Oregon Department of Justice investigating potential ballot tampering at Clackamas County Elections

[Coyotl]

Source: The Oregonian By Yuxing Zheng, 2012.11.02

OREGON CITY -- The Oregon Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into possible ballot tampering at the Clackamas County Elections Office.

"We can confirm we are currently investigating criminal felony violations of Oregon’s elections laws, which allegedly took place in Clackamas County and allegedly involved a temporary county elections employee tampering with cast ballots," said Jeff Manning, spokesman for the Department of Justice.

Manning did not name the woman under investigation. The Department of Justice launched its investigation after the Oregon Secretary of State's Office referred the case to them, he said. The Secretary of State's Office handles elections complaints but does not investigate felony matters.

It's unclear how many ballots might have been affected ....

Read more: http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-city/index.ssf/2012/11/oregon_department_of_justice_i.html

---

The tampering is a Republican effort, and may result in a takeover of office by the state.

FROM BlueOregon:
http://www.blueoregon.com/2012/11/breaking-ballot-tampering-clackamas-county/

Willamette Week's Nigel Jaquiss reports allegations that it was a partisan act:

Sources familiar with the incident say their understanding is that the woman filled in a straight Republican ticket on the ballots where preferences had been left blank by voters.

And now, Clackamas County Chair Charlotte Lehan - facing a tough election fight against right-winger John Ludlow - is threatening legal action.

"This is clear voter fraud," Edmonds said. "Clackamas County might not be the best body to handle the election process." ...

......Clackamas County elections - and the elected Clerk, Sherry Hall - has long been at the center of allegations of mismanagement and bending over backwards to help Republicans. But this is much worse.......

[grasswire]

1. grrrrrrrrrrrrr

That's my county.

Better NOT be tampering with my vote.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

[Coyotl]

8. The King of Clackistan Timber baron Andrew Miller wants to turn Oregon to the right.

Do you know this wingnut?

The King of Clackistan
Timber baron Andrew Miller wants to turn Oregon to the right. He’s starting the fight in Portland’s backyard.
http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-19841-the_king_of_clackist.html

The rumble of raw logs bouncing through the sawmill’s machinery sounds like giants rolling strikes in a bowling alley ... In a crow’s-nest office above the action, the man whose checkbook could upend Oregon politics stares at a computer screen that shows him how fast these trees are being turned into money ....

His privately owned Stimson Lumber Company has spent $2.2 million in recent years to influence Oregon politics—unmatched by any other business in the state. But Miller’s growing influence arises from how he’s spending it: funneling cash to candidates from his increasingly influential political machine, Oregon Transformation Project PAC.

Miller’s operation is trying to win political control of Clackamas County. .............

[inamatteroftime]

13. Shudder to think how many similar transgressions go unaccounted for! nt

[neverforget]

30. I live in unicorporated Milwaukie. This is definitely a concern.

[davidpdx]

37. I'm from Oregon and lived in the Portland area for 11 years

4 years in Milwaukie. I used to live in the Waverly Apartments complex up on the hill. My then wife (now ex-wife) ran for city council when we lived there.

[neverforget]

40. My former manager's sister works in the office for Sherry Hall. He told me stories about her

and asked me to vote against Hall which I did and will again. I guess she is terrible to work for.

[davidpdx]

65. It's interesting to hear that

I think pressure need to be put on her to quit immediately. Someone else needs to be brought in to investigate and run the election.

[Vanje]

88. Theres a recall effort afoot

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-city/index.ssf/2012/11/clackamas_county_commissioners_7.html

[Vanje]

87. This isnt Sherry Hall's first election scandal

There was some problem, I think in the mid 2000s.
Lets see if I can find the old article.

Ah. Here we go.
http://ouroregon.org/sockeye/blog/our-oregon-statement-sos-office-orders-clackamas-county-clerk-sherry-hall-reopen-signat




excerpt:"On September 1, Our Oregon filed a letter with the SOS office asking for a comprehensive review of the signature verification process undertaken by Hall on an urban renewal initiative circulated by Tea Party group Americans For Prosperity. Our Oregon’s review of the signatures found a number of questionable signatures that had been accepted by the office."

