Monday, April 07, 2008

No campus surge for Obama in Pa.

is the title of a Politico article I want to use as a launch pad for a some comments about voter fraud.

First Politico; then my comments below the star line.

Politico begins - - -


With 159 colleges and universities and approximately 680,000 students, Pennsylvania’s campus vote would appear to be Barack Obama’s ace in the hole in the state’s April 22 primary.

Yet in a tough contest where Obama will need every vote he can get, it’s unlikely that one of his most loyal constituencies will be able to provide him with much of a boost.

One reason is the nature of the state’s college students. With numerous nationally recognized schools ranging from elite, small liberal arts colleges such as Haverford College to the Ivy League’s University of Pennsylvania, not to mention enormous public universities such as Penn State, Pennsylvania is a net importer of students.

Many of those out-of-state students are registered to vote in their home states. Sean Coit, 20, a junior at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and the news editor of the school newspaper, The Hawk, is among them.

Although he follows politics closely and is interning with a Democratic consultant in Philadelphia, he will not be voting in the Pennsylvania primary since he is registered to vote in Virginia at his parents’ house.

“A lot [of students] are voting absentee at home,” said Coit of his fellow out-of-state students.

Pennsylvania’s election rules also act to suppress the college vote. The state has a closed primary, which means only registered Democrats can vote. Since college-age young people are disproportionately likely to be registered as independents, that will serve to limit the number of students who can vote.

Pennsylvania’s approach is distinct from Iowa and New Hampshire, two states where college students turned out in force in part because voters were permitted to register on Election Day and also because the two contests were open to independents.
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The rest of the Politico article is here.

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Comments:

In many states you need little or no ID and residency proof to register and vote. In some states you can even walk into a polling station on election day, register and immediately vote. There's no check on what, if any, ID and residence proof you provided.

Something else: There's no cross-checking among states to ID voters registered in more than one state.

With no national voter registration or cross-checking system, there’s an "open door" for voter fraud through, among other things, voting more than once in the same election.

One other thing: It's very easy in most states to vote by absentee ballot or to vote at a central polling place in your community weeks before an election.

Most of you already know where I'm going on this one.

That's right, it's quite easy for college students so inclined or encouraged wink-wink style to vote in the same election in their home communities and college communities.

We need to be more aware of voter fraud and governments at all levels should be working to eliminate it.

In the coming weeks, I plan to post often concerning voter fraud and what needs to be done to prevent it.

JinC Regulars know I think John Fund is one of America's best reporters. He covers many beats, including election fraud,

Tomorrow I'll post concerning some of his reporting on voter fraud.

I hope you're back.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

John: I'm shocked. SHOCKED at your suggestion that there may be voter fraud involved in the Pennsylvania primaries! You obviously don't believe that Mr. Obama is the very epitome of truth, justice and the American way. Collegiate supporters of Mr. Obama doing something unethical?? Shame on you ;-))
TH

Anonymous said...

This is interesting. Obama will have a tough fight in Pennsylvania.

I can't understand Professor Johnson's strong support of him after the Wright revelations.

Does Johnson know that he has part of a blog dedicated to him?

Sheesh!