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Here, I
use the definition of Swing States by the Swing State Project. Please
select your state of interest to proceed. (If there is no link, that
means there is no content for that state yet).
MAINE 10/28/04
[Permalink]
Inappropriate behavior,
lying and attempted vote suppression by Democrat-hating Registrar in
Rockland, Maine Via dkosopedia,
we have this
report of a Democrat-hating Rockland registrar (bold text is my
emphasis):
The Secretary of
State's office has fielded complaints alleging inappropriate conduct
by Evelyn Smyth, Rockland's registrar of voters.
Complaints range from concerns about partisanship and rudeness to a
lack of willingness to register new voters and comply with state laws.
City residents registering to vote in Smyth's office at City Hall
will not find a legally required placard informing them of their
voting rights. But they will find a poster critical of former
President Bill Clinton and liberal Democrats.
Deputy Secretary of State Julie Flynn said she has received calls
from Knox County residents who complained about the
"Clinton-bashing" poster in Smyth's office, and others who
reported Smyth has improperly refused to accept voter registration
cards.
This week, a person whose mother resides at a local nursing home
called to report what she viewed to be unprofessional behavior by
Smyth regarding absentee voting rights for nursing home residents.
Flynn said she has not yet had time to pursue the most recent
complaint.
Two Knox County residents reported Smyth rejected registration
cards that were completed during door-to-door canvassing activities in
Rockland. Both canvassers are Democrats, but the cards included
undeclared and Republican voters as well, they said.
Alice Chartrand of Rockland said she brought a stack of completed
cards to Smyth's office Oct. 5, but Smyth refused to accept them.
Chartrand said Smyth claimed, incorrectly, that the cards needed to
be submitted to the Secretary of State's office because they were
submitted by a third party. Jane Karker of South Thomaston
described a similar incident. Both women contacted the Secretary of
State's office.
"I think there was a misunderstanding," Smyth responded.
"Perhaps Ms. Chartrand did not understand what I was saying. My
desk was overwhelmed that day. I told her ... my very first obligation
is to the voter.... [The cards] were not refused. I told her what her
options were." [eRiposte
note: Right!]
Smyth said she explained that Chartrand could either send the cards to
the Secretary of State or leave them at the clerk's desk. Smyth said
she had not met Karker, but she was told that the South Thomaston
woman had spoken "at an increased decibel level" to the
clerk and had complained about Smyth to the Secretary of State's
office.
Flynn said she contacted Smyth by phone Oct. 8 after receiving the
complaints. During a 45-minute conversation, Flynn said she and
Smyth discussed laws which Smyth had misinterpreted, including
requirements for identification and third-party registration.
Smyth denied Flynn had corrected any misconceptions on her part
during that conversation, a contention that Flynn refuted.
"It is not accurate to say that," Flynn said. "She
clearly felt she should not be accepting the cards."
Flynn said she referred Smyth to the training materials she already
had received, and added that she was confident after their
conversation that Smyth would do her job correctly from that point
forward.
"I'm not sure she agrees with everything," Flynn said,
noting Smyth disagrees with the state law that allows voters to
register without providing identification.
Flynn said she advised Smyth that if she has proof people are
trying to vote twice, she needs to follow proper legal procedures.
"I said to her point blank, 'If you have documentation, the AG's
office will investigate,'" she said.
She speculated that perhaps Smyth's rigidity could have been
misinterpreted as bias by the two Democrats.
"I know ... they believe there's some partisanship at work
here," Flynn said. "Both indicated to me that Evelyn was
rude. Evelyn said 'People are rude to me,' and she told me she goes by
the letter of the law." [eRiposte
note: She just admitted she does not agree with the law!]
Voting rights
As of Tuesday afternoon, a state-produced poster called "Your
Right to Vote in Maine," required to be displayed year-round in
every registrar's office in the state, was not in Smyth's office in
the City Hall building. On Election Day, the same placard is required
to be located near the polls.
The poster lists 10 rights of voters, including the right to register
on Election Day; the right not to be turned away at the polls; the
right to vote a challenged ballot; the right to vote if you are
waiting in line at the time the polls close; and the right not to be
harassed when voting or influenced on how to vote.
"I was never sent anything like that," said Smyth, who
has appointed as the city's registrar for six years. She added she
would have posted it if she had received it.
Flynn said the poster was sent to all clerks.
The exterior of the registrar's office door contains a photocopy of
a U.S. map from The Wall Street Journal which compares the taxes of
all the states. A hand-written notation says Maine has the
second-highest tax burden in the country.
