Modern News

UPDATE: Michael Patrick Leahy has confirmed with Scott Reddick that an Owens worker made the call/complaint. The complaint was found to be unfounded and the person was within her legal rights.

———————-
Voter intimidation in NY23?

That’s the story being brewed up by former state Democratic Chairwoman June O’Neill. The problem? The story is full of fluff, void of any real evidence. O’Neill told the NYDailyNews that there was electioneering happening in NY23 and the police had been called in two polling locations.

“We’ve gotten reports that people are standing there, covered with Hoffman stickers and yelling anti-choice stuff at voters,” said O’Neill, a St. Lawrence native who has been running the party’s GOTV effort for Bill Owens in NY-23.

“Apparently, there’s some woman claiming to be a commissioner,” O’Neill continued. “Commissioner of what, I don’t know. She’s from Texas, I think, and she won’t leave.”

“This is not the way we roll in the North Country.”

Yes, the cops were called. No, there was no big electioneering happening.

The liberal blogosphere has been chomping at the bits about what I’ve posted above. They’ve taken this part of the story, ran with it, and are now spreading it far and wide via Twitter, Facebook and blogs.

The problem, as usual, is that they’ve ignored the rest of the story.

UPDATE: Joy Yearout, spokeswoman for the Susan B. Anthony List, a pro-life group that has endorsed Hoffman and is providing some 200 volunteers for him today, called in to provide “some additional information.”

Yearout said SBL has people working polling sites at 100 precincts in the 23rd for Hoffman. They’re handing out sample ballots so voters know where to find his name – remember, he’s on the Conservative line, which is Row D.

Wait, what’s that? They’re handing out materials near polling locations? Surely that must be “voter intimidation” or electioneering, right?

Wrong.

Election law requires anyone distributing material to stand at least 100 feet from polling places; this rule has long been understood as 100 feet from the entrance of the polling place and not the entire building itself. In Watertown, this was the case as well… at least until about 10:30 am depending on which polling place you went to. In our efforts to help get information out to voters, we passed out our chart and abided by the 100 foot rule. Apparently this wasn’t good enough for Jefferson County Democratic Election Board Commissioner Sean Hennessey.

The bottom line is that some voters are always going to dislike the fact that free speech exists, but that doesn’t make it illegal or unethical. Just because you see someone standing around the corner wearing a campaign sticker and handing out fliers does not mean the cops need to be called.

Nor does it mean voter intimidation is happening.

UPDATE: Now THIS is voter intimidation