Florida GOP-Led Voter Fraud Investigation Finds Nothing - Except GOP Fraud

By Rod Bastanmehr, Alternet

07 September 13

n investigation into the issue of voter registration fraud in the Sunshine State initiated by Florida Repulicans has unearthed no evidence of wrongdoing-except on the part of the GOP. Florida's Secretary of State Ken Detzner, prompted the state's Department of Law Enforcement to research the alleged problem, setting its sights on the Florida New Majority, an established progressive organization know for advocating the spread of democratic participation across the country. The organization was vital in registering scores of minorities last year-something which Republicans generally don't like.

The investigation, curiously, found nothing on the Florida New Majority, but it did stumble across a little fraud from the Strategic Allied Consultants-a GOP contractor that made the news last year for falsifying registration forms. Earlier this year, two former employees of SAC admitted to law enforcement officials that they did indeed commit voter fraud. Rebekah Joy Paul submitted 20 fake voter registration applications, while Christian Davis Price submitted seven. Both said they were told by the company that they would not get paid unless they submitted a certain quota of applications, and that they were strongly instructed not to register democrats.

The investigation, and its results, comes after Florida's controversial decision to require state-issued drivers licenses in order to vote in national and federal elections-a move that many saw as a way to silence minority voters and tip the turn-out in favor of traditionally white, republican voters. Though the push to disenfranchise minotiry, Democratica and poor voters in light of the Supreme Court's Decision to declaw the Voting Rights Act is bound to continue in Florida and other states, this round counts as a loss for the forces arrayed against true democracy.