Ohio Crossover Votes, Rush Limbaugh, and RICO
Limbaugh is guilty of encouraging others to commit fraud at the voting booth. Certainly such crime ought to be investigated on a federal level, but it’s doubtful any such thing will happen. What a miserable excuse of a human being, though that assumes that he is in fact human.
Isn’t it against the law to organize a bunch of people to break the law? It seems now that is exactly what Rush Limbaugh did when he urged Republicans to cross over and vote in Ohio’s Democratic primaries. You see, some of those crossover voters have been bragging on the internet how they crossed over and even convinced poll workers that they were really Democrats. What they probably didn’t know is the whole crossover thing isn’t just a little prank done at the prodding of their fearless leader Rush Limbaugh. It’s a crime. From wired.com:
Ohio’s revised election code includes an election falsification clause (Revised Code 3513.20), which says that if a voter who changes parties is challenged by poll workers as to the sincerity of his change of heart and also signs an affidavit stating that he supports the principles of the party to which he’s changing — when in fact he doesn’t support them — then he would be committing election falsification. Election falsification is a felony that is punishable by six to twelve months in jail and a $2,500 fine.
It’s clear that cross-over voting occurred in large numbers in Ohio this year. The Ohio secretary of state’s office doesn’t have statistics yet on how many voters crossed parties in the primary (it’s still compiling them), but the Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that in Cuyahoga County alone, the state’s largest county, at least 16,000 Republicans switched parties for the primary.
Gosh, my own brother might be one of those crossovers. Now there’s no doubt these folks were dishonest. As the wired.com article notes, many of them are gleeful in bragging about their exploits on the internet. As the article also notes, they will not be prosecuted. So Rush Limbaugh is likely to get off without any penalty for inciting others to criminal acvtivity this time. It’ll just be one more instance that proves the man is a miserable excuse of a citizen, whether he is spreading divisiveness or trying to undermine our electoral process.
Of course, the notion of shame is alien to him. That goes without saying. It also goes without saying that the mainstream media won’t touch this item.
media might cover it if people start waving signs at their local limbaugh talk radio station.
anyone who underestimates or ignores the importance of talk radio in getting us into this bush disaster only has to look at this small scale example.
Is this not the same thing Marcos of dailykos did by asking Democrats to vote for Mitt Romney in Michigan. I realise it was a primary that was not counted but still it was wrong IMO.
Not defending the jerk Limbaugh but….
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/1/10/2713/87225/55/434206
Hey, casam. It is spelled “Markos,” as you can find on the front page of that site.
To that end, Michigan has no law such as Ohio has, where when challenges people who change their registration must swear that they uphold the principles of the party they are switching to. So, no, it is not the same. Most folks who can read would figure that out.
I think that by organizing and encouraging people to commit crimes one is guilty of conspiracy to commit that crime.
I think that Rush must be a cartoon character inside a people suit, because he is cartoonisly stupid, repugnant and felonious.
Dittoheads are even dumber and meaner-spirited, and they’ll do whatever Rush tells them.
Read more at votelessness.com.
Democracy is a joke.
There was a similar talk radio campaign in the Mississippi primaries, and 26% of Senator Clinton’s votes were from Republicans.
felony-shmellony. this is just progressives, formerly known as liberals, formerly known as socialists, formerly known as communists, formerly known as progressives trying to criminalize politics. forget michigan, democrats crossed over in record numbers in NH, SC, and FL to vote for mccain. WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND
I can vote in any primary I choose for who every I choose regardless of my political affiliation
TITLE 42 > CHAPTER 20 > SUBCHAPTER I > ยง 1971
(b) Intimidation, threats, or coercion
No person, whether acting under color of law or otherwise, shall intimidate, threaten, coerce, or attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any other person for the purpose of interfering with the right of such other person to vote or to vote as he may choose, or of causing such other person to vote for, or not to vote for, any candidate for the office of President, Vice President, presidential elector, Member of the Senate, or Member of the House of Representatives, Delegates or Commissioners from the Territories or possessions, at any general, special, or primary election held solely or in part for the purpose of selecting or electing any such candidate.
Looks like dittohead and “Read the Law” have no clue about what the Ohio law is. Yes, anyone can claim they are Democrat and switch party registration in Ohio, but they must also swear under threat of perjury that they support the principles of the Democratic Party. If they swear as such, but lied, then by Ohio law that is a crime. Yup, a felony.
dittohead? Ohio law does not apply to New Hampshire, South Carolina or Florida. It is a state law for the state of Ohio. As such, it only applies to the State of Ohio. Yup, you got it. Thats a state’s rights thing, something Republicans used to support. ReadtheLaw? You are quoting a federal law. As such that has nothing to do with voter registration in Ohio for purposes of voting in partisan primaries. Yes, your comment is beside the point also.
Idiots. These points are in the above article, then repeated later in the comments. Reading is Fundamental, but you seem only to be exercizing your fundaments — following that big fundament, Limbaugh, I’d guess.
This dopey Ohio lawyer is just screaming “Thought Crime!!!!!”.
“swear under threat of perjury that they support the principles of the Democratic Party”? And what is that?Undermining the country? Traitorous behavior?Obstruction of the legilative process?Undermining national security?Anti-Americanism?Socialism?Communism?
Segregation?States rights? What are the principles of the Democratic Party?
This Ohio law sucks. Freedom loving Michiganders (militiamen) should launch an invasion, take over the Ohio legislature and overturn such stupid fascist laws.
Hah!!!!!
Haha. Bunch of sour grapes from a bunch of crybaby liberals. If the Democratic campaign was settled on a presumptive nominee and the Republicans were in the middle of a battle with each other right now, you all know damn well that just as many Democrats would be crossing over to interfere with the Republican campaign. You libs can dish it out all day, but you can’t take it. Get over it and just try and win in november. I mean seriously, the Democrats could screw up a wet dream.
Steven Reynolds wrote: “You are quoting a federal law. As such that has nothing to do with voter registration in Ohio for purposes of voting in partisan primaries.”
First, the Federal Law in question is from the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It damn well does apply.
If we take your argument to it’s logical conclusion, it would be legal for states to collect a poll tax, because after all, you said this was a state’s rights issue. Try that, and see how far you get.
Second, not only is this a Civil Rights issue, it is also a Constitutional issue. The right to vote is an expression of free speech. Even if you wrongfully consider this law a state’s right issue, he state of Ohio cannot impede on the Constitutional rights of the voter.
Third, Ohio does NOT register voters by party. If they did, then the state would be a closed primary state. But the facts show us that Ohio is an open primary state, where voters do not declare a party when they register to vote.
Finally, you can rant and rave about Ohio law all you like, but the fact is no one is going to be charged in this case. The Democrat Ohio SoS, Jennifer Brunner, is much smarter that you, she understands that the Constitutional rights of the voters cannot be tramped.
Why is it the left who always wants to take away my rights??
Now who is the idiot? Look in the mirror, and you will see who it really is.
“Brunner told The Dispatch on Friday that she believes the board is on sensitive ground because voting is the the form of free speech that enjoys the greatest constitutional protection. All the more reason why she should communicate this message forcefully to Cuyahoga County officials.”
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/editorials/stories/2008/03/23/crossover.ART_ART_03-23-08_G4_6A9N1MJ.html?sid=101