I recently talked with the local editor, Teryl Franklin, about the pro-voter fraud perspective of the story. She didn't deny the story might have had a particular partisan emphases, but pointed out they printed the article pretty much word for word from the Associated Press. The real problem here, as you'll see in the following examples, is a reliance on a news service that is becoming more conservative in they're news coverage. The other problem we're seeing is fewer people on staff reviewing story content at local newspaper companies everywhere.
I know this shouldn’t come as any surprise to those who read multiple versions of the same story, whether intentionally or by accident, to find a number of important details are either left out or buried on page nine. For example: voter fraud. For those trying to advance the myth that it actually exists, it was to hard to resist. First, let’s see how the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel started this important story:
Criminal investigations could be launched against at least six voter registration workers who tried to add dead, imprisoned or imaginary people to the voter rolls, according to the Milwaukee Election Commission and the organization that employed them. Officials are reviewing some 200 to 300 fraudulent voter registration cards, Sue Edman, the commission’s executive director said.
There was no mention of politics or even a political slant. The Wisconsin State Journal left untouched the AP version, and reported it this way:
Workers registering Milwaukee voters for a liberal group turned in hundreds of fabricated forms and many more that were incomplete, raising fears among state Republican Party Leaders of fraud at the polls.
The mythical suspicions are neatly placed. “Liberal,” “fears,” “Republican Party” and “fraud at the polls.” And that was just the first sentence.
Instead of mentioning “And even though the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) caught the fraud and reported it before the cards were turned in…,” in the very beginning of the story like the Journal Sentinel, the Wisconsin State Journal left that morsel in the Tenth paragraph, buried on page 7.
Neither paper included this more comforting bit of information that might have taken the “fear of voter fraud” factor right out completely.
According to Wispolitics.com, “Election Commission Executive Director Sue Edman said ACORN met with the election commission before it began the drive in an effort to avoid widespread registration fraud problems seen in 2004. Edman said ACORN had a “very good working relationship” with her office and that the group thoroughly reviewed every application before submitting them and brought suspicious activities to their attention … "
Add this comment from the Journal Sentinel story: …"as Alec Loftus, spokesman for the state Democratic Party, noted in a written statement, The fact is that this organization self-identified its own canvassers and reported it to the proper authorities.”
The Wisconsin State Journal missed that, and included this comment to close with this "scary voter fraud threat:"
“But (Republican Party Executive Director Mark) Jefferson said the chance for problems could be even higher this year given that Wisconsin voters are registering at a record pace. “What we’re afraid of is the election laws not being followed.”
I know, the Republican Party would never think of not following laws and gaming the election system we have now. As I recall, an all back group by the name of ACE committed voter registration fraud for the Republican Party a few years back. Or was I dreaming. But again, people would have to show up and vote before there is actual voter fraud, and it would have to be organized in a way to include a lot of people…
And it’s down the rabbit hole we go…!
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