December 16, 2005
Signature Verification

The BIAW reported some suspected double voters to the Thurston County Sheriff's Office. The incident report is here. The good news is that one of the suspected double voters has been exonerated. The bad news is:

After comparing the signatures, it was obvious that the Thurston County ballot was a forged signature by an unknown person and was mailed into the elections department for processing. As of this time, we have no suspect information or leads into the case.
I'm shocked to learn that forgeries manage to slip through the Maginot Line of mail ballot signature verification. Sam Reed, call your office.

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at December 16, 2005 12:14 PM | Email This
Comments
1. Like Stefan, "I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!"-Capt.Renault in Casablanca (1942)

Posted by: john425 on December 16, 2005 01:02 PM
2. Too bad Harold Ford, Sr- a Democrat didn't live here. He is all over it in Tennessee over one dead voter that maybe voted against one his daughters (I believe).

There just has to be one Democrat that wants to fix the election process. I mean, just one. Come on, it can't be that hard to find one, can it?

Posted by: swatter on December 16, 2005 01:09 PM
3. Swatter - seriously... you need to understand that liberalism is about aquiring and maintaining power. As is, the system works in their favor, so why would any one of them change it?

Posted by: ronin on December 16, 2005 01:17 PM
4. But remember, "There was no fraud".
Or so they keep trying to tell us!

Posted by: Michele on December 16, 2005 01:50 PM
5. Thurston county, my county....... Kim Wyman who testified for the Republicans in the trial is our auditor. She replaced Sam Reed.

Posted by: sgmmac on December 16, 2005 02:15 PM
6. This is why KC wants to do mail in ballots only. THat way they can fix the election process. I mean fix the the election process. Or is it the FIX is in the mail. OR "The FIx is IN."
The democrats really want to fix the election process. IT just it may not be the type of fix most people think about.

Posted by: David Anfinrud on December 16, 2005 03:03 PM
7. I can just hear the squawking of the LEFTIST PINHEADED CLOWNS now saying "this is merely ONE anecdotal example. You CANNOT put stricter controls in because of this and discourage people from voting!" BWAAAAAAAAACK....Buck.buck.buck.....BWAAAAAAAAACK!

My feeling is there are THOUSANDS of forged ballots statewide. Unfortunately, they are very difficult to ferret out. Wouldn't it be interesting if the SOS sent contacted every single voter credited for voting to confirm that they actually voted? As well as contact every Non-credit registered voter and confirmed that they DID NOT vote? My guess is there are some problems on both sides of this fence. What would preclude a Post Office LEFTIST activist from not delivering ballots from Republican precindts??? How many registered voters have actually checked to see if there ballot was actually credited....or not credited???? And if KingCo doesn't reconcile votes and voters precisely, how would you ever really know????

Clearly stricter controls are required.....and no matter how strict, you will still have some room for FRAUD. However, simply relying on the Post Office and some non-ID signature verification process is not ggod enough. They need some type of confirmation process.....even if it is just a statewide random sample.

Posted by: Mr. Cynical on December 16, 2005 03:48 PM
8. GASP! Yet another voting irregularity in King County! Where will it all end?

Too bad that after all this effort, it still doesn't amount to a hill of beans. You folks and the BIAW can't quite seem to get everything perfect in your endeavors, but expect as much out of a public bureau doing a far larger task.

I wonder if you'll ever get your heads out of your collective rump and realize there are far more important political issues in our time than this.

Posted by: Unkl Witz on December 16, 2005 04:04 PM
9. That's right, Unkl Wiz... pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

Posted by: libertarianobserver on December 16, 2005 04:18 PM
10. But Goldy over at HA insists that it's too late, that too many enjoy the convenience of mail ballot voting and that we should just accept it and its lower standards.

I'm sure that Goldy and all of the libs are not at all biased in their ambivalence towards mail ballots and the the lower standards for election integrity and security they produce. Afterall, the lower standards favor the current majority.

But like all things Dem, we won't hear anything about mail ballots until that day in the future when the Dems are no longer the majority. Then there will be front page stories in the Seattle PI and Times every day, and non stop TV coverage, screaming and gnashing, protests, vandalism, etc. all warning us about the horrors of mail ballots.

Of course I am making a big assumtion here that the Times and PI will still be in business at that future date.

Posted by: Jeff B. on December 16, 2005 04:18 PM
11. Hey Unkl;
Focus on some critical reading skills, it wasn't KING COUNTY, it was THURSTON COUNTY.

Posted by: Roscoe on December 16, 2005 04:32 PM
12. I just love it!!.....everytime the trolls visit SP they have to look at Dino's picture. It makes my Christmas very heartwarming!!

Posted by: Susu on December 16, 2005 05:01 PM
13. Ahhh Half-Witz interjects again half wittedly!

