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August 08, 2013 10:49 AM UTC

Gessler Helps Debunk "Gypsy Voters" Mythology?

  • 18 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

We've been talking for a few days now about allegations being made by conservatives regarding Colorado's voter registration process after the passage of House Bill 1303, the Voter Access and Modernized Elections Act–which will be in effect for the first time for the recall special elections in two Colorado Senate districts next month. Following some alarmist (and unfounded) comments from GOP Douglas County Clerk Jack Arrowsmith about the supposed possibility of voters being 'bused' into these districts to take advantage of a 'loophole' in the new law, the story spread rapidly through the conservative news ecosystem.

Actual voter fraud is extremely rare, of course, but the conservative coverage of this supposed 'loophole,' implying that it may be legal for voters to converge on these Senate districts from across the state, might actually lead to some number of Republican voters trying to fraudulently vote in these recall elections. We have tried our best to discourage that, but regret we may not have as large a conservative readership as the Daily Caller.

Yesterday, the Colorado Springs Independent's J. Adrian Stanley did a great job debunking the story:

While rare, fraud has always existed. Some people have attempted to register more than once using fake birthdays and Social Security numbers; others have voted more than once under one registration, perhaps by sending a mail ballot, then showing up later at a polling place.

[EL Paso County Clerk spokesman Ryan] Parsell says those types of cheaters are generally caught, and their names turned over to the local district attorney for investigation. But he worries that now, there's another way to game the system: A voter may drive in from an outside district, change his address on his registration form, and vote. Later, he says, a person can change his address back and say he intended to move, but never did…

This scenario has gotten attention on the Internet, where it's often derogatorily referred to as "gypsy voting."

…But there are a few reasons why this may turn out better than it sounds. First, according to an email from Gessler's office to Williams' office, [Pols emphasis] a person must have already moved into a district in order to vote in it.

"The 'intention' language is only relevant after the elector moved," it says.

Second, the same email confirms, clerks can and should refer any fishy behavior to the local DA's office. Ortiz, for instance, says he will track all last-minute change-of-address voters. If the address reverts in the coming months, he'll refer that voter to the DA…

And there's yet another reason why widespread fraud seems unlikely: A last-minute address change has actually long been possible. Ortiz notes that the process was previously called "emergency voting," and it wasn't popular.

The bottom line, as the Independent reports and we said days ago, is that all such misrepresentation is against the law, and anyone who actually votes using a fake residence is committing a felony. The biggest reason there is so much more discussion of vote fraud than there are actual cases is that the penalties are really very severe relative to the infraction–and that is by design. Individual, anecdotal cases of fraud consistently boil down to that one person's mistake or misguided decision, not coordinated plots to swing an election.

Again, unless a bunch of Republicans read this Daily Caller story and decide to attempt just that.

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18 thoughts on “Gessler Helps Debunk “Gypsy Voters” Mythology?”

        1. You're a least-effective person. Nothing to contribute, and you adhere to a morally bankrupt philosophy whose end result is the enserfment of all working people. You give nothing and expect everything. You're a waste, and you won't last here.

        2. No…JeffcoBlues' avatar is of an attractive woman flashing a peace sign…yours is a graphic of a red figure (presumably a Republican) holding a gun to the head of a blue figure (presumably a Democrat).

          Your avatar wins the stupid competition by a country mile. And it is not polite to call others names. I hope you can remember that, you stupid fucking pinhead.

           

    3. The only voter fraud that I have heard of is Repug's trying to prevent people from voting. For example, the firm hired in Florida by the state Repug's that was caught throwing out voter registration forms of voters who wanted to register as Democrats. Or the time the Secretary of State (in Florida, again) who purged voters from the states voter files because they shared the same name as a felon. Over 20,000 who were legal citizens but didn't find out they were no longer registered until they went to vote. In 2000 when the Repug's stile that election due to voter fraud. 

      Nice try to paint Dems as guilty of voter fraud, when the Repug's are the guilty. Dems are guilty of ensuring that every eligible voter is able to, not denying that CONSTITUTIONAL right. Funny, because Repug's claim to be all about constitutional rights when they really are all about denying them. Except when it comes to guns, then they get all crazy and insist that that right is limitless.

    4. Is there a single case of a democrat committing voting fraud in this state? I know there was a republican found guilty of it a couple of years ago. But I don't recall any Dems.

      Back up your statement please.

  4. Occasionally, our Secretary of State actually does his job.  I suppose it would be embarrassing if the only verified election fraud this year were a bunch of Republicans trying to vote out of their own precincts in order to try to make the recall elections go their way.  The penalties of 18 months in jail will, hopefully discourage them from trying.

     

    1. You can almost take it to the bank that the Rs will try to vote out of district in an attempt to pry Giron and Morse out of their seats. There are already  party leaders (sort of quietly) trying to put people up to it. Dems, start prepping those filings to sue them for it, as we know neither the SoS nor the El Paso Clerk will. This is going to be entertaining.

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