FL GOP FIRES ROMNEY CONSULTANT'S VOTER REGISTRATION FIRM AFTER FRAUD REPORTED IN PALM BEACH COUNTY

[BradBlog]

Last edited Wed Sep 26, 2012, 07:22 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: BRAD BLOG



FL GOP FIRES ROMNEY CONSULTANT'S VOTER REGISTRATION FIRM AFTER FRAUDULENT FORMS REPORTED IN PALM BEACH COUNTY
Firm owned by notorious GOP operative Nathan Sproul, accused of destroying Democratic registration forms in years past, hired 'at request of RNC', still operating in several key swing states...

The Republican Party of Florida's top recipient of 2012 expenditures, a firm by the name of Strategic Allied Consulting, was fired on Tuesday night, after more than 100 apparently fraudulent voter registration forms were discovered to have been turned in by the group to the Palm Beach County, FL Supervisor of Elections.

The firm appears to be another shell company of Nathan Sproul, a longtime, notorious Republican operative, hired year after year by GOP Presidential campaigns, despite being accused of shredding Democratic voter registration forms in a number of states over several past elections.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Strategic Allied Consulting has been paid some $667,000 this year by the FL GOP, presumably to run its voter registration campaigns in the state. That number, however, does not account for another identical payment made in August. The Palm Beach Post is reporting tonight that the firm received "more than $1.3 million" from the Republican Party of Florida "to register new voters."

The firm is not only tied to the FL GOP, but also to the Mitt Romney Campaign, which hired Sproul as a political consultant late last year, despite years of fraud allegations against his organizations in multiple states.

Moreover, the firm is also reportedly operating similar voter registration operations on behalf of the Republican Party, to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions of dollars, in a number of key battleground states this year, including North Carolina, Virginia and Colorado. Strategic Allied has recently taken steps to hide their ownership by Sproul's notorious firm, Sproul & Associates.

Palm Beach County Supervisor of Election Susan Bucher confirmed to The BRAD BLOG late this evening that she turned over 106 suspicious voter registration applications to the Florida State Attorney during a meeting yesterday afternoon in Palm Beach, after the "questionable" applications were submitted to her office by a worker for Strategic Allied…

FULL STORY: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=9586

Read more: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=9586

[Optical.Catalyst]

1. I hope firing is just the beginning, criminal charges should be in the future

It is time we press to put these Republican cheaters in prison where they belong.

[yankeepants]

2. Oh yea! n/t

[Botany]

15. I wish that is but I doubt it will happen ..... Sproul & Assoc. were kicked out of South Dakota in

2004 for cheating and they just moved on to Ohio. Bush Cheney 04 paid them millions they
are part and parcel of a certain faction of the right wing power structure. No doubt Karl Rove
have them on speed dial.

[dorkzilla]

18. I've been wondering if it would be good to have the UN monitor the election?

Maybe I am naive, but I just keep thinking that the shame of having the United Nations come in to monitor this election would serve us? Firstly, it would let the GOP know that the world is watching and we're all on to them. Secondly, perhaps since historically the UN monitors "corrupt" governments and/or emerging democracies, the collective pride of the GOP would be sufficiently wounded at the mere hint of impropriety. I mean, we all know they're full of shit with their sanctimonious pretensions of being highly moral but I wonder if THEY know we know. This way there isn't any two ways about it...it's not just a Democrat's delusion. Even if we didn't have the history of the 2000 and 2004 election fraud, if this was being reported as happening in any other country we'd be the first to demand their elections be monitored.

Again, maybe I am being naive, but it seems that the GOP is up to something.

Also, I don't understand why we can't have a national system that would essentially echo an ATM transaction. This would solve 2 problems; first, given enough time (i.e. start the process right away so it will be in place by 2016) people could get all the required documents together for voter ID card which puts that bullshit "voter fraud" argument to rest. The voter would be given a card that they would put into a terminal to register their vote, which would give them a PAPER RECEIPT reflecting their actual vote (also for good measure, automatically send an email to the voter with the same information for record retention). This way, if anything untoward happens (exit polls not reflecting the alleged outcome) we would all have paper receipts as proof of our vote to facilitate the recount. The technology is already there, seems to me it would be an easy thing to do.

[CanonRay]

21. It might make sense, but...

the Right Wingers would go batshit insane. They already think black helicopters are going to land in their backyards and take their guns and bibles. If Obama ok'd the UN coming in, he'd be pilloried.

