Romney campaign accuses VA dems of registering dogs and cats to vote

[CatWoman]

No, Democrats Aren’t Trying To Register Kids And Dogs To Vote

As Drudge Report readers already know, Mitt Romney’s campaign sent a letter to Virginia officials on Wednesday complaining that the “dubiously named” Voter Participation Center has been sending out voter registration forms “pre-populated with names and/or information belonging to the recipients’ dead relatives, minor children, non-citizen relatives, already registered voters, convicted felons, and cats and dogs.”

The letter, signed by Romney general counsel Kathryn Biber, asks Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli and Charles Judd, the chairman of the state board of elections, to investigate the voter registration campaign, claiming it may be in violation of several state laws. It claims the Voter Participation Center’s tactics “amount to, or at the very least induce, voter registration fraud.”

The Voter Participation Center said on its website that “conservative activists have tried to discredit the work of voter registration groups … by raising false and groundless claims about fraud.” It called a Richmond Times Dispatch story on some of the forms “a perfect example of the disservice these kinds of story do to civic engagement efforts like ours designed to make it more convenient for unregistered Virginians to vote.”

So how did cats, dogs and kids get on the list to begin with? Much like direct mail companies, the center obtained commercial mailing lists of Virginia residents from various vendors. The same thing occasionally happens with credit card applications — Capitol One offered a Canadian dog that had been dead for over 10 years a $30,000 line of credit.

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/romney_cries_fraud_on_virginia_voter_registration_campaign.php

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. BFD, even if it were true, which I'm sure it isn't.

If somebody (e.g., my cat) registers to vote but then never shows up to actually do so, how has voter fraud occurred? If my cat shows up at my precinct polling place and tries to vote, somebody will notice, even if he has a government ID. That is to say, if Mickey Mouse or Cthulhu or Jimmy Hoffa shows up on the voter lists but doesn't actually vote, where's the fraud?

[SickOfTheOnePct]

8. There's no question that forms went out to people and animals that they shouldn't have

The group that sent them out said as much. Unintentional, no doubt, but they did go out. There is also a question about whether or not the state constitution allows pre-filled forms for valid registrations.

And unless the laws here have changed since I voted in a local election earlier this year, if your name is on the voter rolls, there is no ID required, so long as you know the corresponding address and sign an affadavit prior to voting.

So yes, they might be hard pressed to keep someone claiming to be Mickey Mouse from voting.

[former9thward]

15. The fraud is voting by absentee.

Where I vote only 10% of voters vote at the polling places on election day. Everyone else does it by mail. So your cat (or presumably you voting for your cat) could vote.

[gopiscrap]

2. that's because the Romney camp is registering asses

you gotta be an ass to register with the repukes!

[CatWoman]

4. from the comments section:

James Harold McClure · Top Commenter
After we saw how Mitt treats his dog on vacation trips - no wonder they are scared of dogs voting in November!

[rustydog]

3. Desperate people will stop at nothing

The upside,If GOP registered dogs and cats, they'd have a much more intelligent voter base!

[Siwsan]

5. More projection. Translation: The Rmoney campaign has been registering pets to vote

Don't know if the dogs would cooperate but cats - one never quite knows about those cats.

[randr]

6. If the people of VA let dogs and cats vote

They may end up with a better government.

[Raine]

7. I've noticed what they accuse others of is exactly what they themselves are doing. nt

[ProSense]

9. Interesting:

Setting all that aside, Virginia actually has a voter ID law, the type of law Republicans say should prevent any dogs from voting in November.

Good to know these laws are bullshit and Republicans are still going to cry "voter fraud" even in states with such laws in place.

Clowns!

[SickOfTheOnePct]

10. The law must have changed on July 1st

because there wasn't one when I voted in a local election earlier in the year, and there wasn't one when I worked as an election officer back in 2008.

Ah well, we'll be trained on it in September.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

12. Yep, law has changed

If you don't have acceptable ID, you must vote a provisional ballot, and then you have until the Friday following the election to produce ID so that your vote can be counted.

That's a good change - I never liked that anyone that knows the name and address could walk in and vote someone else's ballot.

[ProSense]

13. I'm really glad

If you don't have acceptable ID, you must vote a provisional ballot, and then you have until the Friday following the election to produce ID so that your vote can be counted.

That's a good change - I never liked that anyone that knows the name and address could walk in and vote someone else's ballot.

...I don't have to put up with that bullshit.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

14. Every registered voter in VA gets a free voter ID in the mail

It's not a hardship or a burden, so there is no reason not to require the ID.

[ProSense]

16. Here's the

"If you don't have acceptable ID, you must vote a provisional ballot, and then you have until the Friday following the election to produce ID so that your vote can be counted. "

...thing: Voting is a one stop process: I show up, I vote, I go home. Done.

Why make it harder for people to do that?

In the past, there were debates related to issues such as people being able to take off work and the times the polls remained open. Some of these are still issues for some people.

What if someone forgets the ID, votes, but is unable to return with proof by Friday?

[SickOfTheOnePct]

17. Then they can e-mail, fax or mail a copy

A voter will have until noon on the Friday following the election to deliver a copy of the identification to the local electoral board. Voters may submit a copy of their ID via fax, email, in-person submission, or through USPS or commercial postage service. Please note that the copy of the ID must be delivered to the electoral board by noon on Friday or the provisional ballot cannot be counted. A Friday postmark will not be sufficient if the copy of the ID is not delivered to the electoral board by Friday.

The written notice given to the voter will provide the necessary information, including email, fax, and address of where the ID should be delivered.

[ProSense]

19. I don't know,

A voter will have until noon on the Friday following the election to deliver a copy of the identification to the local electoral board. Voters may submit a copy of their ID via fax, email, in-person submission, or through USPS or commercial postage service. Please note that the copy of the ID must be delivered to the electoral board by noon on Friday or the provisional ballot cannot be counted. A Friday postmark will not be sufficient if the copy of the ID is not delivered to the electoral board by Friday.

...this seems like a process to increase the incidence of fraud.

I mean, how do they know that the person who voted is the person sending the ID by fax, email or mail? Again, what if you can't do either of those things? I mean, you coud forget, be hospitalized or miss the deadline for a host of other reasons.

Too many steps. Once a person shows up to cast a vote and does so that should be it.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

20. Even if it isn't the person on the voter rolls?

I don't think it's too much to ask that if you want to vote, you remember to bring the free, state issued card to the polling place.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

11. Romney's campaign is 'hallucinating'

Soviet Union, Anglo-Saxons and now cats and dogs voting!

I ask you!

[GoCubsGo]

18. Next thing you know, those cats and dogs will be living together.

Mass hysteria!

[phylny]

21. Oh, good.

Abby the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and Jack the Mutt are democrats!

[AnnieBW]

22. My Three Demo-Cats are All Smarter

Than the average voter in Southern Virginia.