Fenty Buying Votes

[jsteele]

Three weeks ago, Mayor Fenty vetoed a bill that outlawed buying votes. At the time, Peaceoholics co-founder Ron Moten said that the Mayor acted on Moten's advice. Moten claimed the bill might interfere with the go go concerts he had been organizing. However, WJLA (ABC 7) broadcast a report last night that suggested the Mayor's campaign may be engaging in more traditional vote buying.

A 19 year old man was offered $100 a day from Sept. 4 - Sept. 14 if he would vote for Fenty. He went down to vote, even completing a same-day registration. This story is corroborated by three others who took the same deal. The 19 year old had a phone number that he called and WJLA recorded his conversation with a Fenty campaign worker. The Board of Elections confirmed that the man had registered to vote and voted on the day and time he said he did.

Details of the story, along with notes from a Gray press conference are here:

http://www.tbd.com/articles/2010/09/young-district-residents-allege-fenty-campaign-offered-jobs-for-votes-9316.html

(The main story begins toward the bottom at the 9:53 Update).

Because Fenty vetoed the vote-buying bill, buying votes does not violate DC law. Therefore, DC law enforcement personnel cannot investigate. Because vote-buying is a federal offense, federal officials can investigate. However, getting them involved is a more complex problem. The FBI has a lot more serious problems on its plate.

[Anonymous]

corroborated, not collaborated

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:corroborated, not collaborated

Thanks. Correction made.

[Anonymous]

Wow! Unbelievable and pathetic. Fenty is desperate.

[Anonymous]

I seriously doubt Fenty is OK with people being offered money to vote for him. He needs to address this though. His campaign workers are idiots if that's what they're doing.

[Anonymous]

Of course Fenty is ok with this! They are busing people by the van-full to vote for Fenty with the promise of a job. Others are coming forward saying they were actually paid $100 to vote for Fenty.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dc/2010/09/vote-buying_allegations_agains.html

[Anonymous]

Okay, who here didn't see this coming?

[Anonymous]

Wow, do you think the FBI will actually conduct an investigation. I understand they are already investigating the Fenty administration on other issues, but not election fraud. Although Fenty vetoed the bill for vote buying, it is still a federal offense. The probelm though is that this is not a federal election, so the FBI may not have jurisdiction to investigate the vote for job.

[Anonymous]

I heard on the news that as long as there is one federal race on the ballot (and there is - shadow representative), then federal laws apply.

[jsteele]

Fenty does not appear to be too concerned about the vote-buying allegations. From an informal press conference he had today:

"We do extensive training to all of our people. ... You do all the training in the world and if someone breaks that training then you bring them in to investigate. If it's alright with you all, for the next five days, unless someone gives me a name, let's talk about the issues that affect this city. ... I can't keep talking about unspecific allegations."

http://www.tbd.com/articles/2010/09/young-district-residents-allege-fenty-campaign-offered-jobs-for-votes-9316.html

Fenty appears unaware that the allegations are very specific and the 19-year-old is identified by both WJLA and TBD.com. There are plenty of leads to investigate if one were so-inclined. Fenty will have time to compete in a triathlon on Sunday morning, but has no time to look into this?

[Anonymous]

Do not care.

[Anonymous]

Having read this, it sounds like the Fenty volunteer was tasked with hiring folks, with the stipulation that they be registered voters.

The idea of an unofficially sanctioned campaign strategy of wholesale vote fraud based on giving each voter $100 makes no sense whatsoever. This is no different than the Limbaugh conservatives who complained about "massive fraud" because ACORN volunteers were registering "Donald Duck" and "Bill Gates" to vote.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Having read this, it sounds like the Fenty volunteer was tasked with hiring folks, with the stipulation that they be registered voters.

The idea of an unofficially sanctioned campaign strategy of wholesale vote fraud based on giving each voter $100 makes no sense whatsoever. This is no different than the Limbaugh conservatives who complained about "massive fraud" because ACORN volunteers were registering "Donald Duck" and "Bill Gates" to vote.

The 19-year-old was offered a job, not to simply register to vote, not to simply vote, but to vote for Fenty. One of the other young people interviewed was already registered and only had to vote. Your understanding of the article as you describe it is faulty.

[Anonymous]

So answer me one question, as you seem like a pretty sharp guy, and a follower of politics: How does this make *any* sense whatsoever from a campaign strategy perspective. Are you suggesting that there's some unofficial policy of offering people $100 to register and vote for Fenty? And that this is going on with any sort of regularity?

It makes no sense whatsoever. Other than as campaign fodder. Or are these ginned-up ACORN style faux-controversies only to be taken seriously when they favor our preferred candidate?

[Anonymous]

The reason the Feds aren't going to investigate is that this whole "controversy" stinks of political gamesmanship. At the very least, the street-level Fenty campaigner deserves a punk-knot for his idiocy.