A few odds and ends:

• CA-04: Tom McClintock is bringing out the big guns to help his cash-strapped campaign – Ron Paul is all in!

Paul, the libertarian-Republican congressman from Texas who raised more than $34 million for his presidential race, sent out an e-mail last week urging his massive donor base to contribute to McClintock.

“Tom McClintock is one of the most promising warriors in the fight against big government we have seen in a long time, and the special interests and big bankers know it. … You have stood with me as….

…I campaigned for the Presidency to return our federal government to its proper role. Will you help me bring a reliable ally to Congress?”

This brings up some interesting questions.  Does Tom McClintock think we should withdraw from Iraq and dozens of other military bases around the world?  Does he believe in abolishing the Federal Reserve?  The coinage of free silver?  

They do have one thing in common, however – white supremacist supporters.

• CA-45: New voter registration statistics have not been released by the Secretary of State’s office, but I think they will show good news for Democrats across the state.  One statistic that is measurable is the early voting number, and in CA-45, it’s good news for Julie Bornstein.

Democrats have significantly narrowed the early voting gap in the 45th Congressional District, an encouraging sign for challenger Julie Bornstein in her battle to unseat Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (R-Palm Springs), according to Bornstein campaign manager Walter Ludwig.

In both 2004 and 2006, registered Republicans accounted for about 54 percent of early voters, compared with just 34 percent for Democrats. Mack, now a four-term incumbent, cruised to re-election both years by more than 20 points.

This year, early voting is much more evenly split. The latest numbers from the Riverside County Registrar of Voters show that registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by just five percent among early voters.

It’s like the entire Republican machine all collapsed at once.  They used to be MASTERS at getting absentee votes out.  This year, there’s either no such effort, or it’s being matched by Democrats.  CA-45 is under the radar, but these numbers suggest that it shouldn’t be.

• CA-46: At the Great Orange Satan, Devilstower has a great piece that could start a new meme about Debbie Cook – the anti-Palin.

Suppose there was a candidate who was as bright and as capable as Sarah Palin is confused and incompetent.

Someone who had a record of working with environmental groups, and who had a real understanding of the threat posed by our dependence on fossil fuels. Someone with a degree in earth science and the long experience to make the claim of being a genuine energy expert.

Someone who not only knew science, but also had a law degree, and was a graduate of the leadership program at the Kennedy School of Government. Someone who has held positions of honor in state and national commissions. Someone who was well respected for both her intellect and her passion.

Suppose there was a candidate who had been mayor of, not a tiny town, but a medium-sized city. And suppose she took that position as a Democrat in the midst of a heavily Republican district.

Suppose there was someone who was everything that Sarah Palin is not.

Fortunately for us, there’s Debbie Cook.

Read the whole thing.  And help Debbie if you can.

• AD-78: Bill Cavala, who worked the last close race in this district, took a peek at some new registration numbers which show a real advantage for Marty Block:

This year the new registration ‘close’ figures show the Democrats with 101, 131 registrants, an increase of about 4100 from the last Presidential year. DTS registrations are 49,855, an increase of about 5800 from 2004. Most remarkably, however, Republican registration has fallen by almost 8000 – from 82,615 four years ago to 74,700 today.

This means the net change is Dems up 4100 and Reps down 8000 or 12,100 in favor of the Democrat over 2004.

Forget the increase in DTS registrations – which vote more Democratic than Republican in San Diego. Starting out down 12,000 in a seat where they won by 2000 with an incumbent – it’s open this year – puts the Republican candidate squarely behind the 8 ball.

Just one of the many Assembly races where this is so.

Over the weekend, we learned about YPM, the voter registration company hired by the state Republican Party which was illegally switching voters’ party affiliations under false pretenses, and (this is the buried lede) changing their ballot status in a clear act of voter suppression:

Those who were formerly Democrats may stop receiving phone calls and literature from that party, perhaps affecting its get-out-the-vote efforts. They also will be given only a Republican ballot in the next primary election if they do not switch their registration back before then.

Some also report having their registration status changed to absentee without their permission; if they show up at the polls without a ballot they may be unable to vote.

