Dem
53
Ties
2
GOP
45
Reader D.E. in Lancaster, PA gave us a heads-up about a story that isn't getting much attention, even though it's a more serious offense than the Mary Peltola story (see above) that is sucking up so much oxygen. In the end, one person (allegedly) did something illegal, the other did not.
The would-be lawbreaker in this case is conservative activist James O'Keefe, who partnered with a social media personality named Cam Higby to "prove" that voter fraud is easy to pull off. The pair decided to make their point by taking advantage of a Minnesota law that allows one voter in a precinct to "vouch" for the identity of another voter. This is obviously meant to allow people who might not have ID (e.g., poor farmers) to exercise their right to vote.
We suppose it is possible that O'Keefe and Higby might have been successful, if they'd played things close to the vest. But since the purpose here is performative, they had to turn it into a show. So, they dressed in Muslim garb, including a niqab (women's face covering) for one of them, to cast their phony votes. We guess they were going for a three-fer: Democrats are trans, Muslim and fraudsters. And note that we recognize that cross-dressing does not actually mean "trans," but we also know that people like O'Keefe and Higby think it does.
The duo filmed their stunt and put it up on social media, which guaranteed they would be caught. That said, they
might have been caught anyhow, since: (1) normal voters do not make a point of filming their trip to the polling place
and (2) normal voters do not collect their ballot, then choose not to vote and not to sign the ballot. O'Keefe and Higby
did not vote/sign because they believed that they would not be guilty of a crime until they applied their John
Smallcocks Hancocks. They were wrong about that, and now they have been indicted.
There's also a similar story that's made some news in southern California. A woman named Laura Lee Yourex is also a Republican and also believes that it's easy to commit voter fraud. So, she signed up her dog to receive ballots as an absentee voter. The scheme actually did work in 2021, in the California recall election. It did not work in 2022, when a tipster warned authorities that Maya Jean Yourex is a dog and not a human. And when Laura posted pictures of Maya to social media, with completed ballot and "I Voted" sticker, that was enough to trigger criminal charges.
In contrast to O'Keefe and Higby, Yourex's case has already been adjudicated. She agreed to a plea deal that required her to pay for four billboards like this one:
The dog pictured is, in fact, Maya.
There have been a fair number of stories like this in the Trump era: Republican activist tries to commit voter fraud, gets caught. We would say they are actually helping to prove the opposite point of the one they intended to prove. (Z)