[grasswire]

2. it will be interesting to see if the local TV stations cover this nt

[Coyotl]

61. KOIN 6 = Clackamas Co. elections employee investigated for ballot fraud

Clackamas Co. elections employee investigated for ballot fraud
http://www.koinlocal6.com/news/local/story/Clackamas-Co-elections-employee-investigated-for/u0RgiJVlN0iMVjr7ERVGbw.cspx


“This is a really high priority investigation, given the timing for obvious reasons, and that really complicates things,” Manning told KOIN.

At this time, only one worker is believed to have been involved in the alleged criminal activity, Manning confirmed. ........

[DonRedwood]

80. how many looked the other way though?

[Blue Idaho]

3. This will not end well for republicans...

Oregon will not stand for this sort of shit.

[FiveGoodMen]

5. I hope you're right

But I can't think of one instance where any real penalties have been handed out for this sort of thing.

[Quantess]

86. The past year there has been a push to crack down on voter fraud.

This may be the time, finally.

[C_U_L8R]

4. Cheaters never prosper

and these ones may be going to jail.
I hope the rest of the GOP understands
that the world is watching.

[FiveGoodMen]

7. Do you think Romney's ever cheated at anything?

His bank book would certainly suggest that he's prospered!

[BlueCaliDem]

11. Tell that to GWBush and the NeoCons

because their cheating had them prosper pretty damn well, I would say.

The Republicans could care less if the whole world is watching. What matter to them is WINNING. All they need to do is win the vote count and they'll leave the teeth-gritting and law suits to sort themselves out while they run away with the prize.

Now, if there were consequences like, say, the person who won will lose his seat and be embarrassed in front of the world, then maybe they'll stop this crap, but until such time, and if the "winner" gets to keep his/her seat, they see no reason to feel embarrassed about anything. They'll just fall back on their fail-safe excuse: blame the Democrats.

[Coyotl]

62. Or Halliburton and the war machine contractors in Iraq

You beat me to it!

[C_U_L8R]

24. It's a figure of speech !

geez. And at least this cheater was caught.

[Overseas]

83. They've certainly prospered so far. 2000 and 2004 GWB, made billions for the top

0.01%

And in 2008? Democrats get the White House after the Bush Crash but with enough Republicans to oppose everything and then blame the mess on the Democrats.

Very convenient.

[Vanje]

89. Actually , sad to say, They do

Almost all the time.
This time, I hope there will be hard time served.

[madaboutharry]

6. What a stupid person.

[SCantiGOP]

12. very stupid

I saw a comment somewhere that individual voter fraud is rare for the same reason nobody counterfeits one dollar bills - too great a risk for a very small return.

[bkkyosemite]

9. Even in our own backyard. Put her in prison!

[Supersedeas]

93. Good luck with that....Republican dirty political tricks rarely go punished

[alfredo]

10. There might be an issue in Florida with about a 1,000 votes missing from a Democratic county.

[bkkyosemite]

15. No might be about it. I posted when it happened the other day!

[alfredo]

19. Early voting was how minorities undermined the racist, but it appears the KKKgop

has fought back.

[defacto7]

14. If there would be tampering in Oregon

it would happen in Clackamas County. That's a heavily Republican County but not totally so. Washington and Multnomah are mainly Dem. counties which include the Portland area and represent the largest population in the state. Clackamas is a suburban Portland county with a lot of fanatical religious groups that include a heavily Mormon and strong fundamental constituency.

[CreekDog]

21. Are you sure? Obama won it by 10 points in 2008

[defacto7]

45. Oh there are Dems in Clackamas, it's just heavily Republican in Oregon terms.

It's a place where there are those who think it's doable and not imposible to cheat and make a difference. And the crazy fanatical religious groups.... That's record. Yes, this I know. I lived in Lake Oswego.

[Coyotl]

71. Rep. Kurt Schrader (D) is in a close-race district and the U. S. Congress could be the fraud target

United States House election, 2010: Oregon District 5
Democratic Kurt Schrader 145,319 51.25%
Republican Scott Bruun 130,313 45.96%

This district was drawn to be a contested rather than partisan district.
District created January 3, 1983 [pre]
Denny Smith .... Republican January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1991
Mike Kopetski ... Democratic January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1995
Jim Bunn ......... Republican January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1997
Darlene Hooley . Democratic January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2009
Kurt Schrader ... Democratic January 3, 2009 – present

[Vanje]

90. This particular ballot marking

involved smaller races, where people have left blank votes.
County commissioner, City council, judges, school boards, ....maybe a few state reps, Ballot measures

Votes left blank by the voter, were filled in with GOP candidates in by wayward election worker.

