We linked to this in Morning Coffee today, but I think it bears another look. This will be hotly debated this week if, and I say if, the Democrats raise a bit of heck about it in the Legislature.
Almost one in five of Benton County’s voters got a letter in February saying their registration was invalid, triggering events that led last week to a call for a TBI investigation and a battle in the Legislature.
In contrast, a review of voter registrations similar to that in the West Tennessee county occurred about the same time in Union County, which has about the same number of voters. In Union, about 600 registrations were questioned, but the matter appears to have been resolved quietly and without controversy.
The difference, according to state Election Coordinator Mark Goins, apparently is that one of the Benton County letters went to Christine Borchert, wife of state Rep. Willie “Butch” Borchert, D-Camden.
The brewing legislative battle is over a Democrat-sponsored bill, awaiting floor votes in both the House and Senate this week, that declares that when a voter registration form is accepted by election officials, it cannot be declared invalid for some minor omission – unless fraud was involved or the omission was the voter’s signature.
Christine Borchert, filling out a form to change her voter registration address back in 1963, failed to check the “yes” box beside a question asking if she was a citizen of the United States. She has voted in virtually every election in the 47 years since.
I can’t help but wonder, as I’m in conspiracy theory mode today, what the political affiliation those purged voters leaned?
Goins? Bueller?
We haven’t heard the last of this, I assure you.
“I can’t help but wonder, as I’m in conspiracy theory mode today, what the political affiliation those purged voters leaned?”
The answer is that Democrats(defined as people voting more often in Dem primaries than Rep) are overrepresented as a whole by around 40%. BUT….thats only half the story….
The real shocker if your looking for a conspiracy is that dems that only vote in presidential years are UNDERrepresented by about 40% while those who vote in off year elections(like the all important redistricting fight this year) are OVERrepresented by about 60%, with these voters making up about 3/4 of those purged.
[...] may not SEEM like that big of a deal, but when you consider that we’re already seeing some questionable purging of the rolls in Benton County, well, it makes you wonder why the Republican led legislature would leave that open to [...]