Who will check if the caucus-goers are even citizens of the United States?
This year is the first time Nevada is hosting a caucus.
Granted, this time around, the caucuses are the way the Democrat and the Republican political parties do things. in Nevada.
While a challenge to the casino precincts being set-up is being presented, by who'd have guessed teacher's union, the odd thing to consider is this:
Aren't most precincts already set up in schools in Nevada? Don't teachers, usually, though not always, live in the same, or near, districts where they also reside?
Don't teachers then have an advantage of easy caucus-day gatherings in their home-or near home areas?
Talk Left doesn't think so? Nevada Teachers Union Sues to Prevent Casino Precincts
http://www.talkleft.com/story/2008/1/12/133648/896
It's disturbing that more focus is on where the caucuses will be held. Even former President Bill Clinton has gotten involved in an attempt to prevent the "at-large" casino caucuses from forming.
Meanwhile, note picky little details in info about the lawsuit challenging the move
Tough-Guy Politics on the Vegas Strip January 12, 2008 7:58 PM
...But the lawsuit, filed by six Nevada Democrats and the Nevada State Education Association teachers' union -- whose deputy executive director, Debbie Cahill, is a member of Clinton’s Nevada Women’s Leadership Council -- seeks to prevent those At-Large Districts from meeting in next Saturday's caucuses....
The move by the Nevada State Education Association -- NSEA president Lynn Warne is also a plaintiff in the lawsuit -- is widely seen within Nevada political circles as a hardball effort by Clinton allies to block votes from the 60,000-member Culinary Workers Union Local 226, which endorsed Obama on January 9, an hotly-contested endorsement.
The Obama campaign has publicly opposed the lawsuit. "We believe as a party, and a country, we should be looking for ways to include working men and women in the electoral process, not disenfranchise them," said David Cohen, the Obama campaign’s Nevada State Director.
Teacher's Union dep. exec. director = a member of Clinton’s Nevada Women’s Leadership Council. Partners in the firm filing the lawsuit involved in contributions to Clinton campaigns? Who'd have thought?
Factor in the caucuses will occur on a Saturday, as pointed out in posts at Talk Left, and what does that mean?
Not a word is whispered about the potential for election fraud, across the state of Nevada, due to lax election laws, inaccurate voter registration rolls, and virtually unchecked same-day voter registration. All one has to do is show up and claim residency, and sign an affadavit of residency. Sure, nobody who is already here illegally will sign anything fraudulently.
Who will be keeping track of whether a caucus-goer who states he/she can't return "home" during a shift break, at the casino, or at the school, doesn't?
This year is the first time Nevada is hosting a caucus. The process is complicated and party members stand for hours in groups to show support for favored candidates rather than voting in a secret ballot.
People stand around for hours? According to Behind Nevada casino walls is a political fight
Who will keep track of members in the groups? Still, even though the votes are reportedly done in public, isn't this situation ripe for voter fraud on a massive scale?
Talk-left hones in on the details that lead us to say yes, this situation is ripe for massive voter fraud as nobody will possibly be able to track the whereabouts of any employee during the time periods these caucuses are scheduled. Noon-ish. To when? Long into the day and night?
Cast your hand-vote, make sure it's tallied for the candidate of your choice, then high-tail it on over to another casino where maybe you've got a second job?
And, who is checking that some of the workers don't possess more than one driver's license, or state identity card, has different addresses, and is able to show different names on such?
The rules were unanimously approved by the state Democratic party last March and ratified by the Democratic National Committee in August...
Who is to say casino workers don't have two jobs at different casino establishments? Who is to say since this was in the works for more than a year, well...
Nobody. Ripe for fraud.
Lou Dobbs said as much - but who will listen?
Presidential Races Wide Open
Aired January 16, 2008 - 19:00 ET
DOBBS: I think that we're learning rather quickly. Thank you very much, Dana Bash.