Robert Cruickshank mentioned that the head of YPM has been arrested in this case and charged with voter registration fraud.  In response, the Yacht Party has decided to attack Debra Bowen:

On the eve of California’s voter registration deadline, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen has decided to once again show her partisan colors and charge an individual for questions surrounding his own, personal voter registration stemming from 2006 and 2007.  

The fact that these charges are being leveled against an individual operating in a highly-contested area of California, and the significant gap between recent allegations and the charges we’ve seen today suggests that this is politically motivated.

It’s clear that Bowen, herself the recipient of an ACORN endorsement (still displayed on her campaign website), has elevated these issues to achieve maximum political benefit and deflect attention from the Democratic Presidential nominee’s high-profiled problems and associations with the radical community activist group ACORN.

While we condemn voter fraud in all forms, it is evident that Debra Bowen is using her office to play politics with the public’s perception of political parties.  This is inappropriate at least, and an abuse of her office and a willing suspension of her duties at worst.

Now, let’s make clear that in the original article, YPM founder Marc Jacoby cited Bowen’s work – falsely – to prove his own innocence:

He also said that plainclothes investigators for Secretary of State Debra Bowen, a Democrat, have conducted multiple spot checks and told his firm it is doing nothing improper.

“Every time, they gave us a thumbs-up,” Jacoby said. “People are not being tricked.”

But Nicole Winger, a spokeswoman for the secretary of state’s office, said the agency “does not give an OK or seal of approval to voter registration groups.”

That’s an out-and-out lie, and it’s completely within the purview of the Secretary of State to enforce the laws regarding voter registration.  The Yacht Party is being completely disingenuous about Jacoby’s illegality here (“personal voter registration” my ass), and they dredge up ACORN, which is not only unrelated to the YPM case, but a situation where paid registration gatherers were defrauding ACORN more than anything else.  But it’s not surprising to see the Yacht Party fan the fires of hate and use the ACORN scapegoat to answer for their own illegal activities.

And this is Yacht Party illegality.  Steve Poizner paid for the YPM voter drive and put a bounty on new registrations.

This story is starting to hit traditional media.  Debra Bowen did nothing but her job, and she needs to be supported.  Whether you write a letter to the editor, call the Yacht Party offices (hey, here’s contact information, imagine that) or just spread the word to your friends and neighbors, do something to call out Republican voter suppression today.

Over 1.3 million new low-income, minority, and young Americans registered nationwide!

Yesterday, as voter registration deadlines passed in most states, Project Vote, the nation’s leading nonpartisan voter participation organization, and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), the country’s largest community organization, held a news conference to announce the completion of a joint nonpartisan voter registration drive, which has succeeded in helping over 1.3 million Americans register to vote. To listen to the conference in its entirety, please click here

The joint effort, which Project Vote Executive Director Michael Slater described as “the largest and most comprehensive drive in the history of our two organizations”, was conducted in a total of 21 states, with the largest efforts focusing on 16 states, including AZ, CA, CO, CT, Fl, KY, LA, MI, MN, MO, NV, NM, OH, PA, TX, and WI. While final numbers were still being tallied, Slater said that the largest state-by state successes included:

–over 148,000 in Pennsylvania,

–152,000 registrations in Florida,

–over 217,000 in Michigan, and

–over 238,000 in Ohio.

The goal of the nonpartisan voter registration drive-estimated to cost $18 million-was to help close the existing gaps in the American electorate, particularly among low-income Americans, minorities, and youth, all of whom have historically been underrepresented at the polls.

According to Bertha Lewis, Interim Chief Organizer of ACORN, the majority of the 1.3 million registrants are low- to-moderate income people, 60-70 percent are African American or Latino, and over half are under the age of 30. Lewis said the ultimate goal was to change the face of the electorate and permanently empower the Americans who are most affected by policy decisions.

“We think it is important that the voices in our community get heard,” said Lewis. “This isn’t just about going into the voting booth, but it’s actually about strengthening democracy and instilling an ongoing commitment to effect real change.”

This Election Day is expected to see record turnout at the polls, and ACORN board member Carmen Arias, a longtime voting rights advocate, confirmed that the energy and enthusiasm this year is at an all-time high.

