Media Matters: Union Leader Editorial Off Base

Media Matters weighs in on the Union Leader editorial in support of voter photo ID legislation and calls James O’Keefe “a surprising source for a mainstream publication to cite.”

SB 289, the Union Leader editors argued, is necessary to protect the integrity of New Hampshire’s electoral results from the corrupting danger of rampant voter fraud. Their evidence? The work of discredited liar and undercover videographer James O’Keefe, whose attempted investigation of “voter fraud” in New Hampshire last January drew rebukes from election law experts who believed his scheme may have broken the law.

Project Veritas, which is run by O’Keefe, is a surprising source for a mainstream publication to cite, given his history of lies, deception and hyper-partisanship. More importantly, O’Keefe’s “sting” in New Hampshire didn’t come close to establishing that voter fraud has been committed in New Hampshire at all, much less on any scale that would affect the outcome of an election.

“In fact,” the report concludes, “the specter of a voter fraud epidemic is largely a figment of right-wing imagination.”

Voter Fraud: That’s the Best You’ve Got?

House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt and GOP Reps. Shawn Jasper and Shaun Doherty recently published an op-ed in the Concord Monitor, “No need for fear-mongering,” which consisted of 12 paragraphs of fear-mongering. Voter fraud is rampant, they wrote. “Here in New Hampshire, we have no tangible way of ensuring” fair elections.

“We deserve honesty from House leaders,” responded three officials from the League of Women Voters of New Hampshire who proceeded to demolish every purported example of voter fraud provided by Bettencourt et al.

Bettencourt’s only allegation of voter fraud in New Hampshire was the James O’Keefe video scam. “There is no reason to believe that New Hampshire citizens engage in such un-American behavior,” the League writers countered.

Bettencourt claimed that more than 950 ballots cast in South Carolina’s presidential primary were from the “nonliving,” and nearly 100 non-citizens in two Florida counties had voted for years. The League writers explained the South Carolina Election Commission did not find a single “nonliving” voter and Florida investigations found only four non-citizens who had voted — out of over 500,000 registered voters.

Bettencourt pointed to the closeness of the Iowa caucuses as a reminder that “voter fraud is indeed real.” (?) The League writers answered, “We have close elections and many recounts, but voter fraud has never been given as a reason for a recount.”

The League writers could have taunted Bettencourt by asking, “That’s the best you’ve got?” They were a bit more restrained, but no less tough, in their conclusion.

It’s clear the authors of the column have never listened to or read any of the testimony from the many organizations — a majority at every hearing — that oppose photo ID to get a ballot. Those opposing photo ID believe creating barriers to the constitutional right to vote, especially for the elderly and disabled, is wrong. House leadership’s ranting about race-baiting and fear-mongering is offensive, an insult to our citizens and unworthy of anyone who holds elected office.

RLCNH: Voter ID Laws Prevent Disenfranchisement

An obvious concern with voter ID laws is that the procedures intended to prevent fraudulent voting will disenfranchise some legitimate voters.

Voter ID supporters could argue that the procedures will not, in fact, deprive any citizens of their right to vote. The Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire takes a different tack with this gem, using the propaganda technique of inverting customary meanings to redefine and co-opt the word disenfranchise.

a voter ID bill is necessary to ensure that legitimate voters are not disenfranchised by votes from people who shouldn’t be voting.

George Orwell would be proud.

WMUR Survey: Voters Oppose Two GOP Initiatives

The latest WMUR Granite State Poll surveyed Granite State adults on several high profile issues being debated in the legislature. The results show an electorate at odds with two of the key initiatives being promoted by the House Republican leadership.

• Opposition to repeal of same-sex marriage is overwhelming

New Hampshire adults oppose repeal of same-sex marriage by a 59 percent to 32 percent margin. Among those who feel strongly about the issue, opponents of repeal outnumber supporters by a 2-to-1 margin with 48 percent strongly opposing repeal compared to just 23 percent who strongly support it. These figures have remained remarkably constant over the past year in earlier surveys from WMUR and Voter Consumer Research.

• Support for a constitutional amendment to prohibit a state income tax is far short of the required two-thirds majority

New Hampshire voters are evenly divided on a a proposed constitutional amendment to prohibit a state tax on income. 39 percent of those surveyed said they would vote for the amendment, 41 percent would oppose it. The House-passed amendment requires Senate approval before being presented to the voters. A two-thirds majority vote would then be required to amend the state constitution.

• Granite Staters support voter photo ID legislation

One Republican issue that does appear to have broad support is requiring voters to present photo identification in order to vote. 68 percent expressed support for a voter ID law compared to 24 percent who oppose it. The support crosses partisan lines with majorities among Republicans (87 to 10 percent), Independents (69 to 22 percent) and Democrats (52 to 37 percent ).

The Granite State Poll is sponsored by WMUR-TV and conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center. 527 New Hampshire adults were interviewed between January 25 and February 2, 2012 for the survey, which has a +/- 4.3 percent margin of error.

What did the Speaker Know and When Did He Know It?

Did state House Speaker Bill O’Brien have advance knowledge that James O’Keefe would be sending his associates to obtain New Hampshire primary ballots using the names of deceased voters? Did he get a sneak preview of the video before it was made public? Writing in The Lobby, the anonymous “Mr. Snitch” suggests he did.

