The Winnebago Vote (outrageous republican fraud in Texas from The Texas Observer)

[TomInTib]

In a place called Rainbow’s End, amid towering East Texas pines and hulking Winnebagos, sits an unremarkable, gray-brick building that is home to the biggest and most influential voting bloc in Polk County. No one actually lives at 100 Rainbow Drive, but the building hosts 12,000 registered voters.

The 10,000-square-foot building houses a massive mail-forwarding service, the largest in the nation. The service is geared toward recreational vehicle enthusiasts and allows them to receive mail—and vote by mail in Polk County elections—from wherever they happen to be. Known as the Escapees, the mostly white-haired RV owners have—in theory at least—exchanged fixed abodes for a life zipping across America in mobile mansions. These 12,000 overwhelmingly Republican voters—some of whom have never even set foot in the area—have helped erode what was once a stronghold of yellow dog Democrats deep in the Piney Woods of Texas. To some, the operation allows the Escapees to enjoy life on the open road. To critics, it is voter fraud on a grand scale.

The ballot-mailing service is run by Escapees Inc., a family owned business that operates eight RV parks around the country, including its headquarters at Rainbow’s End RV Park outside Livingston, about 80 miles northeast of Houston. This 140-acre, deluxe RV park boasts a swimming pool, more than 150 RV lots, a clubhouse, library, even an adult day-care center. Only a couple hundred souls live here. Some Escapees make annual pilgrimages; others have never so much as peeled out in East Texas. They hail from Kansas, California, wherever, yet they’re all considered Livingston “locals” who vote in Polk County elections by mail ballots forwarded to them from the warehouse at 100 Rainbow.

The state of Texas, with its notorious residency requirements, recognizes the Escapees as Polk County residents even though many have never been here. In fact, they need only enter Texas once—to get driver’s licenses—to become residents.

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A whole lot more is in the balance of this article:
http://www.texasobserver.org/article.php?aid=2860

[yellowcanine]

1. But is ACORN involved in this? No? Well, must be okie dokie then.

[merh]

2. Do these voters vote only in local Polk County elections

or do they also vote in the national elections? Will they be allowed to vote for President?

[TomInTib]

3. The vote in local, State, and national elections.

They also pay no property taxes in Texas, and no State income tax, either (Texas has no State income tax).

[tbyg52]

4. How conveeeeeeeeeeenient, huh?

And nobody is paying any attention except us and the good 'ol Texas Observer.

[merh]

5. The Escapees vote in texas and their own home states?

And the republicans are making a fuss about some acorn folks who turn in false registration info.