the findings reflect the unfortunate tendency of voting systems throughout America to err. Milwaukee voters with dubious addresses made up four-tenths of 1% of the turnout, by the way. Nevertheless, the disclosures should give impetus to efforts to upgrade the electoral apparatus.

The errors must be corrected. But photo IDs, the cure-all pushed by Republicans, would cure hardly anything. What's more, the GOP's obsession with Milwaukee doesn't help. After all, electoral glitches pockmark the entire state. But Republicans are threatening to myopically focus only on Milwaukee. Any probe must widen to the entire state or at least big chunks of it.

Fat margins of error have long characterized the way the nation votes. We just didn't notice until the 2000 presidential election, when the photo finish came out blurry, prompting a national crisis. In close looks at voting elsewhere in the nation since, discrepancies almost seem the rule. It's no big surprise they show up in Milwaukee, too.

The good news is that city and state officials have already started the process of upgrading the voting system to reduce errors. The Journal Sentinel's investigation should prompt officials to particularly examine the breakdowns in the registration process, especially at the voting site.

Reporter Greg J. Borowski noted that three-quarters of voters with wrong addresses registered on site on election day. Yet, to register, you must show poll workers proof of residence, such as a recent utility bill, a lease, a driver's license. So how is it that the residences cannot be found of some voters who produced such proof?

Obvious clerical errors and illegible writing explain some of the discrepancy. Clearly, officials must come up with procedures to reduce those problems. New technology the state is planning should help. The technology would allow a city to check an address on a registration form against its official list of all addresses in the municipality. The ideal would be for a worker to be alerted to a dubious address at registration - an ideal that may be tough to reach.

Not likely to help is a photo ID requirement. A poll worker who transcribes the wrong address from a utility bill is just as likely to do so from a driver's license. What's more, the requirement would hurt people who lack such an ID (or forget theirs). Why erect an unnecessary obstacle to voting for even a tiny minority - among them, some newcomers to the state, some residents who don't drive and some young men and women just reaching voting age in the city? Keep in mind that 18-year-olds in the city are significantly less likely to hold driver's licenses than their suburban peers.

Suburban legislators lack empathy, unfortunately. One of them, Rep. Jeff Stone, a Greenfield Republican, is beating the drums for a probe of the Milwaukee elections. He has seized on the gap between the 84,000 people the city estimated registered on election day and the 73,000 cards it sent out to new registrants to verify their addresses. Indeed, in fixing the system, city officials must address that gap. But problems with the cards seem widespread in Wisconsin. What explains Stone's fixation on Milwaukee?

Republicans have not put forth actual cases of fraud - which would appear to be easy to do were it so rife here as the GOP insinuates.

The nation has learned that voting, which lies at the heart of our democracy, is a huge logistical challenge that America has yet to fully master. Milwaukee and Wisconsin are commendably taking steps to reduce the errors. The Journal Sentinel's findings should add impetus to that effort.

[Jean S]

But photo IDs, the cure-all pushed by Republicans, would cure hardly anything.

That is their #1 agenda. The left does not want photo IDs and the Journal-Sentinel will distort and lie to make sure it doesn't happen.

[Indy Pendance]

The Journal is a mouthpiece for the democrats. I hope this FBI investigation goes somewhere. But, wasn't the smokes for votes NY millionaire democrat party opperative investigated by the FBI in 2001?

[Puddleglum]

But Republicans are threatening to myopically focus only on Milwaukee. Any probe must widen...

I'd be willing to push it to include Madison.

[Indy Pendance]

I'll go one farther, investigate the entire state.

[Jean S]

I'm not 100% sure but I think that investigation stayed local.

[Vicki]

The dems don't want photo I.D.
They don't want to verify addresses.
They don't want to check for double voting.
They don't care, in fact, they prefer that the dead vote.

How do I know, because I live in Washington State and that how the dems who are in power in the state like it.

[SolidRedState]

If they really wanted to reduce the possibility of fraud, they would accept the photo ID proposal. As it is, they (the media and leftists) harp voter fraud when they lose and poohpooh it when they win.

[joem15]

"Republicans are quick to jump on discrepancies, real or imagined, in voting data in Milwaukee as proof of widespread fraud in the big city. In their minds, the Journal Sentinel's findings fit that pattern."

No more debate. The Milwaukee Journal is officially a house organ of the Democratic Party. To Wit:

1. Tire slashing of vehicles meant to transport elderly voters to the polls on November 2, by Democrat Thugs, one the son of a US Congresswoman, one the son of a former Milwaukee Mayor, is OK.

2. Thousands of unreadable voter registration cards, of people who voted on November 2, are OK.

3.Organized Union Thugs, showing up on a bus and terrorizing the Republican Campaign Office, before the election, in West Allis is OK.

Everything is OK according to the Milwaukee Journal.

Not by me. I live in SE Wisconsin. I don't buy it, I don't read it and I don't miss it. I am Journal free and I love it.

[Jerr]

I can't remember if the smokes for votes was investigated by the FBI. We lived in the north Milwaukee suburbs at the time, but we only remember the incident being filmed by a local TV crew and the evidence turned over to the local Milwaukee country prosecutor who failed to further investigate or prosecute anybody even with the filmed evidence.

There have been other incidents in the Milwaukee area such as a state congressman (D, Racine)holding a money prize bingo game (with political buttons and brochures) with cake and soda at a nursing home, just before the absentee voting was performed at the home. Don't get too riled, the prize money was only a few quarters at a time --- the congressman didn't want to blow all his money at only one nursing home. Again, the county prosecutor was notified, but did not do anything.

The problem is that in the bigger cities, the local (Democratic) prosecutor is not going to prosecute any Democrats for anything that they are not forced to pursue.

Also, Milwaukee is almost always last in the state to report their votes. May just be symptomatic, but is also very helpful for the Democrats. In 2000, Bush was winning the state by about 6,000 votes. Then Milwaukee reported and surprisingly changed the total to 6,000 vote advantage for Gore. Nothing definite, but strangely convenient --- a reverse but equal swing for the Democrat? Not less and not more? Also, the Democrats do not allow Republican observers at their in town polling stations. They can start observing, but things either happen to the observers (who in many cases, stand out in the minority neighborhoods) or if they happen to drive in to the sight, their cars. Either way, they don't typically stay long to observe. Funny how that works out.

But Milwaukee doesn't hold a candle to the city of Chicago and at least its near suburbs --- vote early, vote often....



Surprise, surprise!!!!!!

[Jerr]

It really should not be a big deal. You need a picture ID to open a bank account or personally conduct business there or (at least supposedly) cash a check at a currency exchange or convenience store. If you are a student at a college, you need a picture ID. If you work at a bank or many other places (especially now-a-days), you have to have a picture ID. You can bearly live without having a picture ID. Only the Democrats (who definately intend to keep the ability to commit voter fraud) can strongly stand against such a requirement. Maybe we can make it easier in the bigger cities to have state DMV or ID offices near the local voter registration offices. But in order to reduce fraud, it would not be too much to ask that voters to register when they come of age or change residences. True freedom and democracy can't live with much less.

[Lancey Howard]

I made it three-quarters of the way through this idiocy and realized it could be summarized as simply "blah blah blah". This scumbag liberal toilet paper did everything it could to short-shrift Democrat fraud. The answer to most of the "irregularities" is simple - - start throwing people in jail. REAL jail.