“In 2004 we were met with apathy,” Arias said. “We had to convince people to register to vote. This year we were met with excitement: people are excited to have an opportunity to have a say in solving the foreclosure crisis, and the healthcare crisis. They’re eager to have politicians listen to them.”

Slater and Lewis both agreed that empowering voters to have their voices heard by their political leaders is what it’s all about. “Our belief, fundamentally, is that by expanding the electorate, by changing its profile, we will get candidates who will start to appeal to those new voters,” said Slater. “The idea isn’t to assist, whether overtly or covertly, the election of any single candidate, but to force candidates to take into account the interests of Americans who have not historically participated in as high rates as others and to start pursuing policies and programs that are more responsive to their needs.”

Responding to questions, Lewis rejected the suggestion that the nonpartisan voter registration drive had a hidden partisan agenda, and emphasized the importance of empowering low-income communities and working families that have too long been ignored or taken for granted by both political parties.

“All of these politicians, I don’t care who they are-republicans, democrats, all of them-they need to compete for our vote and they need to be accountable,” Lewis said. “Because after the election, whoever gets in there has to deal with us.”

Project Vote also announced that they are conducting efforts to make sure that everyone who attempted to register actually gets on the rolls. Project Vote lead counsel Brian Mellor explained that the organization took a random sampling of ACORN registrations in nine states, covering 14 counties, and checked to make sure the applicants had in fact been added to the voter lists.

“We were happy to find that it appears that most applicants that ACORN submitted and verified appeared to be getting on the rolls,” said Mellor. “However, we do still see systematic problems,” particularly with state database matching requirements. “There is lots of evidence out there that database matching produces a lot of false negatives, with people who are legitimate voters not getting matched.”

“There are still thousands of Americans who believe they have completed a voter registration application and are registered to vote, but in fact are not,” said Mellor, who explained that many registrations are rejected due to incomplete information, confusing application forms, or address problems. Many would-be voters, in fact, may not discover they have been rejected until they arrive at the voting booth.

To give applicants an opportunity to repair their registrations in time to cast a ballot on November 4, Project Vote is conducting a program to acquire lists of rejected applications from boards of election and then to contact the voters by mail or by phone to inform them of their need to re-register.

To assist in this effort, Project Vote has launched a website, www.projectvote2008.org, which provides lists of voters in several states for people to check and see if they or their friends and neighbors have been left off the voter rolls due to common registration problems.

In his opening remarks Slater pointed out that the American system of voter registration-with few federal standards, and in which the burden of registration is placed on individuals-has often been used to disenfranchise voters.

“It wasn’t until the civil rights era that restrictive voter registration laws, challenged by protestors risking physical violence and even death, began to fall,” said Slater. “Today, the attacks on voter registration drives are more rhetorical than physical, but the point of contention is the same: the ability of Americans of color to cast a ballot.

“The work of Project Vote and ACORN continues a tradition of ensuring that all Americans can vote,” Slater said.

For more information on this and on the various Election Protection and voting rights work going on in the run-up to the election please contact:

Lacy MacAuley, [email protected], for Project Vote

Charles Jackson, [email protected], for ACORN

((I’m told that Act Blue is back up and running, so you can donate now.  And we’re almost to our goal! $180 left! Who will put us over the top?) – promoted by Robert in Monterey)

Thanks to everyone who has supported our five candidates in the Calitics Match thus far.  We’re past halfway to our goal, and Debbie Cook has well surpassed our $500 match (way to go!).  

Today is crunch time.  It’s the final day before the end of the third quarter, which is the reporting deadline for federal candidates.  This is the best opportunity to make your donations the most meaningful; the quarterly fundraising announcements are key to gauge support, and money put into field and messaging now will pay bigger dividends in the future than a quick cash infusion at the last minute.  Please support these candidates and Calitics will match you dollar for dollar.

