-Caveat Lector-
Fraudulent absentee ballots cast in Florida
State attorney's office investigating forged documents found
By Julie Foster
WorldNetDaily.com
Two absentee ballots requested but never received by a Pensacola
voter in Miami were discovered by election officials with
fraudulent signatures, prompting an investigation by state
attorneys.
Todd Vinson, a 28-year-old law clerk registered to vote in
Pensacola, requested an absentee ballot from the Escambia County
Elections Supervisor on Oct. 10 to be sent to his residence in
Miami. When he did not receive the ballot after two weeks, he
requested another on Oct.
24, according to a Pensacola News Journal report. That ballot
also never reached its proper destination. Vinson contacted his
father, U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson, the Thursday before
the election, telling him about the mysterious, no-show ballots.
The judge immediately contacted Escambia County Elections
Supervisor Bonnie Jones, informing her of the situation. After
reviewing absentee ballots returned to elections officials,
Jones' office found a ballot with Todd Vinson's name on it. The
signature on the ballot, however, did not match the signature on
his voter registration card. Additionally, the address listed on
the ballot for the witness was not valid. All absentee voters
must fill out their ballots in the presence of a witness, who
writes in his or her address and signs the form.
"It was clearly forged,'' Vinson told the News Journal. "Somebody
definitely got hold of it and sent it back in. The question is
where did they get it, and my speculation was that it happened
somewhere in the post office. It made it down here to Miami, but
it never made it to me.''
To make sure Vinson's vote was counted, Jones overnighted him a
third ballot in time for him to vote for Texas Gov. George W.
Bush. The elections supervisor subsequently contacted the state
attorney's office, U.S. Attorney Mike Patterson and the Florida
Division of Elections.
Then, one day after the cliffhanger vote took place, Escambia
County elections officials found what may be the second ballot
intended for Vinson. It, too, had been forged and was handed
over to state prosecutors.
Assistant Elections Supervisor Brenda Renfro told WorldNetDaily
neither of the forged ballots will be opened by elections
officials, so it is impossible to know who the illegal votes were
intended to support. She added that a judge reviewing the case
could decide to open them, but the elections office, as a rule,
does not open fraudulent ballots.
So far, Renfro noted, no other fraudulent ballots have been
discovered in Escamdia County -- located in the
conservative-leaning panhandle of Florida. The state attorney's
office is leading an investigation into whether the forged ballot
is part of a broader scheme to redirect mailed ballots to someone
who filled them out and forged the voters' signatures. Jones is
in contact with state attorneys regarding the investigation, but
was instructed by counsel not to give any interviews on the
subject. Rather, she is to refer all media inquiries to
Assistant State Attorney Russ Edgar.
"I agree there may well be more than just this one,'' Edgar told
the News Journal. "That's what I'm thinking right now.'' Edgar
is heading the investigation.
A key issue in Vinson's case is how the ballots were redirected.
Vinson suggests the U.S. Postal Service was involved. Should
investigators suspect as much, federal law enforcement may be
asked to take over the probe. One station manager in the U.S.
Postal Service, who wishes to remain anonymous, told WND that
postal workers received an intranet memo Wednesday morning from
the postmaster general stating that absentee ballots were to be
separated from other first-class mail to ensure they received
"special handling." Upon asking for clarification from his
supervisor, the source was told not to question the memo as it
came from "the top." The postal worker explained his belief that
setting the ballots aside may lead to a hold-up of absentee
ballots, which could result in the ballots not being counted if
they are not received before state deadlines.
Officials at the Postal Service admit they treat election mail
differently than other items and maintain that treatment
expedites, rather than hinders, mail delivery.
"We give all election mail, especially as it gets close to the
day, special handling," said Dan De Miglio, California spokesman
for the Postal Service. De Miglio denies the intranet memo was
sent, noting that as California's communications director, he
also would have received it.
"I would know if a memo like that was sent out yesterday," he
remarked, noting that he never saw the memo purportedly sent by
the postmaster general. "I would have been used to move the
message." He suggested the employee, who has access to the
agency's intranet as a supervisor, could have received a bogus
notice. "It's a fraud," the spokesman said.
De Miglio pointed out the Postal Service gives special treatment
to all forms of election mail, including campaign ads, putting
them on a "fast track." He explained the Postal Service "ramps
up" its staff and operations similar to the manner in which the
agency prepares for the throngs of holiday mail it handles every
year.
Specifically addressing Vinson's case, the spokesman said, "The
only way that could happen is if someone came to his house and
took his ballot."
De Miglio acknowledged some mail does have problems in the
delivery process and that the Postal Service has been accused of
facilitating those problems.
"You're almost defenseless, because there's no way to defend
yourself against accusations like that," given the huge volume of
mail handled by postal workers. He quickly added that in
California, the Postal Service has been exonerated from such
accusations in the past.
Due to the extraordinary closeness of the presidential race in
Florida, even a handful of fraudulent cases like Vinson's could
sway the outcome of the election.
"It definitely could impact the vote because one vote can make a
difference, as we've seen in this election,'' Jones told the News
Journal, which noted the supervisor's office has dealt with a
record of number of absentee ballots this election.
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