Dirty Tricks

"Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity." -- George S. Patton

Ingenuity abounds when it comes to disenfranchising voters. I'm certain that my readers won't fall for any of these tricks, but they would be wise to warn their friends, parents, and grandparents.

Pennsylvania Republicans are disavowing an e-mail sent to Jewish voters that likens a vote for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to events that led up to the Holocaust.

A phony flier, purporting to be from the Virginia Board of Elections, is circulating in the African-American-heavy Hampton Roads region of the state, falsely informing people that, because of expected high turnout, Democrats should vote on November 5th. The election is November 4th.

Colorado Democrats accused a Republican county clerk Wednesday of falsely informing Colorado College that students from outside the state could not register to vote if their parents claimed them as a dependent on their tax returns.

Finally, here is a trick I never heard before: Sparks [Nevada] resident Raul Murillo, 50, said he received a cell phone call Oct. 13 asking him to vote for his presidential candidate over the phone, which is not legal.

The accused political party will always disavow the dirty tricks and blame it on a lone crank, but that doesn't explain away the far more consequential crimes of voter purges, rigged voting machines, and more voter purges.

Meanwhile, Republicans will cling to the voter fraud hoax, with some rather funny results. Yes, the New Mexico White Pages really does have a listing for Duran Duran.