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| If you look at an election without people involved, the percentages for all 3 voting methods are similar. Not so when you add in people and their unholy absentee ballot brokers. The percentages don't make sense. |
There was a 20% voter turnout in the Miami Dade County primary, 248,605 ballots were cast.
It appears it is not only us watchdogs that are unhappy with absentee ballots. Candidates are finally coming forward to complain about them now. Paul Crespo (see his article in the Miami Herald today on Absentees), Pedro Garcia and John Julien have all contacted the State Attorney...like that will do any good. The video at the end of this blog post is of Former State Rep. John Julien discussing his experience.
Nothing seemed odder to me than the absentee ballot numbers in the Dennis Moss/Alice Pena race. Alice Pena raked in 1,425 absentee ballots. Dennis Moss got 1,855. They were pretty close in absentees. However on election day Pena got 1,521 votes to Dennis Moss's 5,343. He got almost 4 times as many votes. How did she do so well in absentees? In early voting he topped her with three times as many votes. Very odd numbers in this race.
Then we have the Mayor's race. Carlos Gimenez got almost as many votes in absentees as he got on election day. His election day total was 54,622 and his absentees were 54,595. He got a landslide of absentee compared to his closest rival. Joe Martinez got 20,000 less votes on election day but 30,000 less in absentees. That surprised me since the absentee ballot queen, Sasha Tirador was Martinez's campaign manager.
In the District 5 commission race, Bruno Barreiro got a lot more absentee votes than he got on election day: 3,784 absentees and 2,880 on election day. His challenger Luis Garcia did the same with a smaller margin: 2,222 absentees and a bit less on election day 2,163.
In the property appraiser race Pedro Garcia won on election day (48,119) and in early voting (16,674). Carlos Lopez Cantera got 46,636 on election day and 15,354 in early voting. However Lopez Cantera ruled the absentees and won because of them. He had 43,903 absentee to Garcia's 36,116. The same happened with one on the judge races - Group 15. Robert Coppel trounced Maria Elena Verde on election day and in early voting but somehow she got 10,000 more votes in the absentees to win the election 51.45% to 48.55%. Oddly Judge David Miller got more than twice as many votes than his opponent on election day and more than twice as many in early voting. However in absentees they were pretty close: 39,264 for Miller and 34,311 for Padilla. In The Teresa Mary Pooler vs. Victor DeYurre race (Group 49 Judge), DeYurre won on absentees 38,523 to 36,167. Pooler slaughtered him on election day 56,031 to 35,790 and won the election. Diane Gonzalez did the same in Group 10. She lost to Pando in absentees but won because of election day and early voting.
What does it all mean? To me it means that over and over on election day and early voting the percentages are pretty close. If someone wins on election day they also win in early voting by similar percentages. So why then do things get turned about in absentees? Why so often are absentees so different in percentages? I just don't get the numbers if there is no tampering with absentee ballots. Even when you look at all Republican races, you get these same lopsided results, so you can't simply say that more Republicans vote absentee. Also, most of the races I highlighted here were non-partisan. I chalk up the lopsided numbers to absentee ballot manipulation and outright fraud.
Off topic but worth noting: Do you realize that Dennis moss got 9,043 votes and Barbara Jordan got 12,939 votes to win their county commission races but they both make decisions that effect ALL 1,242,973 county voters? That means in Barbara Jordan's case she has the support of 1.04% of the people registered to vote in the county and Dennis Moss has the support of less than 1% of the voters even though they both make decisions for 100% of us. Makes you feel disenfranchised doesn't it?
I don't quite get Julien's beef as all methods of voting were pretty equal in his race and his opponent did beat him with early voting as well as absentees. But the Haitian radio ads he speaks about are disturbing. The PAC, Candidate John Julien mentions in this video, is Keith Donner's The Democracy Project. And, apparently there is yet a second woman vying for the title of absentee ballot queen (watch the video).
29 comments:
Speaking of Pena (Yes, I know I'm swaying off topic here), I'm just waiting for her and her buddy's in 8 1/2 sq. mile to be calling FEMA any second now due to flooding in the area!
On another note, on topic, I'm very disturbed about the Pit Bull issue. I truly believe the wording was horrendous and confused voters. I just cannot fathom this vote imbalance, in my opinion. Everyone I spoke to, including just about every reputable rescue/shelter/breeder was supportive as were many residents. I think this one item needs to be looked at a little closer. I know the majority of the BCC hated over turning this ordinance and I think they purposely worded it so badly it would fail due to confusion. The legislature should have gone ahead with their bill and not let this fall in the hands of the County. This would have been passed by the legislature but the Dade County delegation pressured them to not move forward.
I voted not to repeal the ordinance. I have personal experience with a pit bull gone wild.
Well, maybe one of these candidates will get off their asses and file a challenge to the election in court.
