The Kansas Republican Party is denying claims that it is attempting to suppress Democratic voters. The issue arose after the state GOP sent out an e-mail boasting that it had “identified and caged more voters in the last 11 months than the previous two years.†The word “caged†can refer to an underhanded technique used to challenge the validity of voters’ registration. But state GOP executive director Christian Morgan said that, in this context, “caged†meant that the GOP was confident that voters were “locked in†to vote for Republican candidates. State GOP chairman Kris Kobach mocked Democratic conspiracy theorists: “Wait until they hear about our new Star Trek teleporting machine to instantly send all Republican voters to the polls.â€
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“Caging is a term of art in the direct mail industry, as well as a term applied to a technique of voter suppression. … caging has been used by members of the Republican Party as a form of voter suppression.[3] The use of direct mail caging techniques to target voters resulted in the application of the name to the political tactic. With one type of caging, a political party sends registered mail to addresses of registered voters. If the mail is returned as undeliverable – because, for example, the voter refuses to sign for it, the voter isn’t present for delivery, or the voter is homeless – the party uses that fact to challenge the registration…”
The above is from Wikipedia. Kris Kobach and Christian Morgan are liars.
(chortles)
Morgan’s new definition of caging voters may only be believed by those stupid enough to think Morgan in an effective leader in the Republican party.
Osama, “Gee, when I said I was going to bomb the embassy what I meant was that I was going to deliver flowers and bomb them with happy greetings.”
The definition of caging voters is quite clear, Republicans are just in their usual habit of lying to cover their criminal activities.
DougThere is nothing “criminal” about the attempt to prove that Democrats benefit from illegal voting activity.
Doug – it is time for the Secretary of State to audit voter registrations.
It should be against the law to pay a person to pick up advance ballots. The democrats did just that this past election. Some high school students were paid by the hour and others were paid for the number of ballots they picked up.
How do the people know their ballot got turned in? They don’t know.
Let’s make sure we have a clean election system in Kansas.
screw all this, “Beam me up Scott, there is not intelligent life left in Washington D.C.!”.
It would help if people would think before speaking.
attempt to prove that Democrats benefit from illegal voting activity.Posted by: econ101
While I have to agree with that in principle we’re aware the Go Pees have some questionable voting practices also. Where’d we be had Johnson not stood off the US Marshall while holding the stolen ballot box stuffed with the dead vote? He shoulda just stayed in the Senate where he was very good at his job instead of sliding above his attainable capabilities.Personally, I think the secret ballot should be abolished and voting be published. That way you can see how dear, dead Uncle Joe voted this time.Does WGN-TV still report the dead vote?
Ah, yes. The definition of caged is important, just as the definition of sex is important. And, what “is” is.
How does the Kansas GOP “cage” a voter?? I thought that elections in Kansas were secret ballot elections and that voters could decide up to the minute they vote. So if a voter is caged, does this mean that the GOP watches them vote??
The only way the Republicans will win anything in 2008 is if they really “cage” the voters by jailing them all the day of the elections. And with their dirty tricks, I would not put it past them. Either that or, if the Republicans can tell by the polls that they are going to take a beating, Bush will simply cancel the elections. He will say something like “we have credible intelligence that Al Quaeda plans to launch attacks at polling places on election day so we must indefinently postpone all voting”. I don’t put anything past the Republicans. They are lower than whale feces.
Paul – if what the Republics are doing is what you say then why don’t they just say so? Why the subterfuge?
If you read the whole quote in it’s context, the meaning is clear. It was referring to Republican voters. And those who say otherwise know it.
Personally, I think it’s hilarious when Democrits get caught trying to defraud the voting system.
Giving a false address and then having that someone not respond to a query brought about for the purposes of challenging a vote is a knee slapper in the ‘gotcha’ game.
The only thing I’m aware of about it is illegal that has been challenged in court, is that one can’t use caging on a block of voters that would indicate singling out a particular race, ethnicity or national origin.
Dead voters are often caged. :)
Since the GOP has a death grip on Kansas, why even bother? It’ll be a cold day in Hell before Kansas goes blue.
Until then, we’re stuck on stupid.
Before every election cycle, the Sedgwick County Election Office sends out little postcards that have your voter registration card on a perforated tear-off. Cards that get returned get flagged in the voter database, and hence on the books at the polling places, as “inactive.” If an inactive voter shows up to vote, they’re challenged by the poll workers to show proof of address, or some other eligibility to vote, before they’re allowed to cast a regular ballot. If the voter can’t or won’t show some proof of eligibility, they’re required to vote a provisional ballot.
Registration to vote requires a valid, government-issued photo id.
The State of Kansas is already taking the steps necessary to remove ineligible voters from the voter database. Any so-called “caging” the Republicans are doing is above and beyond these steps, and is meant to suppress voting by the opposition, and if not outright illegal is highly unethical. Anything Kobach and Morgan say now is just spin to cover their hind ends.
If the Republicans have evidence of voter fraud by Democrats in Kansas, let them make that evidence public. If you don’t think law enforcement is being responsive, get a grand jury petition. You only need 3500 or so signatures, which should be easy enough to do, right?
Again: Kris Kobach and Christian Morgan are liars. They know full well what “caging” means, and they know they’ve been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
I don’t put anything past the Republicans. They are lower than whale feces.Posted by: Kev
Really, ya can’t blame it on any particular party. They all do the same things. The only difference I see between the parties is who to steal from: Dem people steal from the rich because that’s where the money is; Go Pees steal from the poor because there’re more of them and can’t afford the lawyers.
I know Tom, it’s really painful when those invalid addresses show up in the Democratic Party database as campaign contribution donors as well.
