News and Politics | October 22, 2008 | 20 comments

Ex-GOP operative speaks out on vote rigging!

source: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/22/rigging.election/index.html

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crob80227
Allen Raymond is living proof that political dirty tricksters do exist.

The former Republican political operative went to federal prison after he pleaded guilty to charges of phone harassment. He jammed the phone lines of New Hampshire's Democratic Party on Election Day six years ago.

"The concept was to disrupt lines of communication. That's a fancy way of saying, 'make it so the phones didn't work,' " Raymond told CNN recently. "No calls going out. No calls going in."

We're not going to give away exactly how Raymond did it. According to federal prosecutors, two top Republican Party officials tapped Raymond's Virginia-based telemarketing firm for the operation. Raymond then contracted out the job to a private phone bank in Idaho.

Former New Hampshire Democratic Party chairwoman Kathy Sullivan remembers the ensuing flood of hang-up calls that created havoc in her office.

"At first, people had various impressions about what was going on," Sullivan recalled. "For example, at the Manchester field office, the young man who opened the office thought, 'The phones are all ringing off the hook. Nobody's here. I've broken the phone system. What did I do wrong?' And he was on the verge of tears."

The operation also jammed the lines inside a firefighter's union hall in Manchester, New Hampshire, where Jeff Duval and other local firefighters were lining up car rides to help senior citizens get to the polls.

"It almost felt to me like an election might have been stolen," Duval said. "I know for a fact that we received calls a few days later from people saying 'we tried to call you.' And I say 'did you get out and vote?' And they said 'no.' "

Looking back, Raymond said he thinks the scheme was ingenious in an "evil genius sort of way."

In his book, "How to Rig an Election: Confessions of a Republican Operative," Raymond details how he got caught. An hour and a half into the jamming operation he received an e-mail from a Republican official, frantically telling him to shut down the calls. The e-mail read: "Chairman wishes not to proceed with this project ... insists it violates federal law."

Federal agents eventually paid a visit to Raymond's office.

Raymond decided to come clean about his role in the operation and cooperate with investigators.

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20 comments // Ex-GOP operative speaks out on vote rigging!

  • HolyCity2012
    • 0
      HolyCity2012  

    • "Trickery and Deceit Used By the Right to Steal Votes and Elections"

      Bill Maher conducted an interview with Republican operative and the author of "How to Rig an Election" Allen Raymond who divulges various tricks used by the Right to suppress votes and steal elections. This video explains some of these unscrupulous acts and steps you can take to combat such tactics.

    • 3 years ago
  • jperson
    • 0
      jperson  
    • Image

    • Consider adding the phone number 1-866-MYVOTE1 to your cell phone before you head to the polls. You can use this hotline to get questions answered, and also to report any shenanigans you see.

    • 3 years ago
  • lifestudentno83
  • chris50
    • 0
      chris50  

    • Does anyone trust Diebolt now? In Salt Lake City, diebolt is the company that salt lake city is using for their vote. Scary huh??????????????

    • 3 years ago
  • sperritt
    • 0
      sperritt  
    • chris50:

      Dieblod. And no. I use to audit there ATM's in las vegas and they were a joke in the dispense report. What makes anyone think that it won't be rigged for an electio when it is ( Diebold) owned by a right wing NUT.

    • 3 years ago
  • crob80227
    • 0
      crob80227  

    • The only way to counteract the Republicans illegal and immoral voter surpression techniques is overwhelming turnout.

      They can fix close elections....but if McCain is too far behind then their tricks won't work.

      Judging from the early voting turn-outs it looks like the number of people voting is going to be off the charts!

      There will be so many people voting this time that the Republicans won't be able to thrown votes away fast enough to steal a 3rd election.

      The key is volume! There is a tipping point wherein we just overwhelm them. They won't be able to "challenge" enough people or hide enough ballots under their shirts in order to slant the election to McCain.

    • 3 years ago
  • regularrf
    • 0
      regularrf  

    • I have a feeling the republican are going to fix this one too.and there isnt a dam thing we can do about it. McCain is to up beat for losing as bad as he is and they sure know how to do it.

    • 3 years ago
  • borymp
    • 0
      borymp  

    • Yet McCain sits in a debate with a straight face accusing Obama of election tampering by being associated with Acorn. Hypocrite = Republican.

    • 3 years ago
  • Robroy1
    • 0
      Robroy1  

    • We all know that Bush never won an election on the up and up, this just confirms that he rigged both elections. He and Cheney belong in prison along with thier minions.

    • 3 years ago
  • synclaire
    • 0
      synclaire  

    • I don't care which side of the "isle" you are on, we ALL need to come together and stand up to our politicians who commit such acts. It's egregious and un-american!

    • 3 years ago
  • Raven6
    • 0
      Raven6  

    • Technology has indeed allowed light onto this subject, however technology can also be used to completely steal an election.

      To impede citizens' right to vote is a horrid act. Republicans have become so completely unAmerican, they are despicable creatures.

      Lock this guy up along with the "Chairman" and all those other repugnant scum for minimum of 20 years in a maximum security prison. No special treatment, no resort, genpop at Folsom !

      Screwing with Americans right to vote is to screw with America as a country. I can tolerate many things, screwing with our country is not one of them.

      This explains why they wanted all judges and all prosecutors to be republican. Keep them out of jail.

      REVOLT ! Go out and VOTE ! Do it now if your state offers early voting. Then if they try to screw you out of your vote scream to high heaven, demand every review in the book, but at least have some time to fix whatever bull they throw at you before Nov 4th. You fight not only for yourself but for everyone !

      Make sure you're not kept out at the last minute.

      Do this and we will have taken back our country and not fired a shot. Peacefully, legally, and gloriously.

      Republicans will run back under their rocks and become less and less a faction as time goes by. Their ideology is not only outdated but sick.

    • 3 years ago
  • trueconservative
  • Reverend_Papa_Bear
    • 0
      Reverend_Papa_Bear  

    • Republicans will do anything to rig elections. Jamming phonebanks, hiring Blog Warriors to infest websites, push polling, and out an out telling lies on the phone. Lets see if it works THIS time!

    • 3 years ago
  • keeshii768
    • 0
      keeshii768  

    • ugh. as a first time voter, the voting system just makes me paranoid. my county in florida completely messed up and sent my absentee ballot to the wrong house and now i'm gonna have to fly down to vote. stories like these just make you feel like nothing is an accident and someone is just being malicious.

    • 3 years ago
  • nkeg87
  • aswift1
  • sperritt
    • 0
      sperritt  
    • keeshii768:

      I live in Jackassville and it is the same old crap here. Alot of ill informed rednecks who only believe what Neil Bortz is saying on 106.5 fm. Jesus I hate NAZICAR and Bush.

    • 3 years ago
  • bamboodizzard
    • 0
      bamboodizzard  

    • There are two ways to win an election:

      Get more votes than the other guy (or gal), and if that does not work, ensure that the other guy gets less votes than you.

      This has always been in the Republican playbook. The only difference these days is that technology allows it to be brought to light almost instantaneously via blogs and other rapid media sources. During the time before blogs, they would do this and then dispose of the evidence before the main stream media even picked up on it then denounce it.

      The Republicans days are numbered. Their party will eventually split.

    • 3 years ago
  • SHERIFF
  • Marilynn_Murray
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