Citizens Against Voter Abuse (CAVA) director Mary Helen Flores has ruffled the feathers of some Republicans in Cameron County when she released mail-in vote numbers indicating that it is the Grand Old Party which has now moved in as the largest vote-getter in this category.
And while some such as Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos claims that Republican mail-in vote totals have remained constant, the number say different.
While many have been focused on the vote-harvesting of mail-in votes by Democrats (the Hernandez vote-harvesting machine in Brownsville, for example) which resulted in at least two convictions of politiqueras being paid by some candidates, it seems that the Grand Old Party has now focused its strategy on getting its voters to use the method.
CAVA's Flores noted that there is nothing wrong with encouraging people to vote, especially if they have limited mobility, are elderly, or have no means of transportation. But the numbers generated within the last two election cycles have raised some eyebrows. Some say it is the result of the work of organizations like the American Association of Retired Persons, a powerful national lobbying group with some 38 million members across the country.
The AARP is a membership organization for people age 50 and over.
The non-profit arm of the group, the AARP Foundation, says the nonprofit "wants to win back opportunity for those now in crisis, so thousands of vulnerable low-income Americans 50+ can regain their foothold, continue to serve as anchors for their families and communities and ensure that their best life is still within reach."
Key areas of focus are hunger, income, housing and isolation. The Foundation's vision is "a country that is free of poverty where no older person feels vulnerable."
It is interesting, however, that the majority of mail-in ballots in Cameron County in the past two years overwhelmingly have favored Republican candidates in the 2012 general election and in the 2014 primaries just held. CAVA's numbers have riled some of the Republican faithful who bristle at the thought of being compared to the Democratic vote harvesters of the past.
These are the numbers that were generated by the CAVA probe:
Party primary mail-in ballot numbers 2012 & 2014
2012 Republican Party primary election mail-ins 96
2014 Republican Party primary election mail-ins 316
2012 Democratic Party primary election mail-ins 281
2014 Democratic Party primary election mail-ins 95
2014 Republican Party primary election mail-ins 316
2012 Democratic Party primary election mail-ins 281
2014 Democratic Party primary election mail-ins 95
While AARP focuses on national issues, it is apparent that the push to go after mail-in votes has favored some local candidacies, Flores said. For example, the highest mail-in ballot count for a local Republican in the 2012 General election was Chuck Mattingly with 1,077 mail-in ballots. He was the Republican candidate for district attorney. Likewise, Republican Mitt Romney (for president) had 1,090 mail-ins from Cameron County.
Democrats Eddie Lucio, Jr had 897 and Arturo Nelson had 882 mail-ins, respectively as the top mail-in Democrat vote recipients in the 2012 General.
Roman Perez, who has run for office locally, albeit in non-partisan races, puts it this way:
"The state Republican Party along with auxiliary groups have been sending information to Republican voters that qualify that on how to request mail-in ballots," he wrote. "Our primary voters tend to be a little older (hence the old adage if you are in your 20s and not a liberal you have no heart, but if you are in your 30s and not a conservative you have no brain - Winston Churchill). Anyway, many GOP primary voters are taking advantage of this which has been part of the statewide strategy since the 2012 general election. This is not the same as harvested voting or shenanigans."
Morgan Graham, secretary of the Republican Club also defended the Republican effort:
"If you are just looking at the numbers and not taking into account the dissemination of information on the ability to vote by mail, as Roman cited, one can not draw a conclusion that is accurate on its face," she wrote Flores. "You would have to have a preconceived bias to draw any conclusions just based on these numbers."
Still, while some may object to the use of the word "ironic" to the party shift in the majority of mail-in ballots, there's no denying that one is taking place.
CAVA said it has requested copies of the the mail-in applications and carrier envelopes from the Cameron County Elections office for the sake of learning how the GOP is achieving these results just as they did with the Democrat Party mail-in applications. So far, Flores said director Chris Davis hasn't got around to getting the group the information even though it has been a close to a year since it was requested.
What is good for the goose, apparently, is good for the gander.
"When we have any news to share will do ASAP," she said. "I was aware of the info you've provided, Roman. Thank you for posting."
13 comments:
The Party of Cruelty, the Republican Party's objective is making it more difficult for people to Vote. Ms. Flores overstepped her bounds with the Party.
Chris Davis, a Republican hired by Republican Carlos Cascos, won't release the same mail-in voting information about Republicans as he did about Democrats.
"Here we go again,"to quote a famous Republican.
"Go Fuck Yourself"
Hey, most of the Republicans are older and qualify for mail-in ballots. If you are over 65 and understand the system, it is cheaper to vote by mail. This is just another whining event that doesn't evaluate all the reasons why the numbers might be this way, this election. Maybe the investigation of the Dumbokrats and the pressure against fraud has just given us the "real" numbers when there is less fraud among Dumbokrats.
The motto of the Republican Party is, "Voter Suppression"
Bola de mamones...
Chris Davis is the problem. Never trust a balding white guy.
What you are seeing is nothing less than the hands of the Democrat party around the throats of the local people getting weaker. Our people have not been served well by this party of corruption.
Will the Republicans be less corrupt? Only time will tell, but they will be given the opportunity. The Democrats have fouled their nest with corruption and dishonesty.
When the Cameron County democrats start wailing about GOP vote fraud you know there's something amiss. Let's see, just how many elections have those nasty Republicans stolen? How many Cameron County Republicans are in--or going to--prison for corruption? I'm sure those who are crying wolf will take their evidence to the next grand jury and expose those power-grabbing, vote-stealing Republicans.
Lots of defensive noise from the right wingers over a mere tiny comparison. Sensitive much? It's a good thing that CAVA will look at the mail in ballots no matter which party might be misusing the system.
folks come on, its time for the republican party to use the same tactics that the dumbocrats have beening manipulating for over 30 years jusk ask joe rivera. Time to level the filed now and everyone gets upset now. que bonito.CCA
LOL..."party of cruelty"? What does that mean, exactly? Are the GOP the ones keeping you poor and on welfare? The way I see it, it's the Democrats "normalizing" the practice of living on welfare for the rest of your life not to mention the normalizing of perverse sexual behavior.
The difference in this case is really the fact Democrats have been caught red-handed stealing elecitons and Republicans haven't. Let CAVA have at it, I say.
When Meskins get organized to vote, it is called block-voting,and when us Republican gringos organize to vote it's called Democracy-in- Action! What a country! long live Patagonia! Land of the Free.!
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