[dorkzilla]

25. I agree, they would go nuts...

...but I don't think letting a bunch of insane people call the shots is the way to go. I'm so sick of those people...my own dear brother is a Alex Jones devotee. I haven't spoken to him in a while...the last straw was a diatribe about the Admiralty Law, and how FDR essentially "sold" us to the British Royal Family. I digress, sorry.

Any action we take is bound to piss someone off...I think alienating the wing nuts is the least of our collective concerns. I don't know if monitoring would have to be okay'd by POTUS - - is that the protocol? Wouldn't that mean truly corrupt governments would never be monitored if it were up to the government in question to okay?

[RC]

28. That paper receipt would prove nothing.

The biggest problem are the voting machines themselves. They are computers and they can be programed to register your vote one way and print something else on the receipt. Receipts are not ballots anyway and would have no standing once it leaves the voting area.
Paper ballots, with fill in the ovals. Any questions, toss the electronic vote and do a hand count of the paper ballots in public, with all parties present. Who cares how long it would take. Accuracy over speed. There is no reason we need to know the winner by the 10:00 News, when the polls close at 7:00 or 8:00 PM

You are correct in needing one national system for voting in national elections, using paper ballots.

[dorkzilla]

36. Paper ballots can be shredded or go missing though...

The paper receipt could be used as proof of your vote. They could put a watermark or something on it to authenticate it so it would have standing, and also issue a unique transaction number just like they do in with ATM transactions. The system would essentially echo the modern banking system; you could log in to see your vote was registered accurately, just as you can log into your bank and see your ATM transactions, payments made etc. This method would also allow people to vote from home in real time, thus empowering shut ins and people who cannot easily get to a polling place (active duty soldiers as well). If there is a National system with tracking capabilities that can be verified and monitored by either/both parties I think they'll be less inclined to play their little games.

[RC]

40. You do understand that the Republicans own the voting machines?

ANY electronic voting by its very nature is insecure. ATM's have to do with money, so you know they have to be accurate. Short change the customer and he is going somewhere else. No way would the banks allow themselves to be short changed.

Voting is a whole different game entirely. The object here is control. Republican election fraud is rampant, with or with out electronic voting machines. Electronic voting machines just make it easier for them to commit election fraud when they own and program their propitiatory voting machines. Receipts from the machines prove nothing. What is given you, can say one thing, what the machine keeps can say something else entirely. The receipt you are given is legally worthless, once it leaves the voting area, watermarks, special paper and whatever not withstanding. It has no advantage over hand marked paper ballots. With hand marked paper ballots, you can see for sure what the voter did to it. With the receipt, only the computer knows if its record is the same as what it gave you.

Hand marked paper ballots that can be hand counted is the surest way for fair elections. Other countries do it, counting millions of ballots by hand in a few days. Why can't we?

I've been dealing with computers for over 30 years, so I know a little bit about how they work and how good, seemingly "logical" programming can result in strange results. Just because the flow chart works, does not mean the software will. Never trust any propriety computer the proven crooked opposition manufactures, owns and controls. That is what you are proposing.
Even when they are "sold", the contract stipulates who will service those machines, using their propitiatory software and firmware as the excuse.

[dorkzilla]

42. Yes, I am well aware of that.

Let's begin with the premise that nothing is fool proof. Each have their own advantages and disadvantages. What I am proposing is that we create a new system wherein the receipt given ISN'T worthless, where the tracking and verifying is just as safe as banking and you can match your record with the one that is in the computer. Paper ballots and registration forms still go missing. They used paper ballots in the Russian elections; how did that work out for them? Or Uganda? At least with an electronic vote there won't be any ballot stuffing. I've seen a link recently, forgive me if I do not have the information at hand, whereby you can log on with some information and verify that you are registered to vote...you could certainly build upon that. A person could use their SSN or the unique transaction # to verify their vote was accurately recorded.

For the record, I am not advocating the system be run by a "crooked" company. The creation and management of such a system would obviously need to be as transparent as possible with regulatory oversight. If we demand accountability and verification we can change the system. As long as people are as concerned with their vote as they are with their money it can work well.

[BradBlog]

49. Here's some help for ya, dorkzilla

No, you don't want to give receipts to voters (leads to buying/selling votes).

Here's what you need to know. Hopefully answers all your concerns, misconceptions about paper ballots, etc:

"Democracy's Gold Standard": http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7417

[dorkzilla]

52. That actually was enormously helpful, thanks!

There were some things that didn't enter into my thought process that were illustrated here. I see the error of my ways and humbly retract my suggestion. Thanks for the information!

[AAO]

46. And not only that....

Can you imagine telling all voters to bring in their receipts so we can cross check vs. the vote?