[HooptieWagon]

16. Hopefully, this results in jail time. nt

[valerief]

17. ELECTION fraud. The voters didn't do it. The election officials did. nt

[sinkingfeeling]

27. +1000

[Coyotl]

51. I can't seem to find an e-mail address for Chris Edmonds

Someone should communicate that directly to him.

[bitchkitty]

85. THANK YOU. Not voter fraud. An employee

did it.

Voter fraud is one of those terms that gets thrown around a lot - when it's hardly ever the voter who commits the fraud.

[SoapBox]

18. The Pukes, Baggers and Freaks know no bounds.

They will cheat, lie, steal...to get what they want.

Hope it gets statewide coverage.

[liberalmuse]

20. I'm glad this person was caught.

And I hope she serves time and I hope they publish her name. Anyone tampering with ballots or intimidating voters needs to spend a couple years in the clink.

I hope they catch more of these treasonous people attempting to subvert Democracy.

[Coyotl]

22. Oregon has mail-in ballots, so I have always wondered about this possibility, piles of ballots

Each elections office has piles of ballots. What are the safeguards?

A lot of people have to be trusted, the post office people, the staff at the elections offices.

[central scrutinizer]

66. I think people can volunteer as observers

last election here in Oregon, my wife's ballot was challenged by a Republican poll observer. Apparently her signature on the ballot did not seem close enough to the one on her voter registration card. She went down to the office and verified the ballot.

[spiderpig]

23. At my very first election back in 1972

I marked my paper ballot, put it in the privacy envelope, and returned it to the poll workers. The first guy took my envelope, extracted my ballot and LOOKED AT IT!!!. The privacy envelopes were coded with a number so that your sacred vote would remain PRIVATE.

Of course I announced at the top of my lungs that That Man Was Looking At My Ballot. He said he was just checking to make sure I'd voted.

I'm nonviolent, but I really wanted to smack him upside the head. Nonetheless, I've voted in every election since.

I hope I embarrassed that jerk, though. (If it were possible.)

This was in Ohio, by the way.

[zwyziec]

25. This is MY COUNTY!

I live in Wilsonville which is in Clackamas and Charlotte Lehan is our candidate for ChairPerson of the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners, fighting against the Chamber of Commerce and special interests who want to commercialize valuable farm property south of the Willamette River.

In Oregon we vote by mail so this is vote tampering by people reviewing and counting the votes.

This is not surprising considering the amount of money going into defeating Lehan by SuperPac run by a state beer distributing company.

I'm glad to read that this is being taken seriously by the Department of Justice.

These Repugs will stop at nothing.

Keep posted as this unfolds. Someone should go to jail.

Zwyziec

[sinkingfeeling]

26. No, it's not 'clear voter fraud'. It's election fraud when somebody working in

the elections office modifies any ballot!

[DirtyDawg]

28. This is not...

...something that's been happening through osmosis or mental telepathy. This is either part of Republican DNA or they're following a formal game plan that lists all the ways they can go to to steal another one, or both. If this sumbitch gets stolen...again, then who the hell wouldn't take to the streets...no more 'moving on' or 'the good of the Country'. This time they'll have to shoot us.

[4sanity]

29. Clackamas Cty elections

My wife and I are Democrats and have worked for the elections office in question for several election cycles under Sherry Hall. We can say unequivocally that nothing untowards ever occurred while we were in that office. It is located in Gladstone on Portland Ave., just 2 blocks north of City Hall, where I served on city council. Furthermore, I personally have never heard any credible complaints about Sherry or anyone else in that office. We tried to conceive of how this system could be beaten and we couldn't do it. There are many safeguards in place and the office is totally bi-partisan. Just thought we would weigh in with some personal knowledge.

[Coyotl]

32. Will you explain how ballot security is assured?

What if a person just pretends to be in the other party, can simple collusion overcome the system?
When are the ballots counted? Where are they stored? Who has access to the ballots during the process?

