“Our guys will not touch a ballot that’s not signed, that’s not sealed, at all,” fire union Vice President Eric Johnson said.
The wrinkle: State and county laws only allow a person to turn in two absentee ballots — other than his or her own — per election. One must be from an immediate family member. The other must be from a voter who has signed an affidavit designating that person as responsible for the ballot.
“Then this whole city is in violation,” a surprised Johnson said when a reporter informed him about the rules.
You are damn right they are Eric! That is why Eye on Miami blog is following this issue so closely and has lobbied for the changes coming out of the County Commission that the article mentioned.
These boleteros are thwarting democracy in Miami-Dade County. Don't think it is JUST Hialeah. Hialeah votes absentee in such high numbers, that they can change any countywide election, like a mayoral election. Also boletero tactics are contagious, now bridging our ethic and racial divide. Read the article...it mirrors our blog posts in many good ways.
17 comments:
Spot on! Hialeah is just a microcosm of a lawless mentality preying on democracy throughout the county. Excellent observation about the ethnic and racial divide. This year alone we've seen campaign platforms take a backseat to whether or not a candidate is Cuban, Haitian, African-American, etc. Boletero tactics are alive in every part of Miami-Dade. Good Herald article, but they missed one angle about the lists. Boleteros now chase registered voters who rarely vote. These people represent a plentiful, easy target.
Comments I left on the Herald site:
I think Sasha Tirador's involvement in the Hernandez campaign is a bellwether for absentee ballot shenanigans. To me she is like a bad penny that shows up in absentee ballot problems over and over. She was investigated in 2008 with her x partner David Custin aka Custen.Our elections are not a joke. This makes my blood boil to read what is going on. I am on a mission to stop absentee ballot abuse. I write about this fraud on my blog Eyeonmiami constantly and I uncovered the woman Judith Valentine Thompson, mentioned in the Herald article. Her ballot was stolen from the ALF she lived at. The signature on her ballot envelope DID NOT MATCH her signature on file but it was counted. I have seen absentee ballots accepted and COUNTED at elections with NO signature on them. The elections personnel just shrugged their shoulders. I have seen obvious examples of husbands/wives signing for each other (same signature) that were counted. I have seen mailboxes overflowing with ballots (possibly stuffed in by campaign workers). The boleteros is a cottage industry that needs to put out of business.These crooked tactics are spread throughout the community and are targeted at our most vulnerable voters who just can't cope with navigating a ballot with three languages on it. They will hand anyone their ballot for a stamp or a pastry....what are we going to do? I think we need a multi-pronged effort that evolves because the campaigns just find ways around every rule. Also getting the witness signature back on the envelope would be a good start. That is how Humberto Hernandez was caught (the legislature did away with the witness requirement)
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/11/12/2498159/in-hialeah-accusations-fly-over.html#ixzz1daqEH4QC
Comment 2 on Herald Site:
You know that focusing on the candidates you are losing sight of the big picture: The corruption of the institution of voting.
I don't think this Hialeah election will be fair at all and I blame it on Absentee Ballot manipulation. When you call one candidate Raulito and the other one Carlos, you sound like you are from one of the campaigns. I don't have any allegiance to either candidate, I just want it fair. Get past the partisanship and get mad at the real culprit the people burying democracy. They work for any campaign for a price. Candidates all the time are told "If you give me $1,000 (or $3,000) I will deliver you the absentee ballots from this group home/ALF/Breakfast program." In the Willie Gort election this offer was made to his challenger. That is the City of Miami not Hialeah. The man spoke at the County Commission Committee meeting last week.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/11/12/2498159/in-hialeah-accusations-fly-over.html#ixzz1daqRI1Gt
Where is the absentee ballot education campaign by the Miami-Dade Elections Department? It's non-existent. They are too busy county the money from their hefty paychecks.
Hated City of Miami commissioner Marc Sarnoff bought 1,200 absentee ballots using money from lobbyists and developers. Sarnoff used absentee ballots to avoid a runoff election.
Now Sarnoff continues to be corrupted owing favors to dozens of sleazy lobbyists and billboard companies.