The Yacht Party Republicans still think you’re stupid.  They believe they can hide behind the gated communities they’ve created through gerrymandering, and that Sarah Palin’s presence at the top of the ticket will lift their hopes.  No, really:

A statewide poll this week underscored the effect Palin has had on the Republican base. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, GOP satisfaction with their presidential choice has doubled since Palin joined the ticket. Unfortunately for McCain, that has not translated into gains against Democrat Barack Obama in California, which has gone to the Democratic presidential candidate in the last four presidential elections.

Still, state Republicans were rejoicing at the possibilities. Thomas G. Del Beccaro, the state party vice chairman, said new volunteers were streaming in faster than at any time since the 2003 recall election. Republicans, he said, were hopeful that a resulting increase in voters would help the party in legislative and congressional races where they might not have been as competitive otherwise.

This is bravado.  The wingnut base wasn’t going to stay away from a Presidential election.  It’s the growing decline-to-state base, along with increased Democratic registration statewide, that has the potential to sink the Yacht Party just as Sarah Palin’s favorable ratings have sank as voters face the terrifying prospect of her in a position of power.  This is the real shift in the electorate:

Since the two parties largely settled on presidential nominees in April, voter rolls have increased by roughly 19,500 – or 2 percent – in Placer, El Dorado, Sacramento and Yolo counties, according to new figures from the California secretary of state’s office. Democrats accounted for 10,500 of those new voters. Just 2,400 were Republicans. Most of the others declined to state an allegiance.

The regional numbers mirror a statewide trend. California’s Democratic voter rolls have increased by 181,118 since April while the number of Republicans grew by 6,823. Republicans saw a net loss of registered voters in 25 counties, including a loss of more than 15,000 in conservative Orange County. Similar trends are playing out nationally, in several battleground states.

You can see the data for yourself.  Particularly in this financial crisis, Californians are ready for a new direction away from failed conservative policies.

All that stands between our five candidates and victory in November is making sure they have the resources to compete.  We can help provide that today.  Please visit the Calitics Match Act Blue page and give what you can.  We’ll double your donation to make it that much more meaningful.

0451_2  S.A. closeup



Why is this man standing in front of the Placer County Republican (and McClintock’s Campaign HQ)  office building in Roseville last Saturday morning?

0449 distance, #2



Steven Arreguin, who says he worked for the PCRP this spring doing voter registration work and has not been paid for it, in front of the McClintock/PCRP offices on Eureka Rd in Roseville Saturday Aug 23.

August 23, 2008.

This past Saturday morning in Roseville, passerby could see a curious sight in front of Tom McClintock’s official campaign Headquarters located in the district he’s trying to take over. A set of Republican protesters.   This is the photo of the one with the catchy sign I snagged as I drove by.  I parked nearby and observed for awhile.  The man in the photo did ask if I were a reporter for [“x”] and I said no, sorry.

This building, at 1700 Eureka Rd, also is the headquarters of the Placer County Republican Party, which is chaired by Tom Hudson.  Since Tom McClintock, a southern Californian from Thousand Oaks in Ventura County, does not have an in- district office, they share.  A man physically resembling Tom Hudson came out and yelled at the protesters during that morning.  He did not sound…. pleased with their presence.  But they didn’t go away.

The man in the photo, whom was introducing himself to other people as Steven Arreguin, and did not act in the least bit camera shy, claims the Placer County Republican Party and its Executive Committee owe him and his friend Joshua Kregger (not pictured but name was also on a handout being distributed) money for work they performed doing voter registration drives.   They also claim other people have been paid for this work, but not them.  They also claim that a person from Tom McClintock’s campaign “stated he would work to get us paid, even if it means he would go out and do the fundraising himself.  That was 2 weeks ago, and we still have bills to pay”  and they have not gotten their money, according to them, they are owed $3000.

Since the handout mentioned 5 names total, I decided to study the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) financial filings for the Placer County GOP and McClintock campaigns to see what they showed.  I also discovered some interesting background on Mr Arreguin, who has been doing voter registration type activities for years.  

This is a press release from the Shasta County Clerk’s office dated January 7, 2008 of this year.   http://www.elections.co.shasta…

Cathy Darling, County Clerk, announced today Steven Arreguin, 33, of Marysville was convicted Friday, January 4 of negligently holding a Shasta County citizen’s voter registration for three weeks, instead of turning it in to the county registrar within three days, as required by law. Arreguin was convicted of one misdemeanor count of Elections Code 18103 and was sentenced to three year probation, five days of community service and ordered to pay $490 in fines.

