Four GOP House Staffers From Michigan Indicted for Election Fraud
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Four congressional aides to Michigan Republican U.S. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter have been indicted for falsifying nominating petitions for McCotter's 2012 re-election bid, Michigan’s Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette announced Thursday.
"The investigation conducted by this division [Michigan Attorney General Criminal Division] revealed that the petition collection efforts were carried out by a dysfunctional congressional staff that had completely lost its moral compass," the AG's August 9 investigative report said. "Staffers functioned in a culture completely indifferent to the requirements of law, and with an arrogant attitude that the rules simply did not apply to them. More efforts were expended in developing and carrying out schemes to get around the legal requirements for the circulating of nominating petitions than were made to obtain sufficient number of voter signatures."
This was not the first time that McCotter's staff had used this tactic to place him on the ballot, the AG's office said. "But perhaps even more disturbing is the fact that evidence indicates similar fraudulent petitions schemes were used in prior elections."
The petition forgeries will remove McCotter from office. After state election officials found the "duplicate and triplicate" copies of petitions, they told McCotter that he would not qualify for the 2012 ballot. He has decided not launch a write-in campaign.
Michigan's Republican attorney general deserves credit for handling this case professionally. You might think that the state's highly partisan Secretary of State, Republican Ruth Brown--whose subordinates found the forgeries and reported it to the AG--would take notice. However, she is one of a handful of ideological state election officials who believe that non-citizens are voting in her state.
This past Tuesday, Johnson forced all voters in the state's primary election to declare that they were citizens before getting a ballot.
That step is completely redundent because any person who registers to vote must declare, under penalty of perjury, that they are a citizen. Johnson's gambit has been severely criticized in the Michigan media as needlessly complicating the voting process, and in some cases, prompting people to leave the polls and not vote.
"Like a 5-year-old, Secretary of State Ruth Johnson is still insisting the bogeyman of voter fraud lurks somewhere in the shadows of Michigan’s elections apparatus, even though wiser folks have told her to back off from her battle against this imaginary foe," Detroit Free Press editorial page writer Stephen Henderson wrote."
It is more than ironic that while one Michigan constitutional officer, Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette, is prosecuting election fraud, that another Michigan constitutional officer, Republican Secretary of State Ruth Johnson, is imposing insulting hurdles on the state's voters under the guise of fighting the imaginary epidemic of illegal voting.
It is good to see that Michigan Republicans are not of one mind on what constitutes election fraud. Michigan's Republican governor recently vetoed a new voter ID bill, another laudable move.
A Republican congressman and his "dysfunctional" staffers are now Exhibit A for election fraud in Michigan. There is not a single Democrat involved.
Link to original article from AlterNet
States - Michigan
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MI Legislators with ALEC Ties
House of Representatives
- Former Rep. Frank Accavitti, Jr. (D-42), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005 and 2008[102]
- Majority Caucus Chair Dave Agema (R-74), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2008[102]
- Former Rep. Fran Amos (R-43), registered for ALEC annual meeting in 2005 and paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2006 and 2007[102]
- Former Rep. Richard A. Bandstra (R-Grand Rapids, 1985-1994, Michigan 3rd Court of Appeals through January 2003), Former "Public Sector Chairman," Civil Justice Task Force[103]
- Former Rep. Bill Caul (R-99), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005 and 2007[102]
- Former House Speaker Craig DeRoche (R-38), paid ALEC membership dues in 2006 and sent three staffers to ALEC annual meeting in 2006 (for $1,200) with taxpayer funds[102]
- Former Rep. Leon Drolet (R-33), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005[102]
- Former Rep. David Farhat (R-91), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005[102]
- Former Rep. Edward Gaffney (R-1), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005 and 2007[102]
- Rep. Judson Gilbert (R-81), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005 while a state senator[104]
- Rep. Gail Haines (R-43); Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force
- Rep. Ken Horn (R-94), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2011[102], Civil Justice Task Force member
- Former Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-90, now Michigan Congressman R-2), ALEC Alumni in Congress,[105] paid ALEC membership with taxpayer funds in 2005 and 2007 while a state representative[102]
- Former Rep. Jerry Kooiman (R-75), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005[102]
- Rep. Eileen Kowall (R-44), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2011[102]
- Rep. Kenneth Kurtz (R-58), ALEC Health and Human Services Task Force[106]
- Rep. Matthew Lori, (R-59), ALEC Health and Human Services Task Force[106]
- Rep. Peter J. Lund (R-36); Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force
- Rep. Tom McMillin (R-45), sponsored 2011 HB 4050. Compare to ALEC's "Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act"[107]
- Former Rep. Kimberley Meltzer (R-33), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2009[102]
- Former Rep. Tim Moore (R-97), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2007[102]
- Rep. Aric Nesbitt (R-80); Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force
- Former Rep. Tom Pearce (R-73), registered for 2006 ALEC annual meeting and paid 2009 ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds[102]
- Rep. Amanda Price (R-89); Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force
- Former Rep. Rick Shaffer (R-59), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005 and 2007[102]
- Former Rep. Fulton Sheen (R-88), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005, 2006 and 2007[102]
- Rep. Mike Shirkey (R-65), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2011[102]
- Former Rep. John Stahl (R-82), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2008[102]
- Former Rep. John Stakoe (R-44), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005 and 2007[102]
- Former Rep. Glenn Steil, Jr. (R-72), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005 and 2007[102]
- Former Rep. William Van Regenmorter (R-74), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005[102]
Senate
- Sen. Jason Allen (R-37), former ALEC State Chairman[108], paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2006[104]
- Former Sen. Patricia Birkholz (R-24), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005[104]
- Sen. Darwin Booher (R-35), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005, 2007 and 2009 while a state representative[102]
- Former Sen. Cameran Brown (R-16), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005[104]
- Sen. Bruce Caswell (R-16), Health and Human Services Task Force[106]
- Former Sen. Valde Garcia (R-22), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005[104]
- Sen. Mike Green (R-31), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2011[104]
- Sen. Goeff Hansen (R-34), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005, 2007 and 2009 (twice) while a state representative,[102] Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force member
- Sen. Dave Hildenbrand (R-29), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005, 2007 and 2009 while a state representative,[102] and in 2011 while a state senator<ref="MichiganSenate"/>
- Sen. Rick Jones (R-24), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005 while a state representative[102]
- Sen. Mike Kowall (R-15), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2009 while a state representative, and in 2011[102]
- Former Sen. Wayne Kuipers (R-30), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005[104]
- Sen. Arlan B. Meekhoff (R-30), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2009 while a state representative[102]
- Sen. John Moolenar (R-36), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005 and 2007 while a state representative[102]
- Sen. Mike Nofs (R-19), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2008 while a state representative[102]
- Former Sen. Bruce Patterson (R-7), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2009[104]
- Sen. David B. Robertson (R-26), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005[102]
- Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker (R-20), State Chairman[109]; Civil Justice Task Force
Information from SourceWatch