[4sanity]

44. Access is extremely limited

You are a paid employee, even though we volunteered not knowing that. So that means SS check, address check, etc. I don't have time at the moment to explain the whole system as it is understandably complex, yet, simple if that makes any sense. I would recommend our vote by mail to anyone.

[defacto7]

54. I would recommend Oregon's vote by mail to anyone as well.

It's exemplary.

It does not mean however, that it's uncrackable. But it does seem that someone tried to mess with the system and was caught. So the safeguards are working in that respect.

[classof56]

48. And here I thought our vote-by-mail system was bullet proof. Darn!

Again, republicons come through with their ugly and illegal actions, determined to undermine our democracy.

According to my Oregon Voters' Pamphlet FAQs:

Q: Can anyone find out how I've voted once I mail (or drop off) my ballot?
A: No. All ballots are separated from the return envelopes before the ballots are inspected. (I take that to mean they remain in the secrecy envelope until the counting begins on election night.) This process ensures confidentiality.

Q: Can the public watch the election process?
A: All steps of the process are open to observation by the public. Contact your county elections official to make arrangements.

It's clear this person broke the law, it was called to the Secretary of State's attention, who investigated and turned it over to the OR Department of Justice, which prosecutes criminals. I hope this woman does time not only in the Clackamas County jail but the State Pen in Salem.

I now fully understand that republicons have no shame about their actions. What a sorry state of affairs!

OBAMA/BIDEN 2012

[Vanje]

91. There was this

http://ouroregon.org/sockeye/blog/our-oregon-statement-sos-office-orders-clackamas-county-clerk-sherry-hall-reopen-signat

[bvar22]

31. Of all the ways to vote in America,

Voting-by-Mail is the LEAST secure and easiest to steal.
It is convenient, but who really knows if their vote is correctly counted, tabulated, and reported after they drop it in the mail box?

Exit Polls are the international touchstone for election verification.
This is impossible with Vote-by-Mail.

There is only one way to have a secure election:

*One Day Voting, national holiday, polls open 24 hours

*Vote In Person, paper ballot, deposited in a transparent ballot box
(I like the Purple Finger voting in Iraq!)

*Multiple independent Exit Polls

*Votes counted in public with video Internet feed (a la casino) at the polling station,
results posted on the door.

*Ballot boxes remain in public and video surveillance at the polling station, until the election is certified.
NO boxes moved to another location for "recounting".
Absolute public and video chain of custody at the Polling Station.

When most 3rd World countries have more transparent and accountable elections than we have in the USA, we have a BIG problem.

I wonder WHY the leadership of BOTH dominant Political Parties refuse to address this most fundamental issue....
or even hint that we might have a problem with our elections?

[LiberalArkie]

33. Why don't the parties address the problem: It is just a game to them.

[tblue37]

69. I keep saying that some powerful folks on the Dem side must also be benefiting from the hackable

electronic machines. My guess is that some of them, especially the less liberal ones, have agreed to go along with the fraud in order to be protected from primary challenges on the left.

[eyewall]

41. Exit polls did expose obvious fraud with machine voting in Ohio

but nothing was done about it.

My son in Portland OR, in the 2004 election, was a victim of the republican registration fraud where people were registered on the street and then their reg was thrown away if they were a Democrat. That was exposed and investigated, found to be a company working for the RNC and doing this nationwide but I don't remember them being prosecuted.

[Coyotl]

58. The Republicans have been sprouling voter registrations this year too

and someone was caught and charged.

[JEB]

34. Class C Felony

5 years and well deserved.

[Smilo]

35. OMG - cheats. liars, thieves - just the typical GOPT sycophantic morons

who do all they illegally can to see Romney elected.

[loudsue]

36. I seriously suspect the same thing is going on in our elections office in NC

And there is no doubt in my mind that the racists are going to do EVERYTHING in their power to do this across the country to try to get Obama out of office.

Oregon should re-do the entire election, and publicize this felony blanketing the air waves and print with the REPUBLICAN WRONG DOING.

We need to change the laws in this country to make election fraud a mandatory prison offense. And for those who are IN CHARGE of elections, the prison term should be very severe, since they are charged with the public trust. Betraying that trust should be punished most severely.

[reflection]

38. If guilty, LONG prison sentence.

We've got to send a message on this sort of thing. This undermines our basic foundation as a nation.

