Cognitive dissonance re: voting at its finest

[FruminousBandersnatch]

Leslie Rutledge, the Republican candidate for Attorney General in Arkansas, and staunch defender of the integrity of voting laws (see https://www.facebook.com/lesliecrutledge/posts/433572576778008) has been discovered to have been registered to vote in multiple states in addition to Arkansas, and even voted by absentee ballot in Arkansas’ general election in November of 2008 – after she had registered to vote in Washington, D.C., in July of the same year.

Rutledge has now been removed from Arkansas’ voting rolls by the Pulaski County Clerk, after he confirmed that she was registered to vote in D.C., and possibly Virginia. The removal from the rolls may also lead to her ineligibility to be elected to office among other things, since

The whole issue is covered in its delicious irony here - http://www.bluehogreport.com/2014/09/30/breaking-leslie-rutledges-voter-registration-canceled-candidacy-now-in-question/ which includes the following:

First, under Arkansas law, a candidate is required to file an affidavit of eligibility at or before noon on the filing deadline date. This affidavit attests that the person is eligible to hold the office for which she is filing. By definition, an affidavit is made under oath or affirmation. An affidavit is (by definition) made under oath or affirmation.

Of course, by signing and filing an affidavit that she was eligible to hold the office of Attorney General when she was not, Rutledge opens herself to a charge of false swearing under Ark. Code Ann. 5-53-103, a Class A misdemeanor. She could plead ignorance to the whole thing — the Mark Darr, “I’m too dumb to know this was illegal” defense — but how will a lack of legal knowledge play with voters?

Secondly, it is a Class D felony for someone to “vote in any election in the state unless the person is a qualified elector of this state and has registered to vote in the manner provided by law.” (Ark. Code Ann. 7-1-104) Under that same subsection, any person convicted of a felony related to voting “shall be barred from holding public office or employment in any of the departments of the state from the date of his or her conviction.”

If Rutledge moved back to Arkansas more than three years ago, the statute of limitations would have run on that felony. Nevertheless, does she really want to run under the banner of “I would have been charged with a felony if someone had caught it earlier”? Conversely, if she moved back to Arkansas within the last three years, she could still be looking at a felony charge. In either event, it might be better just to slink away as “ineligible,” whether she is or not, if only to save what little bit of dignity she has left.

[Anonymous]

This story will never see the light of day in any tea party news.

[Anonymous]

Snicker. Why are all these conservative AGs so bad?

[Anonymous]

Will she have a band of gun-wielding "patriots" who stand with her, too?

[Anonymous]

In her defense, she's not Mexican, so her a ruins are not reaky contrary to the spirit of the law. : )

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In her defense, she's not Mexican, so her actions are not really contrary to the spirit of the law. : )

Meet the new autocorrect. Same as the old autocorrect.

[Anonymous]

http://www.arkansasmatters.com/story/d/story/report-leslie-rutledge-not-arkansas-registered-vot/15002/LdHOiqLMqkyYzh8_J8Su3A

Her side of the story. Unless she voted in two elections at the same time, I don't think she did anything wrong. Politics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.arkansasmatters.com/story/d/story/report-leslie-rutledge-not-arkansas-registered-vot/15002/LdHOiqLMqkyYzh8_J8Su3A

Her side of the story. Unless she voted in two elections at the same time, I don't think she did anything wrong. Politics.

Sounds right. They do actually check these things, if you move to a new state, they cancel your registration in the old state. So she would have to fill out a change of address first, if she wanted to do things properly.

She's using the "I'm an idiot" line, instead of committing a felony.