Prison Time for Non-Citizen Voter

A must read story from a sentencing hearing in Michigan:

A Berrien Springs woman who is not a U.S. citizen was given jail time for signing a voter registration form and voting in the 2008 presidential election.

Dilsa Maria Saddler, 46, got a tongue lashing from sentencing Judge Dennis Wiley in Berrien County Trial Court Monday. She also heard the assistant prosecutor on her case speculate that Saddler was the victim of an overzealous voter registration drive by the campaign of then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama in 2008.



Wiley sentenced Saddler to 10 days in jail and 100 hours of community service.



Wiley gave a lecture during sentencing.



“When people zealously or otherwise go through voter registration efforts to register people to vote who can’t vote, (it’s) offensive,” Wiley said. “That’s not the way this country was founded. Every person has one vote, from the president to the most lowly of citizens. I think what struck a chord with me was that we have people out to undermine that.”



Wiley said the case is an argument for requiring photo identification for voting.



“When I hear the hue and cry about denying people the right to vote by requiring an ID, I think about how people have to have papers to get on a plane, but it seems like people can sign a piece of paper and show up to vote,” he said. “It shows the vulnerability of the system.”



Four Months for Democrat Legislator Fraudster


“Former Rep. Stephen “Stat” Smith has been sentenced to four months in federal prison for two misdemeanor counts of voter fraud.


The Everett politician pled guilty earlier this year with an agreement from U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz that prosecutors would recommend a six-month sentence.”  Patriot Ledger.

Notably, the U.S. Attorney’s office didn’t emphasize the irrelevant question of whether enough votes were fraudulently cast to flip an election.  Rightfully, that isn’t the point:

“We can never know whether this crime has altered the outcome of an election,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum. “Nevertheless, the public’s confidence in the electoral process has been adversely affected by the defendant’s actions.”

Florida Voter Fraud Charges

From the press release:

LAKE CITY – Following an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, two Lake City residents surrendered themselves to authorities on charges of election fraud today.  Betty Jefferson, 64, of Lake City, Fla., faces 24 felony and two misdemeanor violations of state election laws, and Linda Ivery, 56, of Lake City, Fla., is charged with six felony and two misdemeanor counts of election law violations.  Both suspects turned themselves into the Columbia County Jail earlier today and were released on their own recognizance.   


The allegations stem from the election of Eugene Jefferson to the District 10 city council seat.  Betty Jefferson, wife of Eugene Jefferson, and Ivery allegedly asked voters to sign absentee ballots that were already completed, fraudulently obtained absentee ballots, and attempted to influence or deceive persons into signing absentee ballots.   


 


The investigation began following complaints to the Florida Department of State, Division of Elections, and the FBI.   State Attorney for the Eighth Judicial Circuit, William Cervone, will prosecute this case. 


 

Colorado Democrats: Election Process Wins Elections

Colorado Democrats (as well as Democrats all over the country) recognize that changing the rules involving election process issues helps Democrats win elections.  They also know that if you can package the suggested changes as “trying to make voting more accessible,” then the victims of the process changes tend to keep quiet.  The central fact remains: Democrats propose these changes not for good government reasons, but to help them win and keep power, period.  If the changes did not benefit Democrats, Democrats would not propose them.

The Colorado Springs Gazette:


Colorado Democrats are planning sweeping changes to how elections are run in the state, to the dismay of Republican leaders who say they’ve been excluded from crafting a bill that that would allow same-day voter registration and require mailed ballots to every eligible voter.



A bill of more than 100 pages is expected to be introduced this week, likely sparking a big partisan fight over whether the changes benefit one party over the other, according to the Associated Press.


Supporters of the changes, which also include eliminating the so-called “inactive voter” status, say the goal is to make voting more accessible.


“I think people are like me, they just want people engaged in the Democratic process,” said Democratic Sen. Angela Giron, one of the bill sponsors. She insisted they didn’t exclude Republicans from the process.


Republican Secretary of State Scott Gessler, who oversees elections and has butted heads with Democrats on a range of issues, said the bill was “written in complete secrecy excluding anyone who may have a different point of view.”

Texas Legislature moves on multiple voting issues

Star-Telegram reports: Democrats in the Texas House on Monday blasted a Republican proposal
to reduce the number of early voting days in Texas, as well as other
proposed changes to the state’s election laws.

Rep. Patricia
Harless, R-Spring, introduced HB 2093, which would cut five days from
the current 12-day early voting period because she said it is difficult
for county election officials to recruit enough volunteers to operate
the polls.

Another measure would require the Texas Secretary of State’s office
to cross-check voter registrations with other states. Rep. Stephanie
Klick, R-Fort Worth, said House Bill 2372 would make sure people are not
registered to vote in two different states, but opponents said the
databases are too full of errors to be reliable.

Lawmakers also
considered a proposal to install video feeds at polling stations
intended to let voters know whether there is a line. Another bill would
call for all general elections to take place on the first Tuesday of
November.

“Justice Dept. letter means BISD incumbents who didn’t file may get to keep seats”

“The Justice Department has sent a letter to the Beaumont ISD indicating the government won’t pre-clear the May 11 elections, in which the 9th Court of Appeals ruling all seven seats are up for a vote and three incumbents who didn’t file could not be on the ballot, according to information provided by Michael Getz.

Getz says the Justice Department believes the election would dilute minority voting strength.


The board is scheduled to hold a special meeting Tuesday. It could amend the election order and place seats held by incumbents Janice Brassard, Tom Neild and Gwen Ambres on the ballot.


Getz and several other attorneys represent three challengers who filed for seats on the board, as well as incumbent Mike Neil. The 9th Court ruled the challengers would run unopposed because three incumbents, board president Woodrow Reece, and trustees Terry Williams and Zenobia Bush, hadn’t filed for the election. The incumbents said they were under the impression their terms wouldn’t expire in May.”

Link.