Voter intimidation by phone
October 30th, 2008
More intimidation tactics going on… this time in phone calls claiming to be tied from Secretary of State’s office, and thankfully someone was savvy enough to question it. They’re going down in flames and so these threats will probably ramp up to fever pitch before the election.
Here’s the STrib report:
… and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie’s press release:
RITCHIE ALERTS PUBLIC TO VOTER INTIMIDATION TACTICS IN MINNESOTA
St. Paul, Minn.—Oct. 29, 2008—Secretary of State Mark Ritchie today held a news conference to alert citizens to voter intimidation tactics occurring in Minnesota. Ritchie warned voters of telephone calls from individuals falsely claiming to be associated with the Office of the Secretary of State raising questions about the voting practices of the person being called.
“We have a proud tradition of free and fair elections in Minnesota,” Ritchie said. “Mis-representation and voter intimidation will not be tolerated.”
Ritchie’s office has alerted the Ramsey County Attorney and the Office of the U.S. Attorney to a complaint filed with the Office of the Secretary of State by a St. Paul resident. The complainant stated that he received a telephone call last night from an individual claiming to be calling on behalf of the Office of the Secretary of State and challenging his voter record. Upon further questioning, the caller also claimed to be associated with Jeff Davis, president of the organization Minnesota Majority.
“We want to let all Minnesotans know that if you or anyone in your family receives a phone call from any individual claiming to be working with or associated with the Office of the Secretary of State, politely get their name and phone number and then hang-up and immediately contact our office at 1-877-600-8683,” Ritchie said.
Allegations of voter intimidation and deceptive practices are investigated and prosecuted by county attorneys. To report voter intimidation, citizens may contact their county attorney directly or the Office of the Secretary of State at 1-877-600-8683. The Office of the Secretary of State forwards all allegations to county attorneys for further investigation and prosecution.
October 31st, 2008 at 11:43 am
The Twin-Cities news media ran wild with Secretary of State Mark Ritchie’s pretty questionable accusations (his statements were contradicted by the complaintant, who in turn contradicted his writen statement in TV news interviews), but didn’t run one second of coverage of the response by the volunteer so accused by Ritchie. Pretty darn one-sided. Here’s a portion of the volunteer’s burried statement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btX-cr4wZMg