Via Slog, King County Council Chair Larry Phillips has sent a letter to Prosecuting Attorney Norm Maleng, formally asking him to investigate Lori Sotelo for perjury:
Metropolitan King County Councilmembers have been contacted by challenged voters whose voter registrations are not only correctly registered to their home addresses, but who also have no prior contact or relationship with Ms. Sotelo. Thus, Ms. Sotelo’s basis for “personal knowledge and belief” of falsified voter registrations is highly questionable, and her voter challenges should be investigated for possible perjury.
I urge you to investigate Ms. Sotelo’s possible perjury in this matter; a violation of state law and a constitutional violation of numerous voters’ inherent right to vote in King County.
Here’s the point… challenging a voter’s registration at any time, let alone days before an election, should not be taken lightly. Yet that’s exactly what Sotelo and the Republican Party did.
This is particularly offensive when you consider the basis for their challenges… not that voter fraud has occurred, or that ineligible voters are casting ballots… but that otherwise eligible voters have technical errors in their registration. According to KCRE, many of those who revised their registration on Saturday only needed to swap their street address for their mailing address… they had merely put the wrong address on the wrong line.
And yet, not only is the GOP bragging about their efforts to deny these people the franchise, they also apparently feel it is justified to inconvenience or even disenfranchise hundreds of wrongly challenged voters in the process!
But with all the wailing and gnashing of teeth over alleged corruption and incompetence in KCRE, what the Republicans haven’t been able to show us is a single scrap of evidence proving widespread voter fraud. After the most scrutinized election in state history and an unprecedented election contest trial, only seven voters out of nearly one million ballots cast have been prosecuted for casting illegal votes. Seven!
The Republican solution? Disenfranchise tens of thousands of legal voters by purging the rolls, eliminating ballot duplication and enhancement, enacting photo ID and stricter signature matching standards, and yes… falsely challenging hundreds of legally registered voters.
The only fraud in the 2004 gubernatorial election was Dino Rossi’s fraudulent lawsuit contesting it.
larry philips…
Ypu mean the guy who, when criticized, has his wife shows up at peoples doors to assault them?
Sounds like another “David Irons” scoop for Goldy.
the republicans overreach again…
In their desparation they’ve stepped over one line too many, and now they’re paying for it.
I hate to say it, but I think its time for the ‘2 party’ system to have some turnover and get rid of the bad (Republican) rubbish.
What’s wrong with following the law? If the law says it must be a valid residence, then these challenges should only inconvenience people who didn’t fill out the registration correctly. Didn’t these people have to sign the registration, stating that it is true and complete? I agree, the timing of the Republican party was wrong, these challenges should have happened long ago, not right before an election.
Do you want to follow the law? Then how about checking out these irregularities after this election, but with plenty of time for the people to correct them for the next election. Let’s get the rolls purged of illegal voters, be they double registered, dead, felons, etc.
Illegal votes affect us all no matter who wins.
and Yuri Andropov didn’t like dissidents…
Big news that a Sims crony would work to protect KCRE?
Yeah let’s follow the law. Let’s put the bitch in prison who signed these challenges under penalty of perjury. The kuckle-draggers on the right are only interested in the “rule of law” so long as it doesn’t apply to them. Let’s put pressure on the prosecutor to file. Maybe these traitors on the right need a taste of their own medicine.
Answer me this, Goldy…
How much responsibility for the existence of the errors in the first place lands squarely in the lap of the KingCo Elections Department?
I read the official “we’ve cleaned the database” document from KingCo and it looks like all they did was a simple search for words and letters in an address.
Why do you and other Lefties refuse to lay any blame of the government when a significant number of those names could have been easily flagged a long time ago?
It is my hope that Norm Maleng nails her ass to the wall. TO THE WALL! I am not usually a vindictive person, but this ends now.
LeftTurnIntoTheDitch @ 5
Who said that she shouldn’t have charges filed against her if she broke the law?
And do you feel the same way about all others who sign similar oaths?
Ummmmmmmmmm
Where was Larry Phillips outrage at the folks who voted ILLEGALLY in the last Election disenfranchising ALL the voters in the State of Washington???
Perhaps I missed that e-mail Phillips must have obviously sent to Norm Maleng…..since Mr. Phillips is so obviously concerned about disenfranchisement.
Oh….Phillips FORGOT to be immediately outrage last time.
I get it……….
LARRY PHILLIPS====SELECTIVE OUTRAGE.
Interesting affliction Mr. Phillips has.
And hopefully Phillips will be equally outraged at the many challenged voters who lied on their registrations.
Seems like if Maleng goes after Sotelo….they are opening pandora’s box to go after everyone who makes an error.
Perhaps this is just an ELECTION DAY solo Circus CLOWN act by Mr. Phillips.
This is good…..let the prosecutions begin from ALL angles…it will help clean things up.
Watch this request disappear…..QUICK.
How many LEFTIST PINHEADED CLOWNS who are legitmate registered voters are unaware of that at this point????
If they know they are LEGITIMATE, then they are not disenfranchised. They can only disenfranchise themselves by failing to vote.
This will be quite the interesting development as it unfolds.
Be careful about what you wish for Goldy!
boring ..more of the golden shit rule:
“Everything I complain about is golden, everything you complain about is shit”
..next
mr. irrelevant…
funny that you mention it, the only 7 illegal votes they found were… thats right,
Republicans
You’re such an evil evil bastard, its actually hard to read your posts all the way through…
At least pretend to stick to facts please, I’m begging you!
windie—
You are wrong idiot…
Numerous convicted felons voted illegally.
Where was Phillips outrage at that???
Where is Phillips memo demanding their prosecution????
10 is NOT me
@12
first of all, we’ve been over this… prove it, or shut up
Secondly, my bad… I’m letting you distract me from the crimes that Sotelo has committed… What happened in the past doesn’t really matter. What matters now is the perjury of the head of the KCGOP.
LEFTIES: YOU WANT TO STOP THIS AND CAN’T STOMACH DAVID IRONS – VOTE FOR GENTRY LANGE.
(Everybody else – vote for David Irons.)
Ms. Soleto simply had faulty intelligence.
She WITHDREW the wrong challenges!!
That’s more than Bush did when the WMD stockpiles didn’t show up…
Comment by Mr. Cynical — 11/8/05 @ 3:12 pm
Thank you for saying what was on my mind.
This is selective outrage.
Thank you, Stefan. Thank you for giving me the words…
‘faulty intellegence’… How true, and descriptive of the Right.
Anwyays, she should have wondered about ‘faulty intellegence’ before she signed an affadavit under penalty of perjury that she had personal knowledge of those challenged addresses. Her withdrawing them doesn’t change that she broke the law in offering them.
Josef…you stupid little jerk…isn’t it past your bedtime?…is that your mother calling?…here’s a quarter, go play on the freeway.
Windie @14
“What happened in the past doesn’t really matter”?
Could you actually mean that?
Nearly all antagonism can be attributed to a breakdown in communication. Nearly all.
Perhaps what is needed would be for all the laws to be observed, and enforced.
What law did she break? Perjury, right? Does anyone have the wording for it? What are the qualifications for perjury?
@21
well the affadavit saying “I swear under the penalty of perjury…” is a pretty clear qualification of perjury.
And to clarify some, “What happened in the past doesn’t matter…” to the fact that she has apparently committed a crime other (supposed, with no proof whatsoever) crimes in the past don’t make this crime ‘not so bad’…
windie..you and goldy are both barking up the wrong tree on this one. sims has no political future in the big picture. did you ever think that maleng might want to?
he won’t touch this with a ten foot pole.
and once again..this is what cheaters get for cheating. you opened this pandora’s box and now it is coming back to bite you, and you are complaining.that’s rich…..
besides…what are you worried about? we all know that logan will “make sure” that sims wins and besides according to all the reports coming from the elections office this was all cleaned up after the last rip off.
but, once again……..this is what happens when you start playing dirty. if you don’t want this sort of thing to happen again…clean up our own acts first.
and stop whining……..jeez, you all sound so absurd.
@22
I meant, what is the legal definition of perjury? What is the Code? Can someone post it so we can see? I prefer not to let lawyers do all my thinking for me. :)
and, True, perjury is a crime. Whether or not it’s true that what the Republicans say about KCE not doing their lawfully appointed job doesn’t change the fact that she signed that statement. So, again, it comes down to is, what is the legal definition of perjury?
Hey Goldy-
YAWN….
A class B felony, incidentally, buys you up to ten years in prison and/or a $20,000 fine.
Oh, and she can’t get out of it by saying that, y’know, she was really pretty sure that all of those people were registered illegally:
Any way you look at it, it really, really sucks to be Lori Sotelo right now. But hey, the law is the law, right? People who break the law should be punished, right, Republicans? Right?
Ms. Sotelo’s claiming to have personal knowledge of matters about which she had not a clue, and doing so in an affidavit, is perjury. The point is not debatable. Committing perjury with the purpose of disenfranchising voters is an affront to democracy. Such an act makes any negligence the King County election office may have committed pale into insignificance. Intentional misconduct trumps negligence anyday. Norm Maleng has no choice but to prosecute. You on the right who excuse anything your comrades do in the name of furthering your cause are shameless hypocrites. Keep overplaying your hand, you fuckheads.
proud leftist—
You miss the point here…..on purpose.
A) Mrs. Sotelo immediately corrected her error.
B) The error was noted publicly EVERYWHERE
C) No one was disenfranchised.
D) Numerous ILLEGAL voters previously PERJURED themselves and were not prosecuted.
None of this however, explains the piss poor job done by KingCo Elections.
David Irons will win and fire that doofus Logan.
That’s good enough for me!
ghost, I must say I am a bit disappointed, you normally think before you start typing. That really is the sort of reasoning that only works if you’re a republican and you are talking to a democrat. And then its a bit on the short sighted end.
Think about this for a minute, you are saying that perjury and disenfrancising voters is ok because someone else cheated in another election. Does that mean your husband can beat you because some woman smashed a guy over the head with a vase last year?
The funny thing is, with just a little care this would have been a good thing. There were less than 2k names, you mean they really couldnt actually check on each one? And someone actually swore to knowledge she didnt have? That is really ok with you?
The funny thing is, the republican party just proved that what the king county election board has been saying all along is true, you can’t just run a database check and eliminate names that way, if you try you end up excluding valid voters.
Paul @ 26, I was going to reply to my Conservative opponents, but you saved me the trouble. Could not have said it any better myself.
I’ll See that they nail your ass to the wall Burke. TO THE WALL!!
Ellen Ripley
Aliens
http://www.nwcn.com/news/speci.....8a70e.html
They apologized and withdrew?
Maybe you will wise up and call for the apology & withdrawal from a place in the Middle East where there wasn’t all the WMD we were told there was there…
Josef tries to be at least slightly sensible:
Ms. Soleto simply had faulty intelligence.
She WITHDREW the wrong challenges!!
a) She “withdrew” some of the clearly-false ones, but not all.
b) The challenges were filed and acted upon. They were no longer hers to “withdraw”.
c) I suppose you believe it would be fine and dandy, and not a crime, if a bank robber returned the money.
d) On further reflection, c) isn’t the right metaphor … think of it as someone who robbed a series of banks, then returned the money to a few of them. Not a crime, right?
N and all other liefties: What about the Seattle Times article on the ~1000 wrong registrations? You guys love to rail over the small but miss the big!
Yes, I did say liefties!
N in Seattle @ 32
Sotelo withdrew 18 challenges that were entirely proper — 7 folks at the Snoqualmie UPS Store, 5 folks at the Kent UPS Store, and 6 folks at an incorrect (and non-existent) address for the Kent UPS Store.
I personally investigated these three address on Sunday, took digital pictures, and submitted my own challenges of these improperly registered voters on Monday.
I also personally investigated the incorrect (and non-existent) address where Rollin Fatland (Goldy’s source for his last (s)hit piece against Irons) is registered to vote, and submitted a challenge of his registration on Monday as well.
Isn’t it cute now. One year ago Drooling Joseph and Mr CynncialIDIOT were arch rivals, now they apparently sleep together. What a cute mutual admiration society!!!! LMAO@our NEW troll Betrothed
Hi guys–
I’m one of the people who wrongly had my registration challenged, and I’m Democrat and social worker for people with developmental disabilities and their families. I live in my house with my partner and 2 kids, and yes, I was disenfranchised when I got the letter, but came mostly droppped it when I got the apology letter. What happends next isn’t up to me, and it will take it’s course, I’m sure. My point is, you guys seem to have a lot of energy, whether left or right. Please use it in some way that will actually help. If you’re sympathetic to people, then turn off the tube, get away from the computer, and go volunteer somewhere. You seem to have the smarts and compassion. Nobody is convincing anyone of anything here. We actually DO have more in common than difference, so emphasize that, and drop the wedges that divide us further, please. Use your energy to make yourself feel better, not attacked.