Democratic presidential candidates tonight are stepping up their battle to win the Hispanic vote before Saturday's caucuses in Nevada. The powerful Culinary Workers Union is to play a critical role in that effort. The union is encouraging its members to caucus on behalf of Senator Obama, but in point of fact, as many as half of the union's members are illegal aliens. Candy Crowley reports now from Las Vegas. Candy, just how concerned is the Democratic Party, if at all, about possible irregularities, shall we call them, in those caucuses?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well look let me tell you what they say and this is a couple of officials about why they think is this not a problem, OK. They say first of all, the idea that illegal immigrants who are trying to hide from the law are going to show up, sign an affidavit that they're a U.S. citizen and caucus, seems to in the words of one, to be ridiculous.
They also say that given that they really don't see how a massive outpouring of illegals could change a caucus. They said there just won't be this massive outpouring, so there won't be a way to kind of change whatever the caucus decides. I will tell you that also we spoke to a P.R. guy for a couple of these hotels here who didn't want to be named but who said, look, these are multinational corporations here, these hotels. We don't hire illegals. I know I say that at my own peril, but I'm just telling you what they're saying at this point, Lou.
DOBBS: That is delightful. That's one of the better bald face lies to emanate from any corner of this campaign so far, luckily it doesn't come from one of the candidates. But the very idea, that you know that makes perfect sense what you're -- the Democratic Party folks said, because we know that these illegal aliens, for example, would never deign or dare to march in the streets of the United States, demanding rights of citizenship when they're here illegally.
We know they would never, for example, in any way, violate law with fraudulent documents or identity theft or take jobs with improper documentation. So you're right. The nation's mind should be at ease on the issue of the integrity of these caucuses. ..
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0801/16/ldt.01.html
Michigan Primary; Oregon Ceases Alien Drivers License Program; Fighting for the Latino Vote
DOBBS: The Latino vote could be decisive, the Catholic male vote could be decisive, the evangelical vote could be decisive, the black vote could be decisive. I mean my gosh this group and identity politics is really surfacing as a major issue within the Democratic Party. Their leadership in the Democratic Party right now has to be very concerned.
Among those concerns has to be the legal battle in those Democratic caucuses in Nevada, a battle that's apparently a fight between the surrogates for Obama and the Clinton campaigns and the issue of the legality of those people in those caucuses now.
YELLIN: That's right. You're talking about these nine new caucus sites that are taking place at casinos, designed to let mainly casino workers and folks who work along the strip come and participate because it's a Saturday caucus. Now, as you've said, this teachers union has objected to this at the very last minute and said it's illegal. They have filed papers...
DOBBS: On behalf of Senator Clinton. On behalf of Senator Clinton...
YELLIN: Well, they say...
DOBBS: I'm sorry. Go ahead.
YELLIN: They have not -- sorry -- they have not explicitly endorsed Senator Clinton, although some of their leaders do support her, so they take issue with that...
DOBBS: You can give me credit for it. They can take it up with me. The reality is they're acting in behalf of Senator Clinton.
YELLIN: And the Obama supporters, which is the culinary union, say -- essentially they're trying to disenfranchise Obama's voters. Obama and the Democratic Party has a chance to file papers on this tomorrow. The Democrat Party says the caucuses will go ahead as planned. They're pretty confident of that.
DOBBS: And have we learned what they're going to do? Because the culinary workers is made up of -- just about half of it by most estimates those culinary workers are illegal in this country. What have we learned about the precautions that are being taken to make certain that those caucus votes are valid and legal?
YELLIN: I promised you an answer, and I got it. What they will do is at these nine sites, these nine new sites, folks who come there will have to show a I.D, but it's a work I.D., not your driver's license, a badge from your place of employment. And then also sign an affidavit asserting that you are eligible to vote and legal.
It's a felony to wrongly assert that, and it's also a civil crime. And the Democratic Party said they could be charged up to $20,000 for violating it. Of course, the big question, Lou, is who's going to enforce it? It's up to the Democratic Party to check the roll and enforce it.
