Voters denied right to vote Republican; election officials deny disenfranchisement stories
Posted by: Mighty Thor | 02/07/2008 8:07 AM
Confusion, controversy at the polls
Voters say they were denied right to vote Republican; election officials deny disenfranchisement stories
By Gig Conaughton, North County Times
A day after hundreds of irate voters said they were wrongly barred from voting for Republican candidates on Super Tuesday, San Diego County officials said they had not found any cases of people being robbed of their right to vote.
State officials said they also fielded complaints Tuesday from voters being stopped from voting -- but mostly from people who wanted to vote in the Democratic race, not the Republican race.
San Diego County officials said Wednesday that they did not plan to start a full investigation into the complaints and that preliminary scrutiny showed the problems were caused by voters and confusion over their party affiliation.
"We haven't found any wrongdoing," county spokesman Mike Workman said.
But state Republican Party leaders and local conservative radio talk-show hosts demanded a probe.
"Absolutely. This is potentially a serious issue which needs to be fully investigated," said Ron Nehring, chairman of the California Republican Party.
Nehring said party lawyers were reviewing the complaints, but that it was too soon to say if the party would file a lawsuit over the disenfranchisement claims.
Workman, meanwhile, said county elections hotline workers received hundreds of complaints Tuesday.
He said five voters were initially prevented from voting for Republican candidates during Tuesday's election because of county errors. Workman said they were cases where the polling places had the voters listed as nonpartisan or independents, but they were actually signed up as Republicans on their voter registration forms. Workman said election crews corrected those mistakes in time for those people to vote.
But Workman and election county officials said they believed the hundreds of other complaints were voters' fault -- cases where voters did not know, or did not remember, that they had registered as independents, or as "decline to state," making them ineligible to vote in Tuesday's Republican presidential primary.
Unlike the state's Democratic and American Independent parties, the California Republican Party barred independents and unaffiliated voters from casting ballots for the Republican nominee Tuesday. State party officials have said that policy is designed to keep non-Republicans from influencing the party's internal policy decisions and skewing the party's selection process.
State and county records show that San Diego County's percentage of independent voters has grown from 15 percent in 1998 to 22 percent -- one of every five voters -- this year.
San Diego County Republican Party officials said they had received more than 100 complaints themselves, and questioned whether they could all be blamed on voters.
Jonathan Buettner, the county Republicans' chief operating officer, said the party had received 37 e-mails and 80 phone messages. "The voice log was a nightmare," he said.
Tony Krvaric, the county party's chairman, said the complaints seemed to break down into three categories: voters not registered as Republicans who had previously voted -- as allowed -- for Republican candidates in state and local races; voters who might have forgotten they had changed their party affiliation; and longtime Republicans who could have legitimate gripes.
Buettner said the party had seen similar, scattered complaints in previous elections, but of the volume registered Tuesday, he said, "We've never had anything like this."
Officials from California Secretary of State Debra Bowen's office said Wednesday afternoon that voters in other counties had also complained that they were not allowed to vote. But spokeswoman Nicole Winger said the majority of those complaints involved people not being allowed to vote for Democratic presidential candidates, not Republican.
Winger said 500 people called the secretary of state's voter fraud hotline Tuesday to voice complaints, but only 26 of those were from San Diego County. She said state officials had not been able to go through all those calls as of Wednesday.
Workman said that elections officials had checked into six specific cases Wednesday, based on calls from voters who said they'd been wronged. He said in each case, voters had reregistered as "decline to state" and did not realize it.
A handful of complaints telephoned in to the North County Times seemed to buttress the county's suggestion that voter confusion could be to blame.
Donna Mulholland said she had recently moved from South County to Oceanside, wanted to vote for a Republican, but was denied. However, Mulholland said she knew she had registered as "decline to state" and knew she would be denied. Mulholland said she figured the Democratic Party had "fixed it" so she could not vote. After being told that the Republican Party actually declined to allow nonpartisan voters, Mulholland said she still felt disenfranchised.
"I have an issue with this," she said.
Carlsbad resident Patricia Ariadne said she actually wanted to vote for the Democratic presidential hopefuls, but was told she could not, because she was registered as an American Independent party member. She said she thought that registration would allow her to vote in other parties' races, and was very angry when she wasn't.
Elections officials told her Wednesday that her registration as a member of the American Independent Party meant that she was not legally allowed to cross over and vote in other parties' primaries.
"I'm just going to reregister as a Democrat," she said. "I guess I just lost out in this primary."
Voters say they were denied right to vote Republican; election officials deny disenfranchisement stories
By Gig Conaughton, North County Times
A day after hundreds of irate voters said they were wrongly barred from voting for Republican candidates on Super Tuesday, San Diego County officials said they had not found any cases of people being robbed of their right to vote.
State officials said they also fielded complaints Tuesday from voters being stopped from voting -- but mostly from people who wanted to vote in the Democratic race, not the Republican race.
San Diego County officials said Wednesday that they did not plan to start a full investigation into the complaints and that preliminary scrutiny showed the problems were caused by voters and confusion over their party affiliation.
"We haven't found any wrongdoing," county spokesman Mike Workman said.
But state Republican Party leaders and local conservative radio talk-show hosts demanded a probe.
"Absolutely. This is potentially a serious issue which needs to be fully investigated," said Ron Nehring, chairman of the California Republican Party.
Nehring said party lawyers were reviewing the complaints, but that it was too soon to say if the party would file a lawsuit over the disenfranchisement claims.
Workman, meanwhile, said county elections hotline workers received hundreds of complaints Tuesday.
He said five voters were initially prevented from voting for Republican candidates during Tuesday's election because of county errors. Workman said they were cases where the polling places had the voters listed as nonpartisan or independents, but they were actually signed up as Republicans on their voter registration forms. Workman said election crews corrected those mistakes in time for those people to vote.
But Workman and election county officials said they believed the hundreds of other complaints were voters' fault -- cases where voters did not know, or did not remember, that they had registered as independents, or as "decline to state," making them ineligible to vote in Tuesday's Republican presidential primary.
Unlike the state's Democratic and American Independent parties, the California Republican Party barred independents and unaffiliated voters from casting ballots for the Republican nominee Tuesday. State party officials have said that policy is designed to keep non-Republicans from influencing the party's internal policy decisions and skewing the party's selection process.
State and county records show that San Diego County's percentage of independent voters has grown from 15 percent in 1998 to 22 percent -- one of every five voters -- this year.
San Diego County Republican Party officials said they had received more than 100 complaints themselves, and questioned whether they could all be blamed on voters.
Jonathan Buettner, the county Republicans' chief operating officer, said the party had received 37 e-mails and 80 phone messages. "The voice log was a nightmare," he said.
Tony Krvaric, the county party's chairman, said the complaints seemed to break down into three categories: voters not registered as Republicans who had previously voted -- as allowed -- for Republican candidates in state and local races; voters who might have forgotten they had changed their party affiliation; and longtime Republicans who could have legitimate gripes.
Buettner said the party had seen similar, scattered complaints in previous elections, but of the volume registered Tuesday, he said, "We've never had anything like this."
Officials from California Secretary of State Debra Bowen's office said Wednesday afternoon that voters in other counties had also complained that they were not allowed to vote. But spokeswoman Nicole Winger said the majority of those complaints involved people not being allowed to vote for Democratic presidential candidates, not Republican.
Winger said 500 people called the secretary of state's voter fraud hotline Tuesday to voice complaints, but only 26 of those were from San Diego County. She said state officials had not been able to go through all those calls as of Wednesday.
Workman said that elections officials had checked into six specific cases Wednesday, based on calls from voters who said they'd been wronged. He said in each case, voters had reregistered as "decline to state" and did not realize it.
A handful of complaints telephoned in to the North County Times seemed to buttress the county's suggestion that voter confusion could be to blame.
Donna Mulholland said she had recently moved from South County to Oceanside, wanted to vote for a Republican, but was denied. However, Mulholland said she knew she had registered as "decline to state" and knew she would be denied. Mulholland said she figured the Democratic Party had "fixed it" so she could not vote. After being told that the Republican Party actually declined to allow nonpartisan voters, Mulholland said she still felt disenfranchised.
"I have an issue with this," she said.
Carlsbad resident Patricia Ariadne said she actually wanted to vote for the Democratic presidential hopefuls, but was told she could not, because she was registered as an American Independent party member. She said she thought that registration would allow her to vote in other parties' races, and was very angry when she wasn't.
Elections officials told her Wednesday that her registration as a member of the American Independent Party meant that she was not legally allowed to cross over and vote in other parties' primaries.
"I'm just going to reregister as a Democrat," she said. "I guess I just lost out in this primary."
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It seems that rather than the Registrar making a mistake, as everyone is so quick to accuse, people just didn't realize that at some point, they had registered as dts or independent, as many people do these days. It didn't really matter until the Cal Republican Party closed the primary, and people were told they couldn't vote Republican. This just seems like another flimsy excuse for people to find something wrong with the registrar of voters, when really, it is their fault. Why must everything always be a conspiracy?
Odds are, that woman who registered American Independent has no idea that AI is not the same thing as DTS.
When someone fills out a registration card, they have to choose a party. If they fail to do so, they automatically become a Decline to State.
People fail to check any box for affiliation much more often that one would think.
Tuesday evening I went to vote at my local poll station, but was told I was not eligible to vote Republican. I was previously registered as Non Partisan, but had sent in a party affiliation change form prior to the cutoff date. It seemed as though the Registar's office had not received my form in time for the Tuesday primaries. I was directed to use my NP status to either vote Democrat or NP. I opted NP.
When I called the SD Voter's Registrar office Wednesday, I was told in fact they did receive my change of party form in time and that I in fact could have voted Republican. My name was on a supplementary blue sheet which correctly had me registered as Republican. I was also informed I could have used a Republican voting form which could have been sent in a NP envelope and my Rep. vote would have counted. The polling station volunteers failed to tell me either of these two options.
Shouldn't those working the poll station have been aware of these options so I could have voted Republican?
this whole idea of closed primaries is a joke. it leaves out people that may not have voted, selected a party, or are now identified as Republican.
Of course, don't worry. If they got shut out in Feb, they'll still get a chance to NOT vote Republican in November too.
this whole thing shouldn't have been an issue