Ha! Just kidding. As if...
In Racine, WI it seems an illegal alien could become an election registrar, and that you can sign up to vote without producing ID in both Racine and Milwaukee:
So the FAIR Midwest field director sent one of her activists to take the class in Racine to become a deputy voter registrar. What Tully discovered concerns her.
"At no time was she asked to show identification; at no time was she asked for her Social Security number; and at no time was she asked if she was a citizen of the United States," she says. "I have a real fear, based on my knowledge now, that this election will be decided by foreign nationals and illegal aliens."
And Tully did not stop there. Suspecting voter fraud, FAIR sent two activists from another state to the office of the former illegal alien who is not only a deputy registrar of voters in Racine but also the leader of a Hispanic organization. Tully gave the activists specific instructions.
"I wanted them to specifically tell this person they were illegal aliens, but that they wanted to register to vote -- and she registered them both," she says. The two activists received a similar response at the Milwaukee office of the Hispanic group. "This time one of the men in the office at least said it's a felony to register someone who's not a citizen to vote -- but the office manager went ahead and registered them."
So what was done about this? Prosecutions? Felonies?
Nah, people were warned sternly never to try again to see if voting was happening correctly:
After investigating the Milwaukee incident, District Attorney E. Michael McCann said Tuesday that he won't pursue prosecution, partly because he can't confirm the identity of the testers. But he issued a stiff warning.
"Anyone who tries to test the system from now on will be criminally prosecuted no matter who they claim they are working for or what they're testing," he said.
Racine County Deputy District Attorney Michael Nieskes said Tuesday that his investigation in Racine is continuing.
He, too, said individuals should leave the investigation to the professionals and take any credible information to law enforcement. "It makes the case much easier to pursue," he said.
He added that the testers are put at possible legal risk by such tactics.
I understand the argument, but it might have been a bit more convincing if something were actually done about the situation.
Tully didn't agree either:
Tully reacted angrily to McCann's conclusions. "I have a slam-dunk case, and they're not doing their job," she said.
"It's amazing. We have people who we believe are registering illegal aliens to vote and the DA says he will go after American citizens instead of illegals who may be committing felonies," she said. "It's unbelievable to me."
She said she does not believe groups such as Voces de la Frontera, or any advocacy group - whether Democratic or Republican - should handle voter registration.
Seems the Wisconsin prision vote is also getting out, including at least one felon, whose vote was caught. But there was concern that there may have been more:
The National Associated for the Advancement of Colored People has registered prisoners in the Dane, Racine and Rock county jails as part of a larger prison voting project going on nationally. State president Thomas E. White said it’s possible branches in other communities will continue the practice, which he said is part of the NAACP’s efforts to register new voters in a hotly contested race.
He said the organizers did nothing wrong and are not encouraging felons to vote. Rather they are trying to ensure those who can vote are not being disenfranchised by being behind bars.
‘‘Voting is a way of life for some people. It’s a luxury for others,’’ White said.
Graber said he feared the list of felons the GOP compiled is a sign of a larger problem.
Four years ago, at least 361 felons voted while still under state supervision in Milwaukee, according to media reports. Three men were charged with illegal voting, but the counts were later dismissed because prosecutors were unable to prove the three knew it was illegal for felons to vote.
Graber said the GOP received an anonymous tip about the voter drives and the possibility felons had been registered. It purchased a list of those who had applied for absentee ballots and checked those who listed the Dane County Jail as their home address. Graber said the party believes 13 ballots were sent to felons with at least one mailed in.
And the kids in Milwaukee have been learning important civics lessons too:
Republicans have also cried foul over voter registration drives and a program in which public school children use class time to participate in get-out-the-vote efforts.
The school project was organized by the Wisconsin Citizen Action Fund, which has children taking time from regular classes to go door to door in minority neighborhoods and those with historically low voter turnout. The students also use phone banks to call homes and urge people to vote.
The program includes 33 schools in Milwaukee, three high schools in Madison and one high school in Racine. The Wisconsin Citizen Action Fund is the education arm of Wisconsin Citizen Action, whose advocacy arm has supported John Kerry. The group insists this project is nonpartisan.
Of course it is.
And in Madison -- a heavily left-leaning college town -- Law Prof. Ann Althouse notes that they're also not requiring ID to vote. Her 21-year-old son said:
"No one ever asked for my ID, and in fact, I asked two different people if they wanted to see my ID, and they said no. So, anyone who wanted to could go in and write down somebody else's name if they knew their address, and vote for them."
Wait: Wasn't he testing the system? Arrest him!
Vote early! Vote often! And you can even vote late in Madison, provided a prominent Democratic vote-raising activity is going on...
They objected Wednesday to a decision by the Madison City Clerk's office to stay open late Thursday to accommodate any voters who want to cast absentee ballots after a Kerry rally downtown that will feature rock star Bruce Springsteen and Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters.
Kerry officials had asked the clerk to extend the hours, and Graber charged the decision smacked of politics.
Graber said the GOP would consider going to court seeking an injunction to prevent the clerk's office from staying open. Still, he insisted the GOP would not try to throw out any ballots that may be cast after normal hours.
Deputy City Clerk Sharon Christensen said the hours were extended because election officials anticipated the rally would generate a rush of people to cast absentee ballots.
Christensen said she, the city clerk and the mayor decided to keep the office open in the heavily Democratic city from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday instead of the normal 4:30 p.m. It will also be open Friday until 5 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Monday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., she said.
State Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, asked the attorney general and the Elections Board to look into the decision.
But Elections Board executive director Kevin Kennedy said there is nothing in state law that would prohibit the clerk from staying open past its normal close.
"It's not a violation of law or an abuse of discretion," Kennedy said. "The only thing that you look at here is you say, 'OK, are they going to treat a similar request in a similar way,'" Kennedy said.
Gosh, it took a lawsuit from a dead man to keep the polls open late in downtown St. Louis. In Madison, they'll just do it if you ask. At least if you're the Kerry campaign.
Finally, we'll give the last word to a Kerry campaign official, who explains how the Republicans are shamelessly stealing people's votes by noticing these things are happening:
Democratic Party spokesman Seth Boffeli countered Republicans were pumping up minor allegations in an attempt to undermine voters' confidence in the results so they can steal the election.
Hundreds of school kids working for the Kerry campaign? Illegal aliens running the polls? Coordinating polling hours with Kerry campaign events? Gosh, I wonder what a major allegation would be.