IOW, Stop Snitchin’?
I think you should stop him from doing this, and I think **DanBlather **has the right idea:
It’s up to you whether you actually contact the authorities, however you posted the issue in a public forum. Doesn’t that kind of force your hand, particularly as an officer of the court?
Well you could send him some kind of official letter telling him that if he goes through with it that you will testify against him in any legal proceedings resulting thereform. It’s all well and good that you think he’s forfeited familial bonds based on this action, but it is highly unlikely that family opinion will fall evenly on one side or the other. That kind of principled argumentation is nice in theory but has little bearing on how things shake out in actual reality.
The point, though that is being insisted on, is that the weight of family opinion is irrelevant to the legality of the situation that Drain Bead’s relative has put her in.
Actual reality does include the jeopardy this poses to her livelihood.
It is not actually a legal obligation for you to report a potential fraud. If the fraud is committed and you did what you could to prevent it then cooperating with the authorities should limit your exposure to punitive action.
“I told him no he most certainly could not use my address for this purpose, and he went ahead and did it anyway your honor.”
So wait guys, if your brother walked up and said “Dude, I’ve got the hookup for some primo weed this afternoon!” would you all really call the police? Really?
I also don’t buy the whole “required reporter” thing. There is a difference between sitting in while people plan a bank robbery, and hearing your friend talk smack about his stupid plan. I imagine telling him you think it’s a stupid plan and you want nothing to do with it would fulfill your legal requirements. There is no way to tell how serious he is being or if he has changed his mind.
If had arranged for the meet to be in my living room, I’d stop him. Other than that weed is indeed a victimless crime. Vote fraud is not. And this is using Drain’s house as part of the plan.
Again, some things are minor enough that I’d let it slide; this is not. Again I ask - what would you call the police on? Nothing? Planned robbery? Kidnapping? Where do you draw the line?
What a shame that the would-be vote fraudster isn’t a Democrat. He could have become the centerpiece of McCain’s campaign all week.
It’s an interesting question whether the OP has been put in the position of being an accessory to the crime, should he choose to do nothing. It seems to me (with no legal expertise) that if someone asks to borrow your car, and then uses it to rob a bank, you’ve done nothing wrong – but if he asks to borrow your car for the stated purpose of robbing a bank, it might well be different. The OP’s address is likewise being used as an integral element of the crime, and he’s aware of this.
I don’t know if Ohio is different than California in their willingness to prosecute voter fraud, but in my experience, it is a very low priority for the district attorney, at least in LA County.
My ex-wife was a Canadian citizen living in LA County, and she registered and voted in every election, including presidential elections. When our divorce turn nasty, I dropped a dime on her to the voter fraud division of the California Secretary of State’s office. I spoke to a special investigator over a period of weeks as he built a case that included her illegal registration and records of her absentee ballots. He then turned the case over to the LA County District Attorney, who declined to prosecute, even though all the legwork had been done and the there was a solid case against her. I later read an article in the Wall Street Journal that said a voter fraud case had never (NEVER!) been tried in LA County. This was circa 1995.
Seconded. The man is planning on using your address, and you did nothing, would you not be implicated as well?
Turn the bastard in. Family doesn’t always mean squat-I have some real jackass relatives who I wouldn’t hesitate to screw over in a heartbeat.
So, for everyone advocating turning a blind eye because blood is thicker than water–how much family loyalty do you owe someone who clearly doesn’t have any himself? It’s a real dick move to put someone in the position the OP is in, not the act of a loving and devoted relation. It’s Cousin Jackass who is tearing the family apart, not the OP.
And yes, Sven, if my brother announced his intention of getting some weed and smoking it in my living room knowing full well it exposed me to liability that included possible jail time, I would turn his jerk ass in. Someone who is willing to throw me under the bus doesn’t deserve my protection.
Well, first of all it’s highly unlikely that it will expose Drain Bead at all. Second, it’s incredibly simplistic to think that throwing your family member under the bus has ramifications on for your relationship with that person. I brought up the idea of registering at my parents’ house in New Mexico, and they didn’t care. I of course didn’t do it, but nobody really thought twice about it. If you’re willing to throw your family under the bus for this sort of thing, then that says more about you and your character than them and theirs. Really, registering to vote in a different district from where you spend most of your time isn’t that big of a deal.
Lots of people have primary residences that they spend very little time at. Say if I have a house in Montana where I am registered to vote, that I spend a few weeks out of the year at, but I spend most of the time at my apartment in New York, am I committing voter fraud by voting in Montana?
Really, the only issue here is that Drain Bead doesn’t want it to happen and should have her wishes respected. The notion that she might get pinned as an accessory is overly dramatic nonsense. It’s expensive to prosecute for this sort of thing and they rarely do it unless it’s A) Cut and dry or B) Large scale. Drain Bead should make it clear in no uncertain terms that she does not approve, and that she will not see this person during the election, that he cannot come to her home, and that she will simply write, “Return to Sender”, on any mail for him that comes to her house. That should be more than adequate.
It’s pretty disgusting the sentiment that people have expressed, an almost gleeful willingness to screw over family members. I’m glad I’m not related to half of you.
I also wonder. If this family member were voting Democrat if people would be so gleeful about burning him. Somehow I doubt it, even though I am certain there will be plenty of costless internet message board protestations to the contrary.
Since I’m on record as (a) supporting Senator Obama and (b) saying that family loyalty would prevent my turning my own brother in in the same circumstance, I hope I have a smidgeon of credibility in saying I think you’re wrong.
Quite a bit, unfortunately. I can’t stand one of my brothers, but I value my relationship with our sisters and other brothers enough that I won’t likely burn the bridge.
Well, I will imbue your protestation with the maximum level of credibility that one man’s opinion should be afforded.
I’d tell him that if he did it, I’d turn him in. I’d be irate and convincing, too. I doubt I’d actually turn him in if he went through with it, but I’d at least make sure the entire family knew why I wasn’t speaking to him.
I’d call your relative and tell him that you’ve notified the voter authorities that someone is illegally using your address for voting purposes. Let him know that they may be looking for him if he votes.
Basically I’d just try to scare him out of it. Like if I were you I might tell him:
Just tell him the cops, election board, or something (pick a group that’d be convincing and maybe scary to him!) came by and said someone legally living in NYC was registered at this address and wanted to verify that individual was currently now residing here. Since you didn’t have proof and he wasn’t there personally they told you he’d need to bring two bills from last month with his name on them and your address to polling station. (which is reasonable for someone actually living there but he won’t have em!) And they reminded you that voter fraud, and accessory to voter fraud was a federal crime with criminal penalties.
Retooling the wording of that as needed so it’s natural to you, or making up a better fit.
Then if he still intends on perusing it you have an out. Tell the rest of your family to talk some sense into him and tell him he’s selfishly risking damaging your career as well as getting you in trouble. If he still persists tell him he’s an idiot putting politics over family and if he’s going to try it anyway you’ll turn him in.
I wouldn’t give a shit who he or she was voting for.
My grandfather is a majorly selfish SOB who only cared about himself his entire life. Oh, he was pretty decent to us grandchildren, but he treated my grandmother like shit, and I wouldn’t hesitate to turn him in if he tried this with us.
Mind you, if it’s something like, “Well, I’m not reporting some income on my taxes,” THEN my response would be, “Well, that’s your problem-if you get caught, too bad.” I’d keep my mouth shut. But the minute you involve ME, hell no. I will NOT be your cover.
I suspect that his plot would involve an absentee ballot, with the result that presenting a proof of residence to a polling place worker wouldn’t be an issue.