DOBBS: You know for all of us who have been worrying about e- voting machines, all of those problems, the issue of voter integrity across this country, this is a year in which we're going to see some serious, serious strains I'm sure on the system. What you're about to cover in Las Vegas I think, Jessica, is going to be an early test case. We thank you very much, Jessica Yellin, reporting from Las Vegas.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0801/15/ldt.01.html
Net the Truth Online
Nevada Teachers Union Sues to Prevent Casino Precincts
By Jeralyn, Section Elections 2008
Posted on Sat Jan 12, 2008 at 12:36:48 PM EST
In the wake of the Nevada Culinary Workers' Union endorsement of Barack Obama, and the Nevada Democratic party's creation of at-large precincts inside Las Vegas strip hotels, the Nevada Teachers' Union and six Nevada voters have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to ban the Democratic Party from holding the newly created caucuses.
The suit alleges that the newly created voting places inside hotels violates the "one person, one vote rule" and equal protection of the law under the 14th Amendment by creating at-large precincts based solely on employment. A copy of the complaint is here (pdf.)...
...The new at-large precincts are all inside the Las Vegas Strip hotels. Workers attending the hotel caucuses will have to provide identification showing them to be a shift worker and sign a declaration stating they can't attend their "home" caucus because of their work schedule.
The teachers, and other workers who can't attend caucuses because of work, are not being provided special caucuses and thus they won't be able to vote...
http://www.talkleft.com/story/2008/1/12/133648/896
In Vegas, Politics Comes to The Strip
Caucus Sites in Casinos Become A Flash Point
By Paul Kane and Alec MacGillis
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, January 13, 2008; A01
LAS VEGAS -- Next Saturday, gamblers at the Bellagio, the opulent Las Vegas casino immortalized in the George Clooney blockbuster "Ocean's Eleven," will be treated to an unusual sight.
Just before noon, the hotel's dishwashers, cocktail waitresses, porters and bellhops will go on break and gather in a 30,000-square-foot ballroom to vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama or maybe John Edwards to be the Democratic nominee for president.
A similar scene will play out in eight other casinos on or near Las Vegas's Strip as Democrats caucus in Nevada, the next stop in the party's fiercely competitive presidential race. There will be more than 1,700 caucus precincts across Nevada, but estimates are that the votes cast in the casinos could be more than 10 percent of the statewide total. Many of them will be cast by Latinos, the first time in the 2008 presidential race when that ethnic group will play a significant role.
Democratic officials, working with national party leaders, came up with the idea of caucusing in the casinos for the first time to increase participation in a town that doesn't know the meaning of a 9-to-5, Monday-to-Friday workweek.
Under rules set by the Nevada Democratic Party, only casinos that have been organized by the most powerful labor group in Las Vegas, the Culinary Workers Union Local 226, were selected as caucus sites.
The unusual venue has set the scene for a different confrontation between Obama and Clinton, the two front-runners, than occurred in Iowa or New Hampshire.
In New Hampshire, Clinton fared best among working-class and middle-class voters, while Obama did better with higher-income voters and in college towns -- a demographic that Clinton at one point mocked as people who "don't need a president."
But in Las Vegas, Clinton, a senator from New York, is supported by many hotel and casino executives, while Obama has the backing of two key unions -- the Nevada chapter of the Service Employees International Union and the culinary workers, which announced its endorsement Wednesday after fierce lobbying from all three Democrats.
"Not only am I among friends, I am also among the best of the labor movement in this country," Obama, a senator from Illinois, said in a speech Friday night at the union's hall on the north end of town.
The same day, another union -- the Nevada State Education Association -- contended that Obama and the culinary workers are altogether too friendly, and asked a federal court to shut down the casino caucus sites because, the association said, they give preferential treatment to culinary union members.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/12/AR2008011202834_pf.html
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