[davidpdx]

39. I am from Oregon and have lived in Clackamas County

for four years. I hope this shit gets sorted out. When you fuck with free and fair elections I think a public flogging should take place followed by jail time.

[eyewall]

42. My wife and I voted in Clackamas too.

The thought of my vote being thrown away by a republican is infuriating. I'm going to look into this and demand a recount for concerned locals to check that their vote was not destroyed, if they can do that. It might violate the voter anonymity laws.

[LiberalAndProud]

43. I wonder who caught her.

That would be a interview I'd want to read.

[Melinda]

46. Slow burning K&R

[AtomicKitten]

47. Goddammit!!!

[Coyotl]

49. This story is spreading to other media rapidly and implications are coming to light

Oregon County Elections Official Under Investigation For Ballot Tampering
By Aviva Shen on Nov 2, 2012 at 3:11 pm
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/11/02/1132771/oregon-county-elections-official-under-investigation-for-ballot-tampering/

"The state elections office has twice had to monitor the county elections office. In 2011, an elections director had to step in when county clerk Sherry Hall accepted invalid signatures for a Tea Party-backed urban renewal petition."

============

Clackamas County Chairwoman Charlotte Lehan's campaign considering legal action after state launches ballot tampering investigation
By Yuxing Zheng, The Oregonian - http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-city/index.ssf/2012/11/clackamas_county_chairwoman_ch_1.html
on November 02, 2012 at 10:06 AM, updated November 02, 2012 at 11:59 AM

OREGON CITY -- The campaign of Clackamas County Chairwoman Charlotte Lehan is considering launching legal action before the Nov. 6 election in the wake of a state investigation into possible ballot tampering at the county's Elections Office.
...........
The tampering "was a Republican effort," and Lehan's campaign is considering asking the Secretary of State's Office to step in and run the election, said Chris Edmonds, Lehan's campaign manager.

"This is clear voter fraud," Edmonds said. "Clackamas County might not be the best body to handle the election process."

Lehan is a Democrat. She faces former Wilsonville Mayor John Ludlow, a Republican, for the nonpartisan chair seat.

[Coyotl]

50. DailyKOS : Clackamas County Oregon GOP ballot officials fill in GOP on blank ballots

Fri Nov 02, 2012 at 12:30 PM PDT - http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/02/1154413/-Clackamas-County-Oregon-GOP-ballot-officials-fill-in-GOP-on-blank-ballots
Clackamas County Oregon GOP ballot officials fill in GOP on blank ballots

How deep is the infection. We have people in vital positions causing mayhem in voter's trust in the system.

And the perpetrators overwhelmingly have one thing in common:

[JEB]

52. The GOP appears

more and more to be nothing more than a criminal organization. I'll vote for a Republican as soon as Tom McCall runs again.

[defacto7]

55. Tom McCall

That's when Republican meant something different than it does now.

[JEB]

59. Oregon at one time had decent people representing both parties,

but the GOP has driven the sensible, the sane, even the truly conservative away. They have distilled themselves down to the delusional, crooked, extreme radical ideologues.

[JEB]

60. Yep.

McCall's been dead almost 30 years so not likely to run again and if he could the current GOP would have nothing to do with him.

[Coyotl]

63. What a juxtaposition to McCall, Wilsonville developers today might not tolerate a Tom McCall

Somehow this is a microcosm of the the big ring. Greed and money and power seek to expropriate public interest from the public to impose their interests, more profit irrespective of public cost. Corruption all too readily follows greed and money. Sad to say about Tom McCall's party, but the Rs are corrupted by the wrong values, if greed and power can be elevated to the category "values". And they cloak that tent with the costumes of other issues to control the electorate, knowing that voting matters. They know it all too well when their corruption leads to needing to rig the results to achieve their selfish ends.

[Coyotl]

53. Benefactor of "alleged fraud" comments "He ... is comfortable with the vote count continuing."

http://www.opb.org/news/article/doj-investigating-clackamas-county-tampered-ballots-allegations/

Chris Edmonds is a spokesman for Clackamas County Commissioner Charlotte Lehan's re-election campaign.

He says the campaign has learned the DOJ investigation centers around ballots cast for three races, including two hotly contested county commission seats.

..........

Lehan's opponent, John Ludlow, says he has little information about the allegations, but would be concerned about anyone marking ballots.

