Local Elections Taken Over? Election "Observers" being filled with Out-of-State Thugs.

Am I the only one who's got a bad feeling about volunteer "election observers" watching our every vote, or how with a few tweaks, things can get way out-of-hand? 

WISCOSIN ELECTION: On Tuesday, the Wisconsin Senate Elections and Urban Affairs Committee heard testimony on proposed administrative rules regarding the conduct of elections observers in the State of Wisconsin. The rule would allow the observers area to be no less than three and no more than eight feet away from the sign-in table which is consistent with Act 177 along with prohibiting the use of video or still cameras while the polls are open for voting. 

The drummed up fear mongering around a recent Racine election was the impetus for reform, and gave us our first glimpse into the what "election observer" intimidation is going to look like. As reported back in June of 2012 by the Root River Siren:

A complaint has been filed with the Government Accountability Board by a Racine resident which stems from an alleged act of voter intimidation by a poll observer at Jefferson Lighthouse Elementary School polling place. The poll observer has been identified as Willard Helander who turns out to be the County Clerk of Lake County, Illinois. Helander reportedly harassed and intimidated voters and even tried to prevent one voter from putting her ballot in the voting machine by following close behind and shouting at the voter.

That's not all:

The best part is the conclusion by the investigator: "Overall, the complaints filed with this office in regards to what the election observers did observe on 6-5-12 do not prove voter fraud or that a crime had occurred at any polling place. Many of the complaints received the observer had made assumptions of fraud...with no proof that had occurred. Most of the observers themselves have written in their observations that they violated those rules stated they would abide by."

So would it be crazy to believe "observers" at our polling places would start us down a very bad road?

Mary Ann Hanson of Brookfield testified on the proposed administrative rule … (that from) previous experience as an election observer during elections from the past three years that include the 2011 and 2012 recall elections … there has been a large influx of observers outside of the State of Wisconsin due to the status it holds as a battleground state in federal and some statewide elections.

Wisconsin embarrassed again by new voter intimidation, "election observer" law signed by Scott Walker.

Should we really let Republican legislators think we’re that dumb?

Has anyone else noticed that every restriction and attempt to suppress voting is meant to “safeguard fairness and the integrity of the vote?” When does this start to sound suspicious to those defending our right to vote. Yes, it should straddles party lines.

What used to be called a “poll watcher,” is now a much softer sounding “election observer.” You have to be comatose to ignore the possible and inevitable voter intimidation tactics that will result soon and years out.

Rachel Maddow noticed, and featured Wisconsin’s new Scott Walker voter intimidation tactic. Pretty soon, voting will become more and more inconvenient and almost inconsequential.

jsonline: Gov. Scott Walker has signed a bill that would allow observers to stand 3 to 8 feet from the table where voters announce their names and addresses and are issued voter numbers, or from the table where people register to vote … changes current law, which lets the chief inspector or municipal clerk designate areas for election observers to stand … the law will safeguard the fairness of elections by ensuring observers can see how they are being conducted.

In recent debate in the Senate, Democrats argued the bill could lead to longer lines at polling places and voter harassment.

Sen. Mary Lazich suggests, Let's Staff the Polling Places with Right Wing Thugs!!

Head scratching political lunacy is so common place now, that what would have been jaw dropping once, is now simply lost in an avalanche of typically eye rolling Republican law making.

As usual, I’m always happy to pass along the comments of someone who’s able to boil down right wing madness to a few easy to understand truths. The ExpressMilwaukee's Lisa Kaiser laid it out:

Doh, she's at it again....

State Sen. Mary "loony bin" Lazich (R-New Berlin) argued that Wisconsin’s elections could be run better if more poll workers were affiliated with political parties. She said that using partisan poll inspectors would “provide better administration or accountability” and at one point called elections “a political operation."

Unbelievable but true, Lazich really wants to instigate war at the polls, just another one of her dangerous partisan obsessions:

Lazich told the committee that she was inspired to take action by the June 2012 recount in Racine … Kevin Kennedy, director of the nonpartisan Government Accountability Board (GAB), disagreed with Lazich, (saying) that a subsequent election there ran smoothly. A Racine County sheriff’s investigation of complaints at polling sites in Racine during the recall found no evidence of voter fraud or ballot tampering. Instead, the investigation criticized those who filed complaints for their own improper behavior at polling sites on Election Day. Manitowoc County Clerk Jamie Aulik, representing the nonpartisan Wisconsin County Clerks Association, urged the committee to keep polling places as impartial as possible. “Keep polls as least politicized as possible,” he said.

Yet despite no wrong doing and the criticism that right wingers behaved badly, that plea to keep those Republican thugs out of our polling places fell on deaf ears.  

See if you can understand Lazich’s surreal mind bending logic:

Lazich argued that the package of six bills under discussion would help law enforcement prosecute those committing voter fraud ... Lazich said the lack of fraud was due to the lack of evidence that could be used by prosecutors. “The process is open to fraud,” Lazich said.

I’m baffled. But then, maybe that’s what she’s counting on.

Tea Party Thugs Enlist Knucklehead Rep. Don Pridemore to Push for 5 foot Voter Intimidation Bill.

One of the dumbest guys in our state assembly, Rep. Don Pridemore, is proposing the ultimate in what appears to be an outright voter intimidation bill. In his view, election observers need to be closer to voters at every stage of the process, close enough to get names and addresses or make the experience

Poll Observer? 

itself very unpleasant.

Current law allows conservative whack jobs to shout at you from 6-12 feet away; Pridemore moves that up to only 5 feet away (originally he wanted 3 feet).

Racine’s experience during the recall elections should have been a warning to everyone, but it wasn't. Shouting matches, conflicting eye witness accounts, conspiracy theories about voter fraud…what’s not to like? 

This is only the beginning of in-your-face bullying tactics surrounding elections. These are tactics you’d expect to see in third world nations.

WPR: The bill sponsored by Rep. Don Pridemore (R-Erin) originally allowed election observers to be within three feet. He's now pushed it back (to 5) feet. But for some, that's still too close. Pewaukee election clerk Nancy Zastrow says poll workers need elbow room. But an election board commissioner in Milwaukee, Bob Spindell, supports the bill: “When somebody can't see what's going on they immediately think fraud, problems, et cetera.”

Ah, that's why we have election officials...never mind. We’re not talking about liberal poll observers either; both sides don’t do it. The question is, why do "they" need to “see what’s going on?”  

Democrats on the Assembly election committee repeatedly asked anyone mentioning or asserting fraud to verify how widespread it is. During the 2012 election, Milwaukee County prosecuted only 10 people for voter fraud. The election commission director for Milwaukee, Neil Albrecht, told lawmakers this is problematic: “Observing their production of confidential documents is concerning and intimidating, particularly in an era of increasing awareness of identity theft.”

Why not have gun purchase observers too?