Seems he has his head too far up our 'our collective rump' to make an understandable reply!

Tim

Posted by: timman on December 16, 2005 05:13 PM
14. Roscoe, I think Unkl was poking fun at the paranoid partisans in these parts. It was sarcasm. You've been got.

Speaking of paranoid...

Jeff B, mail ballots are supported by a solid majority of voters in most places, red and blue. As a matter of fact, I think the red states in WA are the ones moving first to all-mail balloting.

Posted by: Bruce on December 16, 2005 05:32 PM
15. Susu--may as well let those trolls see what our next governor looks like! '-)

Posted by: Michele on December 16, 2005 05:33 PM
16. Let's see, a collective 26 comments on the whole day's blogs. Wonder why no-one reads this forum anymore. Couldn't be a lack of material.

Posted by: Unk on December 16, 2005 05:56 PM
17. Unkl & Bruce:

Maybe for once you are right - there are bigger fish to fry....

How do you like Justice Roberts and soon-to-be-Justice Alito?

Did you see those MILLIONS of voters in Iraq? Wow - it's a wonderful thing to see a Democracy being born. And to see the Democratic party die.

Posted by: Larry on December 16, 2005 06:12 PM
18. Well, Unkie Baby, it's just that we were waiting to be impressed by your rapier Witz...
Touche!

Posted by: pseudotsuga on December 16, 2005 06:22 PM
19. Unk, if it's so bad here, I suggest you not post anymore comments, because you obviously have better things to do with your time. If you continue to post comments, then we shall conclude that you DO find merit in this blog, and we shall not expect to hear you complaining about it ever again.

Posted by: Michele on December 16, 2005 06:42 PM
20. You're just trying to disenfranchise people. The more people you can prevent from voting with your foul, undemocratic load of dirty tricks, the better chance you have at the polls.

Why haven't you weighed in on this blog about the proof that Diebold machines are rigged in favor of Republicans? It's out there for any honest citizen to find--- or are you afraid of the strictures inherent in the satirically named, Patriot Act?

Posted by: Winston Smith on December 16, 2005 07:01 PM
21. Bruce... Thanks, but I remain convinced Unkl was simply in between hits off of the hooka and missed the story. Whereas Mr. Smith must have missed todays news, NOBODY including potential terrorists have anything to fear from the "strictures" of the now vanquished Patriot Act. Thank you Patty Useless and Maria Cantthinkwell.

Posted by: Roscoe on December 16, 2005 07:48 PM
22. ROSCOE: No thanks to you and your ilk. Name one terrorist who has been convicted or even caught with information gathered under the aegis of the Patriot Act? I'll help you. Zero!

The Patriot Act was for spying on Bush's political enemies, like any budding fascist dictator would want to do.

Posted by: Winston Smith on December 16, 2005 08:00 PM
23. Winston,
Anybody can hack the machines. The most likely batch of people to hack them in King County is the Democrats who control the machines. If you truly believe that they can be hacked, why aren't you screaming your head off right now over Sam Reed's new proposal to authorize more machines with less rigorous testing or whatever his latest democratic plan is now that he just released yesterday????

Posted by: sgmmac on December 16, 2005 08:01 PM
24. Winston,

That guy that runs HA named Goldy actually had one of the best suggestions that I have seen lately, so I know this state won't do it. But, his suggestion is to allow voters to prepare ballots online and print them off and mail them in. Just think, that's over 100,000 ballots in this state that wouldn't get manipulated by partisians..........

Amazing that none of his readers seemed to post any opinion on it, they were real slow to jump on the bandwagon.

Posted by: sgmmac on December 16, 2005 08:04 PM
25. You're just trying to disenfranchise people. The more people you can prevent from voting with your foul, undemocratic load of dirty tricks, the better chance you have at the polls.

Nasty little punk, aren't you? That sounds like projection.

Posted by: South County on December 16, 2005 08:25 PM
26. Winston, name ONE thing that you can't do today that you were able to do five years ago without fear of the government.

What laws do you suggest we have that would reduce the risk of terrorist attacks like we have seen around the world?

With the failure to renew the Patriot Act, our basic laws are now back to what they were before 9/11. How does that make us any safer?

As for the executive branch using its power against its enemies - look into the Barrett report. Aparently, someone high up used the IRS to harass their enemies.

As for Diebold, grab up all of that evidence and get it to the DA or sheriff. Start an investigation. Go for it. If your'e successful, then that is one less area of voting fraud that ALL of us will have to worry about.