Arreguin is a petition and voter registration circulator active in Northern California that was working in Shasta County securing petition signatures for the Davis Recall. In Spring of 2003, Arreguin turned in 139 voter registration cards to the Shasta Registrar that he had been holding for as long as three weeks.  An investigation by the Secretary of State’s Election Fraud Investigation Unit found that, in addition to being late, two of the 139 registrants lived in the Mayers Memorial Hospital District that had just held a Special Election on 06/17/03. By the time the county received the voter registrations for these two residents, the deadline to register for the Special Election had passed. As a result, the two would-be voters were disenfranchised from casting their ballots in this Special Election.

The office of Shasta County Registrar of Voters Cathy Darling first forwarded information about the late registrations to Secretary of State investigators in June 2003. At the time, Arreguin was under investigation for turning in late registrations in Placer County. He was subsequently convicted on 10/22/03 in the Placer case and sentenced to three years probation and ordered to pay $2700 in fines.

Shasta County District Attorney Jerry Benito originally charged Arreguin with two misdemeanor counts of Elections Code Section 18103, negligently interfering with transfer of affidavit to a county elections official in May of 2004. Arreguin pled guilty to one count on January 4, 2008 and the second count was dismissed. The delay between the filing of the charges and the plea of guilty was due to the arrest warrant being outstanding.

So, Steven Arreguin has been convicted twice of turning in late voter registrations, for activities:

in spring 2003 in Placer County, convicted, fined, probation Oct 2003

in spring 2003 in Shasta County, charged 2004, convicted, fined, probation Jan 2008

CA state election law requires the voter registration cards be turned in to the county registrar’s office in 3 days.   The InterMountain News of Burney CA, and a Redding newspaper also ran the January 2008 press release.  

Steven Arreguin was mentioned in an October 2007 Sacramento Bee story as a former assistant to a long time financial supporter of John Doolittle, R, named Ken Campbell, the former head of the Placer County Republicans.  Campbell, a Lincoln real estate developer and the world’s most frightening ex- dentist,  was at that point turning his attentions and efforts towards ditching the Abramoff scandal- plagued Doolittle and finding a less tainted Republican candidate for the CA- 04 district.  I remember reading that article at the time and being astonished that Ken Campbell thought he could hide his distinctive writing style by trying to pass his anti- Doolittle website off on a surrogate.  http://www.sacbee.com/111/stor…

It was in October of 2007 that other Republicans began admitting in public that they wished Doolittle would just quietly go away and not run again.  It must have been the subpoenas.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/…  

Have the Placer County Republicans paid Joshua Kregger any money before for voter registration? Yes. Here is a March 2008 FEC filing that shows he was paid $184 in February 2008. http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-b…

In January 2008, he received 2 payments, $391  and $251.

http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-b…

In March 2008, Kregger recieved 3 payments, $172, $240, and $147 .  

http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-b…

In April, May, June, July 2008 I didn’t find any payments disbursed to either Arreguin or Kregger, although payments were being disbursed to others for “Voter Registration” .

Since a “Mrs Atterberry” was mentioned on the protest handout as having been paid to “process”  the registrations, therefore the protesters thought they should also be reimbursed,   I searched for her identity both as a politically involved Republican and as a person who was paid by either the Placer County Republicans or the McClintock campaign during this spring, or both.

On May 5, 2008, a “Karen Atteberry,” (one less “r” ) of Roseville was paid $500 by the Placer County Republicans for “administration support services. ”

http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-b…

The next month, June 5, 2008, Karen Atteberry, Roseville, was paid $120 , with the notation “see memo.”  (filings are made the subsequent month, so this is a July 2008 FEC document. )

Now look at this schedule H3 ( a detail of the different types of disbursements) for the same month.    http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-b…

TRANSFERS FROM NONFEDERAL ACCOUNTS

ALLOCATED FEDERAL/NONFEDERAL ACTIVITY

FILING FEC-353502

Committee: PLACER COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY (FEDERAL ACCT.)