You just can't recreate an election like that.

[dorkzilla]

48. I am sure there would be challenges...

But there has to be a better system. If a count was in question, at least you'd have a paper trail to cross check. I obviously haven't got all the angles figured out, but that's where the system architects would come in. I am sure you could shoot a million holes in my suggestion but the point is what we're doing now isn't a good solution either, and just because cross checking is cumbersome doesn't mean it shouldn't be considered. This is what American ingenuity is good for - see a problem, find a solution, innovate.

[Hubert Flottz]

37. Yes it would...

We can't go on trusting hired criminals to be "Honest"

[olddad56]

53. I'm thinking other states in the south will hire him.

[asjr]

3. This may be the reason Romney feels

so cock-sure he will win the presidency.

[longship]

26. Please! They caught them.

It is difficult to do this shit when law enforcement, and an opposition party, is watching.

And they are.

[CTPatriot]

57. Really?

If it's the same opposition party that was guarding our elections so zealously in 2000 and 2004, I'm not comforted by your optimism.

[socialindependocrat]

4. Who is there left to trust in this world?

I don't mean to say that a political contractor should be trustworthy

BUT

I'm trying to say that we continue to see that we can trust no one
and even tho we have oversight committees, they seem to do nothing and have no effect - Do they just collect their salaries and neglect their responsibilities day afetr day? Like congress?

What is our future going to look like - what does it look like now?

It's just a bunch of Cosa Nostras running their own little scams on whomever they can make money off of.

It's looks like the three Stooges were really the prophetic forerunners of the John Stewart Show when they came out with their law firm called - Dewey, Cheatem and How

Some how we've got to reign in these professional scam artists - actually they are career criminals that we elect to office and pay great amounts of money to play Robber Hood and steal from the middle clas and the poor and give to the wealthy - Let's start with Lyin' Ryan - we need to make a start somewhere!

[NRaleighLiberal]

20. my wife and I ask ourselves and each other that question often....

there is no more moral compass, no value to truth - it has become money, greed, and belief system....to all of our peril.

[Vidar]

5. Sproul was hired because of numerous fraud allegations, not in spite of them.

Last edited Thu Sep 27, 2012, 02:24 AM - Edit history (1)

[Harriety]

6. and....They have the nerve to put forth crap proposals like voter ID laws

when they are doing this BS. I am glad these people got caught and hopefully many more will be found out too. I agree that Romney really doesn't care what he says or does as he thinks people like this will give him a cheaters win.

[Hubert Flottz]

38. The old trick of pointing the finger at someone else...

to take the heat off of one's own criminal activities. It's called a CON.

[oldsarge54]

7. We screwed up

Being that Republicans chant ACORN over and over again while creating these limiting voter id laws, we should have been counter chanting the Strategic Allied Consulting and the name Nathan Sproul should be on the lips of every democrat.

[JHB]

8. Read the full article for comparisons of repug registration fraud vs allegations about ACORN...

...especially since any Republican you mention this to will knee-jerk with ACORNACORNACORN. Be prepared.

[Sophiegirl]

9. Voter Fraud

Flag waving by Rs is nothing more than diversionary tactics to mask what THEY have been doing for years and years.

[Astazia]

10. Seems to me that this is a setup to prove "voter fraud" for future elections.

Their demographics show they don't have enough repukicans due to our nation having less white folks than we have had in previous elections. By proving voter fraud (and paying for it as well) the next time the courts will ask for proof & bingo...they'll have that proof!

Think about it...what we need to do is make sure to push our media & candidates to talk about this now! Otherwise we'll see how this criminal can use his own fraudulent voter registrations as proof in court.

I am not a conspiracy theorist, but this has a "stench" vibe...what do y'all think?

[cstanleytech]

12. Does this mean that technically the GOP was right about there being voter registration fraud?

Of course they just didnt mention that they are the ones committing most of it apparently.

[Botany]

13. Sproul and Associates were in Ohio 2004 up to their eyeballs

When thousands of people came to register new voters in Ohio some as "America Coming Together"
Sproul and Associates dressed up as "Move America Forward" and took voter registrations but they
pitched all democratic registrations. I know because they were active in Columbus, OH around college
campuses. Sproul and Associates were also paid for some kind of work after the 2004 election in
Ohio having to do with the recount.

[Xipe Totec]

14. RPOF? Really? They named their organization Ripoff?

That's way too easy!

[ET Awful]

16. LMAO . . . That was the first thing I noticed.

I thought the picture was a photoshop and that was some kind of clever reworking (like the edited "Faux News" logo instead of "Fox&quot .

