http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/category_rss/voterrights Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen’s partisan lawsuit against the Government Accountability Board (GAB) endangered the right to vote for scores of Wisconsinites. It also forced taxpayers to pay the bill coming and going. Thanks to J.B. we had to pay for both filing the frivolous lawsuit and for defending against it. Now we find out that it may have cost the state in a few other ways. Over the weekend the Associated Press reported that two assistant attorneys general told Van Hollen’s top aide that they were close to reaching a favorable settlement on cases in which they were representing the GAB. They also advised him that filing Van Hollen’s suit against the GAB would derail their progress in the matter saying: However, as I also indicated, there is virtually no likelihood of exploring, much less settling, these cases if this office files an action against GAB ... If such a filing is in the offing, you need to know this. Not only was the partisan suit “in the offing” but Van Hollen actually filed it a very short time after being warned about the consequences that it would have on his office’s defense of the GAB in other cases. Thankfully Van Hollen’s partisan lawsuit was thrown out of court before it was allowed to disenfranchise Wisconsin voters in an election that by all accounts ran very smoothly . Unfortunately, there still were other casualties of his partisan lawsuit: taxpayer dollars and important cases where he should have been focused on defending the State of Wisconsin not suing it. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVY http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVY/commentary#comments Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:45:23 EST http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVY Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHVY/ Wisconsinites have good reason to be proud as Wisconsin had the second-highest voter turnout among all fifty states in last week’s election. And Milwaukee County can rest easy that the election was fair and accurate given the fact— as explained in a recent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article —that among the hundreds of thousands of ballots cast in the county, only five (5) are under investigation for being illegitimate. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/codyoliphant/CHVs http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/codyoliphant/CHVs/commentary#comments Fri, 14 Nov 2008 10:17:17 EST http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/codyoliphant/CHVs Cody O http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/1ad90b024b9b3fd092_uqamv261s.jpg Cody O 2 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHVs/ Another presidential election has come and gone in Wisconsin, and once again by all accounts it went as smoothly as possible . Although the right wing, led by Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, whipped up as much frenzy and paranoia as they could, there has been no sign of the mischief that they predicted on Election Day. Before the election, Van Hollen went as far as to jeopardize hundreds of thousands of Wisconsin votes by filing what was clearly both a partisan and frivolous lawsuit which was rightfully thrown out of court . As in 2004 , this year Wisconsin seemed to have a very smooth Election Day with very high turnout. Actually, this year Wisconsin had the second highest turnout in the nation. This is something to be encouraged and not stifled for purely political purposes. After having his partisan lawsuit thrown out of court, J.B. Van Hollen suggested that he might appeal the matter to a higher court. Given the smooth election that we just had in Wisconsin, J.B. should abandon his partisan suit and stop wasting taxpayer dollars over a problem that for all practical purposes does not even exist. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVk http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVk/commentary#comments Fri, 07 Nov 2008 13:13:11 EST http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVk Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHVk/ Now can we stop hearing the claim that by sending out 50 law enforcement agents to polling places Tuesday that Atty. Gen. J.B. Van Hollen is just doign what Peg Lautenschlager did four years ago? Here's what Lautenschlager herself says: In 2004 Peggy Lautenschlager, now an attorney for Lawton & Cates, said she also used DOJ personnel to monitor polling places on Election Day, but her efforts were focused on making sure voters got their chance to vote. "It is clear that under the guise of stopping alleged voter fraud he is concerned about obtaining voter suppression," she said. Van Hollen said earlier this week that he planned to send out his own team of agents and attorneys, saying voters, "have a right to vote in fair elections untainted by election fraud." Lautenschlager said her efforts in 2004 were "diametrically opposite to what Van Hollen is proposing to do on Tuesday." http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHVl http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHVl/commentary#comments Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:01:31 EST http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHVl Xoff Xoff 2 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHVl/ From the moment that state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen filed his frivolous lawsuit against the Government Accountability Board (GAB) it was clear to any honest observer that it was without merit and motivated by rank partisanship. That was confirmed later when it was revealed that Van Hollen’s office had multiple communications with Republican Party officials prior to filing the suit. While trying to defend his partisan actions, Van Hollen insisted that the GAB was not following the law even though it was carrying out the proper checks as required. Van Hollen’s insistence on checking names retroactively all the way back to 2006 would have caused mass chaos at the polls and could have disenfranchised hundreds of thousands of voters. All of this drama over some nonexistent requirement that Van Hollen, a McCain co-chair, made up out of whole cloth. