Virginia Intimidation: Voters Threatened With Criminal Charges By Recorded Phone Message

[flamingyouth]

ABC News' Jason Ryan Reports: The Virginia Board of Elections has confirmed to ABC News that the FBI is investigating claims of voter intimidation and polling place misdirection surrounding the bruising Senate race there.

ABC News has obtained an audio wave file of a phone message left for resident and registered Virginia voter Tim Daly in which the caller claims to be from the Virginia Bd of Elections and informs Daly that he is not registered in VA and that if he shows up at the polls to vote he would be criminally prosecuted.

The James Webb Senate campaign is claiming that voters are being misdirected to the wrong polling stations.

GOP state spokesman Shawn Smith told ABC News that the Virginia GOP and the Friends of George Allen committee "are only engaging in activities encouraging supporters to vote." He said was skeptical of the claims being made but said he would nonetheless condemn such activities if they are being conducted by outside organizations.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2006/11/virginia_intimi.html

Edit: apparently that link is now dead, here's an updated version:

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2637046

[oldtime dfl_er]

1. as Gomer Pyle would say....

Surprize surprize!!!

[MidwestTransplant]

2. And will they say it's the Republicans doing the intimidating?

Or do they have to be "fair and balanced?"

[Megahurtz]

3. Here's the Direct Link:

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2006/11/virginia_intimi.html

[flamingyouth]

6. Thanks!

:hi:

[humbled_opinion]

4. Turning people away from the polls is initimidation regardless of party.

[liberal N proud]

5. Nothing to see here, move along

Intimidation, what do you mean intimidation?

:sarcasm:

[applegrove]

7. To the perp: [Thy] tongue outvenoms all the worms of Nile.

[AngryOldDem]

8. I'm sure similar crap is happening ALL OVER today

And I hope that it is being extensively documented.

I see today as a litmus test of the whole democratic process. If we see the same dirty tricks being played out today as we did in 2000 and 2004, when are we going to demand some answers?

[Evergreen Emerald]

9. "outside organizations"

Those damn outside organizations writing letters to inhibit minority voters, or calling dems to threaten prosecution if they vote.

Ironically, they all target dem voters. Those poor put-upon republicans who have outside swiftboat-types speaking for them.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

10. k&r

[bobbieinok]

11. FOX radio at 7pmCT said when voter answered he was voting

for Webb, he was directed to wrong voting place.

FOX RADIO SAID THIS!!!!!!!

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

12. Webb's campaign manager was on Air America briefly, said no concession

Rachel Maddow was talking with him about the voter intimidation issues.

[w4rma]

13. Were the reports from the second district? Inside Drake's district (who is barely holding on, atm)?

VA-02 (Toss) Phil Kellam (D) v. Thelma Drake Inc. (R)

[highnooner]

14. Link gone!

[mirandapriestly]

15. So why are government agencies suddenly doing their job?

I am so happy to hear this, I hope it goes somewhere. Whenever there is a super close election , I always suspect something with the evil GOP, I'm sure they are up to something in Virginia.

[Omaha Steve]

16. Dirty Tricks Mar Election (photo of Voter Protection Program)

http://blog.aflcio.org/2006/11/07/dirty-tricks-mar-election/

Dirty Tricks Mar Election

by James Parks, Nov 7, 2006

Throughout the country, Republicans used dirty tricks to try to suppress turnout and intimidate voters in close races. Fake “robo calls” were reported in 20 congressional districts, and Republicans used intimidation calls in several states.

Voters in heavily Democratic precincts received phone calls telling them to vote at the wrong polling places, and voters were sent misleading literature. In Virginia, the FBI is investigating phone calls made to voters in Democratic precincts telling them their voting places had been changed, which wasn’t true.


The AFL-CIO fielded hundreds of volunteers for our Voter Protection Program, including at this polling place in Detroit.


Jean Jensen, who heads the Virginia Board of Elections, told MSNBC:

…the FBI is now investigating allegations of voter intimidation and voter suppression. dozens of phone calls that were made to heavily Democratic precincts in which the people who were receiving the calls were either given incorrect information about polling sites misdirected about election laws.

In Nebraska, Republicans used Democratic congressional candidate Scott Kleeb’s voice to call people several times an hour to harass them and turn them against Kleeb. Debora McGee, who lives in Lincoln, let us know how she feels about the Republicans’ dirty tricks:

It is apparent that the GOP has no respect for Americans, the Constitution, or the Bill of Rights. I am extremely distressed to think that George W. Bush points his finger at other countries and their suspicious elections but is the biggest threat to free elections in this country. For a party who prides themselves as representing Christianity, they shame Jesus Christ with their lack of ethics, doing anything to survive.

FULL story by areas at link. This story is not copyrighted.

[KayLaw]

17. FBI investigating VA

Allen should step aside now.

[PBass]

18. Interfering with voters, disinformation campaigns etc. should be a FELONY

if it isn't already.

And it should be compiled on a count-by-count (per voter) basis.

[GetTheRightVote]

19. Sitting in VA during election has been interesting though it does worry a citizen

as well on how our system should work but does not. I hope the FBI gets to the truth of it all.

:kick: