For an lousy $8, some people are willing to commit a crime by fraudulently registering a person to vote for a party that didn't choose. This is what is alleged to have happened with paid signature gatherers working in Orange County. Paid signature gatherers are paid for each signature or voter registration they collect. In this case, the reward was $8 a registered voter. For the entire investigation, see Petitioners Conned Voters Into Switching to the GOP in the OC Register.
This is not the first time paid signature gatherers have caused problems for the Orange County Republican Party - it's the second time since 2006. The Orange County District Attorney is now working with the Secretary of State to investigate what is going on.
For the record, the California Democratic Party does have a voter registration bounty program but only registered Democratic Clubs can participate and the money goes to the club, not to individuals. The bounty is also rather modest, a few dollars per voter. Additionally, there are very strict guidelines for how the bounty is paid out. Some clubs have found out, after the fact, that not following those strict guidelines meant that although voters are now registered, the club will not receive the money they expected to receive.
Frank Barbaro, Chair of the Democratic Party of Orange County said, "For the second time since 2006, Orange County Republican-paid operatives have engaged in deceptive and fraudulent voter registration by signing up college students as Republican voters without their consent. Their acts not only constitute fraudulent voter registration, fraudulent document filing, and perjury but could well violate the National Voter Registration Act, which makes it a federal crime to the procure or submit voter registration applications that are ‘ known by the person to be materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent under the laws of the State in which the election is held.’
“I am calling for the ‘grownups’ in the Republican Party to step up and start acting as responsible adults and to stop this voter registration fraud. Paying an $8 ‘bounty’ to operatives who in turn deceive students who sign registration cards is not only illegal but an act of desperation by a political party whose appeal is fading fast in Orange County and across the nation. “I am also asking that the United States Department of Justice investigate whether these actions violate the National Voter Registration Act and to prosecute these ‘bounty-hunters’ to the fullest extent of the law. The right of citizens of the United States to vote is a fundamental right and should be vigorously protected."Barbaro has sent a letter to the Andre Birotte, Jr, the US Attorney for the district, asking the US Attorney to investigate alleged violations of the National Voter Registration Act.
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