Down with pit bulls. I'm sorry. I feel the same way about automatic weapons.
Julien says that the ballot broker worked for 3 candidates. That is not uncommon. While manipulating seniors to 'help' fill out the ballot, the broker can mark 1, 2, 3, 4 or more of the candidates who paid her.
Court challenges coming Cato II. One filed and will be announced as soon as this afternoon, weather permitting.. Two or three more putting final touches on legal.
When Doc Solomon and I posted a $1000.00 bounty on boleteros in our districts, people thought it was a publicity stunt. But we placed bilingual "wanted" posters in numerous senior centers --- and ALF employees will be keeping watchful eyes. I believe this will play a role in reducing fraud this fall, at least in our own house races. And we can't wait to catch our first crook!
I don't get the comment about proportional representation somehow disenfranchising voters.
Congress makes decisions that affect the fate of the Country, but we only get to vote for one out of 435.
We always have only one person representing our area of a larger government (city state or national) and at each level, our representative is supposed to look out for their specific area they represent AND the interests of the larger public.
Not a perfect system, but better than every other. The campaign financing part could use some work...
1% or less is sick.
"Not a perfect system, but better than every other"
Not sure I agree with you. Why are we always settling?
What part of "don't attack the bloggers" do some of you not understand. It is a guarantee you get dumped. Easy for me.
It is no wonder that absentee ballot management has become the single most important part of elections. Combined with voter suppression, low voter turnout virtually guarantees that elections will be decided by absentee ballots. The math isn't complicated, and the GOP is on top of it.
What needs to happen in addition to federal investigation of absentee balloteering, is the way that street money -- ie. cash that is unreported -- lubricates this system.
We have the best democracy that money can buy. It should surprise no one, but thanks G.O.D. for keeping a spotlight on how it happens.
Re: the pit bull ban......
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57498486/pit-bulls-maul-calif-minivan-chasing-kitten/mydesert.co/mydesert.co/smlvag?tag=contentMain%3bcontentBody
We need some commissioners elected at large. Maybe the commission chair should be an at large commissioner. With voter turnout so low it would make a lot of sense.
I don't deny there is fraud. But just because there is disparity between absentee voter results and election day results does not mean there is absentee ballot manipulation and outright fraud.
Have you considered the demographics of absentee voters? If absentee voters are on average much older than election day voters, wouldn't that also lead to disparity?
Maybe Moss bussed in more people than Pena could get to vote early?
The pit bull question was worded just fine. The vast majority of people know that pit bulls are dangerous and they don't want them in their community. This is reflected in the election results. Miami-Dade residents support the ban by an overwhelming percentage.
There are more than 150 breeds of dogs that are not dangerous. Pit bull advocates need to stop obsessing about owning a dog that was bred specifically to fight and kill other dogs, and choose a nondangerous breed.
Solomon is a chiropractor, not a medical doctor. He drives a chiropractor bus around town looking for "patients" who he treats on his bus. To call him "doc" is misleading.
He is a doctor it is NOT misleading. Stop trying to trash him.
Why is everyone afraid to mention the name of this new absentee ballot queen? Julien appears fearful, and I notice you won't mention her name as well. Is she part of the mafia?
The person who writes here calling us comunistas...that really doesn't resonate....I guess it does with you. Blank slate here.
Welcome back!!!!! We missed you!!! Only you keep track of absentee ballot fraud.... slowly but surely, you will get the prosecutors' attention, after all, you've done half their job.
There were lopsided results in AB's VS election day on the Pitbull ban. NO got 68.7% in AB's but on election day got 58.6%. does this imply fraud in that election too? where their was virtually no money spent on either side. Is it possible that the AB electorate just sees thing diffrently than an election day electorate?
Not so I put the results at the beginning of this blog. Similar ratios no turn around in absentees. The no change was across the board on all 3 methods to vote. Look again.
Nitwit...we are talking about big differences where a cansidate gets a win from absentees or two or three times as many. The Pitt Bull is proof of Gods assertion.
Do you believe the fraud is mainly from these paid operatives submitting illegal absentee ballots, or do you believe that the fraud comes from the Elections
Department itself?
I don't think fraud comes from election department. I think it is these operatives and the politicians working together to cheat us out of fair elections.
Lynda Bell could not deliver to Alice and Pedro on absentee ballots. Lynda could not deliver in divide and conquer with Dennis Moss. Now we all know that Gimenez and Lopez-Cantera are the winners and the Martinez and Garcia need to stop showing such poor sportsmanship and they are just sore losers. Lynda maybe you should start your absentee campaign now rather than wait until later.
Julien can cry all he wants. The truth is the Haitian people he was counting on did not vote for him. Julien should do some soul searching into why the Haitian people voted for his opponent. The answer is: The Haitian people don't like Julien’s politics.
-- An informed South Florida voter
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