10-29-2008, 06:43 AM
Suit targets suspected voter registration fraud
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October 29, 2008
By JUDY MASTERSON <!-- e --><a href="mailto:JMASTERSON@scn1.com">JMASTERSON@scn1.com</a><!-- e -->
Lake County and state Republican officials have filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent 5,000 newly registered voters from casting regular ballots.
Charging that as many as 1,000 of the registrations allegedly provided by Citizen Action/Ilinois have been found to be fraudulent, Republican Party officials are asking the court to give the county clerk permission to require all Lake County voters registered by the group to cast provisional ballots "while the integrity of those registrations can be verified."
» Click to enlarge image
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna speaks about voter fraud at the Lake County Republican Party headquarters in Libertyville.
(Thomas Delany, Jr./News-Sun)
RELATED STORIES
⢠Special section: Decision 2008
Provisional ballots are counted only after registration is verified.
Lake County Republican Party Chairman Dan Venturi cited a history of close races in the county and said fraudulent registrants could "tip the balance."
"We need to keep voter confidence," said Venturi, who cited recent problems with fraudulent signatures on the nominating petitions of state Sen. Terry Link, D-Waukegan. "We want to restore the integrity of the electoral process."
Link, who is also chairman of the Lake County Democratic Party, did not return a call seeking comment.
Alleged irregularities reported last week by Lake County Clerk Willard Helander and now under investigation by the Lake County State's Attorney's Office, include fictitious names, incorrect addresses and multiple forms filled out in identical handwriting.
The suspicious registrations included one for "Princess Nudelman the fish."
In a Tuesday press conference at Republican Party headquarters in Libertyville, party officials blasted a registration application for Cordale Handy, a Waukegan man awaiting trial in Lake County Jail on a charge of vehicular hijacking.
While those charged with criminal offenses may still register and vote -- in Illinois, only those incarcerated under sentence lose the right to vote -- Handy who was last arrested in June, listed his address in September as the 2700 block of Lydia. County Clerk Helander did not return a call inquiring if jail inmates must list the jail as their address on voter registration applications.
Illinois Republican Party general counsel Brien Sheahan said the 850 "completely fraudulent" registrations raises concerns about the rest of the applications turned in by Citizen Action.
Citizen Action/Illinois issued a statement on the matter, saying that no official from the Lake County Election Board made contact "to verify relationships between particular voter registrars and Citizen Action/Illinois.
"We do not know what system Lake County uses to link voter registration efforts to a particular organization," said Lynda DeLaforgue, Citizen Action director, who said the group registered approximately 600 people in Lake County this year.
DeLaforgue said registration applications go through a "rigorous quality control operation" and are turned in through the Chicago City Board of Elections.
Sheahan said if one in five applications are bad, "it's our view that all are tainted.
"The real threat comes from not knowing if illegal votes are swaying elections," he said.
Republicans hope for a ruling "within the next 24 hours," Sheahan said.
"The purpose is to get every legal vote counted," said Andy McKenna, chairman of the Illinois Republican Committee.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/1246908,5_1_WA29_REPFRAUD_S1.article">http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/news ... S1.article</a><!-- m -->
Recommend
Comments
October 29, 2008
By JUDY MASTERSON <!-- e --><a href="mailto:JMASTERSON@scn1.com">JMASTERSON@scn1.com</a><!-- e -->
Lake County and state Republican officials have filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent 5,000 newly registered voters from casting regular ballots.
Charging that as many as 1,000 of the registrations allegedly provided by Citizen Action/Ilinois have been found to be fraudulent, Republican Party officials are asking the court to give the county clerk permission to require all Lake County voters registered by the group to cast provisional ballots "while the integrity of those registrations can be verified."
» Click to enlarge image
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna speaks about voter fraud at the Lake County Republican Party headquarters in Libertyville.
(Thomas Delany, Jr./News-Sun)
RELATED STORIES
⢠Special section: Decision 2008
Provisional ballots are counted only after registration is verified.
Lake County Republican Party Chairman Dan Venturi cited a history of close races in the county and said fraudulent registrants could "tip the balance."
"We need to keep voter confidence," said Venturi, who cited recent problems with fraudulent signatures on the nominating petitions of state Sen. Terry Link, D-Waukegan. "We want to restore the integrity of the electoral process."
Link, who is also chairman of the Lake County Democratic Party, did not return a call seeking comment.
Alleged irregularities reported last week by Lake County Clerk Willard Helander and now under investigation by the Lake County State's Attorney's Office, include fictitious names, incorrect addresses and multiple forms filled out in identical handwriting.
The suspicious registrations included one for "Princess Nudelman the fish."
In a Tuesday press conference at Republican Party headquarters in Libertyville, party officials blasted a registration application for Cordale Handy, a Waukegan man awaiting trial in Lake County Jail on a charge of vehicular hijacking.
While those charged with criminal offenses may still register and vote -- in Illinois, only those incarcerated under sentence lose the right to vote -- Handy who was last arrested in June, listed his address in September as the 2700 block of Lydia. County Clerk Helander did not return a call inquiring if jail inmates must list the jail as their address on voter registration applications.
Illinois Republican Party general counsel Brien Sheahan said the 850 "completely fraudulent" registrations raises concerns about the rest of the applications turned in by Citizen Action.
Citizen Action/Illinois issued a statement on the matter, saying that no official from the Lake County Election Board made contact "to verify relationships between particular voter registrars and Citizen Action/Illinois.
"We do not know what system Lake County uses to link voter registration efforts to a particular organization," said Lynda DeLaforgue, Citizen Action director, who said the group registered approximately 600 people in Lake County this year.
DeLaforgue said registration applications go through a "rigorous quality control operation" and are turned in through the Chicago City Board of Elections.
Sheahan said if one in five applications are bad, "it's our view that all are tainted.
"The real threat comes from not knowing if illegal votes are swaying elections," he said.
Republicans hope for a ruling "within the next 24 hours," Sheahan said.
"The purpose is to get every legal vote counted," said Andy McKenna, chairman of the Illinois Republican Committee.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/1246908,5_1_WA29_REPFRAUD_S1.article">http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/news ... S1.article</a><!-- m -->