Bully’s sure been busy now that the session is in full swing. So busy, in fact, you’d think he wouldn’t have the time to act as a production consultant with James O’Keefe, conservative activist, pretend journalist and Mama’s Boy (what else do you call a 27-year-old male son who still lives at home, nicely ensconced in Mom-and-Pop’s North Jersey manse, Snitcherinos?)

Turns out Jimmy the Jerk, a convicted felon BTW, gave Bully a heads up on his little voter fraud skit. Explains why Bully was all set with his righteous indignation sound bites for Channel 9 after the video magically appeared.

O’Brien “Saw Fit to Inflate His Cause with Hot Air”

The title of the Keene Sentinel editorial reviewing the James O’Keefe voter fraud gotcha video gets right to the point: “Right-wingers try a new tactic to justify suppressing the vote.”

The piece warns against using the stunt to justify legislation that would restrict voting rights and nails House Speaker Bill O’Brien for asserting that the revelations threaten the New Hampshire primary.

He saw fit to inflate his cause with this hot air: “I’m afraid — I hope it doesn’t come down to this — it challenges our first-in-the-nation primary position.”

If the state ever does lose its presidential primary status, the Speaker can rest assured that revelations by gotcha-video actors posing as dead people won’t be the reason; more likely a cause would be the existence of a law that suppresses the vote of people who are still alive.

Quote of the Day: Endorse the Garbage

“We know it was a bad week for the House speaker, what with his Newt Gingrich endorsement fizzling out and all. But did he really endorse the garbage O’Keefe grinds out all to serve his voter ID agenda?”

— Jeff Feingold, Editor of New Hampshire Business Review, on state House Speaker Bill O’Brien.

D.J. Bettencourt Defends Fraudulent Voter Video

State House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt today defended the James O’Keefe video in which O’Keefe’s associates secretly videotaped themselves receiving ballots using the names of recently deceased registered voters.

Bettencourt questioned those who have called for the perpetrators of the hoax to be prosecuted by pointing out they “didn’t actually illegally vote.”

His statement puts him at odds with other Republican officials including New Hampshire Republican State Committee Chairman Wayne MacDonald and Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas. “They should be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Gatsas.

For the record, it is a violation of Federal law to procure a fraudulent ballot. “Actually illegally” voting is not required.

James O’Keefe Targets N.H. Primary

The New Hampshire primary is the latest target of James O’Keefe, the infamous right-wing videographer whose video stings have staged encounters with ACORN, Planned Parenthood and NPR.

The actors in O’Keefe’s latest escapade requested — and received — ballots yesterday using the names of registered voters who died in the last three months.

In one case, the plan was foiled by a Manchester Ward 9 voting supervisor who knew the man had recently died (but not that she was the victim of an elaborate hoax).

When the pretend voter noted he almost got away with fraud, Pilotte told him: “That would be on your conscience, not mine.”

O’Keefe — who was arrested in 2010 for attempting to tamper with phones in the New Orleans office of Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu — claimed, ”We used no misrepresentation and no false pretenses.”

Quote of the Day: Prove Your Identity

“He felt we had too many ways you could prove your identity.”

New Hampshire state Rep. Kathleen Hoelzel on why Election Law Committee Chairman David Bates opposed a proposed voter ID bill

GOP Zeal to Disenfranchise Students Could Cost State

Is the GOP zeal to disenfranchise New Hampshire students about to cost the state millions of dollars in out-of-state tuition — and result in a large tuition increase for in-state students? Norma Love has the details.

Legislation that would require residency for people who register to vote in New Hampshire could affect millions of dollars in nonresident tuition that students pay to the state’s public colleges.

[Current] law says that claiming domicile for voting purposes does not establish the person’s voting address as his legal residence for other purposes. [House Election Law Chairman David Bates] would make the voting address the legal residence and that is what could affect students’ status and therefore their tuition rates….

As in other states, New Hampshire’s public colleges rely on out-of-state tuition to subsidize in-state tuition. If a large number of nonresident students voted in New Hampshire and were deemed residents, they would begin paying in-state rates, and that loss of revenue could lead to increases in the rates charged in-state students.

Voter Photo ID: What Could Possibly Go Wrong? (Cont.)

In September, the state Senate voted to sustain Gov. Lynch’s veto of SB 129, a bill that would have required voters to present photo identification before casting a ballot. Lynch had offered a very simple, very clear explanation for his veto:

“An eligible voter who goes to the polls to vote on Election Day should be able to have his or her vote count on Election Day. SB 129 creates a real risk that New Hampshire voters will be denied their right to vote.”

House Speaker Bill O’Brien dismissed the concerns and vowed to reintroduce the measure next year.

O’Brien said the issue will be back in January, saying, “New Hampshire’s lax voter registration and balloting laws need to be improved.”

What could possibly go wrong?

Just ask Dorothy Cooper, a 96-year-old retired domestic worker from Chattanooga, Tennessee, who has missed voting in only one election in over 70 years. A new state law requires voters to show a photo ID, so Cooper headed to the Driver Service Center to get her free ID.

Cooper slipped a rent receipt, a copy of her lease, her voter registration card and her birth certificate into a Manila envelope. Typewritten on the birth certificate was her maiden name, Dorothy Alexander.

“But I didn’t have my marriage certificate,” Cooper said Tuesday afternoon, and that was the reason the clerk said she was denied a free voter ID at the Cherokee Boulevard Driver Service Center.

We’ve seen this movie before.

h/t: @HarrellKirstein