At least in Oregon, Kerry is going to win in a landslide. Why do I think it's rigged? Read the following article...then note that ZERO I.D. is asked for when registering to vote here, and ZERO I.D. is asked for when voting. Also keep in mind that Oregon hands out voter registration forms with every new driver's license issued, and that Oregon DOES issue driver's licenses to illegal aliens. Oh, excuse me...to be politically correct, there are no illegal aliens in Oregon. Only "undocumented immigrants".
This article isn't internet partisan stuff...it's from a local paper that is considered "mainstream": The Albany, OR DEMOCRAT-HERALD...this evening's issue, 1 November 2004.
Flap arises over new voters in Portland
By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI
Associated Press Writer
PORTLAND — Democrats accused Republicans Sunday of trying to block thousands of young people's votes, following a formal request by GOP lawyers to review ballots cast by first-time voters in Oregon's most populous county.
In a letter issued Friday, attorneys for the Oregon Republican Party demanded that officials set aside ballots cast by new voters in Multnomah County who have not provided proof of identification.
Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden said that the Republican demand flies in the face of Oregon law which does not require voters to show proof of identification when registering.
"This is not Florida. We are about empowering citizens,'' said Wyden, who helped draft the relevant portion of Oregon's election law.
He held a press conference Sunday in downtown Portland to counter the GOP request.
Statewide, 207,053 first-time voters registered after May and 73,226 of them are under the age of 25, according to numbers provided by Sunlight Data Systems, a database manager working for groups backing Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry.
Twenty percent of the new voters live in Multnomah County, home to liberal Portland.
"They are in effect asking this country to change the rules 14 days into our 18-day election,'' said Tim Nesbitt, the pro-Kerry president of the Oregon AFL-CIO. "Think of one team trying to change the rules late in a ball game and applying those new rules only on their opponents' home field,'' he said.
Two years after the voting controversy in Florida, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act, aimed at curbing voting irregularities. One of its many provisions was a requirement that voters show proof of identification when voting.
Oregon's congressional delegation took issue with that requirement because of Oregon's unique vote-by-mail system, which had previously allowed citizens to simply send in their ballots. It's more difficult for a person voting by mail to Xerox their driver's license and include it along with their mail-in ballot, than it is for a person voting at a polling booth to pull it out of their pocket and show to an elections official, the delegation argued.
The bipartisan "Oregon Compromise,'' drafted by Wyden and Republican Sen. Gordon Smith, added language which created an exception for Oregon as a way to preserve its unique vote-by-mail system.
Oregon Elections Director John Lindback said the state will fight the Republican request and stressed that the GOP concern is unfounded.
"For years in Oregon when a person signed their voter registration card, they were warned that if they didn't tell the truth they would be charged with a Class C Felony — that carries a $150,000 fine or up to five years in jail,'' said Lindback. "It's a very serious penalty and we believed that the warning was enough,'' he said.
He questioned the GOP's sincerity, given that the request for ballot segregation was only sent to Multnomah County.
"It looks like they're trying to stop votes from being counted in a highly liberal county. Why not in traditionally conservative counties like Baker or Umatilla or Malheur. It looks very partisan,'' Lindback said.
The Republican challenge is set out in a letter dated Friday signed by Matthew Lowe, an attorney in the Portland law firm of O'Donnell & Clark, which according to the letter represents the Oregon Republican Party and the Bush-Cheney 2004 re-election campaign. It is addressed to John Kauffman, director of elections in Multnomah County.
"The purpose of this letter is to demand that those ballots cast by persons who have yet to provide valid identification be set aside so that voter's registration can be reviewed and verified, and the ballots challenged if necessary,'' Lowe writes.
"In the event we cannot reach agreement on this matter, our client's only option will be to challenge each and every ballot cast in which a voter's identity — and qualifications — are still in question,'' the letter said.
Wyden said that although he is confident Oregon would prevail in a legal challenge, a lawsuit this close to the election would serve to discourage voters — especially young ones who, according to the senator, already feel as if their votes do not count.
"Florida was decided by 537 votes — and most college dorms are that size,'' said Wyden. "You bet that if a suit is filed tomorrow it could have a chilling effect, especially on younger voters.''
Kevin Mannix, chairman of the Oregon Republican Party, did not immediately return calls late Sunday afternoon.