An Untimely Voter Purge - New York Times Editorial

[applegrove]

An Untimely Voter Purge
New York Times Editorial
Published: November 1, 2006

"One of the most deplorable political tactics — trying to suppress the votes of poor or minority citizens by raising the specter of voter fraud — is playing out this week in the city of Yonkers. Republican Party lawyers are calling for an 11th-hour purge of voter rolls in a clear effort to help their endangered state senator, Nicholas Spano.

Two years ago, Mr. Spano won a race against Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Democratic Westchester County legislator, by 18 votes after months of courtroom wrangling and ballot-challenging. This year’s rematch has been bitter, full of venomous ads and slung mud. Then last Friday, Republican lawyers filed challenges to nearly 6,000 voter registrations in the Senate district, charging discrepancies between county voter lists and change-of-address records compiled by the Postal Service.

There is a process for investigating an accusation of voter fraud. It involves sending a letter to an address in dispute, and possibly following up with a police inquiry. The Westchester County Board of Elections is doing that. But it has never had an outside party dump so many contested names so close to such a fiercely contested election.

The Republicans say they have only the purest motives. “It’s in everyone’s interest to put the election beyond the pale of fraud,” said John Ciampoli, a lawyer for the county Republican Party.

..........SNIP"

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/01/opinion/01wed3.html?th&emc=th

[Old and In the Way]

1. How about billing the RNC for every bogus record challenge?

No problem if they want to pay back the taxpayers for this effort. Let's set it $100.00 per record.

[Metta]

2. That idea has some real merit.

I support your premise. :donut: :donut: