Repukes disenfranchising 17,000 Las Vegas voters

Sorry if this has been posted, but I just found out this afternoon. I happen to LIVE in Nevada's third district, and have spent the last several months registering voters for ACT, MoveOn, and the Nevada Dems, worked phone banks, attended protests and rallies, basically worked my ass off so some asshole like this can come along and scrwe it up. I feel literally ill.

As of 1-1-04, the Reps had 13,000 more votes; as of July, they had 1,300. Last I heard, we had a couple of thousand more registrations than they did. 17,000 is more than enough to make the difference.

My state, while corrupt as hell when it comes to hookers, cops, and casinos, is generally pretty good about ensuring fair elections. For instance, the third district was created just two years ago, and was a fair compromise in terms of party registration, leaving NV with one D, one R, and one up for grabs (the third). Our Sec of State, a Republican, refused to consider Diebold machines when it came time to upgrade this year.

http://www.nvdems.com/news.php?newsid=215
"Dan Burdish, a Republican operative and former director of the Nevada Republican Party, told the Las Vegas Review Journal, “I'm looking to take Democrats off the voter rolls,” adding that his “motives were purely political”.

Late Friday afternoon Burdish filed tens of thousands of documents calling on the Clark County Registrar of Voters and the District Attorney to toss out the rights of 17,000 Clark County voters because they have changed addresses. In Nevada, citizens can still vote, even if they have moved to another part of the city..."

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Oct-10-Sun-2004/news/24958523.html

"...Almost all of the 17,000 voters were Democrats, and all were registered in the 3rd Congressional District, where Democrat Tom Gallagher is challenging incumbent Republican Jon Porter.

Under state law, voters who move without updating their voter registrations still can vote, but so-called inactive voters must vote at their old precincts. They also can vote at any early voting site.

Burdish said people should not be allowed to vote for politicians in districts where they no longer live. He said he will file a lawsuit if county officials dismiss his challenge.

The district attorney's office was expected to rule on the challenge next week.

Burdish said his motives were purely political. "I'm looking to take Democrats off the voter rolls," he said."

I'm embarressed for our country when something like this happens.

Steve

Not only is he the former chairman of the Nevada Republican party, but he's also the weirdo who operates a publishing company that claims that taxes are unconstitutional (apparently he's never actually read it or any of the amendments). Every so often, he gets on CNN when the Feds raid his bookstore (at least I think this is the same guy).

He might be certifiable, but he obviously has the money and support to pick out 17,000 people from the voter roll.

how do some people sleep at night?
Please keep us informed.

The SCOTUS may need to get involved in this BS!!
You can't go changing the rules in midstream in order to disenfranchise, can ya?

IN AMERICA, the propagator of DEMOCRACY?

needs to petition to be removed from all Federal taxes for the duration of the term.

NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!

"allegedly" in Reno about this time last year at the Reno Hilton located across the street from the Reno Airport with KKKarl Rove and top state Repukes and elected officials who met to strategize for the upcoming state and federal elections. I heard about it from gossip going around here in Elko County, largely Repuke stomping grounds, people bragging about this meeting. Here's who may have been in the meeting: KKKarl Rove and maybe Bush and Cheney. Very good chance Heller was there because just about the time of this secret strategy meeting, Heller announced that the state would go to Sequoia in opposition against either LV city or Clark County who already had the Diebold machines since the last presidential election.

Who was in the meeting from the state? Pete Ernaut was probably there. He is from Elko, he was Guinn's campaign manager the first time and his first chief of staff. He got his momma, Nancy Ernaut, a cushy job in Elko running the Elko NV Public Utilities Commission office. She has been the head of the Repuke Party here for years which is dominated now by mining officials. Elko County is home to several major international mines who believe that if Bush is not re-elected, they will not be in business here in the future.

An interesting side note, when daddy bush got out of office a decade ago, he was given a seat on Barrick Goldstrike Mines' international board. They are somehow tied into the Carlyle Group now.

Now think this through, to win the election, Bush had to control Florida's election via help of his bro and other top state elected officials who worked on Bush's campaign. They are not that stupid to pull it again there but ...they could do so in Nevada through Karl Rove's Republican connections. Rove was from Reno. He has a sister there married to a basque boy from Elko and a brother who is one of the top dudes with Granite Construction, a large Nevada paving company.

Petey Ernaut is also from Elko County with ties to the filthy ass rich mining companies here.

Every top office in Nevada is Repuke. You mentioned the story about Heller campaigning for Bush. Try this one on for size and ask yourself why Bush would issue such cryptic concern about voter fraud in Nevada if they weren't setting the stage to commit it or claim it.

Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Las Vegas Review-Journal

President asks about fraudulent registration

By ADRIENNE PACKER
REVIEW-JOURNAL

President Bush expressed concern about continuing voter registration irregularities in Clark County, top state officials said Tuesday.

"He was concerned about election registration fraud in Southern Nevada," Attorney General Brian Sandoval said.

Sandoval, who joined Secretary of State Dean Heller in the president's limousine, said he told Bush the Nevada Division of Investigations, the investigative arm of the Department of Public Safety, is on the case.

"He said they're also talking about sending federal agents here to help out with the investigation," Sandoval said Bush told him.

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Sep-15-Wed-2004/news/24772533.html

We are the ones who need to be ready to scream election fraud in Nevada and we need people watching every County Clerk's polling places in the state and their office when they do the count at the end of the night.

I will make some calls, maybe see what I can dig up on the Internet. Any other Nevada DUers out there know something about last year's meeting?

A couple of points:
Why send federal agents here?
Las Vegas is already the only city its size with both an FBI office and a Secret Service office, and I believe there are smaller branch offices of both in Reno as well. They're already here.

Regarding the article you cited:
I have a friend who works for the county election department. I am assured that Lomax is just a psycho, and that the "irregularities" mentioned in the article are largely the result of the extraordinary high level transient resident. Not homeless people, but people who move three or four times a year (something like 40% of the 350,000 students in CCSD, for instance, don't attend the same school more than two years in a row).

Barrick mining is most definitely dirty. When Poppy was on the board of directors, they were entangled in all kinds of evil schemes in Africa. Lots of folks died horribly. And as long as Reid is the Senate Minority Whip and s powerful member of congress, nothing will happen to Nevada's mining industry (which pays no direct taxes, both because of the 1880's mining law regarding prospecting on public lands, and beacuse Barrick is a Canadian corporation).

Personally, of the articles I sourced, I'm most concerned about the last sentence from the RJ one, in which it was said that the Clark County DA's office would make their decision early next week. Early next week is probably too late for us to challenge it successfully, and the DA is a Republican, and an asshole.

Democrats have lawyers in place for these moments. They put the call out on DU a while back. I'm sure they will take care of it. I know it makes you crazy but please have faith.

I've heard that the Dems have teams of lawyers working on making sure that this kind of thing does not happen.

Two complaints:

First, I hear about these stories, (Vegas, Blackwell, Florida check box, etc.) from non-mainstream sources. It is really important to get the mainstream media to cover these types of events.

Second, if there are in fact armies of Democratic lawyers and they are working these disenfranchisement and fraud cases, it would be great it they would let Democrats know, (preferably through the mainstream media, but if they won't cover it the DNC website or even here at DU) when they won a victory and got people back on the rolls.

As it stands, I think I heard that Blackwell in OH is taking the non 80 lb registration forms, but I have no idea about the check-box scandal in FL, and now I hear about 17,000 lost Democratic voters in NV.

Somebody please make sure we all hear if/when these things are fixed.

Jesus, the last thing in the world I want is mass chaos in America. But if they keep this up I don't see that we're going to have any choice. This is fascism, pure and simple. This is an assault on Democracy. I will not live under this style of government.

repukes cannot play by the rules.

To lurking repukes, see? you kept accusing us about not play by the rules (yeah right..) and NOW LOOK AT YOURSELF, losers.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/sun/2004/oct/11/517647412.html?Dan%20Burdish

"But the county could give him (Dan Burdish) a fight. Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax said this morning that the district attorney is reviewing the challenges and likely will send Burdish a letter today.

According to state law, inactive voters must remain registered until they have failed to vote in two federal elections. When they do vote, they must return to the precinct in which they are registered, even if it is not the precinct where they live. The law does say that citizens can challenge people in their precinct or district if they believe the voters no longer live at their registered addresses.

But Lomax said he interprets the law to mean that someone must have personal knowledge that a voter is not longer living in the district.

If you go to the Web site and challenge everybody who's inactive, to me that does not imply that you have personal knowledge," Lomax said."

In fact, I'm feeling so much better that tongight I'm going to go out once more and harrass my neigbors until they vote.

And why is it not being scrutinized more carefully? I don't understand how all of a sudden in the year 2000 and apparently this year, so many are being screwed out of their right to vote.

shirt, too?

Democracy taking second place to Party identity in the eyes of Republican operatives, once again. Patriotic???