Posted on 11/01/2002 3:24:15 PM PST by GOPcapitalist
Officials with the Travis County Republican Party say there's something rotten at the early voting polls this year. And they say they've got affidavits to prove it.
Alan Sager, chairman of the party, said that at least twice while demonstrating the new eSlate voting system, election clerks turned the dial so that it stopped on a ballot for a straight-Democratic vote.
"We've had five or eight different people say that Democratic clerks showed them how to run the system and vote straight Democrat," Sager said Thursday.
In one instance, Sager said, two people who wanted to vote for a Republican candidate were instructed during the demonstration to cast the ballot for the straight Democratic ticket and unwittingly did.
According to affidavits, relatives of the two voters were not allowed to assist the pair during the incident at H-E-B at 7th Street and Pleasant Valley Road. Sager said he will give their testimony to the Travis County district attorney today.
Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir, a Democrat, said she had not seen the affidavits but said her office investigates any irregularity reported to them.
"Even if I get a vague rumor over the telephone, we do take it seriously," DeBeauvoir said. "Every time Alan has told me some vague rumor, I send out a notice to all locations."
DeBeauvoir said she's done that at least twice since early voting began.
But she said she was aware of at least one problem Sager referred to Thursday and had taken immediate corrective action.
At the Randall's grocery store in Lakeway, the election judge had failed to set up a demonstration of the eSlate system.
Marc and Beverly McCord went to cast their ballots at the store earlier this week. They say the judge reached into their booth, operated the system for them and turned the dial to a straight Democratic ticket.
After Marc McCord made a mistake, the judge came over and "reached in again and dialed up the straight Democratic ticket again and said, 'Now hit enter,' " McCord said. "He sat there and watched while I dialed up my votes. I found out in comparing with my wife that he had done the same thing for her."
DeBeauvoir said the judge has since been told that's not how things are supposed to operate and he's corrected his procedures.
"We have since talked with that judge and said, 'What were you thinking?' " DeBeauvoir said. "We have since instructed him, 'Do not go in the booth with the voters.' He insists he never told anybody which party to vote."
The irony, DeBeauvoir said, is that the judge happens to be a Republican.
josborne@statesman.com; 445-3621
To report fraud
The U.S. attorney's office and the FBI are asking that any allegations of fraud on Election Day, including voter bribery, voter intimidation and ballot forgery, be reported directly to either agency.
To report a violation, the public can call the FBI 24 hours a day at (210) 225-6741. During business hours, they can contact the U.S. attorney's Austin office at 916-5858.
Naw, a graduate seminar caller who also went to the Dimocrat Vote Fraud Seminar.
You should see the ballot in my county. I'll bet there were at least 20 races where the Republican had NO opponent.
I didn't vote straight party ONLY because I like to enjoy the feeling of voting for each and every one of them. But it certainly would have saved me a bunch of time.
Unfortunately the radical wing of the 'rat party has a stranglehold on the Elections Committee in the House (hopefully that will change thanks to redistricting). It's been run with an iron fist for years by 'rat state rep. Debra Danburg. Danburg is often called the most liberal member of the Texas legislature, so you can guess exactly how far the bill got.
Add the committee membership in and you get an even better picture. There are 3 republicans and 6 or 7 'rats on the committee. Among the 'rats are one of the Dem caucus leaders who is constantly suing the state for "discrimination" via MALDEF et al whenever something doesn't go his way in the legislature. Another is a black democrat Sheila Jackson Lee Jr. named Terry Hodge from Dallas. She screams "intimidation" every time somebody proposes to do something that would get dead people off the voter roles. Another black democrat on the committee has offered pro bono legal representation to Nation of Islam thugs and Quannel X's neo-black panthers. That's what we're currently up against for electoral reform in Texas thanks to 'rat speaker Pete Laney.
Redistricting should give the GOP a majority in the legislature next year, though it may not be enough to defeat Laney for speaker, meaning the committee would stay the same. A couple of RINO state reps named Delwin Jones and Brian McCall, you see, are expected to vote for Laney no matter who has the majority.
Seriously, even though I know the folks that run my poll (helps that my mother is one of them), and I know the machine (optical scan), I still mark each and every race individually.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.