173 cases of alleged interstate voter fraud in Florida & Maryland

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True the Vote (TTV), the nation’s leading voters’ rights organization, today announced new research findings of interstate voter fraud in Florida and Maryland. Florida and Maryland state election authorities and the U.S. Department of Justice were formally notified of 173 cases of voters casting ballots simultaneously in both states during federal elections.

“These 173 cases represent True the Vote’s continued effort to expose the fragility of our absentee voting systems,” True the Vote President, Catherine Engelbrecht said. “Last year Pew Research found that 2.75 million Americans were registered to vote in more than one state. We are unfortunately continuing to see the consequences of that startling statistic. True the Vote calls on Florida, Maryland and federal officials to investigate our latest research.”

Key Facts & Data Points

  • Voters were identified matching full name, date of birth and residential address.
  • True the Vote was able to study federal voting histories from 2006 to 2012.
  • Cases of double voting by cycle
    • 2012: 10
    • 2010: 9
    • 2008: 17
    • 2006: 137
  • Most common Florida counties (cases)
    • Escambia (28)
    • Clay (10)
    • Duval, Pinellas, Volusia (9)
  • Most common Maryland counties (cases)
    • Anne Arundel (33)
    • Montgomery (18)
    • Prince George’s (17)
  • 11 individuals double-voted in multiple federal election cycles.
  • 12 married couples were identified double voting, some in multiple cycles.

Federal and state laws were potentially violated as a result of these activities. Federal law, specifically 42 U.S.C. § 1973i(e) clearly states that voters cannot cast more than one ballot in the same election.

True the Vote’s research follows a series of similar findings in Florida, Ohio, New York and Rhode Island, triggering criminal investigations between the states in late 2012. TTV coordinated its research with Annapolis-based Election Integrity Maryland.

Copies of the research referral letters to the U.S. Department of Justice, Florida Secretary of State and the Maryland State Board of Elections have been made available to the public.

RELATED:

Letter to DOJ Election Crimes Division (Scribd)
Letter to Florida Secretary of State (Scribd)
Letter to Maryland State Board of Elections (Scribd)

ABOUT TRUE THE VOTE:

True The Vote (TTV) a nonpartisan, nonprofit grassroots organization focused on preserving election integrity is operated by citizens for citizens, to inspire and equip volunteers for involvement at every stage of our electoral process. TTV empowers organizations and individuals across the nation to actively protect the rights of legitimate voters, regardless of their political party affiliation. For more information, please visit www.truethevote.org.

Voto Honesto (TTV) es una organización sin fines de lucro, no partidaria, enfocada en preservar la integridad en las elecciones y operada por ciudadanos para ciudadanos, ara inspirar y equipar a voluntarios para envolverse en cada una de las etapas del proceso electoral. TTT capacita a organizaciones e individuos a través de la nación para activamente proteger los derechos de los votantes legítimos, sin importar a que partido político perteneces. Para más información, por favor visite  www.votohonesto.org.    

Online Survey: Which of the Ten Commandments do politicians violate most?

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Daily headlines report on politicians who have fallen from grace. From San Diego to New York the list grows. The sins committed are always used for political gain by political opponents. Religion has become politicized and politics has become a religion for some.

Americans are questioning the morality of our elected officials.

The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and the Brookings Institute released their 2013 Economic Values Survey. PRRI and Brookings state, “Our new research shows a complex religious landscape, with religious conservatives holding an advantage over religious progressives in terms of size and homogeneity,” said Dr. Robert P. Jones, CEO of Public Religion Research Institute. “However, the percentage of religious conservatives shrinks in each successive generation, with religious progressives outnumbering religious conservatives in the Millennial generation.”

The PRRI and Brookings note, “Religious progressives are significantly younger and more diverse than their conservative counterparts. The mean age of the religious progressive population is 44 – just under the mean age in the general population of 47 – while the mean age of religious conservatives is 53. Twenty-three percent of Millennials (ages 18-33) are religious progressives, while 17 percent are religious conservatives. Among Millennials, there are also nearly as many nonreligious (22 percent) as religious progressives. Conversely, 12 percent of the Silent Generation (ages 66-88) are religious progressives, while 47 percent are religious conservatives. One-in-ten (10 percent) of the Silent Generation are nonreligious.”

Are politicians merely a reflection of us?

The Torah Exodus 20 contains the Ten Commandments. Please take our online survey and pick the commandment you see being violated the most by politicians.

To view the results of the survey click here.

2 Timothy 3:1-11 BOOKS

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.”

See it at YouVersion.com: http://bible.us/31/2ti.3.1.books

RELATED COLUMNS:

Do you live in on of America’s “Most Sinful” cities or one of the “Saintly Cities”?

Fact Check: Does the Bible really support rape and polygamy?

Open primaries coming to Florida?

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Many citizens are concerned that both major political parties have become too powerful. A growing number see Democrats and Republicans as driven by winning at all cost, too friendly with special interests and using a closed system for picking candidates for public office. One group of citizens from Sarasota, Florida is trying to break this “axis of party power” by having open primary elections for elected officials in Sarasota County, Florida.