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVr http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVr/commentary#comments Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:36:21 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVr Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHVr/ Statement by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on Voter Suppression Attempts October 23, 2008 It is deeply ironic that Republican operatives are working so hard to tarnish the most dynamic voter participation in our country in decades-apparently to justify and camouflage their most organized attempt yet to deny Americans the right to vote. The right wing in our country is responding to the massive registration of new voters with a despicable, massive assault on voter participation. The AFL-CIO strongly condemns the coordinated national effort by the Republican Party and allied political operatives to suppress voter turnout and deny ballots to newly registered voters, particularly young people, the poor and people of color. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/casetheplace/CHVc http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/casetheplace/CHVc/commentary#comments Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:59:09 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/casetheplace/CHVc casetheplace casetheplace 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHVc/ Republicans have been busy slandering ACORN in recent weeks improperly alleging “voter fraud.” One has to wonder how these same people will respond to the fact that the California Republican Party hired a firm whose owner has been arrested for possible voter registration fraud. Reports state that Mark Jacoby, owner of Young Political Majors, was arrested for fraudulently registering himself to vote at a childhood California address where he no longer lives so he would appear to meet the legal requirement that all signature gatherers be eligible to vote in California. If true, it would appear that he committed the crime in an attempt to get an easy pay check from the GOP. If we are using the same flawed model as conservatives have used with ACORN, then we must condemn the GOP for engaging in some grand conspiracy to commit “voter fraud.” To add insult to injury, there was an entirely different problem with Jacoby and his firm’s actions. The arrest actually came after dozens of voters said that they were duped into registering as Republicans by people employed by Jacoby. The Republican Party of California was paying his firm $7 to $12 for every person that they could get registered. How long will we have to wait for conservatives to start feigning outrage over the actions of the California Republican Party and the arrested leader of the firm that they themselves hired? http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVX http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVX/commentary#comments Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:01:35 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVX Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHVX/ It has certainly become an important question. Just Who Will JB Van Hollen Disenfranchise if the partisan lawsuit that he has filed is successful? According to the Government Accountability Board the answer could be over one million Wisconsin voters. We already know that Van Hollen’s office communicated with Republican Party of Wisconsin officials about the suit before it was actually filed and we are also well aware of the fact that Van Hollen is a co-chair of the John McCain presidential campaign. We have seen these kinds of partisan uses of public office before and we will not let Florida in 2000 become Wisconsin in 2008! To this end, One Wisconsin Now is debuting a new web video entitled “WWJBD?” to ensure that people across Wisconsin have the facts and know the impact if Van Hollen’s partisan lawsuit succeeds. It includes a petition to tell Van Hollen once and for all to dump this partisan lawsuit. You can VIEW THE VIDEO at SaveWisconsinsVote.org ! Please watch the video , sign the petition and pass it along to your friends! The more people that see this video and sign the petition, the louder our untied voice will be. We are not only left with the question, “who will JB disenfranchise?” but more importantly we must ask ourselves, what are we prepared to do about it? http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVt http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVt/commentary#comments Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:22:28 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVt Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 1 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHVt/ Just thinking as I read about Badger State Repubs looking for some tough guys to watch the polls: The Washington Post reported it first: The Wisconsin Republican Party has issued a call for volunteer poll watchers for Election Day, and the criteria is a little specific, seeking especially folks made of sterner stuff. Jonathan Waclawski, the party's election day operations, wrote in a Sept. 8 e-mail that he needed contact information for people "who would potentially be willing to volunteer ... at inner city (more intimidating) polling places. Particularly, I am interested in names of Milwaukee area veterans, policemen, security personnel, firefighters etc. ... If you have any connections with such organizations, please pass that information on." Doesn't it make you wish we had concealed carry? Pistol-packing poll watchers is all we need. And if it hadn't been for Gov. Jim Doyle's veto, we'd probably have them. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHVp http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHVp/commentary#comments Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:48:40 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHVp Xoff Xoff 1 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHVp/ Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen filed a legal brief with Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi on Wednesday. In it he asked the judge not to dismiss his partisan case against the Government Accountability Board (GAB). As we have already learned, Van Hollen's office first communicated with Republican Party officials about the matter before the suit was filed. We also know that J.B. Van Hollen is a co-chair of the McCain presidential campaign. His frivolous lawsuit could very directly benefit John McCain’s campaign in Wisconsin by disenfranchising specific groups of legitimate voters. Some have estimated that hundreds of thousands of voters could face problems at the polls if Van Hollen’s suit is successful. In announcing the filing of his latest legal brief, Van Hollen claims that the GAB, an entity made up of six former judges, simply doesn’t understand his lawsuit. Are we really supposed to dismiss the concerns of such a distinquished panel of proven legal minds because J.B. says so? Not likely. Nobody likes a know-it-all, especially one that is threatening our most basic right as citizens. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHV5 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHV5/commentary#comments Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:18:42 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHV5 Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 18 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHV5/ The Election Protection Coalition is sponsoring a public hearing tonight to discuss protecting the vote on Election Day. This is even more important considering recent news that the Republican Party of Wisconsin is trying to recruit law enforcement and others to challenge voters at the polls in Milwaukee. People need to know their rights and exactly how to defend their votes. Some of the special guests that have been invited to the event include Asst. DA Bruce Landgraf, Milwaukee City Election Commission Executive Director Sue Edman and others. What: Election Protection Public Hearing When: Thursday, October 16, 2008 at 6:30pm Where: Serb Hall, 5101 W. Oklahoma, Milwaukee http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVJ http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVJ/commentary#comments Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:02:01 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVJ Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHVJ/ I just concluded my most recent blog by saying that the right wing had very bad intentions regarding our right to vote. Shortly after I got that blog posted I came across a news item from the Washington Post that not only confirms what I just said, but also carries it even further. The Washington Post has obtained a leaked email by the Republican Party of Wisconsin spelling out some of their potential plans for possible voter intimidation on Election Day. According to the story by the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter, Mary Pat Flaherty, the RPW email sought “names of Milwaukee area veterans, policemen, security personnel, firefighters…” to volunteer at inner city polling places, presumably to challenge voters, disqualify voters and create long lines which will cause working people to leave the polls without voting. The email suggested such specific kinds of people apparently because they find inner city polling locations “more intimidating.” http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVj http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVj/commentary#comments Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:34:55 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVj Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 2 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHVj/ Leading up to every presidential election conservatives make wild accusations about rampant voter fraud in Wisconsin, even though all objective views show that those charges are false . In addition, with the coming of each new election, conservatives always seem to find a new “boogy man.” One year they attack gay people while the next they go after immigrants, when their finished with that demagoguery they move on to the next innocent target. This year they have apparently decided to marry those two tactics by attacking a group that has registered record numbers of poor people to vote, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). Now Wisconsin’s Republican members of Congress are joining in the nationwide chorus of slander against a good organization that is responsible for doing all kinds of good works. Nationally ACORN has registered an amazing 1.3 million people to vote. In Wisconsin alone the number registered by ACORN is over 30,000. These are largely unprecedented numbers and that is the real reason for the right wing attacks. After all we are not likely to find many conservatives among those newly registered voters. Any problems that may have developed in registering such a staggering number of new voters is an extremely small percentage of the total. The small amount of issues that have come up have turned out to be more of a workforce issue than anything else. It appears that some of the people hired to register voters decided to collect a check without actually doing the work, opting to fill out fake registration cards instead. Because of great quality control procedures, ACORN caught most of these cases , flagged the cards for local elections officials, and fired the bad employees. And for that they must endure baseless attacks and be the subject of wild right wing conspiracy theories? In an editorial earlier this week, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel suspects that the right wing attacks on ACORN are not really about the integrity of the system. They go on to conclude, “If the past is prologue, much of this ballyhoo is really about those new voters and who they might vote for.” While the right wing may be casting all kinds of dispersions and blowing all of the usual “voter fraud” smoke, the fact remains that there is still very little substance to their wild claims. As we have learned many times before, once this election cycle closes, there will be very little hiding their partisan motives and their very bad intentions. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVG http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVG/commentary#comments Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:59:44 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVG Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHVG/ The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that a man has been charged for registering to vote and trying to register others after being convicted of a felony. While this specific case may not directly apply, it does bring up some very important questions that we should be asking ourselves. In Wisconsin convicted felons are not allowed to vote until after they have completed the terms of their sentence. That could mean a prison term in addition to a long extended period of supervision. Convicted felons often have to serve very long periods of probation and/or parole after they leave prison. One of the major goals of this supervision is that they become productive and fully integrate back into society. Exactly how are they supposed to do that if they are barred from voting, one of the most basic rights/responsibilities that we have as citizens? Many of them hold down jobs, pay taxes, provide for their families but still Wisconsin law refuses their right to vote. According to an ACLU study , 62,324 people with felony convictions in Wisconsin are not allowed to vote; however, 61% of these people are no longer incarcerated. By not allowing them to vote, we are hindering their ability to reinstate themselves as active members of the community. According to Senator Russ Feingold , “…the more doors we close on people trying to rejoin society, the more likely it is we will drive them back to the behaviors we want them to leave behind.” Wisconsin ’s felony disfranchisement laws are more severe than those of several of its neighboring states. Michigan , Illinois , Indiana and Ohio all automatically restore voting rights upon release from incarceration. Disenfranchisement in Wisconsin also disproportionately affects African American males and other minority populations. The ACLU study found that one out of nine African Americans males are disenfranchised because of Wisconsin ’s ex-offender laws. This statistic places Wisconsin 11th in the nation for the disenfranchisement of African American voters. This is obviously unacceptable and some might even call it Jim Crow, Wisconsin style. It is a disgrace and the current law should be changed. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVB http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVB/commentary#comments Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:07:11 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHVB Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHVB/ After Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen filed his frivolous lawsuit against the Government Accountability Board (GAB), he claimed that his motives were not partisan. He went on to claim that his position as John McCain co-chair played no role in the suit even though the action could help McCain by disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of legal voters in Wisconsin. After his repeated denials, the media began to learn of multiple contacts that high level Van Hollen aides had with high level Republican Party operatives about the suit. It was not long after these contacts that Van Hollen filed the lawsuit. As if we have not already seen enough evidence of Van Hollen’s judgment being clouded by rank partisanship, now we actually have audio evidence of partisan plotting at the Republican convention in St. Paul. Wispolitics has obtained a recording  of J.B. Van Hollen addressing Wisconsin delegates to the Republican National Convention. In his remarks he clearly gives the partisan bunch a small taste of what he has planned for Wisconsin voters: “We are out there front and center everyday and you'll be hearing much more from the Department of Justice in the coming months about doing what we can to make sure that those people who have illegally and illegitimately registered to vote, don't have the opportunity on election day to show up and take away your vote by casting one that is not legal.” http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHj9 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHj9/commentary#comments Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:40:14 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHj9 Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 2 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHj9/ J.B. Van Hollen’s frivolous lawsuit against the Government Accountability Board, (GAB) is political mischief that could complicate voting for as many as 1 million people in Wisconsin. One Wisconsin Now, the League of Women Voters, municipal clerks, the GAB itself and many others have taken a stand against J.B. Van Hollen. Now the Milwaukee chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Milwaukee Teachers Association are entering the fray . Both organizations submitted a filing to the Dane County judge responsible for the case, arguing that Van Hollen’s checks are unreliable and could bar about 135,000 people who registered to vote in 2008 from the polls. The organizations also pointed to GAB figures that 15 percent of 53,515 registrants since August had failed the checks because of non-matches. Most of the non-matches are due to clerical errors, misspellings, a missing middle initial or an old address on a driver’s license. Even four of the six judges on the GAB board didn’t get exact matches . http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHj8 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHj8/commentary#comments Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:24:25 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHj8 Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 1 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHj8/ Hundreds of thousands of legal voters are at risk – but we only get utter silence from the McCain campaign. The media has been reporting that Wisconsinites have received absentee ballot applications from the John McCain for President campaign with incorrect return addresses, which would likely prevent the registration and processing from being completed. The people of Wisconsin deserve real answers about this McCain mailing immediately and we need a full investigation by law enforcement. Not only could this lead to voters failing to receive their absentee ballots, it also could cause chaos on election day as those who did not receive their ballots scramble to cast their vote. The easy solution would seem to be: check the records, inform people who received an incorrect application and make sure no one is disenfranchised. Unfortunately the McCain campaign refuses to tell us the exact number and won’t even be interviewed about the scope of the problem. One Republican official has said that “hundreds of thousands” of absentee ballot applications have been mailed by the McCain campaign. We need a formal investigation. Just last week, Attorney General JB Van Hollen and Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm announced a new task force focusing on election issues. While the prudence of having Van Hollen, the McCain campaign state co-chair, is certainly up for question, the task force must investigate this matter and assure the public their right to vote is not being compromised by an intentional disenfranchisement scheme by the McCain campaign. You can make your voice heard now by signing a