A Stitch in Haste

So John “I won the popular vote in the battleground states” Kerry continues to lament voter intimidation -- so long as the supposedly intimidated voters were Democrats:

"Last year too many people were denied their right to vote, too many who tried to vote were intimidated," the Massachusetts senator said at an event sponsored by the state League of Women Voters.
...
"Leaflets are handed out saying Democrats vote on Wednesday, Republicans vote on Tuesday. People are told in telephone calls that if you've ever had a parking ticket, you're not allowed to vote," he said.

Of course, if Kerry really wants to build a “gentleman loser” legacy of championing election reform, then perhaps he should focus, not on Ohio, but on New York and Florida (remember Florida?), where outright voter fraud is running rampant:

Some 46,000 New Yorkers are registered to vote in both [New York City] and Florida, a shocking finding that exposes both states to potential abuses that could alter the outcome of elections, a [New York] Daily News investigation shows.

Registering in two places is illegal in both states, but the massive snowbird scandal goes undetected because election officials don't check rolls across state lines.

The finding is even more stunning given the pivotal role Florida played in the 2000 presidential election, when a margin there of 537 votes tipped a victory to George W. Bush.
...
Officials in both states acknowledge that voting in multiple states is something of a perfect crime, one officials don't have the means to catch. "I can't imagine how the supervisors would have access to that information," said Jenny Nash, spokeswoman for the Florida secretary of state. "As far as I know, cross-state registry has not been discussed."

The News' investigation also found:

• Of the 46,000 registered in both states, 68% are Democrats, 12% are Republicans and 16% didn't claim a party.



• Nearly 1,700 of those registered in both states requested that absentee ballots be mailed to their home in the other state, where they are also registered. But that doesn't raise red flags with officials in either place.

Make no mistake about it -- “snowbird voters” -- overwhelmingly Democrat -- engage in repeated and intentional voter fraud. That fraud came close to stealing the 2000 election from George W. Bush and perhaps even instigating a constitutional crisis.

Oh, and let’s remember that many of these “snowbirds,” who are smart enough to figure out how to game the system and commit voter fraud, were probably some of the same “naïve” seniors who claimed, unprovably and very conveniently, that they were “too stupid” to realize they were voting for Pat Buchanan in 2000. Yeah right.

Maybe John Kerry should decry that a little bit. But of course, there’s a difference between “count every vote” and “count every valid vote,” so don’t expect much from Kerry or any other Democrat on this issue.

This is probably the most underreported election story in years (does anyone actually read the Daily News outside of the Bronx?). But the bar has now been set, at 46,000 (and note that this number only reflects snowbirding between Florida and New York City, not the rest of the state). Any “unfair election” lamentations, especially from Democrats, that involve smaller numbers are brazen hypocrisy.

Oh, and I never blog about Election 2000 without hat-tipping this guy.



UPDATE: OpinionJournal wonders whether one of Kerry’s examples actually came from The Onion. Wouldn’t surprise me.