According to their website OpenOurElections.com, “We are a local group of Republicans, Democrats, Independents and others who have come together to Open Our Elections to all Sarasota County voters.”

OpenOurElections.com has initiated a petition to place an amendment to the Sarasota County Charter on the 2014 ballot. The proposed charter amendment states:

Add a new Subsection 6.5B under Article VI of the Sarasota County Charter:

Subsection 6.5B Non-Partisan Election of County Officers

The members of the Board of County Commissioners and Charter Review Board and the Clerk of the Circuit Court, Property Appraiser, Tax Collector, Supervisor of Elections, and Sheriff shall be elected on a non-partisan basis. Names of all candidates shall be placed on the ballot without reference to political party affiliation. The term nonpartisan shall be as defined by state law; provided that nothing therein shall impair the constitutional rights of freedom of speech, press and association.

Sarasota is one of 20 charter counties in Florida. According to the Florida Association of Counties, “In 1968, the electors of Florida granted local voters the power to adopt charters to govern their counties.  Charters are formal written documents that confer powers, duties, or privileges on the county.  They resemble state or federal constitutions and they must be approved, along with any amendments, by the voters of a county.”

The rationale for the OpenOurElections.com petition are:

As with all elections, traditional local elections have candidates of various parties vying for the opportunity to be an elected official of Sarasota County. Usually a candidate of each party, for example a Republican and a Democrat, chosen during a primary (August) faces the opponent of the other party in the general election (November).

In a case where there are only candidates from one party running for a given county office, the winner of the primary becomes the elected official. In this situation, according to Florida State law, ALL registered voters, regardless of party, can vote in the Primary for that office.

However, that same state law also includes a ‘loophole’ that allows someone to close the primary to all other voters. It allows for people to file as ‘write-in’ candidates, usually someone who claims they have no party affiliation, for the General Election for a given office. By having someone as a ‘write-in’ candidate, the Primary will become ‘closed’ to all voters except those of the one party. In effect, this locks out more than half of the registered voters in Sarasota County from voting for our local officials and having a say in who makes the government decisions that affect our quality of life.

This situation occurred with the election for the Sarasota Supervisor of Election race in 2010.

According to OpenOurElections.com, ‘This ‘loophole’ has been used several times and both Republicans and Democrats have been guilty of using this tactic to manipulate the elections.”

WDW – FL will be following this initiative.

Study: Voters fleeing Republican Party, tired of “lesser of two evils” argument

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Breitbart reports, “A new study by the Frontier Lab, a conservative market research group, found that Republican voters who leave the party do so because they are are tired of being told to vote Republican as the ‘lesser of two evils’. The study, ‘Switching Behavior: Modeling disaffiliation from the Republican brand’, is published on the group’s website and applies scientific methods of qualitative research to the GOP’s most urgent problem.”

One Republican in Venice, FL is among them.

WDW – FL received the following in an email dated July 3, 2013 from Kathy Bolam:

Sadly, today at the Board meeting of the Republican Club of South Sarasota County, I made the following statements…..

I have been actively involved with the Republican Party since 2007. I have always been a Republican. I have watched you all work hard, giving your all to get Republicans elected. But, how has that worked for us? Are we as a nation, state or even county, better off than we were 5 years ago? Those we elected have betrayed the Constitution (Buchanan, Rubio, violated our morals (Nancy Detert), refuse to act on behalf of the 2nd Amendment (Sheriff Knight), allow contracts that benefit developers (Commissioners). It seems the goal of the Republican party is to elect Republicans….not to elect people who will lead ethically, and uphold our Constitution. I have seen you all work hard, but I haven’t seen too many Republicans following up on those we have elected…..via personal visits, attending County Commission Meetings, Charter Review Board Meetings and Town Hall. If we don’t monitor their performance, then they feel empowered to do as they please.

I saw the deplorable treatment given to Ron Paul last year at the Convention, I saw the injustice meted out to Linda Long, I’ve seen Mr. Waechter’s manipulative words at the Charter Meetings and County Commission Meetings, I see Rubio and Buchanan violating the Constitution. I saw in the 2012 August Primary that only 10 % of voters elected the Supervisor of Elections. To me that disenfranchised 90% of the voters and was a sham perpetrated via Victoria Brill and denied citizens equal rights at the ballot box. I see the Party more important than the Constitution. Therefore I plan on changing to an Independent voter.

I have enjoyed my relationship with this club and find no fault therein, but I have to be honest to myself and cannot continue as a Republican. Let me know to whom I should turn over the records, etc. I will miss all the good people and friends of the South County Club, but I just can’t continue to be loyal to the Republicans standards when are leaders have not been loyal to the Constitution.

Since 1972 there has been significant growth in Florida of Independent voters. Both political parties are losing voters. Since 1972 the Republican Party has grown by 430%, the Democrat Party by 197% and Independents have grown by 2,489%.  The total number of registered voters has grown by 339%.

