NH Attorney General confirms campaign fraud targetting seniors

[RandomUser]

This was posted on DU a while ago that pollsters have been running into seniors who claimed they were called and told they couldn't vote. I can't find that thread on DU, maybe someone has the link. Now, the attorney general has finally confirmed it with reports from the local level.

The state attorney general is warning voters about a scam that may be an attempt to unfairly influence the outcome of the primary.

Attorney General Peter Heed said someone has been calling voters who are unaffiliated with a party and telling them that they can't vote in the primary -- which is untrue.

Heed said his office has received complaints from town and city clerks as well as undeclared voters who said they are being told they cannot vote.

A voter who is registered to vote in New Hampshire but has not declared a party affiliation may vote in the presidential primary and choose the ballot of either party at the polling place. People who are eligible to vote but are not yet registered may register to vote at the polls on primary day.

http://www.thewmurchannel.com/news/2762621/detail.html

[David Dunham]

1. Dean's Campaign Rumored to be Doing This

Josh Marshall reported a couple of days ago that Dean's campaign was rumored to be doing this. I guess it's time to send Trippi on a long vacation.

[LuminousX]

2. Evidence first.

I can't imagine a campaign that was built around 'get out the vote' would attempt any suppresion tactics. If I am wrong, I will drop Dean like a hot potato.

[Padraig18]

5. So will I. n/t

[KaraokeKarlton]

8. The only way those calls came from the Dean campaign

would be if it were a volunteer doing phone banking at one of their offices. I suppose someone could have infiltrated by being a volunteer and doing this to try to hurt the Dean campaign. With the "Stop Dean" bullshit we've already seen it actually wouldn't surprise me if someone tried to do that.

Dean would NEVER condone this, NEVER in a million years. You can bet he's furious over the accusations and if he finds it was in any way connected to his campaign you WILL see heads rolling all over NH. He wouldn't ever condone such a thing.

[LuminousX]

17. The response I want

I would like to see the Dean campaign work with the NH AG to maybe pay for a PSA to run on radio and local TV letting voters know that even though they have no party affiliation, they can vote in the primary. This would exonerate them and nullify the crass tactic being employed here.

Dean needs to do some damage control in general because the other campaigns are doing a good job in painting him as a dirty campaigner. I get this from the random conversations I have been having with people in my life. Sadly, the number one question I've gotten lately is "Is it true Dean was caught bussing in 3,000 people into Iowa to rig the vote?"

Perception is reality and Dean needs to do something quickly to correct this perception. I want to see more than lip service and Trippi letters asking people to trust him. I want to see the campaign use some of its might to guarantee fair elections. I want the Dean campaign to live up to a higher standard of campaigning. We are supposed to be revolutionizing elections here, not returning to the days of filth and slime. There will always be that element, but if it is coming from the top, then the whole thing is rotten.

[KaraokeKarlton]

18. Call the campaign office

and suggest that they run an ad. I like that idea too. The only possibility of this coming from the Dean campaign is through a volunteer who either is clueless about NH voting rules or a mole, planted to try to harm Dean. They should be able to look at phone records and see where the calls came from. I'm pretty sure the campaign keeps a log of each volunteer who works as well.

Dean is one of the very few candidates who are very open and honest about things, so those kind of campaign tactics are not his style at all. And you can bet he's going to do plenty of damage control on this.

[LuminousX]

22. I blogged it on the Dean Blog

I don't do phone. Really, I feel that if they aren't smart enough to figure out damage control for themselves, what are they going to do when things go to rapid fire?

For all I know there may be a law against such things, campaigns sponsoring PSAs.

This is all very demoralizing. Thank god Dean won in D.C. I'm pulled along by the daily good news from the campaign, but I go to bed with a pit in my stomach after reading people attacking Dean's wife, reading threads about sealed records, and the whole litany of crap that keeps getting slung.

[Lefta Dissenter]

35. Good idea about the ad,

but I think it would be even more effective if it would come straight from the NH Atty Gen or Election Commission (or whoever), not even related in any way to the Dean campaign. Otherwise it could easily be turned around to bite Dean in the butt if there has to be a disclaimer that 'this was paid for by Dean For America.'

This is the sort of thing that Soros should be out fighting for with his mega$$$. Elections - get EVERY Frickin body out to vote and MAKE IT COUNT! If states don't have enough $$ to police the polls, then Soros could pay for it. I know, I wear rose-colored glasses, but I like them.

