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Carl Bowman
Seaman Recruit
Joined: 16 May 2004
Posts: 21
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 Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2004 3:59 pm Post subject: Felons Paid In Voter Registration Drive |
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Felons Paid in Voter Registration Drive
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - A Democratic group crucial to John Kerry's presidential campaign has paid felons - some convicted of sex offenses, assault and burglary - to conduct door-to-door voter registration drives in at least three election swing states. America Coming Together, contending that convicted criminals deserve a second chance in society, employs felons as voter canvassers in major metropolitan areas in Missouri, Florida, Ohio and perhaps in other states among the 17 it is targeting in its drive. Some lived in halfway houses, and at least four returned to prison. |
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Keith
Lt.Jg.
Joined: 18 May 2004
Posts: 130
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| Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2004 4:57 pm Post subject: Re: Felons Paid In Voter Registration Drive |
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| Carl Bowman wrote: | Felons Paid in Voter Registration Drive
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - A Democratic group crucial to John Kerry's presidential campaign has paid felons - some convicted of sex offenses, assault and burglary - to conduct door-to-door voter registration drives in at least three election swing states. America Coming Together, contending that convicted criminals deserve a second chance in society, employs felons as voter canvassers in major metropolitan areas in Missouri, Florida, Ohio and perhaps in other states among the 17 it is targeting in its drive. Some lived in halfway houses, and at least four returned to prison. |
I can see it now: "Ma'am, I'll need your name, SSN, phone number, Driver's Liscense info... umm, hours of work, any kid's at home...." |
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BrianC
PO2
Joined: 02 Jun 2004
Posts: 364
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| Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2004 5:11 pm Post subject: |
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| FELONS FOR KERRY! |
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War Dog
Captain
Joined: 10 May 2004
Posts: 517
Location: Below Birmingham Alabama
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| Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2004 6:00 pm Post subject: |
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By DAVID A. LIEB, Associated Press Writer
Yahoo News
6/24/04
| Quote: | JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - A Democratic group crucial to John Kerry's presidential campaign has paid felons — some convicted of sex offenses, assault and burglary — to conduct door-to-door voter registration drives in at least three election swing states.
America Coming Together, contending that convicted criminals deserve a second chance in society, employs felons as voter canvassers in major metropolitan areas in Missouri, Florida, Ohio and perhaps in other states among the 17 it is targeting in its drive. Some of the felons lived in halfway houses, and at least four returned to prison.
ACT canvassers ask residents which issues are important to them and, if they are not registered, sign them up as voters. They gather telephone numbers and other personal information, such as driver's license numbers or partial Social Security (news - web sites) numbers, depending on what a state requires for voter registration.
Felons on probation or parole are ineligible to vote in many states. Doug Lewis, executive director of the Election Center, which represents election officials, said he is unaware of any laws against felons registering other people to vote.
A review of federal campaign finance and state criminal records by The Associated Press revealed that the names and hometowns of dozens of ACT employees in Missouri, Florida and Ohio matched those of people convicted of crimes such as burglary, forgery, drug dealing, assault and sex offenses.
Although it works against the re-election of President Bush (news - web sites), ACT is an independent group not affiliated with the Kerry campaign — federal law forbids such coordination. Yet ACT is stocked with veteran Democratic political operatives, many with past ties to Kerry and his advisers.
Allison Dobson, a spokeswoman with the Kerry campaign, said there is no coordination with ACT, and of the policy: "We're unaware of it and have nothing to do with it."
ACT plans to spend about $100 million on initiatives to get out the vote for the presidential election, which likely will turn on how well Kerry and Bush can get their supporters to the polls.
ACT does not believe the felons it sends door to door pose a threat to the public, said Mo Elleithee, a Washington-based spokesman for the group.
"We believe it's important to give people a second chance," Elleithee said. "The fact that they are willing to do this work is a fairly serious indication that they want to become productive members of society."