The Florida Division of Elections provides the below infographics to show changes in party affiliation since 1972:

Year Republican Democrat Other Total
1972 974,999 2,394,604 117,855 3,487,458
1974 1,035,510 2,438,580 147,166 3,621,256
1976 1,138,751 2,750,723 204,834 4,094,308
1978 1,178,671 2,812,217 226,299 4,217,187
1980 1,429,645 3,087,427 292,649 4,809,721
1982 1,500,031 3,066,351 299,254 4,865,636
1984 1,895,937 3,313,073 365,462 5,574,472
1986 2,038,831 3,214,753 377,604 5,631,188
1988 2,360,434 3,264,105 422,808 6,047,347
1990 2,448,488 3,149,747 432,926 6,031,161
1992 2,672,968 3,318,565 550,292 6,541,825
1994 2,747,074 3,245,518 567,006 6,559,598
1996 3,344,036 3,774,809 1,077,812  8,196,657
1998 3,327,207 3,731,367 1,268,133  8,326,707
2000 3,474,438 3,853,524 1,552,434  8,880,396
2002 3,610,992 3,956,694 1,756,873  9,324,559
2003 3,577,179 3,880,342 1,808,963  9,266,484
2004 3,954,492 4,322,376  2,199,569  10,476,437
2005 3,954,304 4,276,512  2,241,102  10,471,918
2006 3,920,201 4,196,608  2,268,797  10,385,606
2007 3,826,836 4,138,604  2,241,161  10,206,601
2008 4,106,743 4,800,890  2,504,290  11,411,923
2009 3,967,472 4,637,354  2,459,541  11,064,367
2010 4,042,393 4,611,335  2,562,010  11,215,738
2011 4,061,224 4,552,483  2,622,454  11,236,161
2012 4,263,587 4,821,859  2,953,125  12,038,571
May 2013  4,194,220 4,717,750  2,933,883  11,845,853

Editorial: Is Rubio the new face of “Progressivism”?

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Florida has a penchant for growing and electing Republicans who morph into big government “progressives”. The most recent example is Marco Rubio. But he is not the first and certainly will not be the last.

Before Rubio there was Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist.

Jeb is the brother of George W. Bush, the “compassionate conservative” President. Compassionate conservative came to mean during Bush’s second term “progressive big government”. Remember it was former President  Bush who dramatically expanded Medicare (Part B) and bailed out the banks. Government stimulus is an ongoing program created by a Republican President and expanded under the current administration. G.W. Bush famously said, “I’ve abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system.” Jeb and G.W.’s father former President George H.W. Bush signed the Agenda 21 Treaty.

Charlie Crist soon after being elected governor adopted California’s carbon emission standards by issuing an Executive Order imposing them on all Floridians. Crist morphed from being a Republican, to a Progressive Independent and is now a registered Progressive Democrat. It is expected Crist will challenge Governor Rick Scott in 2014.

Jeb has visions of following in his father’s and brother’s footsteps. He has embraced President Obama’s Common Core education initiative, which will enrich Jeb and his family. In September of this year he will award the Liberty Medal to Hillary Clinton. Jeb will present the award on the eve of the deadly Benghazi attack in Libya. The Liberty medal is awarded by one of Jeb’s many foundations.

Rubio willingly became the face of the progressive goal of amnesty with the passage of the immigration bill this week. There is a pattern. While Rubio was Florida Speaker of the House he supported the REAL ID and failed to strengthen immigration laws in Florida. Many were concerned that Rubio would be pro-amnesty but he reassured Floridians that he would not during his 2010 campaign. In 2010 Rubio stated, “’an earned path to citizenship,’ such as his opponent Gov. Charlie Crist, former President George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain had advocated, was nothing more than a ‘code for amnesty’.”

Fast forward to this week. Greg Gutfeld, co-host of The Five on Fox News, said, “For politicians [like Rubio] immigration is more about bodies than borders.” Republicans, like Rubio, are becoming more and more progressive in their views and now actions. Many conservatives say the Republicans have compromised their principles on key issues, which according to Slade O’Brien from Florida Americans for Prosperity, “Is the art of losing slowly.”

Today, Florida Republicans are breeding the next generation of progressive politicians. Heritage Action for America scorecard gives a lower than 60% rating to six Florida Republicans in Congress, including Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL 13), who leads the Florida delegation and sits on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Another of the upcoming “new progressives” in Florida is Senator Nancy Detert who was given an “F” rating on the Americans for Prosperity legislative scorecard.

Is seems to more and more Americans that both Democrats and Republicans are now two squads on the same team. The only difference is who has the ball.

Gone are conservative men of conscience like former Senator Barry Goldwater, American Politician and Senator, 1909-1998. It was Goldwater who wrote:

I have little interest in streamlining government or in making it more efficient, for I mean to reduce its size. I do not undertake to promote welfare, for I propose to extend freedom. My aim is not to pass laws, but to repeal them. It is not to inaugurate new programs, but to cancel old ones that do violence to the Constitution or that have failed their purpose, or that impose on the people an unwarranted financial burden. I will not attempt to discover whether legislation is “needed” before I have first determined whether it is constitutionally permissible. And if I should later be attacked for neglecting my constituents “interests,” I shall reply that I was informed that their main interest is liberty and that in that cause I am doing the very best I can.

