Posted on 01/13/2008 2:13:13 PM PST by indigo5
Apparently, according to Michigan law, advocating for people to vote in an election in which they are unqualified to do so is a felony...
Yesterday, I filed a complaint with the Michigan Attorney General against Daily Kos' blogger Markos Moulitsas, requesting an investigation into whether Moulitsas is encouraging voter fraud in next week's Michigan GOP primary.The idea of the freedom to vote is part of the bedrock foundation of this nation. Vote fraud is not a new concept; likely it reaches back even to the time of the founders. However, once vote fraud is discovered, it should be prosecuted aggressively like all flagrant violations of the law. Daily Kos' call, under the direction of Markos Moulitsas himself, for a conspiracy to commit massive vote fraud during the Michigan primaries may be one of those serious attempts to circumvent election law.
In Daily Kos' January 10 posting entitled "Let's have fun in Michigan," Moulitsas called on Democrats to cross party lines and vote in the Republican primary for the express purpose of helping Mitt Romney win. Romney, he says, will be a "weak" opponent for the Democrats in November. Daily Kos makes no attempt to hide the fact they are influencing Republican primaries as Democrats to benefit Democrats.
Moulitsas' call could be felonious. Michigan state law clearly indicates that unqualified electors voting in elections is a felony. It also specifies that counseling or aiding someone to vote in an election they are unqualified for is also a felony. Election law clearly specifies that to vote in a party's primary, one must actually belong to that party.
(Excerpt) Read more at beam.to ...
Awesome
Let’s hope it grows wings.
Yep. The biggest mistake that has been made is in pushing our primary up.
INTREP
What if it backfires and people KEEP voting GOP?
Plus, while Kos is telling people to vote Romney, others are saying vote Huckabee - he is the weak link. Meanwhile, the notoriously inaccurate polls are saying McCain is the choice of the crossovers.
The Osama and Breck Girl supporters are busy trying to get the “uncommitted” vote, and the Hildebeast supporters are trying not to lose to ‘uncommited’. So I doubt there will be many crossovers of the faithful.
Turnabout is fair play. South Carolina is an open primary state too. Maybe some of us should vote for Kucinich or Gravel there.
The skewing from the open-primary states is deceptive as to who is really appealing to the party members.
John Bambenek, moron.
Democrats won MI for McCain 8 years ago. It’s not wrong for MI Democrats to help Romney win MI now.
The difference is that there’s a competitive Republican primary in South Carolina, and our votes are needed there. Kos suggested this plan for Michigan because the DNC is not going to seat the Michigan Dem delegates anyway, in retribution for Michigan having moved the primary date up against the terms of a prior agreement. As a result, the major Dem candidates aren’t contesting Michigan. Since their votes in the Dem primary are essentially meaningless anyway, Kos recommended Dem voters messing with the Republican primary.
In 1972, Republican voters in Michigan decided to make a little mischief, crossing over to vote in the open Democratic primary and voting for segregationist Democrat George Wallace, seriously embarrassing the state's Democrats. In fact, a third of the voters (PDF) in the Democratic primary were Republican crossover votes. In 1988, Republican voters again crossed over, helping Jesse Jackson win the Democratic primary, helping rack up big margins for Jackson in Republican precincts. (Michigan Republicans can clearly be counted on to practice the worst of racial politics.) In 1998, Republicans helped Jack Kevorkian's lawyer -- quack Geoffrey Feiger -- win his Democratic primary, thus guaranteeing their hold on the governor's mansion that year.Kos is recommending payback this year, since the Democratic primary in Michigan apparently won't be binding this year.
Now if they really wanted to cause problems, they’d vote for Ron Paul...
I think Republicans should engage the rats in battle and cross party lines to vote for Hillary, B. Hussein, or John Edwards - - you know, somebody who will be easy for any Republican to landslide.
The Democratic Party strongly supports the Civil Rights of Necro-Americans!
Obama is not on the ballot but I'm fairly sure that clinton is. How much would you like to bet that the DNC will rescind its refusal to seat the Michagan delegation if she needs their votes (i.e. the 'super delegates' aren't enough to swing the nomination to her)?
Only a twisted mind could describe whites voting for a black man as 'the worst of racial politics'. If their earlier voting for a segregationist embarrassed Democrats, voting for JJ was probably the Michigan Republicans' effort to apologize for embarrassing them. :=)
haha...Now that would be sort of fun in a car crash humor sort of way.
Bump.
Each state has its own law that determines when a person is a Democrat or Republican. In Texas, party of a voter is determined at the time of the primary. Anyone who is registered to vote may vote in the Democrat Primary and automatically becomes a Democrat by that action. Likewise, a person who votes in the Republican Primary automatically becomes a Republican.
If Michigan law is like Texas law, any voter may vote in either primary. Some states require a person to actually register in a separate action from voting, as a Democrat or Republican. One would have to check Michigan law to determine how party affiliation is acquired. State election law for any state is easy to find. Do a search for “(any state) Secretary of State”. There will be a link on that website to the state’s election law. Do a search in that law for “party affiliation” and the law will be there.
“He’s going after Kos for telling Democrats to vote as Republicans when they have no intention to change parties.”
Free speech - he can say what he wants, but that doesn’t “force” anyone to do that. The only way to tell if a voter was, in his/her mind, acually a Democrat, would be to crack open his/her skull and take out brain material to see if it had “Democrat” written on it. In other words, what a person thinks in his/her mind cannot be determined, therefore no illegal act can be proven when the voter votes. An elected party official, such as a chairman or a precinct chair, IS of a certain party, but I don’t think any of those would want to switch parties at a primary election.
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