:)
People move, Troll, and the voter registration cards are not forwardable by the post office.
Keep looking for that big Democratic conspiracy. If you look hard enough, you’ll find that it exists only inside Kobach’s head. On the other hand, the fact of Republican cheating is their own admission in their own words.
Come on Tom, I thought you were in touch with what was happening out there.
You know, the old Democratic Party trick of having voters pick multiple addresses from known dead letter deliveries or a vacant lot.
You know, like the friendly workers of ACORN and all that that help expedite dead voters and facilitate dead letter addresses for their constituents. :)
I can give you a personal guarantee that no one was paid by the advance ballot. There is nothing illegal about what the Democratic party did and you’re just jealous because the Republicans didn’t think of it. People didn’t have to give them their advance ballots if they didn’t feel they were trustworthy. If you don’t like it, write your legislator, but until you can provide proof of illegal activity quit running your mouth. Personally, I doubt even Christian Morgan would be stupid enough to BRAG about it if they were doing illegal stuff, but whatever their definition of caging, it was pretty stupid to use the word in the email.
The Democrits get so testy when voter fraud is discussed.
Why is that? :)
Troll -
Where is your grand jury petition? If you have the evidence, put it out there. Get the signatures. Force an investigation.
:::crickets:::
“The Democrits get so testy when voter fraud is discussed.
Why is that? :)”
Because maybe we are tired of having elections stolen by Rethuglicans.
Steve,
Christian Morgan gets _paid_ to know the difference between “voter ID” and “voter caging.”
Voter IDs are gathered through a variety of methods – through doorstep interviews (canvassing), precinct committee lists, telephone interviews (not to be confused with polling), voter profiling, donor history, etc.
Voter caging is what Wikipedia says it is – sophisticated methods to suppress opposition turnout on election day.
If Christian Morgan, supposedly a paid professional, doesn’t know the difference between voter ID and voter caging, I guess that’s good news for the Democratic candidates this election cycle. And if Kris Kobach keeps relying on Morgan’s ignorance, that’s even better news.
So, Republican partisans, here it is: Your party is either A) being led by a couple of liars who will stoop to anything to win, or B) a couple of ignoramuses who don’t know their arses from holes in the ground.
Or C, all of the above.
Have a nice day. :)
Is this like when the democrats were slashing tires?
Is this like when the democrats were slashing tires?
Posted by: Rog | December 28, 2007 at 09:47 AM
No Rog, it’s like when republicans were stealing elections.
No Rog, it’s like when republicans were stealing elections.
Posted by: XXX | December 28, 2007 at 09:52 AM
You mean the one where Al Gore lost his home state? :)
“Is this like when the democrats were slashing tires?”
Or is this like:
Charles McGee, the former executive director of the New Hampshire Republican State Committee, admitted yesterday to jamming Democratic party phone lines on election day in November 2002.
If the word Republican had been substitued for Democrats the Eagle would not even have bothered to mention it.
One thing you can say about Democrats. They are not graceful losers.
They will try to blame it on anything but themselves.
They’re still upset that they lost to a chimp. Twice. LOL
Wait until it happens to you, then we will hear how loudly to scream and scream and scream!!!
points and laughs at Ohio…
I’m not sure what the big argument is about, but I would trust what the Republicans do to secure support over what the Democrats do. After all, I don’t see Republicans trying to get illegals to vote, felons to vote, busing in their constiuents to vote (and more than once), or trying to get the poles to stay open, stopping overseas military to vote, getting judges to work against the voting process, getting the press to misrepresent their positions, or driving around with voting machines in the backseat of their cars. It’s been the Socialist Commi Democrats. But, this can be looked upon as a good thing. Afterall, we have a party that all the dishonest lying backstabbing players can identify with and network. Wake up America.
“Billy Bob” spews:
“It’s been the Socialist Commi (sic) Democrats.”
That you’d write such a thing, “Billy Bob,” shows just how far from the mainstream of contemporary American thought you really are.
Why stop there? Bring out the big guns! Accuse anyone who disagrees with you of being “kitten-torturing, godless, foreign-film-watching, ketchup-hating, Volvo-driving, opera-loving, latte-drinking spawn of Satan?” Makes about as much sense. And that’s really what you feel, isn’t it?
” . . . how far from the mainstream of contemporary American thought . . .”
While I don’t particularly share Billy Bob’s view of the Democratic party (though it is a distinction of degrees rather than principals) it is interesting to note the phrase MH uses.
Generally, that phrase can be accurately interpreted to mean “anyone who doesn’t agree with me.” That, of course, is how Senate democrats used it during the last two SCOTUS nomination hearings.
“kitten-torturing, godless, foreign-film-watching, ketchup-hating, Volvo-driving, opera-loving, latte-drinking spawn of Satan”
Wow, i had the idea billy bob WAS a republican.
As expected the Republicans turn away as Democracy crumbles. But they like to keep their boots polished and their arms stiff on their patriotic marches.
Neither party has a monopoly on shady election practices. I don’t trust either one of them.
Often down here what the Republicans will do is move polling places with no notice in Democrat areas of the state. You go to the usual place to vote and it is not there anymore. You call and, if you can get through, they tell you “oh that polling place was moved to _____”. So you got off work at 5PM and fought an hour and a half of traffic and they send you elsewhere. So then you try to go to the new polling place and you find the cops manning a “DUI checkpoint” on every major street leading the the new polling place and you have to wait for 20 minutes for them to shine a light in your face and check your license, tag and insurance. You then arrive at the polling place at 7PM just as they are locking the door and so you don’t get to vote. This is what the Republicans call “caging a voter”.