Thread: ABSENTEE VOTERS WILL PLAY BIG (HUGE) PART IN '08

I HAVE BEEN CONTACTING THE CA ELECTION BOARD FOR TWO YEARS BECAUSE OF THE POTENTIAL FRAUD WITH ILLEGALS AND ABSENTEE BALLOTS! THERE ARE NO SAFETY VALVES TO KEEP ILLEGALS FROM SIMPLY REGISTERING (NO ID NEEDED) AND MAILING IN BALLOTS. I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF THEIR RELATIVES IN MEXICO MAILED IN BALLOTS! THERE IS NO OVERSIGHT IN CA!!!

WE ALL KNOW THAT DRIVER'S LICENSES FOR ILLEGALS IS STRICTLY TO GET MORE VOTERS FOR DEMS! BUT, BEHIND THE SCENES, YOU CAN BET THAT THE MEXICAN CONSULATES ET AL ARE PUSHING ABSENTEE BALLOTS! WHAT COULD BE MORE SIMPLE? IT'S ALL IN THE ORGANIZATION, AND LA RAZA AND THE MEXICAN CONULATES ARE, IF NOTHING ELSE,...ORGANIZED! THE 38M ILLEGALS IN THIS COUNTRY CAN AND WILL MAKE THE DIFFFERENCE IN '08 IF WE DON'T DO SOMETHING ABOUT VOTER FRAUD!!!

New poll shows abseentee voters play big part

By Steven Harmon, MediaNews Sacramento Bureau
Article Last Updated: 11/30/2007 09:27:10 PM PST


SACRAMENTO - Presidential hopefuls might want to heed the findings of a new statewide poll on California's absentee voters.

The California Field poll shows that almost half of all the ballots cast in California are done so in the days and even weeks before an election, and it's a trend that's growing, with more than a quarter of voters registered as permanent absentee voters.

So, although the state's primary will be held Feb. 5, it's almost certain more voters will cast their ballots in January in California than in New Hampshire and Iowa combined. Absentee ballots will be mailed out Jan. 7.

That has put a premium on California's early voters and has driven campaigns - particularly those with huge war chests - into unknown territory as they try to lock in voters almost a full month before the actual primary.

"They want to make sure they get the vote in the can before voters have a chance to change their mind," said Jack Pitney, a government professor at Claremont McKenna College.

California's absentee voters - a slight majority of them Republican and conservative - have changed how candidates approach the state, said Ron Nehring, the chairman of the state Republican Party.

"Early voting means the decision-making period for voters is not just days before election day, but over a full month," Nehring said. "It's given rise to the need to communicate with voters over a longer period of time. Election day is no longer a one day crescendo."

The two leading candidates in California - New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani - have put massive resources into locking in their voters before the Feb. 5 primary, political observers say.

Clinton signaled she'd aggressively pursue absentee voters, said Chris Lehane, a Democratic strategist who supports her, by hiring Bay Area political consultant Ace Smith to run her California campaign.

Smith used sophisticated absentee-voter contact campaigns to help elect Attorney General Jerry Brown last year and, in previous years, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

"One of the hallmarks in each campaign was the fact that they had organized an absentee program where they absolutely racked up enormous numbers," Lehane said. "Ace was one of the first to recognize that you're not looking at elections as a one-day affair."

Giuliani has been aggressive in pursuing absentee voters, a spokesman for his campaign said. Giuliani has made 11 trips, spending a total of nearly a month, in California - more than any other GOP candidate - and stressing the importance of contacting absentee voters.

"We've made sure, as we communicate with voters, that they know the options and the legal procedures for voting early," said Jarrod Agen, the spokesman.

Candidates with smaller war chests, though, can compete for absentee voters because it's cheaper than having to run on-air campaigns, said Art Torres, chairman of the Democratic State Party.

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, for instance, could tap into absentee voters with the help of the California branch of the Service Employees International Union, which endorsed him.

"They know how to mail and organize and get voters to send in absentee ballots," said Torres, who believes that SEIU's organizational advantage could put Edwards on equal footing with Clinton or Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

Some campaigns might even get their TV advertising campaigns going as early as mid-December, said Larry Gerston, political science professor at San Jose State University.

"These voters have to be worked on three to four weeks earlier than normal," Gerston said. "Anyone who waits until a week or two before the primary will have cost him or herself a huge portion of the electorate."

sharmon@bayareanewsgroup.com 916-441-2101

http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_7606386

This really worries me, I know here in California when I go to vote I have to show my Drivers License, but what safegard is used for Absentee ballots?