Absentee Ballots Found After Election [At Rat Party Headquarters!]

AP ^ | 12/6 | AP

[ambrose]

TheIowaChannel.com

Absentee Ballots Found After Election

Late Ballots Do Not Count

POSTED: 8:44 a.m. CST December 6, 2002
UPDATED: 9:16 a.m. CST December 6, 2002

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Officials say 44 Johnson County absentee ballots were found in a locked box at Iowa Democratic Party headquarters in Des Moines a week after the Nov. 5 general election.

The sealed ballots were returned by courier to Johnson County Auditor Tom Slockett, but under state law couldn't be included in the county's official canvass of the votes held Nov. 14.

Jean Hessburg, executive director of the Iowa Democratic Party, said the party had picked up the ballots to be delivered on Election Day.

She said it's a regrettable and truly unacceptable situation.

Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[Budge]

Interesting bump.

[TheLion]

Thanks for the heads up....there is no indication of who the votes were supposed to be for. Since liberals write most of the news, you never get many usefull facts.

[sweetliberty]

This is just getting worse all the time! It gets me so mad!

[luv2ndamend]

Johnson County absentee ballots found in Des Moines
Posted at 7:44 on 12/06/2002

---

Absentee ballots cast by 44 Johnson County residents were found in a locked box at Iowa Democratic Party headquarters in Des Moines a week after the Nov. 5 general election.

The sealed ballots were returned by courier to Johnson County Auditor Tom Slockett the same day, Nov. 12, but under state law couldn’t be included in the county’s official canvass of the votes held Nov. 14.

‘‘In general, it’s frustrating because if you vote it’s for a reason,’’ said Sarah Lowen of Iowa City.

Lowen voted by absentee ballot because she was pregnant on Election Day, she said. Her ballot was picked up by a woman in Coralville, Lowen said.

Jean Hessburg, executive director of the Iowa Democratic Party, said Thursday the state party contacted voters who had requested absentee ballots but not returned them by mail, offering to pick up the ballots at their homes. Ballots collected in Johnson County were in a locked box for delivery on Election Day. That box turned up, still locked, a week later in Des Moines.

‘‘It’s regretful and truly unacceptable,’’ Hessburg said. She added that the Des Moines staff person responsible was reprimanded and no longer works for the party.

Five of the people whose ballots were not counted said their chosen candidates won even without their votes.

Joe Lang of Coralville said his and his wife’s ballots — both misplaced — probably wouldn’t have made a difference.

‘‘It’s kind of disturbing that we can file a ballot and then it’s not counted anyway,’’ he said.

Just how the ballots made their way to Des Moines and who handled them remain the subject of an ongoing investigation by Slockett and Assistant Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness.

‘‘This is a very serious situation,’’ Slockett said. ‘‘We intend to contact the people involved, once our fact-gathering is completed.’’

-- Associated Press

[nicmarlo]

Johnson County, Iowa

Saw you've been pinged, sweetliberty; thanks Budge. Yet another county to flag.....this is truly incredible.

[McGavin999]

The problem with someone picking up absentee ballots is that just a casual conversation would reveal who the person voted for. If they were republican, that ballot would probably never make it to the election board.

[Robert A Cook PE]

What irritates/alarms/scares the hell out of me ....

...is the casual, seemlingly "OK" attitude taken by the local democrats.

that this is nothing to worry about and is standard operating procedure to PICKUP AND DELIVERY (some of) the absentee ballots for their region.

NOBODY, but nobody should ever be allowed to handle the ballot for another person without witnesses and "change of custody..."

Gee. We're sorry. We stored all the blank ones over there in that box, (and all the filled out, pre-punched ones for democrats) ones over in that box. And all the returned ones got somehow mixed together.

Guess the republican ones got thrown out last week.

[ST.LOUIE1]

They should get to vote 'twice' in the next election.

Unless, of course, they are demo ballots. They always vote twice.

Hi, Budge. : )

[RJayneJ]

The voters spoke this time and they told the Dems that they took notice that the Dems were willing to do anything to stay in power. They bribed a corrupt Republican with a chairmanship to gain the majority in the senate. When the law forbid them a losing replacement, they ignored it and went to a more corrupt state supreme court. When Welstone died and the Dems turned a memorial service into a campaign rally I think the voters finally said, "No more!" Those two idiots that went over to Baghdad to tell us the we couldn't trust our president to tell the truth, galvanized the voters against the Democrats. Of course the Democrats are in denial and are looking everywhere for someone to blame.

[Conservativegreatgrandma]

Sounds just like a RAT. Sec. of State, Cheatie Culver insists Iowa is squeaky clean and Republicans are trying to thwart voter turnout by their insistence there's voter fraud going on.

[Iowa Granny]

The problem with someone picking up absentee ballots is that just a casual conversation would reveal who the person voted for. If they were republican, that ballot would probably never make it to the election board.

You have properly framed the issue. I think you should expect the next General Assembly to make some obviously necessary changes to the Iowa Abentee Voting Program.

Iowa law currently allows a 'Volunteer' to drive to someone's home to pick up an absentee ballot that has not been returned by election day. Iowa has a large elderly population, and this provision allows those who requested an Absentee Ballot and then forget to return it, to have their ballot presented to the Auditor by private courier.

During the next election cycle you should expect there to be many more ballots requested than are actually returned.

[holyscroller]

"Jean Hessburg, executive director of the Iowa Democratic Party, said Thursday the state party contacted voters who had requested absentee ballots but not returned them by mail, offering to pick up the ballots at their homes."

I can understand the county election board would know who had returned their ballot, but why would either party have access to that information before the election is over? If the Dims have access to ballots as they come in before the election, that means they have plenty of time for last minute shennigans.

[Iowa Granny]

A "subrule" under the Poll Watcher Section of our election rules allows for a designated person to check to see which absentee ballots have been returned.

Poll Watchers are allowed to view (and record) the list of those who have voted. (It is fairly common practice for each party to assign a poll watcher, in each precinct, who is responsible for collecting the names of those who have not voted,,,,, the names are then taken to party headquarters where volunteers make phone calls to remind them to vote).

[Budge]

Hi Louie.

Unless, of course, they are demo ballots. They always vote twice.

Only twice?

[ST.LOUIE1]

Only twice?

I stand corrected. I forgot the cemetery faithful. : )