This morning’s Flash Report features a Sacramento Bee article about voter suppression in the 4th Congressional District. Apparently high-propensity, Republican poll voters are receiving calls telling them that they are now registered as absentee voters and it’s too late to mail in their ballot. Voters are also told that in order to vote on Election Day, they must wait in long lines to verify their eligibility. This is nothing short of ACORN-type voter manipulation.
In this heavily-Republican stronghold, there is only one possible culprit: Democrats intent on discouraging Republican voter turnout. When this matter was first brought to light yesterday, I talked with local GOP insiders and learned that the source of these calls is Democrat congressional candidate Charlie Brown’s campaign. In a sign of desperation, Brown’s campaign is stooping to unscrupulous, dishonest tactics like voter suppression.
Tom McClintock’s campaign is now calling on the Brown campaign to investigate whether their volunteers or staff have been making these voter suppression calls.
“Voters demand to know what role the Brown campaign is playing in these illegal and deceptive voter suppression calls to discourage people from voting,” McClintock for Congress Communications director Bill George said. “The Brown campaign should immediately conduct an internal investigation and comply with law enforcement and Placer County election officials in determining who made these fraudulent calls,” George said.
“We call on the Brown campaign to immediately issue a statement to the public urging voters to report these phone calls to the authorities and make sure voters exercise their right to vote,” George said. “We request that the news media alert voters to these voter suppression calls and ask the public to report anyone who is making fraudulent calls.”
Other voters who have received such calls are encouraged to contact the Placer County Registrar of Voters and report this criminal activity: (530) 886-5650. Dishonest tactics are nothing new in politics, but the Placer County situation is just a microcosm of the dirty politics being waged all across this country to dispirit and defeat Republicans.