[KaraokeKarlton]

6. There is NO WAY the Dean campaign is doing that

I have spent a considerable amount of time in one of the official campaign offices in NH and they WANT Independents to vote. In fact, the asked me to remind all the Independents I know in NH that they can vote for in the primary. These voters are one of Dean's biggest base of voters, why the hell would the campaign tell them they can't vote?

Sounds like someone trying to frame the Dean campaign if you ask me, and I'm sure they'll find the phone records to prove who it is.

[AP]

9. Put in the time-out chair in the corner?

[Rose Siding]

13. Don't forget to whisper!

[lovedems]

24. That is ridiculous, they need all the voters they can get

This sounds very Rovish to me. This sounds like the "push polling" tactics they used against McCain in South Carolina. I wish people would quit accusing democrats first. This is an ovbious, very popular, republican tactic. THAT should obvious to everyone.

[TLM]

26. A huge chunk of Dean;s support base are seniors....

there would be no reason for Dean's people to try and discourage them from voting.

This sounds a lot more like something that Clark and Kerry supporters would do.

[Lefta Dissenter]

36. Hey TLM,

Good way to represent your candidate... slam the supporters of other candidates.

[Larkspur]

29. If Marshall spread this rumor, he should be spanked

This is a viscious rumor that unless one has proven evidence to back it up, should not be made by someone trying to be a reputable columnist.

[Padraig18]

3. Any actual evidence of which campaign is involved?

we've all heard rumors, but any proof of a link to any campaign, so far?

[maddezmom]

4. most important part of this is to let the voters know they can vote n/t

[TrueAmerican]

7. If this is true.

I think a lot of Dean supporters are looking for a way to abandon a sinking ship. This will give them a good excuse to just do it.

[KaraokeKarlton]

10. I wouldn't be so sure of yourself

For all you know it could be your campaign doing this to frame Dean. After we all discovered who was behind the "Stop Dean" movement (Clark supporter) it's entirely possible. Dean is doing better with NH Independents than any other candidate and the campaign knows that. They wouldn't be calling their voting base and telling them they can't vote. It would hurt Dean to keep Independents home. That in itself tells me that this whole thing stinks of another campaign or some stupid freeper posing as a Democrat.

[Padraig18]

12. EXACTLY!

It's completely illogical for the Dean campaign to be involved; why would the Dean campaign be telling one of its strongest group of supporters to stay home? :wtf:

[blm]

20. According to ARG they were only told they couldn't vote if they supported

some other candidate OTHER than Dean.

I don't doubt that there are GOP operatives who have worked their way into the Dean campaign early last year. I stated that belief last spring. A former regular poster here who was a NH college Dem warned us at that time that College Republicans were actively working for the Dean camp in NH to stop Kerry. Many here attacked him for saying so.

The GOP has been doing this for decades. Not that I am disinclined to believe that Trippi is capable of committing ANY fraud against the system to get ahead. He is.

[KaraokeKarlton]

21. They wouldn't be telling them that

So this is definitely not coming from the Dean campaign. It's got to be another campaign, possibly even Republicans. They have lists of those voters as well. If those doing this were crafty enough, they could have signed up as a volunteer at their local Dean office and quietly made those calls during phone banking. But that would be the only connection that could ever be made to the Dean campaign, and even that would be a bogus connection.

[Padraig18]

11. Wrong.

None of us are looking for ways to abandon a sinkling ship. What we ARE, however, is outraged at such a sleazy, slimy tactic.

[stickdog]

14. Note that there still isn't any mention of who is behind this.

Somehow I doubt that it's the frontrunner.

[Padraig18]

15. The rumor needed re-igniting, it seems...

It's been a good 18-24 hours since the last post here... :eyes:

[revcarol]

16. Hopefully the AG is investigating this.

Some called may have had caller ID.Hmmmmm.

[maddezmom]

19. I think they have and it's in the intial stage...I'm not jumping to any

conclusions....it could be any of the candidates or rove. Here's another article

http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=31598

[KaraokeKarlton]

27. Oh, they can track the number used to make the call

By looking at phone records, as I'm sure they will do. If I were a supporter of especially Kerry and Clark I'd be very nervous over what will come out. Dean is doing best with the unaffiliated voters (Independents) in NH, and everyone on the ground there knows it. Why would the Dean campaign call people in a voting block they get more support from than they others and tell them they can't vote? It makes no sense whatsoever and would only be harmful to their campaign. Everyone working in NH KNOWS this. So, if you are one of the candidates trying to catch up to Dean in NH and slow him down you're going to want to keep Independents home. Because it's a big no-no to do what was being done, you imply that someone else is behind it in the calls, like the one you're trying to keep from winning. This is so pathetically obvious that the person behind this (or people) are trying to stop Dean from winning NH by keeping Independents from voting for him AND making it look like Dean is guilty of campaign fraud. When we all learn which candidate that opposes Dean is behind this I hope their supporters will be as quick to get out their lynching rope as they seem to be right now.