Genius,
I am perplexed by the LACK OF INVOLVEMENT by Local Police.. I myself have spent time working with local and state authorities on this very same issue. When the firefighters involved themselves in a campaign last year in the mayoral elections for Miami Dade County it was to spread the word of absentee ballot fraud. Our message was clear. DO NOT GIVE YOUR BALLOT TO ANYONE.. IN this election cycle for Hialeah Mayor we started this message again. People are afraid of what is going on here i n the city but mire so than anything they are afraid of the repercussions of not voting for those candidates they were told to vote for. The firefighters are out speading the message that a budget was passed eliminating 40% of the current Fire Rescue department.. 105 paramedics.. How will the city function?? Also facts about water rates rising by 40% in just 5 years.. So many more issues. We are asking the residents to NOT GIVE YOUR BALLOTS TO ANYONE again. We will give you stamps to mail it, provide a ride to the nearest mail box or in extreme circumstances deliver it for them to the nearest BLUE MAILBOX. We will only touch the ballot if it is signed and sealed ONLY.. We consulted with Miami Dade Public Corruptions before taking on this extreme measure and were told the law states that we cannot be in possesion of more than 2 AB's at any time and that is the LAW.. We were advised that we would be breaking no laws if we were out protecting the ballots that we believe were previously gathered and thrown away or even altered. In recent days, with multiple teams of people, have been watching very close people picking up AB's violating this very law as we were advised of. The Absentee ballot fraud is truly out of control in this city and must be stopped. Just yesterday we had a Firefighters car broken into and shirts that say Hialeah Fire Rescue were stolen. Case Number 11-36815. Since that time yesterday we have been advised by some residents that people posing as Firemen are demanding their ballots.. HOW LOW CAN YOU GO!!!! On gentleman with a full beard (WE CANT HAVE FACIAL HAIR) was doing this. Does one not understand that in our profession a beard would hamper our mask seal so therefore by our rukes and regulation also with common sense that would not be possible. I believe the Miami herald captured a lady at a public housing building who we know was there picking up.. This is the same lady that was reported to the Public coruptions and also the FDLE in Julio Robaina vs. Gimenez election.
And the lady you spoke of, she went in an apartment BEFORE the police arrived. Did she leave anything in there? We don't know. I have been in touch with the Mayor, the Vice Mayor and the new head of the Election Department. There is some real movement now -- with this new leadership -- to help stop this circus from continuing. I am hopeful and will keep you all advised.
Thank You Genius,
I dont know exactly what involvement the Mayor or the Vice Mayors have or what role they can play.. CRIMES ARE BEING COMMITTED IN THEIR COUNTY as we speak.. I pray they will step up and investigate.. This city of Hialeah has gone completely out of control..
How about the ALF bus load of mentally handicap people voting? Doesn’t the elections department bear some responsibility? How can people who clearly have mental problems walk up to election department deputy‘s and get clearance to go ahead and vote? I don’t get it. Don’t they have cameras at that Hialeah early voting precincts?
Eric Johnson admits in his Herald quote that he and his fellow firefighters are picking up multiple absentee ballots in violation of the law. He and his buddies should be placed under arrest.
To the anon above who doubts the competency of senior voters and want to deny them their right to vote:
I doubt YOUR mental competency. You should be denied the right to vote.
(See how stupid that sounds?)
I Luv JU Jialia! Talking about an ethnic Divide Genius what about district 2 in Miami a look at the numbers their will tell you theres no way ANGLOs will vote for a Cuban theyd rather vote for the corrupt incumbent or someone who doesn't know what an impact fee is. Its a two way street, everyone is guilty of prejudice.
In the City of Miami Sarnoff paid Cubans to gather absentee ballots from the elderly homes. Then he arranged to use taxpayer money to have the DDA gather absentee ballots from new residents. Using taxpayer money and assets.
Under investigation?
Sarnoff/Suarez/Marin
Miami's axis of evil
??? what does that have to do with my post....nothing....so as a result it is meaningless here.
Truly Blue
Having grown up in HIaleah, witnessing its change from red-neck ville to the center of "hispanic" politics in the county, I've enjoyed the level of participation in this election cycle. The problem is when people cheat to win. Sasha Tirador, Carlos Hernandez' campaign manager, hires known boleteros to collect absentee ballots from seniors. Some of the seniors have limited capabilities. Some of them have interactions with the Hialeah Housing Authority, which permits access only to elected officials. There is a huge PROBLEM with that. when outsiders attempt to campaign, they are told they are trespassing. The acting mayor ought to be ashamed, only his campaign is funded by illegal maquinita owners (just like ex-Mayor Julio Robaina's was). Rudy Garcia has proven to be disappointing too because he ran due to lack of transparency and 40% increase in water bills because of the Robaina/Hernandez policies of the past six years. There are too many competing interests and many of them have to do with MONEY. Plain and simple: people sell absentee ballots they collect to the highest bidder. In Hialeah, since Raul is refusing to pay for any ballots--that means the ballots for sale are going to Hernandez. The absentee ballot system is broken and needs fixing.
In a conversation with Joe Centorinno yesterday, he encapsulated it for me: Voting is a right. Voting by absentee ballot is a privilege. the government is not obliged to provide that system We need to look at NY State for guidance and monitor our absentee voting process. I miss the days when ELECTION DAY itself was the big deal. Don't you?
In the City of Miami Sarnoff paid Cubans to accumulate absentee ballots from the aged homes. Then he abiding to use aborigine money to accept the DDA accumulate absentee ballots from fresh residents. Using aborigine money and assets.
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