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Title: State GOP puts “birther” in charge of “ballot integrity” (birther means constitutionalist)
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URL Source: http://republicannewswatch.com/wp/?p=8207
Published: Oct 21, 2010
Author: DOUG IBENDAHL
Post Date: 2010-10-21 22:49:22 by Skip Intro
Keywords: None
Views: 9112
Comments: 13
The Illinois Republican Party is trying to recruit election judges and poll watchers. That’s all well and good. That’s part of any state party’s job and it’s done every election cycle. Every county and local party organization that is doing its job does the same thing.
But here’s what I do have a problem with. Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady has put a “birther” in charge of the GOP’s program in Illinois. If you want to be a poll watcher or election judge, you’re supposed to go through Sharon Meroni. See here.
Meroni (who blogs under the name “Chalice Jackson”) went into a McHenry County court in late 2009 seeking to challenge the citizenship of Barack Obama. Her website has some similar themes.
However I had never heard of her until this summer when she filed 31 frivolous objections against the petitions of independent and new party candidates. Meroni challenged the petitions of every single candidate – with the exception of Randy Stufflebeam who she apparently overlooked. (The docket from the State Board of Elections showing all the objection cases this summer is here.)
Meroni didn’t care about the number of petition signatures or any of the other claims made in the typical petition challenge. Meroni instead wanted every candidate to produce a birth certificate.
First of all, there is no such requirement in Illinois law – and if Ms. Meroni wants to add that requirement, the proper place to go is to the state legislature to get the law changed. And second, every candidate already has to certify under penalty of perjury that he or she is a duly registered and legally qualified voter in the State of Illinois. That requirement already incorporates U.S. citizenship.
I talked to Meroni a couple of times and tried to reason with her (she was not represented by legal counsel). While she had not objected to my client Randy Stufflebeam’s candidacy, she did object to the candidacies of six other persons I was representing. I told her she was not only wasting her time – but her frivolous objections were also distracting a lot of good people from other objections filed by the Republicans and the Democrats. She didn’t care.
As I promised Ms. Meroni – all of her objections were soon dismissed by the State Board of Elections as lacking any legal basis. That’s with the exception of a couple of candidates who broke ranks and produced a birth certificate for Meroni. Those candidates became enablers in my view.
While Meroni’s objections were a nuisance and basically nuts in my opinion – I will give her this much credit. At least she had the decency to put her own name on the objections and she showed up herself at the State Board of Elections on her own behalf. And she even used her real name – not her alias for this purpose.
Contrast that with Pat Brady who had his people go out and recruit two phony “objectors” in an attempt to hide from the State Board of Elections, contributors, and the voters of Illinois, the true source of the 11 objections his organization was behind.
So in terms of crazy objections – I would only award Meroni the silver medal. The gold has to go to Pat Brady.
Sharon Meroni and Pat Brady hold the distinction of being the only two people to file more bogus objections than the Chicago Democrats did this summer. So maybe it’s not so surprising afterall to see them now teaming up for “ballot integrity.” (And yes, I know the Republican Renaissance PAC is also part of this. But I’m not going to say anything bad about my old friend Jack Roeser. Just suffice it to say this is a good example of why I no longer have anything to do with Jack and what he’s doing now.)
Folks can do what they want, but my advice would be if you want to serve as an election judge, contact your local county clerk. That office may still be trying to fill spots in your county.
And if you want to serve as a poll watcher – just contract your local party organization directly. They should have the credentials and instructions you need. You need not go through a birther – who like Pat Brady – spent her summer trying to kick conservatives and libertarians off the ballot.
Doug Ibendahl is a Chicago Attorney and a former General Counsel of the Illinois Republican Party.
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 2.
#1. To: Skip Intro (#0)
You guys use: Black Panthers. Armed Black Panthers.
I don't use anybody cracker.
#4. To: Skip Intro (#2)
You're a racist. That's why you relate to the Black Panthers.
So you admit you are the receptacle, skidmark?
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#2. To: WhiteSands (#1)
You guys use:
Replies to Comment # 2. I don't use anybody cracker.
#7. To: Skip Intro, WhiteSands (#2)
I don't use anybody cracker.
End Trace Mode for Comment # 2.
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