The Virginia State Police is now investigating a voter registration drive funded by the Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) and conducted by CYMA Solutions of Amherst, Ohio. Specifically, CYMA is under investigation for misrepresentation, having billed itself as an official registration organization and used the Virginia state seal in its registration drive. However, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch,
"[There] were complaints that the group followed up its voter-registration application with a litmus question to determine whether the applicant was a Democrat or a Republican. If the applicant appeared to be a Democrat, there were fears that the application would not be forwarded to the voter-registrar's office, a violation of the law, said Jean S. Jensen, secretary of the State Board of Elections."
"There also were complaints that the group followed up its voter-registration application with a litmus question to determine whether the applicant was a Democrat or a Republican. If the applicant appeared to be a Democrat, there were fears that the application would not be forwarded to the voter-registrar's office, a violation of the law, said Jean S. Jensen, secretary of the State Board of Elections....On one occasion, a resident was asked whether he would sign a petition to ban same-sex marriage."
This latest case represents yet another occurrence of attempted voter fraud coming from the RPV. Along with the cases listed below, it demonstrates an orchestrated effort on behalf of Virginia Republicans and Jerry Kilgore to manipulate and bias the upcoming election in their favor.
Case 1. Eavesdropping: Two and a half years ago, prominent leaders of the Republican Party of Virginia were caught eavesdropping on private Democratic party conference calls. Found in violation of the law, Republican party leaders (including Jerry Kilgore) were found guilty and fined $750,000. More recently, Virginia Republicans tried to sue their insurance company to cover their fine and expenses. Legal verdict: the Virginia Republican party is guilty of electoral fraud and must take accountibility for its own actions.
Case 2: Absentee Ballot Manipulation: Jerry Kilgore?s own mother, Willie Mae Kilgore (Scott County Registrar of Voters), is at the heart of a scandal involving vote fraud. Apparently, Mrs. Kilgore's office allowed the former mayor of Gate City to employ coercive tactics to get older citizens to register for absentee ballots in the 2004 mayoral election. According to the Roanoke Times:
Authorities say the former mayor preyed on elderly and unsophisticated voters, pressuring them to give false reasons for needing to vote absentee and sometimes filling out their ballots himself.
Verdict: The effort was found illegal and ultimately, the election was overturned.
Case 3: Voter Registration Fraud: Continuing its campaign of intimidation, Republican activists auto dialed thousands of Southwestern Virginia voters, falsely notifying them that they need to register to vote. This recent effort is now under investigation
Case 4: Sham Voter Registration Effort: The current investigation into CYMA Solutions' unethical voter registration activities show yet another occurrence of trying to confuse and misdirect voters, tricking Democratic voters into believing that they cannot vote, must vote at wrong locations, or providing mistaken impressions that registration papers have been properly processed.
These four cases make it clear that the RPV and Virginia Republican officials have broadly engaged in a strategy of voter intimidation and fraud. If past is any pretext for the future, how can we expect fair voting practices next month?
"This type of illegal behavior is what we have come to expect from Jerry Kilgore's Republican Party," according to Mark Bergman, of the Democratic Party of Virginia.
This most recent addition to the list of shame shows that Jerry Kilgore and his cronies not only lie to voters and don't "trust the people." They also have contempt for that basic form of American liberty: the right to vote.