Posted by: SouthernRoots on December 16, 2005 08:39 PM
27. Winston:
The one thing you CAN do today is post on blogs like this because our infrastructure is up, because we have had no domestic terrorist attacks, because of the PATRIOT ACT. If you can't make that connection, you are to be pitied. And now that you and your like-minded liberals have ham-strung our military into treating terrorist prisoners with "honored guest" status, I guess we should all celebrate? Do you have any idea what that probably will eventually accomplish? Well, I do. If our guys are smart, they just won't take any prisoners. Which is probably as it should be. Shoot them where they stand and be done with it.

Posted by: katomar on December 16, 2005 09:23 PM
28. Winston..You can kiss my ilk. Like so many apologist socialist cry babies, you have done nothing to personnaly further the safety and security of this country. All you do is complain and try to make it easier for those that wish to harm this country to do so. You bloviate, but you have no plan, you offer no solutions, you distain anyone who is attempting to help keep people here in the U.S. safe. If you don't want what his country has to offer, you can always work for a change. I am sure there is a Clinton with their hand out somewhere waiting to represent you and your "ILK". I'd lay off the cigar when offered though, you never know where its been.

Posted by: Roscoe on December 16, 2005 09:31 PM
29. wow!

ONE freaking vote was found to be fraudulent!

explains all the panic. glad to see that cynical translates ONE bad vote into thousands!

you people are absolutely THE MOST paranoid bunch i've ever come across!

Irony of ironies though....I recall reading when this case was disclosed in the Olympian, (umm...about 6 months back..thanks for the RECENT news blogboy) that this ONE bad vote was indeed cast for Dino Rossi. Somehow, that factoid missed the radar of good ol' Stefan.


Posted by: rossi too on December 16, 2005 10:06 PM
30. I recall reading when this case was disclosed in the Olympian, (umm...about 6 months back..thanks for the RECENT news blogboy) that this ONE bad vote was indeed cast for Dino Rossi

Nice try. The Sheriff's Office has no idea who cast the ballot, so how would they know who it was voted for? Come back when you can show us the article from The Olympian

Posted by: Stefan Sharkansky on December 16, 2005 10:13 PM
31. My goodness...

I love it when Stefan reports something that drives the liberal trolls insane! I can just hear the stomping of their little troll feet as they rush into this blog to post their blather....

What useful-idiot "tools" they are! The more post's they create in a specific topic - the easier it is to determine that topic's importance!

They are annoying and stupid..but..in an odd way..the trolls can be useful....(idiots)

Posted by: Deborah on December 16, 2005 11:42 PM
32. Slightly off topic, but I just read a wonderful comment posted on a Town Hall Blog. Copied as follows:
__________________

As Democrats and "journalists" in the mass media repeatedly pointed out, the events leading up to today's historic election in Iraq are the sole responsiblity of President George W. Bush. To him went the blame, so to him must go the credit.

The liberals derided President Bush at the onset of the war. They excoriated him as the insurgency wore on, they called him incompetent when the Sunnis boycotted the last election. And they labeled "Bush's War" unwinnable, a failure, a quagmire, and a disaster in the days and even hours before this election.

Now that the tide seems to be turning in Iraq, let not one Democrat save Joe Lieberman claim credit for supporting this endeavour - especially the likes of John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, Howard Dean, Harry Reid or "hawk" Joe Murtha.

The liberal "leadership" has taken its stand against democracy in Iraq. The liberal "leadership" falsely prophesied that our troops would fail in the mission Our President gave them. The liberal "leadership" voted againt the 11 million law abiding Iraqis who today took part in creating a government of, by and for the Iraqi people. The liberal "leadership" sought to abandon 24 million innocent Iraqis to the tender mercies of suicide bombers, toturers and beheaders. The liberal "leadership" jettisoned its own oft-stated agenda of advancing democracy, supporting human rights, promoting women's rights, and protecting children's rights, all in the name of venting its irrational, unmitigated hatred of President Bush and the Republicans who support him.

From this day forward, let the Democrats reap the ugliness they have sown. And let President Bush and our brave military forces stand honored and appreciated for their unwavering courage and fortitude in seeing us through to this historic moment.

Much remains to be done. Violence will likely continue. But it is President Bush's leadership that has gotten us this far, and it is under his leadership that democracy will flourish in lands where none existed before. The Democrats had absolutely nothing to do with it. Let no one forget that!

________________

Haven't heard it said better than that.

Posted by: katomar on December 16, 2005 11:57 PM
33. Katomar: and when we need a staging area for dealing with the coming showdown with Iran, President Bush is going to look even more the wiser when we can have a strategic ally in Iraq.

Posted by: Michele on December 17, 2005 12:14 AM
34. Katomar's post above is very important to read and understand -- it shows the TRUE intentions of the "liberal leadership" -- consider a few points:

1) Contrast the pictures of millions of Iraqiis standing in line to vote -- some quite elderly and some travelling long distances, all -- SHOWING PICTURE ID -- and then getting the purple inked finger -- horrors upon horrors -- just think of all the democraps that wouldn't be in office in this country if elections here were run that way.

