Tea Party, Minnesota Majority sue state over political buttons

A person may not .. in any manner try to induce or persuade a voter within a polling place ….on primary or election day to vote for OR REFRAIN FROM VOTING for a candidate or a ballot question.

…which is what this little stunt with the buttons is all about. They’re trying to scare people away from voting. This kind of tacky crap should be left at home on election day.

It is voter intimidation, and it does not belong in Minnesota.

Let them mall-walk with their buttons and t-shirts, but keep the places of polling safely non-partisan.

How are the buttons partisan? Shoudn’t we all be concerned about upholding the integrity of the democratic process? On person, one vote. 80% of Minnesotans support a photo ID requirement. Party affiliation breaks down about in thirds. 1/3 Democrat, 1/3 Republican and 1/3 independent. To reach 80%, it can’t all be from one party.

Are you implying that one party has a pro-voter fraud stance and thus the Election Integrity buttons are electioneering against that party?

“Aside from “Please ID Me” buttons, tea partiers want the right to wear shirts into polling places with phrases like “Don’t tread on me,” “Liberty,” “We’ll Remember in November,” and “Fiscal Responsibility, Limited Government, Free Markets” along with the tea party logo.”

The buttons are not partisan, but the t-shirts they will be attached to, are.

When I was fifty-two
It was a very weird year
It was a very weird year of Tea party girls
And twisted extremes
With their right wing dreams
They didn’t have a clue
When I was fifty-two

But now the days are short
We’re in the autumn of the years
And now I think of this place
As Wonder Bread turned green from mold
To rocks from gold
We were gripped by fear
It was a very weird year….

Tom Degan, age 52

http://www.tomdegan.blogspot.com

I went to a GOPer, er, ‘scuse me, “TeaBagger” Rally in Eden Prairie last night; Dan McGrath spoke at it.

Anybody that says the TeaBaggeers aren’t an extension of the GOP is an idiot or a liar.

I’ll put Dan McGrath in the latter category.

[...] MN Majority and the North Star Tea Party “Patriots” are suing Hennepin and Ramsey counties for the “right” to outfit their voter-intimidation thugs with Tea Party logos and campaign [...]

The polling place is no place for the boorish antics of tea partiers and their rowdy ilk. I know that if I saw such people while I wait in line and then vote in secret, I would be concerned for my safety and the safety of others as well – and would let the election judges know so they can take appropriate action. I expect the district court to rule against EIW.

Dan McGrath and others like you, consider yourself warned: You cannot stomp on me. If you do, you will REGRET it.

Sheesh.

Just to be clear, there are two Dan McGraths: one, quoted above, from TakeAction Minnesota, and another from the conservative group Minnesota Majority.

UFF DA!

Just to be clear, my warning is directed to the Dan McGrath, whoever that person is, that posted the comment on October 29, 2010 @ 1:02 am. BTW, that comment didn’t make any sense either – probably on par with what passes for “legitimate discourse” among the tea partiers. Again, sheesh!

Why only Hennepin and Ramsey? Couldn’t there just as easily be vote fraud in wealthy white Carver County?

Dan, why won’t they answer the questions……what is wrong with wearing the buttons? All that it is doing is saying that they want to make sure the voting process is honored. Do we not want the elections to be free of corruption? I would say that if someone was persuaded not to vote only because they thought they were going to have their identity checked, they more than lily did not have a right to vote and were trying to commit a crime by voting. So the buttons are a crime prevention device.

This is absurd! To call Voter Integrity Watch voter suppression is absolute rubbish. What liberals cannot stand is that it will scare away people who should not be voting! Remember, like those felons voting for Franken 2 years ago when they stole the election? Minnesota should have voter ID.

What is voter suppression is suppressing this campaign by Election Integrity Watch to have fair, clean, and transparent elections. Illegals immigrants, felons, and others who wish to commit voter fraud are the ones who don’t like this. They know that if elections involved only legal voters, they would be in tough shape.

End voter fraud! Fight for free and fair elections! And let Election Integrity Watch exercise their right to free speech!

Mike is being absurd because everyone who goes to the polls undergo a process to verify who they say they are before they get blank ballot forms. This whole non-issue is a lot of ado about nothing.

So has anyone researched my rights as a voter? If I find out that the Tea Party Intimidator at my polling place is not registered at the same polling place as me, can I verbally abuse him at length without fear of him saying anything back at me? After all, I am the voter. I can intimidate him but anything he says to me would qualify as intimidating a voter in his polling place. I anticipate having some fun here.

@Dan McGrath – minnesotamajority-org
It is a very partisan issue, as you well know.

Democrats see it as a solution without a problem – a means for republicans to disenfranchise likely democratic voters by creating new impediments to voting.

It would disenfranchise the poor by requiring a new, more expensive ID – an implicit Poll Tax.

It would also disenfranchise those of limited mobility, who would have trouble acquiring the ID.

As more people vote by mail, the issue of voter ID becomes even more meaningless.

When a voter reaches the polls, the time for campaigning is over. The polling place should remain politically pristine and welcoming.

“We have heard about the woman who was turned away from the polls in Arizona for simply wearing a Gadsden Flag pin. She was so upset that she left and never returned to vote. She was disenfranchised by a policy that’s just wrong.”

She was not disenfranchised by the policy, she was betrayed by her own emotions. This is a prime example of how right-wing politics is being driven by emotion and not common sense. Common sense would have had her dump her pin in the car, or a pocket, or her purse, then go back and vote. Instead, she goes off in a snit. Her loss.

Anybody remember the outrage over Black Panther party members hanging out near a polling place in uniform?

“UFF DA!”

No kidding.

How about all those snowbirds who vote absentee here, and also in Florida, Texas, and Arizona? They think it’s okay, “Because we pay taxes in both places. No taxation without representation, right?”

Should be pretty easy to cross-check the databases of voters in other states. And if we use the same standards the Republicans used in Florida in 2000, assuming anyone with the same name as a convicted felon is that person, we’d have a lot fewer votes double-counted.

Of course, we’d have a lot of wealthy white people looking at felony charges, but that would be good for business for the lawyers…

BetchaWe have a repeat of 2008 with Dead People Voting etc. Thats why we need a Complete Clean House specifically in the AG’s Office: MN Proud of Dr. Chris Barden the Silver Bullet4Ballot Reform and to take this on Watch the Video http://www.barden4ag.co
FURTHER: Write In Sharon Anderson 4 AG o have Standing to Sue 4 Election Reform http://www.sharonagmn2010.blogspot.com
4 Candidates v. Lori Swanson cannot be all Wrong http://www.loriswanson.com
David Hoch http://www.theresourceparty.org http://www.billdahn.com and the Voters.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Educational etc. THANKING YOU IN ADVANCE 4 YOUR VOTE OF CONFIDENCE. PS Sharon voted pdf format and in the Unopposed Judges Write In MS609.43 to Challenge Judicial Elections without Opposition In re: Scarrella4Justice221NW2d WE ARE NOT 2ND CLASS CITIZENS If Non Lawyers cannot be Judges then Lawyers cannot be in the Executive,Legislative Branch’s

when a phrase or slogan, like “Don’t tread on me” is used frequently and conspicuously by a political group, that phrase is pushing a political opinion or point of view.

The Tea Party and other right wing extremists can do without their slogans once they move inside an election polling station. Leave the buttons at home

To Sharon “Anderson”-

You did say Sharon Anderson, not Angle? People who think the way you do are the true threat to our Democracy. Sadly, if Tea Party takes over, we will be gong the way of the Roman Empire.

Oh, look: more voter intimidation by conservatives – this time in Ohio.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/29/ohio-mcdonalds-employees-_n_776262.html

I have to admit that I have not yet heard of any illegal voter registration challenges by the GOP since last cycle.

Lori Swanson has earned my support for stopping so much interstate and intrastate fraud. I also like that she did not buy into expensive, politically motivated lawsuits. Way to protect our tax dollars, General Swanson!

Oh, look: more illegal attacks on Democratic campaign efforts – this time in New England:
“The cause of the outage was not known as of Monday evening. The Democrats said they took the precaution of notifying authorities based on what happened in 2002, when the state Republican Party purposely jammed the Dems’ phones in order to sabotage their get out the vote effort. The scheme eventually ended in the criminal convictions of the party’s executive director and a political consultant.”
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/reports_of_phone_trouble_in_nh_dems_wary_of_2002-s.php

“The Kansas Democratic Party said a Republican organization it hasn’t identified made automated calls telling voters to bring a voter registration card and proof of home ownership with them when they vote Tuesday.
Those items are not required.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/01/campaign-robocalls-disrup_n_777420.html

Okay Two Putt Tommy — we ALL KNOW that you’re a felon!

[...] couldn’t they wear their T-shirts and buttons? Well, according to Andy Birkey, it’s a violation of Minnesota law, which prevents judges and voters from wearing political [...]

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