[TacticalPeek]

23. Sounds like Donald Segretti to me.

Donald Segretti

A former military prosecutor and civil
lawyer, Segretti ran a campaign of
political sabotage against the Democrats
for Nixon's reelection effort. In 1974, he
served 4 1/2 months in prison after
pleading guilty to three misdemeanor
counts of distributing illegal campaign
literature, including a letter falsely
claiming that former senator Henry M.
"Scoop" Jackson had fathered an
illegitimate child with a 17-year-old girl.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/onpolitics/watergate/donaldsegretti.html


This article does not appear to mention seniors, or fraud. But surely this is criminal and the perps deserve full extent prosecution.

And there is no conceivable way on earth the Dean official campaign could be involved in this. And IF it is determined to be wayoverzealous supporters, the Dean campaign needs to kick they ass worser than the DA.

[revcarol]

25. Does this remind anyone of those Florida flyers

which stated that if you didn't pay your child support and traffic tickets, you couldn't vote?

Repugs, anyone?

Seniors, the group that has the most to gain if Bush loses. We MIGHT even get Medicare for all, too.

[KaraokeKarlton]

28. Yep, definitely could be Republicans doing this

NH is a VERY conservative state, and it's entirely possible that Republicans are doing this. If it's not them it's got to be one of the campaigns that are trying to catch Dean in NH. Dean is doing best among that voting block in NH, so it's certainly NOT his campaign doing it.

[Cuban_Liberal]

30. To what purpose is this posted?

This seems very much like an agenda-driven posting, frankly. Insofar as logic pertains, the Dean campaign is the last campaign I would suspect as being involved here, because there is abundant polling evidence to indicate that the Dean campaign would be hurt the most by any 'stay-at-home' drive targeted toward Independents.

Just doesn't pass the smell test, IMO.

[windansea]

31. What ARG and TPM said

This is what was posted the other day on ARG's NH Poll website:

"Over the past 2 days of calling, a number of older respondents registered as undeclared voters have reported that they have received telephone calls from a campaign informing them that they will not be allowed to vote in the Democratic primary because they missed the deadline to switch parties. A respondent discovered, however, that when she told the caller that she was thinking about voting for Howard Dean, the caller told her that she would be eligible to vote."

Josh Marshall comments:

"The clear implication of this comment is that someone from the Dean campaign is making some sort of push-poll trying to depress the turnout of a voting group that leans against Dean (or at least isn't his strongest), i.e., older voters.

Late Update: A number of readers have asked about this sentence above, believing I'm implicating Dean. I'm not. I'm saying the clear implication of ARG's comment points toward Dean. And I think that's obviously true. That doesn't mean it's clear Dean's behind it. In fact, I suspect it's as likely as not that those who are behind it aren't even Democrats. I'm looking into it."


Hopefull the NH AG will get to the bottom of this and find out who's doing it...

[Cuban_Liberal]

33. As an undecided voter and a police officer, might I make a suggestion?

I don't see how posting this is helpful at all, frankly; simply put, there is little evidence rgarding who may or may not be involved. That said, it should be obvious that each time this is posted, there is a 'guilt by association' effect upon the Dean campaign. Would it be possible to simply not post this unless and until the NH AG has had a chance to make at least a cursory investigation and develop some evidence?

Thanks.

[windansea]

37. just posting who said what

telling me you are a police officer is irrelevant...and kind of creepy...if you think ARG or TPM are breaking any laws you might want to contact them directly

[MIMStigator]

32. why would somebody against Dean do this, it would have worked if

they didn'tget caught. Why would somebody against Dean do it. It doesn't make sense because how would they know they would get caught and it wouldn't WORK?

[Cuban_Liberal]

34. It makes complete sense that a Repub or Dean opponent would do it.

Logically, the Dean campaign is hurt by stay-at-home Independents, because the numbers show them breaking his campaign's way. The best question to ask when looking at a situation this is "Who benefits?". The answer, of course, is anyone and everyone but the Dr. Dean.