petition for a complete investigation of the misleading McCain mailing, at SaveWisconsinsVote.org . If you have actually received one of these mailings, you can also use the site to file a formal complaint. Fair and clean elections are a critical issue for the state of Wisconsin and protecting the right to vote is essential to our Democracy. Please Take Action Today! http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHCn http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHCn/commentary#comments Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:38:06 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHCn Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 2 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHCn/ If there was ever any doubt that J.B. Van Hollen’s lawsuit against the Government Accountability Board was partisan at its core, the latest events this week should eliminate it. First, in a surprise to no one, the Republican Party of Wisconsin has decided to jump into the lawsuit and has filed a motion in the case. Now the Wisconsin State Journal is reporting that the Republican Party Chairman, Reince Priebus, has admitted to having conversations with Van Hollen’s top aide and Deputy Attorney General Ray Taffora. This is in addition to the contact that republican lawyers have also had with the Wisconsin Department of justice before the partisan suit was filed. Previously Van Hollen and his aides had denied contact with Republican officials but now after OWN’s open records request and serious inquiry by the media, we are finding that these initial statements were not accurate. We already knew that Van Hollen was presiding over a DOJ war between law enforcement professionals and his partisan hires , but now it looks like he has gone even further. Van Hollen has turned the Wisconsin Department of Justice into the taxpayer-financed legal arm of the Republican Party of Wisconsin and the McCain for President campaign. The public is not going to stand by and let J.B. Van Hollen use our own tax dollars to take away our voting rights. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHCV http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHCV/commentary#comments Tue, 23 Sep 2008 18:29:47 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHCV Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHCV/ The highly respected Brennan Center for Justice at New York University's School of Law, has a comprehensive, well researched and documented white paper by Justin Levitt on recent allegations of voter fraud allegedly occurring in Wisconsin and other states within the last eight years, entitled, "The Truth About Voter Fraud." Once you read it, your eyes will be opened to the sham that is being perpetrated upon the U.S. voters. In fact, one could easily argue that the widespread rumors of voter fraud exist to confuse the populace and further deepen the cynicism of our electoral process. These efforts may also serve a larger agenda to keep real voting reform off the table, that is, extending the time people are allowed to cast votes; make it LESS burdensome for people to vote in the first place; and acts by political campaigns to buy votes, among many others. A nonpartisan task force is being created to investigate the claims of voter fraud in Wisconsin. They could save a lot of time and money by simply reading this excellent report RIGHT NOW. Since the 2004 election, there have been persistent, unsubstantiated rumors of voter fraud in Wisconsin, and Milwaukee in particular. Wisconsin Attorney General J. B. Van Hollen, who is also co-chairman of the Wisconsin campaign of presidential candidate John McCain, is knowingly using these unsubstantiated rumors in his efforts to suppress legitimate votes in Wisconsin this November. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/warmmidwest/CHCj http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/warmmidwest/CHCj/commentary#comments Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:32:25 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/warmmidwest/CHCj User from Madison, WI User from Madison, WI 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHCj/ J.B. Van Hollen’s frivolous lawsuit against the Government Accountability Board, could disenfranchise up to 1 million legitimate voters in November. Much of that could happen because of very minor discrepancies such as a middle initial, clerical error or an old address appearing on a driver’s license. Even four of the six judges that make up the GAB board found that their own personal information did not totally match. To drive the point home even more, Michael Horne blogging at Milwaukee World , checked voting records to see if J.B. Van Hollen himself could fall victim to his own partisan mischief. Horne finds some of the following: ...I don't think he'd pass his own test. JOHN BYRON VANHOLLEN is the same guy as JOHN B VAN HOLLEN, who once lived at 816 Chalfont Drive, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, when he served as United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin. But a search of "J. B. Van Hollen" (with or without the space) would not turn up his name in the state register of voters, even though he uses the initials and the space as his legal designation in court documents and when he ran for election, and in his official biography in the Wisconsin Blue Book… And, once you find out his first name is John, things don't get much better, since when he was registered in Sun Prairie on November 5th, 2002, he went by JOHN B VAN HOLLEN, [no middle name, and a space between "Van" and "Hollen"]… Oh, by the way, it appears that Van Hollen registered at the polls, since he also voted on November 5th, 2002, on the spot, according to records. Apparently Van Hollen likes the convenience of registering at the polls -- I wonder what sort of ID he had to produce when he registered in Waunakee on September 14th, 2004 -- also an election day! That's when he signed up as JOHN BYRON VANHOLLEN -- adding a middle name, and merging his two last names into one. How perfect is that? I wonder if someone will put him on a list and challenge his right to vote at the polls? http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHCM http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHCM/commentary#comments Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:34:55 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHCM Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 140 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHCM/