http://www.whag.com/news/default.asp?mode=shownews&id=2536
NBC25.com
Calls Made
to Discourage Voting
WEST
VIRGINIA- Local republicans get a slap on the wrist after they are accused of
trying to persuade democrats not to vote.
Most polls
show that the race between President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry is
still very close in West Virginia, and each camp is going the distance to
clench a victory for their candidate.
But now,
election officials believe some in the Eastern Panhandle are going too far.
In a letter,
Berkeley County clerk John Smalls cites calls from a cell phone were made to
Eastern Panhandle democrats telling them that they were not registered to vote.
The letter also said the calls informed democrats in some cases they wouldn’t
be able to vote on Election Day.
John Ott is
the top election official in Jefferson County. "This is an improper act
and they should notify the proper authorities," he said.
It’s
considered an improper act because when upset citizens called the voter
registration office to make sure they were registered to vote, indeed they
were. So, who made these misleading calls? The Berkeley County Clerk’s Office
traced the number voters gave as the source back to the Eastern Panhandle
Republican Headquarters.
"Whenever
you give misinformation to encourage voters to stay home, we all suffer as a
result," said John Fink with the Berkeley County democratic executive
committee.
John Fink,
who is with the Kerry Campaign, is concerned more about the effect of the calls
than the callers.
"They
really muddy the water with information or misinformation in this case that
they’re putting out about the election process. There still is a large number
of people we need to get into the fold. Now we’re democrats and republicans,
but after the election we’re all Americans," said Fink.
Republican
spokesperson Mary Diamond said the calls may have been an unfortunate part of a
larger goal.
"The
purpose of the calls is to make sure everyone is registered to vote. If they
are, then great. That’s exactly what we need. The point is to make sure they
are registered. Everyone needs to be registered to vote in this election, it’s
as simple as that," said Diamond.
Sources
inside West Virginia’s Republican Party said the calls aren’t made along party
lines and the misinformation may have just been an oversight.
Other
Berkeley County political news, former state Sen. Harry Dugan has died after a
long battle with cancer. He was 73.
Dugan is
remembered as a gentleman and a public servant who put others before himself.
The republican served one term in the senate from 1994 to 1998.
Posted by
Erica Taylor
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