OOPS! Ohio Republicans you may be in trouble with the law:
Anyone who crossed lines was supposed to sign a pledge card vowing allegiance to their new party. In Cuyahoga County, dozens and dozens of Republicans scribbled addendums onto their pledges as new Democrats.
“For one day only.”
“I don’t believe in abortion.”
A Plain Dealer review of thousands of records showed few of those who switched were challenged by poll workers.
[...]
Lying on the pledge is a felony, punishable by six to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine.
Election watchers said they don’t know any cases that have been prosecuted in Ohio. And it’s unlikely the Republican crossovers influenced the outcome since Clinton handily defeated Obama, said Edward Foley, an election-law professor at Ohio State University.
[...]
In a nutshell, here how it’s supposed to work: Ohio voters are allowed to switch party affiliations on the day of a primary election but only if they sign a pledge vowing to support their new party – and mean it.
If a majority of poll workers at a precinct doubt a voter’s sincerity, they can challenge the voter even if the voter signed the pledge.
In the days following the election, The Plain Dealer interviewed more than two dozen voters – most of them Republicans who crossed over to Democrats last week.
None – including five who acknowledged lying about supporting the Democrats – were challenged. And several said poll workers never asked them to sign a pledge, but gave them a Democratic ticket.
Some have been saying that it isn’t right that Republicans crossed over and messed with the Democrats’ primary (Hewitt was really against it and keep playing “Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing”) and some talk about holding elections in a “kind of reverence.” I’m sorry but I don’t. I look at it as my civic duty (nothing more) and believe that I owe a responsibility to society to vote for the best candidate for the job but our nominating process is messed up and the Democrats try to influence our primaries (I was really ticked off when McCain made an appeal to Democrats and Independents to vote for him in the SC primary in 2000) and now we are returning the favor. I believe that if enough mischief is made, the states will take a hard look at their primary systems and close them.
I agree with this Republican:
“I don’t mind being deceptive to politicians,” she said. “They are deceptive to us.”
(via)
posted March 9, 2008 at 10:46 am
Its still lying and breaking the law.
In some states, you are allowed to vote in any primary, regardless of party, without switching parties. I would guess, if McCain openly did that, South Carolina is one of them.
Ohio is not. They apparently have different rules about who can vote in primaries.
So, there’s nothing wrong with breaking the law and lying about it?
posted March 9, 2008 at 10:49 am
As for the reverence, the idea there is.. Should you vote for someone you do NOT want to win, chance the possibility that the worst candidate (in your eyes) does win, just to try and manipulate the system? Not the politicians, the electoral process, itself?
He has a point. If you cross the party line to vote for Hillary, for instance, hoping that this will rally your party’s faithful in sufficient numbers that the alternative will not, and Hillary wins.. Not just the nomination, but the election, how much responsibility do you have for that outcome?
posted March 9, 2008 at 11:55 am
I think it’s wrong to cross over simply to mess with the other party’s election and I wish it would stop, on both sides. I note they’re only really concerned with the GOP doing it though.
posted March 9, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Law cannot go where enforcement cannot follow and I would not want to be the public official risking my career to prosecute such a case. No one in public life is squeaky clean.
posted March 9, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Well, its hard to say the election is ‘messed with’ if the politician on that side asked for it, though.
And I do think there might be a difference, at least in intent, between voting for the ‘lesser of the two evils’ to try and insure that, even if the other side wins, it won’t be as bad as it could’ve been…
And deliberately voting in a primary for a candidate you do NOT want to win, because you hope it will give your side a better chance OF winning. Because, if they DO win, you are at least partly responsible.
posted March 9, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Democrats openly commit election fraud (Wisconsin 2004)
Democrats demand election rule changes after the vote (Florida 2000)
Democrats set primary rules and enforcement procedures, then demand the rules be ignored (Michigan/Florida 2008)
“For one day only”, “I don’t believe in abortion”, are honest comments, I guess Democrats don’t like honesty.
Crossover voting in Georgia’s 4th district removed Cynthia McKinney from office. Twice.
posted March 9, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Not when the rules say you are supposed to be changing parties. Not for ‘a day’. And ‘I don’t believe in abortion’ doesn’t say anything about their intent on switching parties.
For the others, dates aren’t cites, so like to see where you get the information. For this one, it is about going into an election not to vote to get someone in on the other side who is even the ‘lesser of two evils’, but to vote FOR their LAST choice, only because they think it might energize the base enough to win the race.
And increasing the risk of having what they view as the worst of all possible choices winning the election.
posted March 9, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Of course, secondly.. the ‘You too’ argument doesn’t do much, when arguing on an ethical point. Especially when the ‘You’ brought up is a party the other person quite obviously holds in contempt. And in terms that paint the actions it is being compared to as openly illegal. Words like ‘fraud’ and ‘ignoring rules’ tossed around. Not very flattering for the ones you seem to be defending.
I mean, its rather like doing something that someone else points out is wrong, and then waving a hand at a guy, saying, “Oh, but see that guy? Sure, I think he’s the Antichrist. He’s the nadir of all that is unholy, immoral, corrupt and foul, but.. he did it too!”
I wouldn’t know if the person, in that case, was trying to excuse the action, or showing how bad it really was.
posted March 9, 2008 at 3:42 pm
I guess I picked it up from the other side since this is how all their arguments go (“well, what about Bush? He invaded Iraq” seems to be their answer for all the evil that the Democrats do).
posted March 9, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Not much of an excuse. ‘All the other kids are doing it’ didn’t work for mine.. I certainly don’t give adults a free pass based on it. Especially when using ‘kids’ that they don’t even hang with.
posted March 10, 2008 at 2:30 pm
“I don’t mind being deceptive to politicians,” she said. “They are deceptive to us.”
Repaying evil for evil done?
Rather Matthew 18:3.
posted March 12, 2008 at 12:12 am
“I think it’s wrong to cross over simply to mess with the other party’s election and I wish it would stop, on both sides.”
so do i.
posted March 12, 2008 at 10:07 am
Obama and McCain have been encouraging Republicans to vote for him. If they want it, how are you to complain?
posted March 13, 2008 at 3:30 am
changing one’s party legitimately is quite a different story, michele, and you know it. i have no problem with democrats becoming disenchanted with the party and declaring themselves republicans and vise versa.
is mccain asking republicans to change party affiliation and vote for obama?