# Get Ready For The GOP To Do Whatever They Can To Steal This Election (Too) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 4, 2012, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-ready-for-the-gop-to-do-whatever-they-can-to-steal-this-election-too/636746 "2012-10-04T21:48:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-ready-for-the-gop-to-do-whatever-they-can-to-steal-this-election-too/636746/161 "2012-11-02T09:23:37Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > I don’t get what you are trying to say. As long as the law itself is not discriminatory or inequitable and it is evenly applied, I don’t see the problem. The problem with Voter ID laws and the early voting crap going on in Ohio is that it is all meant to suppress voter turnout. Signatures are inherently racist. Or something. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-ready-for-the-gop-to-do-whatever-they-can-to-steal-this-election-too/636746/162 "2012-11-02T10:56:37Z")
So can we safely conclude that all the Republican-voting Dopers here are perfectly okay with the Republican efforts to disenfranchise voters, Romney supporters (and in one case the Romneys themselves) having close ties to the manufacturers of the electronic voting machines, tabulation software being added to said machines outside of any normal or auditable process, votes being “switched” from Democratic-leaning areas to Republican-leaning areas, Democratic registrations being discarded, and Republican politicians ignoring court instructions on voter ID requirements? You’re all okay with every one of those items? Bonus points if you can answer without some form of \*tu quoque \*or only answering with a question. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-ready-for-the-gop-to-do-whatever-they-can-to-steal-this-election-too/636746/163 "2012-11-02T11:25:06Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > If only there were an option to show a piece of (not actually) universal identification to prove it’s her to the committee who discarded her **ABSENTEE BALLOT** … But there’s not, _and that’s the freaking point_, which you completely glossed over (intentionally?) in your partisanship. What, so you agree that there should be ID for voters to prove it’s them? Yes, there should be, and yes, she should have the opportunity to present it. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-ready-for-the-gop-to-do-whatever-they-can-to-steal-this-election-too/636746/164 "2012-11-02T11:27:27Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > So can we safely conclude that all the Republican-voting Dopers here are perfectly okay with the Republican efforts to disenfranchise voters, **Romney supporters (and in one case the Romneys themselves) having close ties to the manufacturers of the electronic voting machines**, tabulation software being added to said machines outside of any normal or auditable process, votes being “switched” from Democratic-leaning areas to Republican-leaning areas, Democratic registrations being discarded, and Republican politicians ignoring court instructions on voter ID requirements? You’re all okay with every one of those items? > > Bonus points if you can answer without some form of \*tu quoque \*or only answering with a question. I see nothing wrong with the bolded part. The others are wrong. Not that I’m a Republican, just a right-leaning outsider. What I’m not ok with is the constant pretence that it’s only the Republicans doing this, and other politicians always play by the rules. That’s as absurd on the surface as it is demonstrably false when one looks deeper. ---
**Author:** ![fattigermaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8baadc/32.png) [@fattigermaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fattigermaster)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-ready-for-the-gop-to-do-whatever-they-can-to-steal-this-election-too/636746/165 "2012-11-02T11:51:13Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > Lord knows what else they’re going to pull. They’re probably going to unfairly capitalize on how weary the electorate has become of a chief executive who hates this country and is doing his best to destroy it. And most reprehensibly, point to options that remove him and his cronies from their positions of control. Don’t you just hate that. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-ready-for-the-gop-to-do-whatever-they-can-to-steal-this-election-too/636746/166 "2012-11-02T13:24:52Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > What, so you agree that there should be ID for voters to prove it’s them? Yes, there should be, and yes, she should have the opportunity to present it. So how would you propose to implement such a system for \*\*\*absentee ballots \*\*\*- which, if you had bothered to read the thread, or even this page, you would know is the topic, dumbfuck? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-ready-for-the-gop-to-do-whatever-they-can-to-steal-this-election-too/636746/167 "2012-11-02T13:30:18Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > So how would you propose to implement such a system for \*\*\*absentee ballots \*\*\*- which, if you had bothered to read the thread, or even this page, you would know is the topic, dumbfuck? :dubious: Where there is a question about the authenticity of the ballot they can arrange to show the ID to prove it’s theirs. It’s that fucking obvious I didn’t think people would be stupid enough to need it explained. Obviously I underestimated your idiocy, and not just yours by the look of it. How would _you_ suggest she proves it’s her that voted, when the signatures don’t match? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-ready-for-the-gop-to-do-whatever-they-can-to-steal-this-election-too/636746/168 "2012-11-02T13:30:59Z")
Heh. This just gets more amusing. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-ready-for-the-gop-to-do-whatever-they-can-to-steal-this-election-too/636746/169 "2012-11-02T13:50:05Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > I see nothing wrong with the bolded part. The others are wrong. Not that I’m a Republican, just a right-leaning outsider. Even when there is absolutely no way to check whether any tampering with the results is going on? That’s the kicker here - we don’t know for certain that they’re doing anything here but there is reason to suspect that they are and **no way to know that they’re not**. It’s putting the fox in charge of the henhouse. When there’s some sort of auditability and accountability, I’ll be less worried about this. > [@](#): > > What I’m not ok with is the constant pretence that it’s only the Republicans doing this, and other politicians always play by the rules. That’s as absurd on the surface as it is demonstrably false when one looks deeper. As opposed to the constant pretense that both parties are equal. I am aware of the various Democratic shenanigans in the past. What I’m not seeing is much in the way of Democratic shenanigans now, and certainly nothing on the scale that we’re seeing for the Republicans. **Bricker** may have more confidence in the system (and why wouldn’t he?) but results you can’t check are results you can’t trust. I was also going to respond to **fattigermaster** but it seems he’s left in a huff. Or a minute and a huff. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-ready-for-the-gop-to-do-whatever-they-can-to-steal-this-election-too/636746/170 "2012-11-02T13:57:33Z")
I’m waiting until someone suggests in the newspapers in all seriousness that absentee voters prove they’re the legit voter by holding a driver license or passport in their hands while connected via video chat with the voter registration office for their community. Heck, I won’t be surprised if someone’s already been demanding that they not only do a video chat but that the voter merely dictate how their ballot be marked and watch the registrar mark the ballot. When I first voted oh so many years ago, I was surprised that I wasn’t asked for identification. The government demands ID for almost everything else under the sun and requires some businesses to do the same, so I didn’t give it a second thought. I just had my ID out and ready when I voted. I still have an ID on me but I know it’s ridiculous as a means of preventing voter fraud. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-ready-for-the-gop-to-do-whatever-they-can-to-steal-this-election-too/636746/171 "2012-11-02T15:19:02Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > What, so you agree that there should be ID for voters to prove it’s them? No. Now I’m done with this hijack. > [@Gyrate](#): > > As opposed to the constant pretense that both parties are equal. I am aware of the various Democratic shenanigans in the past. What I’m not seeing is much in the way of Democratic shenanigans now, and certainly nothing on the scale that we’re seeing for the Republicans. **Bricker** may have more confidence in the system (and why wouldn’t he?) but results you can’t check are results you can’t trust. There’s nothing remotely equal about what’s being pulled here. I defy anyone to find Democrats holding training sessions that intentionally give prospective poll watchers illegal instructions, or that are sending these people out not to observe, but to obstruct and delay in an effort to thwart Democrats voting. Or erecting scare-tactic billboards only in minority neighborhoods to keep people from the polls. Or examples of Democratic legislatures systemically enacting vote-crippling laws in state after state after state. Or trying to prevent the implementation of paper trails for electronic voting machines. Or throwing Republican voter registrations in dumpsters. And on and on and on with the Republican shenanigans. It’s simply _not_ happening from the Democratic side, and certainly not on the mass scale that this shit’s being perpetrated by the Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-ready-for-the-gop-to-do-whatever-they-can-to-steal-this-election-too/636746/172 "2012-11-02T15:32:16Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > …but results you can’t check are results you can’t trust. Agree completely. Now riddle me this: why isn’t that also true when it comes to unqualified voters who vote anyway? With no ID system in place, we can’t know to what extent that’s happening. We have no real idea if an illegal alien registered to vote by simply claiming American citizenship and has been voting for many years. But it seems to be the Siren Song of the Left that the only cases that exist are the ones that have been proven in a court, preferably accompanied by video footage and personally witnessed by a priest, a famous cardiac surgeon, and two senators. Why isn’t that situation also analyzed under “…results you can’t check are results you can’t trust?” ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-ready-for-the-gop-to-do-whatever-they-can-to-steal-this-election-too/636746/173 "2012-11-02T15:35:11Z")
We live in an age of cell phones that capture audio and video, in almost every hand. Voter fraud should be easy to combat and capture on tape, it seems to me. At the very least, if you’re afraid someone will try to take your vote, take a witness with you. Better yet, call a cop. Why isn’t _ **that** _ message being robocalled, I wonder? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-ready-for-the-gop-to-do-whatever-they-can-to-steal-this-election-too/636746/174 "2012-11-02T15:42:37Z")
From our good comrades at Daily Kos: > [@](#): > > Why did the Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted’s office, in an end run around Ohio election law, have “experimental” software patches installed on vote counting tabulators in up to 39 Ohio counties? Voting rights activists are concerned that these uncertified and untested software patches may alter the election results… > **[\[UPDATED\] "Experimental" Software Patches In Ohio Voting Machines?](https://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/01/1153901/--Experimental-Software-Patches-In-Ohio-Voting-Machines)** > > I saw this comment in kaczmar2's diary from Motley that has me more than curious about the safety and integrity of the Ohio vote. So far, nobody commented on it, so I'm posting it here because I didn' Now, I’m gonna take a grain of salt here, 'cause its Comrade Markos (Hi, **Bricker**!) This is all blog stuff and reports from decidedly partisan sources, so maybe not. On the other hand, Mr Husted has been playing fast and loose for some time now, and his motives are starkly clear. I’m just guessing here, take a wild flier, but I’m gonna guess Ohio doesn’t have a “physical” back up plan, a paper trail, as it were. Call it a hunch. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-ready-for-the-gop-to-do-whatever-they-can-to-steal-this-election-too/636746/175 "2012-11-02T16:50:25Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > Where there is a question about the authenticity of the ballot they can arrange to show the ID to prove it’s theirs. When they could be halfway around the world? How does that work, dumbfuck? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-ready-for-the-gop-to-do-whatever-they-can-to-steal-this-election-too/636746/176 "2012-11-02T17:29:48Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > IIt’s still as sad as ever to see someone as fundamentally intelligent as \*\*Bricker \*\*be totally unable to distinguish between partisan advantage and democracy itself. He knows the difference, and he’s assigned his priorities. Nothing launches a partisan Republican screaming from his bed faster than the nightmare scenario where every eligible citizen exercises his or her right to vote. Their platform—exclusionary at its outset—caters to a dwindling portion of the electorate. Changing the platform isn’t an option, so their only hope is to trim down the electorate. And it’ll probably work, for a while. The future numbers are less encouraging, though. Just hope I’m still around to see the last chunk of the ice floe melt. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-ready-for-the-gop-to-do-whatever-they-can-to-steal-this-election-too/636746/177 "2012-11-02T17:30:22Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Agree completely. > > Now riddle me this: why isn’t that also true when it comes to unqualified voters who vote anyway? With no ID system in place, we can’t know to what extent that’s happening. We have no real idea if an illegal alien registered to vote by simply claiming American citizenship and has been voting for many years. > > But it seems to be the Siren Song of the Left that the only cases that exist are the ones that have been proven in a court, preferably accompanied by video footage and personally witnessed by a priest, a famous cardiac surgeon, and two senators. > > Why isn’t that situation also analyzed under “…results you can’t check are results you can’t trust?” Because what **Gyrate** is talking about clearly exists. It is not likely that anyone will ride a horse to the polling place here. It is far more likely, however, than anyone riding a unicorn to the polls. Glad to help. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-ready-for-the-gop-to-do-whatever-they-can-to-steal-this-election-too/636746/178 "2012-11-02T18:05:29Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Agree completely. > > Now riddle me this: why isn’t that also true when it comes to unqualified voters who vote anyway? With no ID system in place, we can’t know to what extent that’s happening. We have no real idea if an illegal alien registered to vote by simply claiming American citizenship and has been voting for many years. > > But it seems to be the Siren Song of the Left that the only cases that exist are the ones that have been proven in a court, preferably accompanied by video footage and personally witnessed by a priest, a famous cardiac surgeon, and two senators. > > Why isn’t that situation also analyzed under “…results you can’t check are results you can’t trust?” We’ve been over this already. The vetting process happens at registration and is the responsibility of the Secretaries of State to confirm identities. Now this will be the end of this hijack of my thread. I won’t have you derail yet another thread to your pet bitch. If you continue, I’ll ask a moderator to close this thread. Take it to one of the other myriad threads where that’s the actual subject. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-ready-for-the-gop-to-do-whatever-they-can-to-steal-this-election-too/636746/179 "2012-11-02T18:09:50Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > From our good comrades at Daily Kos: > > [[UPDATED] "Experimental" Software Patches In Ohio Voting Machines?](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/01/1153901/--Experimental-Software-Patches-In-Ohio-Voting-Machines) > > Now, I’m gonna take a grain of salt here, 'cause its Comrade Markos (Hi, **Bricker**!) This is all blog stuff and reports from decidedly partisan sources, so maybe not. On the other hand, Mr Husted has been playing fast and loose for some time now, and his motives are starkly clear. > > I’m just guessing here, take a wild flier, but I’m gonna guess Ohio doesn’t have a “physical” back up plan, a paper trail, as it were. Call it a hunch. We don’t even have to rely on Kos for this story: [Post #149](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15651323&postcount=149). 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-ready-for-the-gop-to-do-whatever-they-can-to-steal-this-election-too/636746/180 "2012-11-02T18:27:11Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Agree completely. > > Now riddle me this: why isn’t that also true when it comes to unqualified voters who vote anyway? With no ID system in place, we can’t know to what extent that’s happening. We have no real idea if an illegal alien registered to vote by simply claiming American citizenship and has been voting for many years. > > But it seems to be the Siren Song of the Left that the only cases that exist are the ones that have been proven in a court, preferably accompanied by video footage and personally witnessed by a priest, a famous cardiac surgeon, and two senators. > > Why isn’t that situation also analyzed under “…results you can’t check are results you can’t trust?” You know that you don’t have to prove citizenship to get a driver’s license (or many of the other forms of ID that you can use for Voter ID laws) right? Foreign students attending college in the US frequently obtain driver’s licenses. You have an opportunity to check whether or not the registrant is an eligible voter during the registration process. The notion that there is some significant population of illegal aliens voting is a bit hard to swallow. I can’t believe we’re still arguing about the motive behind these laws. > [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > When they could be halfway around the world? How does that work, dumbfuck? I think there is usually a partisan from each party that must concur before a vote than be cast out. I am not so concerned about these as I am about the systematic implementation of a new set of rules that are engineered to suppress voter turnout and make voting more burdensome and inaccessible. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-ready-for-the-gop-to-do-whatever-they-can-to-steal-this-election-too/636746.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-ready-for-the-gop-to-do-whatever-they-can-to-steal-this-election-too/636746.md?page=10)