Election ‘08

Beware of voter fraud in county

Is there voter fraud in Kitsap County?

The Kitsap County auditor is the chief elections officer for the county overseeing all elections.

I believe that the person responsible for processing and counting your vote should take voter fraud more seriously, and insure that your legal right to vote is protected. Every illegal vote cast negates a legitimate vote, thereby undermining public confidence in our elections process.

As it is now under the National Voter Motor Registration Act, anyone applying for a driver’s license receives a voter registration form. That individual is NOT required to prove citizenship, but simply claims to be a citizen by checking a box on the form. The form is processed and he or she is then a registered voter in Kitsap County.

No doubt, there are penalties if a person is not a citizen and gets caught. Not one case has been investigated and turned over to the prosecutor’s office in Kitsap County. Does that mean there is no illegal voter registration? Or does that mean that county officials have been complacent in protecting your legal right to vote? You be the judge.

Our voter registration and voting procedures have been changed a great deal in the past decade. We now have online registration that requires only a driver’s license to become a registered voter.

Your driver’s license is not proof of citizenship. All our ballots are mailed in, and do not require any form of ID to be cast.

If your child was registered to vote in Washington, then moved away to college in another state, he or she can register to vote there, yet you will still receive the child’s ballot in your mail box.

What prevents someone from casting that ballot here in Kitsap County, and your child voting in another state? Essentially nothing. The signature of record is not enough protection against this potential fraud. States are not cross-checking voter registrations to verify that there are not duplicates for the same voter.

Convenience of online registration and all-mail ballots has been made possible by technology.

It is possible that at some point in the future you will be able to cast your ballot on your computer or by using your phone. Many such changes will be made by federal law, but they will be implemented and monitored at the local level.

You need an advocate to protect the integrity of your legitimate right to vote. I pledge that as your Kitsap County auditor I will encourage ALL citizens over 18 years of age to vote, and protect your vote.

This is not a partisan issue – it is the core of our democracy. Your vote matters if you are a Democrat, Republican, Green, Libertarian or Independent. I will do everything I can to restore your confidence that your vote does matter.

John Clark

Candidate for Kitsap County auditor

Support Danielson, U.S. Constitution

Wow! Isn’t it refreshing to have a judicial candidate (like) Bruce Danielson to be an independent lawyer seeking office without crawling to his peers for their blessing.

The U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights is not a living document, which socialists continue to profess it to be. The institutional substance of its greatness is barraged by pseudo-intellectual judges that ignore its historic relevancy. Why vote for one of those?

It’s time we elected a judge who understands the historical value of that document and will not prostitute it with convoluted interpretation. The only defense to this onslaught of democratic socialism is to look for judges that at least have institutional values of the founding fathers.

In holding his standards above the liberal-socialist agenda, Bruce has been castigated and judged not qualified by the greater portion of the local Democratic bar association

Yet, Dalton’s comments supporting the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that terrorist held in Guantanamo deserve the same legal rights of U.S. citizen makes me believe she is a hard-line democratic liberal!

Why would any American believe the enemies of this great nation deserve the same judicial rights as its citizens? Vote for Danielson.

Dean H. Jenniges

Bremerton

Vote for candidates who are ‘green’

I was reading your reporter’s write-up of the debate between Phil Rockefeller and Connie Lord last week – both are running to be one of Bainbridge Island’s state representatives. As a student of the Bainbridge Graduate Institute, and someone who is studying the rapidly growing opportunities for businesses to both become more environmentally sustainable and save money, a couple of thoughts occurred to me.

Rather than dredging up a debate that is over, candidates should be talking about the investments needed to grow our green economy in these uncertain times, which happens to be a great way to deal with climate change.

We need to vote for the candidate who is most willing to invest in green job training at our colleges and vocational schools and triple the number of green family wage jobs in our state.

We need state leaders who support cap and trade systems that will curb greenhouse gases and invest in renewable energy. Let’s all be on the lookout for leaders who will do so, and vote accordingly!

Ethan Schaffer

Seattle