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The campaign stunt he pulled at the Polk County Courthouse earlier this month only reveals he already has that "I'm above the law" attitude that has gotten this whole crew of Repugs caught up in their scams and scandals.
For anyone who missed the posting the NebraskaDemocrats.org web site:
Candidate accused of campaign infraction By Adrian Sanchez/asanchez@columbustelegram.com
OSCEOLA – The sign on the door notifying people the Polk County Courthouse was a polling place apparently did not stop 3rd District candidate Adrian Smith from making an appearance Oct. 24.
The sign read: Notice: The county clerk’s office has received the absent ballots, making the courthouse a polling place. Therefore, campaigning and campaign materials are prohibited in and around building.
A letter to The Telegram received Wednesday from Margaret Norton stated she was “perplexed” by Smith’s decision to enter the building even though a sign was posted. She said in the letter Smith was repeatedly warned he was not allowed to campaign in or around the building. The letter states Smith “shook hands all around and asked for votes in the coming election.”
Norton, a registered Republican and former Polk County superintendent, said the incident was brought to her attention by a friend and former county clerk who was very upset about the alleged violation.
“I had a concern because I knew it was wrong, it was illegal” and that was the reason she wrote the letter, Norton said, plus “I like Scott Kleeb,” the Third District Democratic Congressional candidate.
Clerk Magistrate Verna Davis, a registered Democrat, said Smith approached her in her office to ask for her vote.
“He actually came into my office and asked me to vote for him and gave me a campaign folder,” Davis said. “I threw it away right away, I guess I should have kept it.”
She said she was “mortified” a state legislator “ignored the fact it was a polling place.”
The 3rd District Republican candidate said Thursday the complaint was a partisan attempt by Democrats to undermine his campaign and the statements by Davis were “wrong, factually wrong.”
“This is a partisan attack, and I hope (voters) are not going to fall into that trap,” Smith said. “The Democrats have lodged a complaint that is based on a partisan tone.”
“This is a non-issue,” he said. “Democrats are very critical, and they are obviously worried.”
Smith said when he was in the courthouse no one was voting at the time, and he walked around the building to meet people.
“I introduce myself and ask people for their vote wherever I go,” he said. “I want to emphasize the fact that once it became an issue, we left immediately.”
Any person found in violation of electioneering laws can be charged with a Class V misdemeanor and may face a maximum fine of $100.
At the time of the incident, Smith was in Osceola to campaign at CJ’s, a restaurant and local gathering place. Ray Norris said there was some down time between the two appointments at CJ’s so he and Jason Klein, both registered Republicans, wanted to give Smith a tour of the area, including the historic Polk County Courthouse.
“I told him about the Polk County Courthouse and all the marble inside,” Norris said. “We wanted to give him a tour, we didn’t go to campaign. I didn’t see him hand out any campaign material.”
Klein said he didn’t “believe he gave any material out or said vote for me. He asked if anyone was in there voting and they said ‘no.’”
Norris said Smith was told by the county clerk he probably shouldn’t be there.
Nebraska Secretary of State John Gale said reports of such incidents are valuable to his office, but any investigation would have to be done by local authorities.
“(Deputy Secretary of State for Elections) Neal Erickson and I have faced this issue a number of times and have determined our office policy is we will not conduct an investigation because we are not a law enforcement office,” Gale said. “Such matters would be turned over to the local law enforcement office for investigation and they would make a decision.”
Polk County Assessor Linda Anderson, a registered Republican, said Smith visited her office and shook hand with her, but understood it as a polite gesture between two individuals.
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