While Florida Republicans may embrace Ronald Reagan, and declare they are conservatives during their campaigns, it is their actions once elected that make their true beliefs clear. Is the public conscience in decline and Republican politicians just a reflection of the “new, new”; or are they the proximate cause of the moral and cultural decline in America?

That is the question.

Impact on Florida of the two Supreme Court rulings on voting

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Voter fraud remains a problem in Florida. According to BallotPedia, a study conducted by the Florida Sun Sentinel in late October 2008 found:

  • More than 65,000 ineligible and duplicate voters on Florida’s registration rolls.
  • 600 dead people on the list.
  • 32,000 multiply-registered voters.
  • More than 33,000 convicted felons who should not be eligible to vote.
  • In the final five weeks before voter registration closed Oct. 6, Florida added more than 2,600 ineligible felons to the rolls.

The Supreme Court of the United States made two key rulings dealing with voting.

The first dealt with the Arizona law requiring those registering to vote show proof of citizenship.

Justice Antonin Scalia, who wrote the court’s majority opinion, said federal law “precludes Arizona from requiring a federal form applicant to submit information beyond that required by the form itself.”  If a Florida resident uses the Federal form, then that registrant must comply with all of the Florida requirements for voter registration.

The Florida Constitution states:

SECTION 3 Oath.—Each eligible citizen upon registering shall subscribe the following: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Florida, and that I am qualified to register as an elector under the Constitution and laws of the State of Florida.”

SECTION 4. Disqualifications.—

(a) No person convicted of a felony, or adjudicated in this or any other state to be mentally incompetent, shall be qualified to vote or hold office until restoration of civil rights or removal of disability.

Under federal law it is a felony to register and vote illegally. However,  in Florida enforcement of these provisions is left up to the local Supervisor of Elections and state attorney.

The second fundamentally changed the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

In an email to Florida’s Supervisors of Elections Maria Matthews, Esq., Director, Division of Elections, Florida Department of State, writes:

“[T]he United States Supreme Court issued a decision in Shelby County v. Holder, striking down Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act (“VRA”) as being unconstitutional.  Section 4(b) contained the coverage formula for determining whether a jurisdiction is subject to preclearance under Section 5 of the VRA. The Court did not strike down Section 5; however, the coverage formula in section 4(b) can no longer be used as a basis for subject­ing jurisdictions to Section 5 preclearance until Congress creates a new coverage formula (if it should so desire to do so).

The court’s decision means:

  • Florida’s five covered counties (Collier, Hardee, Hendry, Hillsborough and Monroe) are no longer covered by Section 4(b); therefore, they are not subject to the preclearance requirement in Section 5 of the VRA and need not submit changes affecting voting to the federal government for approval.
  • Collier and Monroe Counties will also no longer have to provide Spanish on the ballot. This is due to the fact that subsection 4(b) is incorporated by reference into subsection 4(f)(4) which was the basis for the minority language designation for these two counties. Therefore, until or unless they are designated in the future under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act by triggering census minority population thresholds or by court consent decree, these two counties do not have to provide the ballot and other election materials in Spanish.
  • Hardee, Hendry and Hillsborough counties are still designated as minority language designated/covered jurisdictions through their separate designation under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act. This means they still have to provide election materials including the ballot in Spanish. However, they do not have to submit anything to the federal government for approval.
  • All other counties in the State who are required to provide Spanish on the ballot and other election materials on the basis of a court consent decree (such as Osceola and Volusia) or on the basis of Section 203 designation (Broward, Lee, Miami-Dade, Orange, Palm Beach and Polk) must continue to do so.”

As Florida approaches the mid-term election cycle the issue of registering legal voters and legal voters voting will be raised. Those against following the federal and state laws argue by doing so it suppresses the vote. That is true – it suppresses the illegal vote.

Allen West: I May Challenge Rubio for Senate Seat (+video)

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Billboard on I-75 in Ocala, Florida. Click on the image for a larger view

Joe Miller from Restoring Liberty reports:

Former U.S. Rep. Allen West said Wednesday that he hasn’t ruled out a challenge to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, even as the former congressman acknowledged that it would be a difficult and expensive road to take.

West, a favorite of conservatives who lost his House seat in 2012, said he’d draw on his faith to make a decision on a future political contest.

Read more.

Senator Rubio may be vulnerable due to his role as the “leader” of the Gang of Eight on immigration. He has lost support of conservatives. In Florida a billboard was raised showing the distrust of Rubio by at least some voters.

“When 20 million American citizens and legal workers are unemployed or desperately trying to find full time jobs it is both callous and irresponsible for Florida Senator Marco to sponsor an immigration bill that will flood the labor market with 33 million foreign workers over the next ten years,” said Jack Oliver of Floridians for Immigration Enforcement.

Allen West during an interview on WMAL radio says challenging Senator Marco Rubio in the 2016 Republican Florida primary election would be a daunting task:

Remember that Rubio faced a daunting task running  against former Governor Charlie Crist in 2010. Rubio faced a sitting Governor who at that time had a statewide approval rating of 70%, was flush with campaign cash and had already been endorsed by the Republican Senatorial Election Committee. Rubio won because he had the support of the conservative grass roots in a three way race (Crist became an Independent and ran as an “I”).