He says he has confidence in Hall's administration, and is comfortable with the vote count continuing.

[defacto7]

56. sure he does...

[JEB]

57. Comfortable

indeed. Not somebody I would want in a position of authority.

[blkmusclmachine]

64. Doesn't surprise me. I expect to see shenanigans nationwide. It's the only way the GOP can "win."

[0rganism]

67. it just got caught here, it's probably happening all over the place

If we're going to survive as a nation, we absolutely have to find a way to keep criminals from getting this close to the engines of democracy.

Side note: please, if you have time, add your voices to the comments section for these and similar articles. Don't let republican zealots dominate the discourse unchallenged!

[fascisthunter]

68. The Mainstream Media will ignore it, but if it were a Democrat, they'd make it...

... a week long subject, because the media sucks up to it's highest bidder. Fuckers! Welcome to privatized tyranny... you idiots!

[Coyotl]

70. Picked up by The Brad Blog, UPI, PBJ

Nothing yet on AP, other major newswires. Andy Giegerich mistakenly calls it voter fraud and writes " state offered no further information on whether the violations were widespread." We should not assume this only impacts local races. Congressional candidate Kurt Schrader (D) is in a somewhat conservative district and has had close elections.

==============
Oregon Dept. of Justice Confirms Investigation of GOP Ballot Tampering in Clackamas County
By Brad Friedman on 11/2/2012, 5:01pm PT - http://www.bradblog.com/?p=9687

==========
U.S. News
Report: County worker altered ballots
Nov. 2, 2012 at 5:32 PM - http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2012/11/02/Report-County-worker-altered-ballots/UPI-15341351891971/

OREGON CITY, Ore., Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Oregon prosecutors said they are investigating possible felony violations involving a Clackamas County elections worker who may have tampered with ballots.

Willamette (Ore.) Week reported an elections worker is alleged to have filled in blanks on ballots returned to the county ...

=======
Clackamas elections office faces investigation
Portland Business Journal by Andy Giegerich staff writer
Nove2, 2012, 1:44pm PDT - http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2012/11/02/clackamas-elections-office-faces.html

On the eve of a critical local vote, the state of Oregon is investigating Clackamas County’s election division for possible voter fraud. .....

Tampering with ballots is a criminal felony in Oregon.

The state offered no further information on whether the violations were widespread or what the implications on the election results could be.

[JEB]

77. Firedoglake

had it as well.

[Coyotl]

72. U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader calls alleged ballot tampering in Clackamas County 'sneaky, underhanded'

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014289124

Source: Oregonian - By Yuxing Zheng, Nove 02, 2012

OREGON CITY -- U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader this afternoon blasted a case of possible ballot tampering in Clackamas County, saying the incident could undermine the integrity of Tuesday's results as well as Oregon's vote-by-mail system.

.....

Schrader, a Democrat running for re-election in the Fifth Congressional District, which includes Clackamas County, said the worker's actions, if proven, are "sneaky, underhanded, disrespectful and Machiavellian."

"That is absolutely the worst crime against humanity in this country that I can think of," Schrader said. "That person deserves the worst penalty that could possibly be given under the judicial system."

....

"It's going to put a big black mark on Oregon like Florida that makes up its election results without any integrity," he said. "The one thing we have in this country is a representative democracy, and right now, it's under siege. People don't trust the results. I don't want to end up like the Soviet Union."

Read more: http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-city/index.ssf/2012/11/us_rep_kurt_schrader_calls_all.html

====================
Are Republicans rigging a U. S. Congressional Race?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251205010

With the report alleging "election fraud" in Oregon City, some serious questions come to mind:

"Which races are impacted?" Is one of them an oft-contested U. S. Congress seat?



.... http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251205010

[condoleeza]

73. "That is absolutely the worst crime against humanity in this country that I can think of"

Well, Kurt, it's a crime, but "That person deserves the worst penalty that could possibly be given under the judicial system." Think he's stretching that a bit.

[Permanut]

74. Update Nov 3 8:00 am..

Local affiliate of Fox News (KPTV Portland Oregon) is referring to this case as "voter fraud". Anyone surprised?

[truthisfreedom]

75. Anytime you see faux news say anything about voter fraud you know it's ELECTION FRAUD.

Dog whistlers.

