Right hypes false accusations of N.H. voter fraud
Last month, the state’s right-wing media hyped an account of alleged voter fraud that had all the elements of a sensational story. Ed Naile, chairman of the Coalition of New Hampshire Taxpayers, had uncovered incontrovertible proof that a Democratic activist cast ballots in both New Hampshire and Pennsylvania in 2008 and in 2012.
One month later, the allegations have been completely discredited – but not before tarnishing the reputation of an innocent voter, Wilton town officials and the state’s secretary of state.
Allegations of voter fraud
On October 8, GraniteGrok’s Steve MacDonald broke the story. “Ed Naile at CNHT has documents that confirm that Jared S. Cram cast votes in both (Wilton) New Hampshire and (Philadelphia) Pennsylvania in 2008 and in 2012. In 2012 records indicate Jared S. Cram voted in the primary and the General elections in both states. Records indicate that he also voted in both states in 2008.”
Naile, who has long maintained the state is rife with voter fraud, followed up with posts calling Cram a “dumb ass” and a “pretentious gas bag.” Naile asked, “Does the S. stand for scumbag or stupid? You decide.”
Republican state House candidate Frank Edelblut jumped on the bandwagon. During a Wilton candidates’ forum, The Cabinet reported Edelblut cited the case (and voting by “illegal immigrants”) as proof that the state has a problem with voter fraud. “Right here in the town of Wilton,” he said.
Conservative talk show host Rich Girard picked up the story and confronted Cram on Twitter. “We have information that you’ve voted in both NH and PA during multiple elections,” Girard wrote. “What is your explanation? We will report.”
“You’ll report that I’ve moved between NH and PA?” asked Cram. “Your show must be short on material.”
“Nope, will report we have concurrent records of recurring voting in both states,” Girard wrote.
“Good luck. I never broke the law. If you file a false report, I’ll sue for libel,” answered Cram.
Girard responded, “[T]he records would seem to indicate otherwise…”
“Feel free to keep riling up your dimwit red base. I never broke the law and I have to get back to work. You’re blocked,” Cram answered.
“I’m blocked and you’re CAUGHT…expect more ;-)” Girard warned.
Allegations of a cover up
On October 29, Naile upped the ante and accused the state of engineering a major cover up. Naile claimed the secretary of state’s office called the Wilton town clerk’s office and ordered them to remove Cram’s 2008 voting history from their records.
“Naile gave us the details on what appears to be a cover-up,” wrote Girard. “If he is correct, NH will need a good Governor to clean up the cesspool of Voter Fraud that keeps getting messier and messier.”
Naile then ran a half-page ad (pictured at the top of this story) in the The Messenger a week before the election, which GraniteGrok faithfully reproduced. “Caught in the act,” the ad read. “Jared Steven Cram … is a lawyer from Philadelphia who campaigns and votes in New Hampshire as well as Pennsylvania. If you see him in New Hampshire next Tuesday, call Ed Naile…”
The allegations are debunked
On November 6, a reporter with The Cabinet got the facts from Wilton town clerk Jane Farrell and debunked the allegations. Farrell confirmed that Cram did vote in two different state primaries in 2012 – but she noted New Hampshire law allows a voter to cast ballots in different states if the primary elections are held on different dates.
In 2012, she explained, Cram was living in Pennsylvania and voted in the April primary there. He moved to Wilton in the summer to recuperate from a medical problem and subsequently voted in New Hampshire’s September primary election and the November general election. Simply put, there was no voter fraud
But what about his 2008 votes and the alleged cover up by the secretary of state’s office?
After the accusations were made, [Farrell] said she had received a call from the Secretary of State’s Office asking for copies of the checked voter lists for the primary elections in those years in order to verify Cram’s voting history.
“Unfortunately, 2008 was a year we purged the checklist (as required periodically by state law).”
Checklists are scanned for the archives, and one appeared to show that Cram had voted twice.
However, further checking found that the scanned copy was of Cram’s father’s name and that Jared had not voted.
“We corrected that record,” she said.
The fallout
The editorial board of The Cabinet notes the false accusation of voter fraud “has blackened the name of an innocent voter and, in the process, has made Wilton look bad.”
“You know, there might be voter fraud somewhere in the nation, perhaps even in New Hampshire somewhere, but it’s pretty clear it’s not in Wilton, despite the accusations of a group called the Coalition of New Hampshire Taxpayers,” they wrote.
“An apology would be nice,” they concluded. “By the way, even after Town Clerk Farrell clearly refuted the Coalition’s charge, it was still on the group’s website, at least as of Thursday, Nov. 6. Perhaps their web master is on vacation.”