Comments on: UPDATED – Illegal Sample Ballot Distributed in PWC (UPDATE – Complaint Filed)

By: VOTE! « Virginia Virtucon

VOTE! « Virginia Virtucon — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 14:56:22 +0000

[...] anyone sees the illegal sample ballot reported here yesterday being distributed anywhere in Prince William County today, please call [...]

By: Another Voice

Another Voice — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 05:18:26 +0000

Having done Sample Ballots in the past, a disclaimer is required if a person or group spends over $100 on the piece. Also, the rule about white paper only applies if the polling place is using paper ballots, which is not the case in PWC.

By: m

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 05:11:10 +0000

I believe the voter guide talks about a sample ballot that is being handed out ON election day, not 3 days before.

This is just information given out to inform a constiuency.

By: Riley

Riley — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 05:06:50 +0000

Yes, even if this was a private citizen, a disclaimer is required and it must still follow the guidelines of a sample ballot. This does neither.

By: Craig Vitter

Craig Vitter — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 00:41:54 +0000

So, the question it seems, is just who put this out? So far all that it seems has been determined is that one private citizen has their phone number on it. If that is the case is it still illegal? While it seems likely to me that some organization was behind this, be it MSF or possibly the Panameno campaign (or a combination of the two and or additional groups), will it be possible to prove the link and prosecute?

I don’t suppose anyone at the PWCGOP is interested in publishing an English transcript of what this flier says? I can read about 50% of the legible text but I am interested in what the whole thing says because I heard that there was a document being handed out that told voters to ask for poll work help to write in Panameno’s name when voting (which they won’t do even if you ask nicely).

By: Batson D. Belfrey

Batson D. Belfrey — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 00:12:30 +0000

“But it sure looks like a sample ballot to me.”

The dead give-away is that it lists all of the candidates, and has check-marks next to the candidates they are advocating for. Any reasonable person would call this a sample ballot.

Johnny better hope that the illegals can front him the cash to pay his fines…and that MSF doesn’t get bankrupted when the IRS comes looking for their back taxes!

By: Light Horse

Light Horse — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 23:41:08 +0000

Even if it were just a “voter guide”, a disclaimer statement is still required.

But it sure looks like a sample ballot to me.

By: Lovell Reiley

Lovell Reiley — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 22:05:20 +0000

I am not sure that this qualifies as a “sample ballot” as that term is used in the election law. The law is intended to prohibit anything that looks like an “official ballot” from being handed out to voters who might be confused if it is in the same color as the actual sample ballot that the State Board distributes.

There is clearly no chance that a voter would confuse this campaign flyer in the nature of a voter guide with anything resembling an “official ballot.”

This is not part of the “culture of lawlessness” you decry, but is simply the exercise of democracy in the well worn course of the pamphleteer.

Get over it.

By: BLACK VELVET BRUCE LI : Another Day, Another Law Broken By The Illegal Alien Lobby

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 21:19:31 +0000

[...] Virtucon has the story this afternoon about John Steinbach of Mexicans Without Borders distributing a sample ballot that violates Virginia elections laws, urging voters to support candidates that have a clear agenda to support illegal aliens, including Sharon Pandak and Corey Riley. The phone number provided on this sample has previously been used for the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Committee, Mexicans Without Borders, the Virginia Anti-War Network, and has been listed as a personal contact phone number for John Steinbach when he was active with the Gray Panthers. This culture of lawlessness within the illegal alien lobby must be put to an end. [...]

By: Riley

Riley — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 21:10:06 +0000

Good catch, Batson. Sounds as if the IRS should undertake an investigation of that.