Déjà vu all over again?

RELATED COLUMNS:

Breaking News: Florida Patriot Groups feel betrayed by Senator Rubio
Rubio’s bill is more disturbing than his motives
Rubio declines to say whether he supports his own immigration bill
Marco Rubio’s approval ratings up despite immigration issues

Republican US Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez campaigns at Gay Pride Week event

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Mass Resistance reports:

Gabriel Gomez is the GOP candidate for the US Senate in the June 25 special election to replace John Kerry. In the primary, he was the big favorite of the national GOP establishment. They said Gomez represents the future of the Party. Gomez’s slogan is that he’s going to be “a new kind of Republican.”

No Republican candidate for US Senate has ever (to our knowledge) campaigned for office by having a booth at a Gay Pride festival.

Republican US Senate Candidate Gabriel Gomez (pictured above third from left) stands outside of his booth at the “Gay Pride” Celebration.  Seated at the booth getting his photo taken by woman is Gomez’s 8-year-old son. [MassResistance photo]

This past weekend’s Gay Pride Parade went through downtown Boston and ended at City Hall Plaza, where, as in past years, a huge “Gay Celebration” was held with numerous booths.

Not many politicians of any party buy a booth at this event. But Gabriel Gomez not only had a booth, but he was there to greet people personally. And he brought his eight-year-old son to help run the booth, along with at least one very pro-GLBT campaign worker.

Diversity? No problem. Not too far away was the booth for the Bisexual Resource Center. [Mass-Resistance photo]

This “Celebration” has a very “diverse” atmosphere. Gomez’s booth was not far from a booth featuring gay sex toys, a sado-masochism booth, and several booths giving out condoms and anal lubricant.

Earlier in the week, Gomez released a statement saying that he if elected he intended to be considered “a pain in the butt” to the Republican Party, and that he “will go to work on them” to “support allowing two people to get married, whether they are gay or straight.”

This is not surprising given that Gomez had supported Obama in 2008 and had donated $500 to the Obama campaign, and said he supported Obama’s positions on immigration and gun control. Gomez also gave $1,000 to ultra-liberal U.S. Senate candidate Alan Khazei. (Alan Khazei hired gay activist Kevin Jennings to run his non-profit group.)

On the abortion issue, Gomez claims to be “personally pro-life” but says that Roe v Wade is “settled law” and he would do nothing to take away a woman’s right to an abortion.

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared on MassResistance.org.

RELATED VIDEO:

Third Graders Introduce Obama at Homosexual Pride Event

True the Vote wins in settlement with St. Lucie County, FL Elections Supervisor

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HOUSTON, TX – True the Vote (TTV), the nation’s leading voters’ rights organization, today announced its settlement with the St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections regarding records inspection rights under federal law and the Florida Constitution. The agreement provides True the Vote access to all ballots, registrations, and other election related data necessary to conduct an audit of a federal election in Florida’s 18th congressional district.

The audit is unprecedented in that it will be led not by government entities or political parties, but by concerned citizens.

“True the Vote  can now begin reconstruction and review of the 18th Congressional District election race between Colonel Allen West and Patrick Murphy,” True the Vote President Catherine Engelbrecht said. “We must stop this scandalous cycle of ignoring failures in our electoral process when the campaigns and cameras go home. Understanding how failures in administration can effect elections, as we saw in St. Lucie County, will help prevent them from occurring in the future. We cannot allow slipshod standards to become pandemic across our country’s election processes – citizens can and will stand up in defense of election integrity.”

“This settlement grants True the Vote all of the records we originally requested, without any adverse impacts to St. Lucie County taxpayers. The real work toward understanding exactly what happened before, during and after the 2012 18th Congressional District race can finally begin.”

A key component to the settlement agreement was to permit access to information dating back to January of 2009. Such information will help evaluate efforts to maintain voter rolls, both before and after federal election cycles.

“Since 2009 to present, Washington has made clear that it doesn’t have any interest in seeing that voter rolls are maintained – we must fully study how that can affect a close congressional race,” True the Vote attorney J. Christian Adams said. “This case is unique because it was directly impacted by the Holder Justice Department’s attempt to block the State of Florida’s efforts to remove ineligible persons from the voter rolls ahead of the 2012 General Election. This settlement will lead my client to answers, finally.”

The agreement between True the Vote and St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections Gertrude Walker allows for sharing of records that pertain directly to the 2012 contest, in addition to election administration files dating back to January 2009. An abbreviated list of records includes:

  • 2012 voter credit documents;
  • completed voter registration forms;
  • copies of all regular and provisional ballots cast (including provisional notices);
  • documents pertaining to federal list maintenance requirements since 2009 (including felon and non-citizen records);
  • all documentation for those trained as poll and tabulation workers for the 2012 contest.

The settlement came as a result of a lawsuit after requests to inspect election records were not immediately addressed (True the Vote, Inc. v. Gertrude Walker in her official capacity as St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections, Civil Action (No 2:13cv14046.)). TTV chose to perform a comprehensive audit of the 2012 election and subsequent recount between incumbent Allen West and Patrick Murphy after reports of errors and inaccurate tabulations were admitted to.

True the Vote originally filed its complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida – Fort Pierce Division.
To read the complete settlement agreement between True the Vote and St. Lucie County, click here.

True The Vote (TTV) a nonpartisan, nonprofit grassroots organization focused on preserving election integrity is operated by citizens for citizens, to inspire and equip volunteers for involvement at every stage of our electoral process. TTV empowers organizations and individuals across the nation to actively protect the rights of legitimate voters, regardless of their political party affiliation. For more information, please visit www.truethevote.org.

Voto Honesto (TTV) es una organización sin fines de lucro, no partidaria, enfocada en preservar la integridad en las elecciones y operada por ciudadanos para ciudadanos, ara inspirar y equipar a voluntarios para envolverse en cada una de las etapas del proceso electoral. TTT capacita a organizaciones e individuos a través de la nación para activamente proteger los derechos de los votantes legítimos, sin importar a que partido político perteneces. Para más información, por favor visite  www.votohonesto.org.   

City of Sarasota: No to new businesses, yes to panhandling

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Sarasota City Commissioners

The City of Sarasota Commission voted to impose a moratorium on new bars, taverns and nightclubs. This action led City Attorney Robert M. Fornier to write a letter (below left) to the Commission to “determine if there is legally sufficient justification to impose a moratorium”. For many residents this moratorium is looked upon as a back door way of imposing a noise ordinance within the city limits.

Click on image for a larger view.

There is a City Commission election on May 14th and one of the hot button issues is a noise ordinance. After a March runoff there are three candidate vying for two city commission seats. Two of the candidates, Richard Dorfman and Susanne Atwell have said they will vote against the noise ordinance. Susan Chapman favors the noise ordinance. The City Commission postponed a vote on the noise ordinance until after the election. This moratorium will only add to the controversy.

Sarasota artists have created a Facebook page and Noise Ordinance website allowing citizens to post comments about the proposed ordinance.

Photo courtesy of Channel !0 News Tampa, FL.

The City Commission in February allowed panhandling. 

Lee Williams from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported, “The City of Sarasota and the American Civil Liberties Union have signed a consent decree that stops police from ‘interfering with the exercise of First Amendment rights’ when dealing with the homeless. The decree, a 60-day injunction, prohibits police from interfering with panhandlers — someone standing on a sidewalk soliciting assistance — unless they impede traffic, pedestrians or create an unsafe situation.”

Panhandlers are becoming more visable and aggressive within the City of Sarasota. Citizens have complained and yet the current City Commissioners have decided that panhandling is a free speech right.

This consent decree with the ACLU led to multiple panhandlers showing up at major intersections and soliciting handouts from passers by and those in cars at stop lights. According to Linda Hersey from Sarasota Patch, “Most of the Patch readers who responded to a post about panhandling on city streets are frustrated by the numbers of people with a hand out, asking for money. Sarasota city commissioners plan to fast track a proposed ordinance that would curb panhandling on Sarasota streets.”

Currently in the City of Sarasota a select group of businesses are being targeted, while panhandlers are welcomed. At least until the Commission meets again?

The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men

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Not every election that is important is held in November of each year. There are many local races for public office and referendums that are voted on in out-of-cycle elections. There is a growing  concern that out-of-cycle elections ultimately suppress the vote. Cases in point are two elections being held in May 2013. One is in Sarasota, Florida and the other in Los Angeles, California.

PRNewswire reports, “Entravision Communications Corporation (NYSE: EVC), a diversified Spanish-language media company, today announced a multi-platform campaign to encourage Los Angeles Latino voters to participate in the upcoming runoff election for Mayor, being held May 21, 2013. With only 16% of registered voters turning out for the Primary Nominating Election that was held in March, Entravision is committed to using its radio and digital assets in Los Angeles to raise awareness of the upcoming election and instill the importance of participating in the democratic election process.” [My emphasis]

Sarasota Today, in an Editorial titled “Why I vote (even though I am apathetic)“, notes, “Ap·a·thy. lack of interest of concern. P·a·rty. a large group of people. This is the reason some people believe causes such a low turnout in our City Elections (which are held in March and May). Apathy is what takes us from a 75% voter turnout in November to a 17% voter turnout  four months later in March. Although I disagree with the premise, I am going to accept that this must be true (mostly because I am sick of fighting about it – and I just want to find a solution).” [My emphasis]

It appears citizens from Sarasota to Los Angeles are taking an interest.

PRNewswire reports:

“At Entravision, we believe that the Los Angeles Mayoral election is extremely important to the future of the city. As an active member of the community, it is our civic duty to encourage as many citizens as possible to exercise their right to vote,” said Walter F. Ulloa, Entravision’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “With this election being only the third time in the last 75 years that an incumbent mayoral candidate has not been on the ballot in Los Angeles, this election offers a unique opportunity for citizens to vote with their voice and help shape the future for the city. By leveraging Entravision’s multiple media properties in Los Angeles, we will provide a valuable service to the community and help encourage voter participation for this special election.”