2) Here we just have more and more whiners -- mail in voting -- vote on internet -- "oh - we're/they're being disenfranchised" -- CRAP -- why don't we just let "them = "liberal leadership"" vote for US??? --

3) The most telling statement in the post is the first sentence of the third paragraph of the article -- "The liberal "leadership" has taken its stand against democracy in Iraq." Just like they have here -- especially in King County --

Where the 'ell are the Feds -- oh yeh -- tied up with the liberal ecoterrorist freaks!! -- hopefully the Feds will build enough precedent in the current investigations of democrap voting fraud elsewhere in the country to help hose out this slime pit --

Posted by: Bill on December 17, 2005 05:53 AM
35. Rossi too,

I live in Thurston county and I read the Olympian every day. I'm not perfect, I could have missed an article on voting, doubtful, but I could have. I am still waiting for a prosecution of our 'felon' voter who is a lawyer and knew better. It's been a year and still we wait......

Posted by: sgmmac on December 17, 2005 06:41 AM
36. Bruce said, "Jeff B, mail ballots are supported by a solid majority of voters in most places, red and blue. As a matter of fact, I think the red states in WA are the ones moving first to all-mail balloting."

What evidence do you have that supports your assertion that "mail ballots are supported by a solid majority of voters"? I've lived in Whatcom County all my life. In the last election we all voted by mail, but we weren't given any choice about it. The voters in this county were not asked whether or not they supported vote by mail. It was NOT put to a vote for voters to show their support - or LACK thereof.

Posted by: Kathy on December 17, 2005 09:59 AM
37. rossi too - Very perceptive of you...yes, we're all just a bunch of raging paranoids here.

That being the case, what purpose do your posts here serve?

Posted by: ewaggin on December 17, 2005 11:52 AM
38. I live in Thurston County. We voted by all mail and all of our elections will be all mail in the future. We have 3 county commissioners - all democrats who voted for it. We did NOT get to vote on it either, although 70% of our county has always voted absentee. It is convienent, and the lazy electorate wants it.

Posted by: sgmmac on December 17, 2005 03:18 PM
39. Kathy, my evidence that most WA voters prefer to vote by mail is that most of them already do it. I don't have any data on how many of those support mandatory voting by mail, although counties (red and blue) are clearly moving in that direction.

Posted by: Bruce on December 18, 2005 12:02 AM
40. Yes, the lazy liberal electorate will want mail-in voting until they lose their first election. Then we will hear the same protests as we are making about the accuracy of our elections system, and then finally some action will be taken, maybe, to clean up this mess in Washington.

Posted by: katomar on December 18, 2005 11:27 AM
41. Maybe someone out there can explain it to me, but I don't wee what the problem is with going out and physically presenting yourself at your designated polling place, in person (with appropriate ID, if required), and casting your ballot. I mean, I am able to do that. It isn't hard. I may be just a broken down old ex-physicist, but it isn't all that hard for me, and doesn't take a lot of effort, physical or mental. I guess what I'm saying is, if a nobody like me can do it, surely the great, almighty, all powerful liberal elite electorate in WA state who keep telling us how much smarter and better they are than the rest of us can do as well as a dummy like me.

I know there are rare cases where one cannot do that, because of travel, foreign service, poor health, etc. And for those legitimate, legal voters who fall into these cracks, allowances should be made. But my guess is that the very large majority of voters do not come under these exceptions. So what is it, just a matter of "convenience" (really laziness), or ignorance, or stupidity, or what?

Posted by: Interested Observer on December 18, 2005 12:49 PM
42. Interested:
Convenience, laziness, ignorance, stupidity, and a willingness to either accept or facilitate one of the most inept if not corrupt elections system in the States (KCE).

Posted by: katomar on December 18, 2005 01:31 PM
43. More crooked elections by Demo-Thugs. An Honest Democrat run election - now THAT would be news!

Posted by: pbj on December 18, 2005 03:58 PM
44. That's the thing, katomar. I don't see why people have such a problem with voting in person. It must just be laziness, or stupidity, or a lack of enough interest in the process to do one little thing to help ensure the integrity of the system. I mean, I can do it, and I'm just ordinary folks. Why can't (most) others? This isn't rocket science, it's just a matter of going to your designated polling place and casting your ballot. If someone is too stupid or too lazy to do that, it makes me wonder about their capacity to participate in a system of self-government.

Posted by: Interested Observer on December 18, 2005 06:17 PM
45. Interested: There ya go!

Posted by: katomar on December 18, 2005 06:59 PM
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