Posted on 11/12/2002 2:48:59 AM PST by Elkiejg
Becky Red Earth-Villeda, also known as Maka Duta, the Flandreau woman hired by the South Dakota Democratic Party to recruit voters, will be arrested for alleged forgery of absentee ballot applications.
According to Attorney General Mark Barnett, Red Earth-Villeda is suspected of forging the signatures on 500 to 1,000 absentee ballot applications in 25 counties statewide, including Dewey County. She will face the multiple charges in Minnehaha County.
"Maka Duta will be arrested in the ordinary course of events," said Barnett. "No evidence has been obtained that shows she has cast or made an attempt to cast actual ballots."
Red Earth-Villeda was interviewed by investigators extensively on Wednesday, Oct. 30.
Hired as an independent contractor, Red Earth-Villeda was fired by the Democratic Party after it was discovered in early October that two of the people she "registered" were invalid. One such "registration" was discovered by Ziebach County Auditor Cindy Longbrake.
Longbrake received a ballot application for Denise Red Horse. The main problem with the application is that it was dated Sept. 21, 18 days after Red Horse had died in an automobile accident. An application for Red Horse was also received in Dewey County.
Dewey County Auditor Adelle Enright said another application for a deceased woman, Marjorie Clown, was also received by her office.
Currently, there are 30 South Dakota Department of Criminal Investigation agents working on the case.
Brit Hume made a great point tonight on Fox News. He mentioned Thune not asking for a recount, and Ashcroft not asking for a recount in Missouri in 2000, when he ran against a dead man whose "legality" was questionable. Brit contrasted that with Gore contesting in Florida and the "Gov" of Alabama asking for a recount in Alabama.
Brit asked the panel if there was significance in that, i.e. that the Republicans give it up and the DemocRATs make a big deal out of it. Of course, Mara Liasson, the NPR liberal on the panel, was incensed.
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