"I think that's potentially advertising on the tax cap,"
Flynn said, referring to the statewide tax-cap referendum before
voters. She said a "restricted activities" memo went to all
clerks Friday, explaining that any literature promoting any potential
vote is barred. Since absentee voting is currently taking place, the
offices of clerks and registrars are considered off-limits for
political advertising. Municipalities may not provide information
promoting or denouncing the tax-cap initiative, she added.
Smyth said she placed the map on her door several months ago and she
had no political agenda.
"I try to provide information. I'm not trying to sway the
voter in any way," Smyth said. "I would never do that."
[eRiposte note:
Bwa ha ha ha ha!]
The inside wall of Smyth's office contains a poster of former U.S.
President Bill Clinton. The text states "You can fool some of the
people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of
the time (with the exception of liberal Democrats)."
Asked about the appropriateness of the sign, Flynn said an anonymous
caller had complained about a "Clinton-bashing sign" in
Smyth's office, but did not provide other details. After hearing
the words on the poster, Flynn denounced it.
"I definitely feel it's inappropriate," Flynn said. "I
can't say for sure if it's illegal. That's something that is
definitely partisan related."
Smyth defended her placement of the anti-Clinton poster, saying
she also has Nixon on her wall. She was referring to a poster
depicting former President Richard Nixon shaking hands with Elvis
Presley.
"I collect posters and I think they're fine," Smyth said.
"Until I'm told otherwise, it will remain there."
Flynn said state law requires registrars to remain impartial, and
prohibits them from attempting to influence voters on public property.
She said public employees are permitted to have political messages on
private property at their homes, but they may not do so in a public
office where people register to vote.
"You can't have advertising," she said. "For obvious
reasons it's inappropriate."
Registration woes
Chartrand said that on the same day the registrar rejected her stack
of registration cards, she had asked Smyth to check the status of four
people who had reported being registered but whose names had not
appeared on the updated public registration list. Each had told
Chartrand a canvasser had come to their doors with cards, which they
completed and gave back, but none had received verification, nor had
they received a notice that their registration was incomplete.
None of the residents remembered the name, nor the affiliation, of the
person who had come to their homes in Rockland's South End, Chartrand
said.
Chartrand said she became concerned that a canvasser could have
discarded or lost the registration cards. She said when Smyth looked
for the names on her computer, the two people who had told Chartrand
they had registered as Republicans were enrolled, but a Democrat and
an independent were not.
Chartrand said another person told her they had tried to register as a
Democrat in Rockland last year, and was told she had to be a Maine
resident for six months prior to registering. Another Rockland
resident told Chartrand she was surprised to learn her name had been
removed from the list since her address had not changed and she had
received no notification.
Flynn explained a voter's name can be removed only if the registrar
receives documentation signed by the voter, a notice from the state
Bureau of Motor Vehicles, a notice of registration from another
jurisdiction, or a death record. She said all registrars are trained
on circumstances in which voter names can be purged from the list.
Any time a voter is removed, the registrar is legally required to send
a notice of removal by mail, she said.
Layers of laws
Flynn said because there are many layers of federal and state laws
pertaining to voting, she commonly reviews them with registrars.
"She's not alone," Flynn said. "Despite the training,
there will always be some issues we need to resolve." Flynn said
during their recent conversation, she referred Smyth to the materials
she had received at a recent training session at the Samoset Resort in
Rockport.
Maine's laws are liberal when it comes to voter registration. Unlike
some states, there is no length of residency requirement to register
to vote. People may register on the day of the election, and no reason
is required to vote by absentee ballot. Convicted felons may vote, and
incarcerated individuals may vote by absentee ballot in the last
municipality in which they lived prior to imprisonment. Registrars
also are required to visit licensed facilities for the elderly to
offer absentee voting to residents at least one time in the 30 days
before the election, Flynn said.
A registrar may not refuse to accept a registration card, she
added. The only exception is if the voter does not claim residency in
the municipality of registration, in which case the registrar has the
obligation to inform them of the proper location.
A voter is ineligible only if under the age of 18 the day of the
election, not a U.S. citizen, or not a resident of Maine. If an
application is incomplete, the person must be informed in writing and
given the opportunity to complete it. Even in disputed cases, everyone
has the right to complete a "challenged ballot" pending the
outcome of the disputed issue, Flynn said.
"It protects the state, and it protects the voter," Flynn
said. "You can always vote a challenged ballot. You can't be
turned away
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