On Monday, the Supreme Court allowed states to reinstate an anti-democratic poll tax in the form of a state-issued ID. The justification was Republican charges of "voter fraud" which occurs about as often as Haley's Comet visits the earth.
But here's a real case of fraud, courtesy of Shaun Dakin:
According to NC public radio, someone named Lamont Williams is robocalling into Black neighborhoods with mis-information (Click here for the entire article as well as Audio).
He also called into Ohio in November.
According to Democracy NC and others, some guy named “Lamont Williams” is making robo-calls to black neighborhoods.
"Hello, this is Lamont Williams. In the next few days, you will receive a voter registration packet in the mail. All you need to do is fill it out, sign it, date and return your application. Then you will be able to vote and make your voice heard. Please return your registration form when it arrives. Thank you.”
The problem, of course, is that the April 11th mail-in registration deadline was long past by the time this April 24th call went out. So any would-be voter who takes Lamont’s advice instead of going to a one-stop site will miss out on his or her chance to vote in the primary.
This is clear-cut fraud. But right now it's impossible for citizens to trace robocalls and report them to prosecutors.
Update 1: Mystery solved. The calls were made by Women's Voices, Women Vote, a nonpartisan group trying to register 1 million unmarried women in 24 states, including NC. Apparently they screwed up royally in NC and got the deadline wrong. Now they're trying to fix the problem:
"In an attempt to prevent further confusion surrounding our voter registration efforts prior to the North Carolina primary, Women’s Voices. Women Vote took the extra step of attempting to stop the remaining mail from being delivered to homes. In total, 20 postal trucks are carrying Women’s Voices. Women Vote registration applications. Four of the trucks have already delivered, but Women’s Voices. Women Vote is making every attempt to delay the delivery of the remaining sixteen trucks.
Clearly someone needs to lose their job...