[Permanut]

76. zackly.

[JEB]

78. Republican Fraud

is what this is.

[nolabels]

92. Isn't that a reduntant term?

[Coyotl]

79. Willamette Week comments

The WW broke this story and has sources saying the ballot fraud was Republican. In other words, marks were placed on ballots to vote Republican, at the very least. Assume nothing, I say, about how ballots may have been corrupted to cancel existing Dem votes too.

Anyway, the comments on the WW page are interesting:
http://www.wweek.com/portland/blog-29390-department_of_justice_investigating_alleged_ballot_fraud_at_clackamas_county_elections.html


Conservative writes:

"Obviously this election worker is a liberal plant attempting to make republicans look bad.
IS THERE NOTHING YOU WON'T SINK TO OBAMA?"

O.K., let me see if I understand the logic here, Obama must have visited Oregon City and convinced a Republican operative to do five years in the pen just to make Republicans look bad. Wow, that's one very convincing Obama. A man that clever sure gets my vote.

Boles writes:

"Rumors of voting impropriety have circulated in ClackCo since at least 1974,when I worked at a paper there. I wonder if any of the rumors were ever true."

And, posters want to blame the Dem OR SoS for the mess in Clackamas County!

Jim Hall writes:

"This has nothing to do with Secretary of State Kate Brown and everything to do with Clackamas County Clerk Sherry Hall, who is in charge of elections in Clackamas County.
If someone is "more incompetent that we thought possible" it's Sherry Hall."

[condoleeza]

81. And this just gets stickier

Coming week is going to be a long week: [link:http://www.wweek.com/portland/blog-29398-west_linn_police_stop_democratic_canvassers_from_collecting_ballots_door_to_door.html|

[Coyotl]

82. KGW T-V video - Political News = Ballot tampering reported in Clackamas County

http://www.kgw.com/video?id=177010601&sec=547797&ref=rcvidmod

Read MORE: http://www.kgw.com/news/politics/Ballot-tampering-reported-in-Clackamas-County-177010601.html

[Coyotl]

84. Investigations continue in Clackamas Co. ballot tampering

Investigations continue in Clackamas Co. ballot tampering
Wayne Havrelly @HavrellyKGW November 3, 2012 at 4:14 PM
Updated yesterday at 9:10 PM - http://www.kgw.com/news/local/Investigations-into-ballot-tampering-deepens-in-Clackamas-County-177119071.html

... "Sources told Newschannel 8 that an elections worker filled in Republican preferences on spaces that voters left blank" ....

I am always suspicious when "sources" have something to interject! How do we know what was really going on?
Is there any ballot spoilage? Which races were the target? Are races left blank so damn important you commit a felony?

Are Republicans rigging a U. S. Congressional Race? - http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251205010

It's not clear how many ballots were affected, but the Oregon Dept. of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into the alleged tampering, which is a felony offense.

"The bottom line is we are taking the allegation very seriously," said Brown. "I prioritized my phone call to the Attorney General to make sure they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

The controversy has voters in Clackamas County deeply concerned.

The whole Nation should be concerned when we discover that Republicans are working inside elections offices to alter the outcome of an election!!!

I am concerned that a whole lot more is going on here than meets the eye. My suspicion is that Rep. Kurt Schrader is the target of this action, and the object of the action is to alter the composition of the U. S. House. Until shown otherwise, that is my Occam's razor explanation.

[Lars77]

94. Faux: Oregon elections worker fired after allegations of ballot tampering

An elections worker in Oregon was fired after she was accused of tampering with ballots, in a case that has since been referred to the state's Department of Justice for investigation.

Fox 12 in Oregon reports that Deanna Swenson, who was working part-time in Clackamas County, allegedly voted for Republican candidates on two ballots where voters had left sections blank. County commissioners reportedly claimed they saw her fill in the blanks on Oct. 31.

Follow the 2012 Oregon race on FoxNews.com

Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown on Sunday announced she'll send in a second state elections official to watch over elections in the county.

"Voters and Clackamas County elections officials need to know that we are keeping a very close eye on the processing of ballots," Brown said, according to Fox 12.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/11/06/oregon-elections-worker-fired-after-allegations-ballot-tampering/#ixzz2BSaHmwMZ