Although ACT asks job applicants to cite their criminal history and hires some felons and not others, Elleithee would not reveal how many felons ACT has hired to canvass neighborhoods and register voters. They earn $8 to $12 per hour.
Elleithee confirmed that felons have been hired in Missouri, Florida and Ohio and said it is possible that felons have been hired in the other 14 states in which it's conducting its drive: Arizona, Arkansas, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Ed Gillespie, the chairman of the Republican Party, issued a statement calling the policy "disturbing" and questioned the group "proudly hiring felons convicted of sex offenses, assault and burglary to go house to house and handle sensitive personal information."
Citing security concerns for the public and for the felons, the Missouri Department of Corrections in April banished ACT from its pool of potential employers for parolees in its halfway houses in Kansas City and St. Louis, department spokesman John Fougere said. Five ACT employees lived at the Kansas City Community Release Center and two others at the St. Louis Community Release Center earlier this year.
"From a public safety standpoint, we didn't want offenders to be in a situation where they would be handling that information," Fougere said. Officials also were concerned the door-to-door campaign would put felons at greater risk of false accusations, he said.
Among the ACT employees in Ohio was a woman convicted of gross sexual imposition. She completed her parole 12 years ago.
"If she was still on parole that job wouldn't have been approved," said Andrea Dean, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Correction. "People who have been out of prison and haven't had any other problems with law enforcement, they should be given that second chance to be viable citizens."
In Florida, most felons released from prison are not on parole or probation. "If they're released from our custody and there is no other supervision ... we can't prohibit them from taking a job like this," said Sterling Ivey, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Corrections.
ACT adopted a policy against employing violent felons this spring, Elleithee said, but he declined to release the policy or to describe what the group considered violent.
"We're constantly looking internally to better our hiring practices," he said. "But the bottom line is we would never hire anyone who we felt was a threat to anyone else."
At least two felons who were stationed at a Missouri halfway house have since moved into the community and are again employed by ACT "and are a tremendous part of our team," Elleithee said. |
Oh yeah, character matters! 
THIS IS SO WRONG----THEY'RE FELONS!
"They gather telephone numbers and other personal information, such as driver's license numbers or partial Social Security numbers, depending on what a state requires for voter registration."
FRIGGIN WAR WOOF!
_________________
"When people are in trouble, they call the cops.
When cops need help, they call the K-9 unit." |
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NoDonkey
Seaman Apprentice
Joined: 02 Jun 2004
Posts: 78
Location: Arlington, VA
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| Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2004 6:35 pm Post subject: Re: Felons Paid In Voter Registration Drive |
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I would say that Democrats have the felon vote just about wrapped up, along with the terrorist vote, the deceased vote, the housepet/houseplant vote, the illegal alien vote and the space alien vote.
Populist Democrats.
_________________
"Liberalism is totalitarianism with a human face." - Thomas Sowell |
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War Dog
Captain
Joined: 10 May 2004
Posts: 517
Location: Below Birmingham Alabama
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| Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2004 6:45 pm Post subject: |
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What about the Poodle Vote?
FRIGGIN WAR WOOF!
_________________
"When people are in trouble, they call the cops.
When cops need help, they call the K-9 unit." |
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Theresa Alwood
Rear Admiral
Joined: 05 Jun 2004
Posts: 631
Location: Florida
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| Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2004 10:41 pm Post subject: |
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| And this surpises anyone how? It was the democrats who gave cigarettes to homeless people to vote in Iowa. It was democrats who had polls stay open in St. Louis after the polls closed. It was the democrats who started the choas in Florida, including Al Gore not wanting to count the absentee votes since the votes sent in from overseas do not have a post-mark on them....(Oh yes...I remember that as it was my vote he was trying to get thrown out...I had never sent out so many e-mails is so many days before...LOL). It was the democrats who suddenly found a box containing 500 votes in New Mexico that let the democrats win that state...the democrats do not care who or what votes for them...just as long as they get the votes. |
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