[Lochloosa]

22. Well they hired SAC.

[Ian_rd]

17. Missing from the article is a clear explanation of the effects of registration fraud.

In addition to throwing out registrations by Democrats, are they modifying registration by Democrats so their registration is invalid and will therefore prevent them from voting?

When they change registrations to different parties and what not, what are the consequences to the voters?
When they craft registrations from nothing, what are the consequences to voters?

I'm not just critiquing, I'm asking. I don't know all these things. And it might vary in different states. I know that some states will disqualify you from voting if you are somehow registered as being in two different parties and so on.

[BradBlog]

50. Good questions, Ian

All good questions. Since I can't answer them (yet) specifically, at least in this case, I didn't include those answers.

There are a number of things that *could* be in play here, and I'm trying to learn more. Have some details, but don't want to share yet until I can confirm.

Among the things that could be in play:

+ Group gets paid ONLY for GOP registrations, thus Dem registrations must be changed to GOP.
+ Changing addresses on registrations allows for someone else to vote in the place of the real voters.
+ Changing addresses also means that if real voter shows up, their registration won't match their ID and they won't be allowed to vote.

Those are a few of the reasons that could be in play here. Hope that helps. IF I can confirm more specifics about this particular scheme, of course, obviously I will. Workin' on it...

[Ian_rd]

51. Thanks!

[groovedaddy]

19. Several years ago the head of the young college repubs

at the University of Kentucky was caught ditching hundreds or Dem voter reg cards. He was kicked out of school and prosecuted, though, as I remember the penalty wasn't all that stiff.

[malaise]

23. ReTHUGS firing one of their crooks usually

means that a new ReTHUG scumbag has taken over.

Nice to see you Brad - asked for you last week.
You deserve a Medal of Honor

[LittleGirl]

24. The BradBlog is where I go for all info regarding voter fraud, etc

His Blog has all of the information about the voter suppression and fraud. It's my go-to site for that information. I've been reading it since the 08 election and I trust Brad to supply me with that info. When Charlie White of Indiana was on trial for voter fraud, in person no less, the Brad Blog had all of the details. He documents all of the cases of voter fraud that have been convicted lately. Thanks Brad.

[SDjack]

27. Everything's under control -- we can relax. The FL Gov and AG are moving

"aggressively" on this. Unfortunately, all the DEM registration cards destroyed by Sproul are gone. And the GOP fraudulent cards that weren't detected, well, those "folks" will be voting for years.

[oliverrams1]

30. THIS IS SAD

THIS IS SO SERIOUS.

[d_r]

29. But Acorn!

True Americans can do this because they have to fight to win back the country they love.

[valerief]

31. so this Sproul, after all his crimes, is still on the loose and still being hired by the GOP. nt

[cstanleytech]

34. Justice rarely touches the elite and powerful, why do you think Murdoch isnt in jail in the UK?

Because he is rich and well connected.
Why do you think Michael Milken only served 22 months in jail? Because he is rich and well connected, same for Bush, Cheney and many, many others.
It does royally suck though.

[valerief]

43. Laws are made for the wealthy--to protect them and their property. nt

[goclark]

32. tip of iceberg imo

@What can we do now?
Each day we / democratic party is learning more but doing less about a solution to the problem.

Am I wrong...yes we must get out the vote but the Thugs have stolen Our country.
Please tell me I'm wrong.






-

[Roland99]

33. And the M$M will be on this in 3...2...1...

NOT!!

[AzDar]

35. K & R

[fun n serious]

39. we have to win by a landslide.

Or we won't win.

[Rider3]

41. Cheaters

They can only win if they cheat.

[gopiscrap]

44. Hope they nail this fucker

and also make sure the rest of the country knows what these god damn repukes are up to!!!

[AAO]

45. Can we take them down like the GOP did to ACORN? n/t

[Smickey]

47. They suspect 106.

I suspect there were many more that were not caught. These were forms turned in by one operative. How many more paid operatives do they have? The hammer needs to fall and fall hard on this shitbag. Or could there be something more sinister at play here. Would the R's be willing to throw one of their own under the bus to help make their case for further voter I D laws? I know it sound a bit "foilish" (aluminum foil hat/conpiritorial) but I trust little from the Rs during this run up.

[David Zephyr]

54. Felony Racketeering.

This is interstate, organized crime and it is called "racketeering".

[brightertomorrow]

55. K & R

[freshwest]

56. Thanks Brad for giving us the latest. Some of us had just heard of Sproul's contract. Good news.

Thanks so much, have updated a previous thread made today. on DU, before this event and linked it to here.