Sarasota Today coined the phrase “Apathy Party”. The Sarasota Today editorial analyzes the impact of the Apathy Party:

So here is my attempt at giving specific examples of why you (assuming you don’t vote) should consider leaving the Apathy Party.

Reason 1: You are more likely to lose your job due a decision made by a City Commission, than by the President of the United States.

Here is my reasoning. If you are young and live in Sarasota most likely you are in the “service” industry. You probably work in hospitality, retail or the restaurant business. All three of these industries (which are the largest in the City) depend HEAVILY on tourism. So, if the City Commission votes to install parking meters or by chance bans live music – then the tourists will probably not come downtown anymore. So when tourists leave, revenue leaves – and businesses suffer. When business suffers – people lose jobs. The City Commission makes decisions each month that effect local businesses short term and long term. If you think voting in the national elections will change your life – you should really pay attention to local elections.

It’s math.

City makes “anti-business” decisions = Businesses fail = Jobs Lost = Bad Tourism Experience = Bad Economy.

City makes “smart business” decisions = Businesses grow = More Jobs = Good Tourism Experience = Healthy and Diverse Economy

Reason 2: Your wallet will be more effected by the policies supported by the City, than by the Federal Government.

I always hear that people “vote with their wallet”. If that is true, than you definitely want to reconsider voting in local elections. Everyone’s income has taken a hit due to a horrible economy. Although things are improving, we still need to find ways to save money month-to-month. Tax Loop Holes don’t help anyone except big corporations. So how does the local government help us save money? Let’s start with the big one – rent. If you are like most people, rent is your biggest expense (or if you are a home owner – you property taxes and loan payment). The City of Sarasota has had a “no-growth” policy that has back-fired on our economy and it is lowering property values and raising taxes – and thus it is making your rent higher. For example, our zoning code only allows a developer to build 50 units per acre for a 10-story building. If you do the math – you can quickly see that these are BIG EXPENSIVE units – which means BIG rent. These restrictions are everywhere throughout the city – even in deprived neighborhoods like Rosemary District.  Since it is close to impossible to build a 10-story building with 50 unites and make it financially work – nobody builds. When nobody builds – there is less taxes going into the City’s revenue base. So, the City has to raise taxes and the buildings that exist in downtown raise rent (because they can due to lack of inventory).

It’s math.

It is math. Historically, off-cycle elections have lower voter turnout. Lower voter turnout leads to the few dictating to the many. It is not time for the many to be heard?

Miami/Dade reveils first ever election fraud cyber-attack

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Tom Tillison from BizPac Review reports:

A cyber attack against an online election system in Florida last year appears to be a historic first in terms of voter fraud, NBC News reports.

More than 2,500 “phantom requests” for absentee ballots were made through the Miami-Dade County elections website,according to a grand jury report on problems in the Aug. 14 primary election.

The attempt to illegally obtain absentee ballots using a computer program is the first known case in the U.S., according to computer scientists and lawyers working to safeguard voting security.

NBC News reports that “because of the enormous number of requests – and the fact that most were sent from a small number of computer IP addresses in Ireland, England, India and other overseas locations – software used by the county flagged them and elections workers rejected them.”

. . .

There are few answers about who was behind the “phantom requests,” which targeted Democratic voters in the 26th Congressional District and Republicans in Florida House districts 103 and 112, according to the Miami Herald.

Read the full column here.

Rubio: We don’t need a new idea. There is an idea. The idea is called America, and it still works. (+ video)

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Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) visited Sarasota, FL on March 15, 2013. He was greeted by over 50 donors at a private event hosted by Jesse Biter, a local entrepreneur. During his remarks at the Sarasota event Senator Rubio restated his belief that “We don’t need a new idea. There is an idea. That idea is called America, and it still works.” This was what he said at CPAC 2013.

Watch Senator Rubio’s CPAC 2013 remarks:

Senator Rubio was introduced at the Sarasota event by Representative Vern Buchanan (FL-13). Rep. Buchanan noted that he has traveled across the globe looking at what other countries are doing to promote economic growth. Rep. Buchanan noted that China is doing better at growing its economy than the United States, noting that China is on track to create 20 million jobs annually.

Senator Rubio during his remarks spoke about the $1 trillion in outstanding student loans, half of which will be in default. He said that this student loan burden impacts the middle class and our youth most of all. He also raised the specter of a rising China and its impact on the global economy. Rubio warned of not having enough workers skilled to fill 3 million of today’s jobs. He touched on the national debt, Congressional spending and an intransigent White House.

Those in attendance at the Sarasota event and those at CPAC 2013 were impressed by Senator Rubio’s “the American idea” comments. However, Rabbi Steven Pruzansky, the spiritual leader of Congregation Bnai Yeshurun in Teaneck, New Jersey does not agree with Senator Rubio’s outlook.

Rabbi Pruzansky states in an email, “The simplest reason why Romney lost was because it is impossible to compete against free stuff.”

Rabbi Pruzansky notes, “Every businessman knows this; that is why the “loss leader” or the giveaway is such a powerful marketing tool. Obama’s America is one in which free stuff is given away: the adults among the 47,000,000 on food stamps clearly recognized for whom they should vote, and so they did, by the tens of millions; those who – courtesy of Obama – receive two full years of unemployment benefits (which, of course, both disincentivizes looking for work and also motivates people to work off the books while collecting their windfall) surely know for whom to vote. The lure of free stuff is irresistible.”

