Thread: Thousands of voters, celebrities, register to wrong party

Thousands of voters, celebrities, register to wrong party

Published April 18, 2016 Associated Press

A survey has found that tens of thousands of voters, including Demi Moore and other celebrities, have mistakenly registered as members of a conservative minor political party in California in a mix-up over its name, a newspaper reported Sunday.

The Los Angeles Times said that a telephone survey of 500 members of the American Independent Party found nearly 3 of 4 people did not realize they had enrolled in a political party that opposes abortion rights and same sex marriage and calls for building a fence along the U.S. border.

The newspaper said voters were confused by the use of the word "independent" in the party's name. In California, voters who do not want to register with any party must check a box on a registration form for "no party preference."

"I just blew it," Deborah Silva, 64, of Point Arena in Mendocino County, told the Times. "There were a number of choices. I just checked the box that said 'independent.'"

Of people surveyed in the Times poll, fewer than 4 percent could correctly identify their own registration as a member of the American Independent Party.

Moore was among Hollywood celebrities with known Democratic leanings listed as members. She has contributed money to and campaigned for President Barack Obama. Her registration as an AIP member is wrong, a representative said.

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"Demi Moore is not, nor has ever been, a member of the American Independent Party," the representative told the Times.

When Patrick Schwarzenegger, son of former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, registered to vote in 2013, he selected the American Independent Party. A family spokesman said Schwarzenegger, 22, plans to change his registration.

According to the Secretary of State's Office, the party has about 472,000 members, or 2.7 percent of the statewide total.

The Times reported that the mistaken registration could prevent people from casting votes in the June 7 presidential primary, which is considered California's most competitive in recent years. Voters affiliated with the American Independent Party will only be allowed to vote for candidates on the party's ballot, the Times reported. The Republicans will have a closed primary, while the Democrats will allow unaffiliated voters to participate.

The deadline to register or change voter registration status for the June 7 primary is May 23.

The American Independent Party's roots date to 1967 when George Wallace, a segregationist, launched his second run for the White House. Wallace, who had run as a Democrat in 1964, helped create the party and ran on its ticket. Today, that party exists only in California.

"We're not segregationist anymore," said Markham Robinson, who serves as chairman of the American Independent Party's executive committee. "What we are now is a conservative, constitutionalist party."

Some voters who mistakenly registered with the party said they found the state's official registration materials confusing.

The survey of members of the American Independent Party was conducted by telephone Feb. 9-11. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016...l?intcmp=hpbt1

It shows how seriously they take voting.

Wow. What a mess.

Like the Trump kids.

Trump's Kids Can't Vote for Him in New York Because They Screwed Up

The same thing happened in Mass.

Thousands may have mistakenly registered for United Independent Party

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DAVID L RYAN, GLOBE STAFF

Examples of presidential primary ballots were displayed in the Massachusetts State House last month to inform voters.

By Steve Annear GLOBE STAFF FEBRUARY 10, 2016

Secretary of State William F. Galvin said Wednesday he was concerned about thousands of voters who he believes may have accidentally enrolled as members of a new party — the United Independent Party — thinking that they were registering as “unenrolled.”

Becoming an unenrolled voter, meaning a person who has no affiliation with a particular party, is often referred to as being an “independent.”

That’s where the confusion lies, Galvin says.

In Massachusetts, an unenrolled voter can vote in any primary — Democratic, Republican, and Green Rainbow Party are the possible choices this year. A member of the United Independent Party can only vote in that party’s primary, but the party isn’t having one.

Galvin said his concern was triggered by a “sudden influx” of people in the last few weeks who took to the state’s election website to register in time for the March 1 presidential primaries and clicked on the United Independent Party affiliation. He said they likely didn’t read their options closely and thought that they were registering as unenrolled.

“We have numerous e-mails from people specifically saying they did it in error, or were confused,” said Galvin in a telephone interview.

“I understand if they saw the word ‘independent,’ and didn’t understand that there was the Independent Party.”

Wednesday was the final day for eligible voters to register for the upcoming state primary. It also marked the final day that voters could change their party status.

WGBH-FM first reported the problem this week.

The United Independent Party won official status in Massachusetts in 2014 when Evan Falchuk, who was running for governor at the time, earned 3.3 percent of the vote.

Falchuk on Twitter this week reminded people to change their affiliation before the deadline Wednesday, if necessary, but also said there is “no evidence of ‘thousands’ having had this happen.”

“Overheated, unhelpful rhetoric,” he said on social media, apparently referring to Galvin’s statements.

Falchuk also said in a statement that he had worked with Galvin’s office to make sure voters knew what to do for the primaries but now Galvin is “playing politics.”

Galvin told the Globe it was “disingenuous” of Falchuk to suggest that people weren’t confused.

“I guess I’m confused now as to what Mr. Falchuk’s problem is,” he said.

Galvin said his office late last month mailed out 21,000 notices to people who are registered with Falchuk’s party to explain the possible mixup.

Galvin’s office also placed disclaimers on the state election website to steer people away from clicking on the wrong affiliation box, he said.

Galvin said around 5,500 people have changed their status from the United Independent Party to unenrolled since those notices went out.

A spokeswoman for the United Independent Party said some members were unenrolling from the party just to cast ballots in the primary and planned to rejoin the party as soon as they had voted.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/02/10/mass-voters-advised-you-may-have-registered-for-wrong-party/8VCJ2OhXksDmAIx3bF4yHJ/story.html

Something Is Going Seriously Wrong with New York Voter Registrations

This is no accident. The Independent Party was the original response to those, like myself, who resented having to register with some political party in order to vote. I myself made complaints, saying I wanted to vote "independently". Certainly it was no accident that when I next saw a registration card, there was the "Independent Party" available and still no option to register without signing up for a political party.

The Two Party System ruled over all and this required everyone to register with the Two Parties or with the "Third Parties".

Or not at all.

The Decline to State option was the end of that and the beginning of the end of the Two Party System.

California's voter registration card