“During his 1956 presidential campaign, a woman called out to Adlai Stevenson: ‘Senator, you have the vote of every thinking person!’ Stevenson called back: ‘That’s not enough, madam, we need a majority!’ Truer words were never spoken,” states Rabbi Pruzansky.

Will there ever be a majority of thinking persons?

Rabbi Pruzansky does not think so. He closed his email with, “If this election proves one thing, it is that the Old America is gone. And, sad for the world, it is not coming back.”

VIDEO: Voter suppression in the City of Sarasota, Florida

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Out-of-cycle elections suppress the vote. That is the message of the below video.

The City of Sarasota, Florida will be holding an out of cycle City Commission election on March 12, 2013. One of those running for office is attorney Susan Chapman. She is in favor of off cycle elections and in the below video states that she does not care if people vote.

Sarasota City and County off cycle elections have historically suppressed the vote.

The City of Sarasota, the Sarasota County Commission and the Sarasota County School Board have used off cycle elections to their advantage and not the advantage of voters. These off cycle elections are both costly and historically have lower voter turn out than during on cycle elections in November.

It is not voter ID laws that suppress the vote, those laws make sure only eligible voters vote.

Watch this video on government sanctioned off cycle elections:

On February 27, 2013 True the Vote (TTV), the leading national, nonpartisan voters’ rights and election integrity organization, issued a report detailing the true impacts of voter suppression in 2012 in a report titled, “The 2012 Voter Suppression Myth.”

Catherine Engelbrecht, president of True the Vote, expressed deep skepticism about alleged reports of widespread voter suppression in the 2012 elections following TTV’s investigation of six key states’ county clerks and board of elections reports. Read more.

Perhaps True the Vote should look at voter suppression caused by off cycle elections?

CLAIMS OF VOTER SUPPRESSION FALSE

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HOUSTON, TX. February 27, 2013 – True the Vote (TTV), the leading national, nonpartisan voters’ rights and election integrity organization, today issued a report detailing the true impacts of voter suppression in 2012 in a report titled, “The 2012 Voter Suppression Myth.”

Catherine Engelbrecht, president of True the Vote, expressed deep skepticism about alleged reports of widespread voter suppression in the 2012 elections following TTV’s investigation of six key states’ county clerks and board of elections reports.

“After submitting open records inquiries across the nation, True the Vote found a grand total of one recorded complaint, in Maryland,” True the Vote President Catherine Engelbrecht said. “Peddlers of the voter suppression narrative were quick to report that hundreds of thousands of votes were suppressed in places like Florida, Ohio and North Carolina. If that is true, why is there no evidence of a single citizen filing a formal complaint in those states?”

True the Vote selected six states (Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, Colorado, Nevada and Maryland) based on their battleground status in presidential elections and demographic shifts for the study. Open records requests for any and all reports of voter suppression were sent to county clerks and boards of elections. The report shows that out of these states, only one “alleged” report was ever filed resembling voter suppression.

“Our goal is for free, fair and transparent elections for all Americans. However we must be mindful of the real intent of some groups who are pushing the voter suppression narrative in 2012,” Engelbrecht said. “Partisan interest groups vigorously pushed the suppression line on two fronts. Democratic voters were threatened with loss of civil rights should they fail to appear at the polls. Administrators and concerned citizens wanting to serve in the polls were accused of having racist motives should they dare to strive for an accountable and efficient election experience.”

In addition, True the Vote studied the impacts of photo voter identification requirements – often described as codified voter suppression tactics. Data analysis demonstrated that almost all states with such requirements saw an increase in voter turnout, compared to 2008.

“Georgia is known to have the ‘strictest’ photo requirement in the nation,” Engelbrecht continued. “In two consecutive general election cycles, the state has seen increases in voter turnout. This is more evidence that voter confidence and turnout rise together, thanks to photo voter ID.”

To read the new report, The 2012 Voter Suppression Myth, click here.

True The Vote (TTV) a nonpartisan, nonprofit grassroots organization focused on preserving election integrity is operated by citizens for citizens, to inspire and equip volunteers for involvement at every stage of our electoral process. TTV empowers organizations and individuals across the nation to actively protect the rights of legitimate voters, regardless of their political party affiliation. For more information, please visit www.truethevote.org.

True The Vote NOW (TTVN) is a public policy organization dedicated to reforming our voting systems at state and federal levels. True the Vote NOWpromotes solutions that increase citizen engagement and restore faith in our elections. For more information, please visit www.truethevotenow.org.

Voto Honesto (TTV) es una organización sin fines de lucro, no partidaria, enfocada en preservar la integridad en las elecciones y operada por ciudadanos para ciudadanos, ara inspirar y equipar a voluntarios para envolverse en cada una de las etapas del proceso electoral. TTT capacita a organizaciones e individuos a través de la nación para activamente proteger los derechos de los votantes legítimos, sin importar a que partido político perteneces. Para más información, por favor visite www.truethevote.org.