Name of Account

Placer County Republican Party

Date of Reciept:

06/03/2008

Total Amount Transferred:

3168.00

Administrative / Voter Drive

    Administrative / Voter Drive Amount: 3168.00

Name of Account

Placer County Republican Party

Date of Reciept:

06/05/2008

Total Amount Transferred:

4761.71

Name of Account

Placer County Republican Party

Date of Reciept:

06/18/2008

Total Amount Transferred:

1951.74

What does this mean?  It means, in June of 2008, The Placer County Republican Party was transferring thousands of dollars of money on June 3, June 5, and June 18 to pay Somebody or Something. $3168 was paid to Somebody to do Admininstrative/ Voter Drive activity.

Look at schedule H6 for same report, same month,June 2008

These people were paid for “Voter Registration Service” for a total of only $1327  

Jim Dwyer Roseville 6/9/08        $146

Jim Dwyer Roseville 6/9/08         $ 96

Jim Dwyer Roseville 6/3/08         $471

John Anderson Fair Oaks 6/12/08      $253

Jim Dwyer Roseville 6/3/08          $361

There is a nearly $2000 gap between what the grunt walkers are getting and what Somebody is getting reimbursed for on June 3 for Voter Registration Activity.

Look at the Summary Page for this report June 1 thru 30,  2008          http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-b…

cash on hand  $7988

cash recieved  $9347

subtotal avail.    $17,336

_____________

Total disbursements    $14,721

cash on hand leftover    $2615

For the next month of July, 2008, the Summary Page says

 http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-b…

CASH ON HAND    $5440

DISBURSEMENTS $4248

___________________

LEFTOVERS           $1191

So it does appear that the Placer County Republican Party has spent much, is still spending some, but is not receiving at this point.  Historically, this account has supported just 3 candidates:

Rep. John Doolittle (R, CA- 04)

Bill Jones, when he ran and lost for Senate

Tom McClintock (R, Thousand Oaks) running out of district to replace Doolittle

http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-b…  

Steven Arreguin has been paid by the Placer County Republican Party in February 2006 for Voter Registration.    It can be found on Schedule H4 for Report FEC 217404, Disbursement for Allocated Federal/Nonfederal activity.   He would have been on probation from the first problem, since that conviction was in Oct of 2003, which was 2 years and 4 months back, leaving 8 months to go.

http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-b…        This is an amended report filed 5/12/2006 ,  covering period 2/1/2006 thru 2/28/2006

PAYEE   STEVEN ARREGUIN

(former address. he has a lot of them )

CARMICHAEL CA 95608

Purpose of Disbursement:  Service for Voter Registration Prior to Date of Event =  2/23/2006

AMOUNT DISBURSED =  $756.00

Look who gave the Placer County Republican Party Committee money that month:

  http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-b…

Ken W Campbell   Lincoln

Henry C Walther Granite Bay

John Doolittle for Congress    

Friends of Bruce Kranz

California Republican Party

(A Local Restaurant where they held meetings is listed as an equivalent donation)

Rep. John Doolittle and Ken Campbell, former deep pockets financial supporter, former employer of Steven Arreguin, had not yet officially become ex- very best friends at that point.  Doolittle went on to win his 2006 re election by a hair’s breath, winning by a few thousand votes over Democratic candidate Charlie Brown.   That fall- out  happened after April 2007, when the FBI raided Doolittle’s house in Oakton, VA, and Doolittle didn’t tell anyone about it for several days.

Was this payment to Arreguin a one- time deal? No.

AGAIN,  IN JAN 2006, Steven Arreguin was paid to do Voter Registration by the Placer County Republican Party.  (remember, Campbell is the former head of this group)

Look at Schedule H4, Disbursement for allocated federal/nonfederal activity  filing FEC – 203217  Placer County Republican Party Federal Acct

http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-b…

Payee:  Steven Arreguin

(former address )

Carmichael CA 95680

Purpose of disbursement:   Service for Voter Registration

Date of Event= 1//24/2006

Activity is Generic Voter Drive

Amount disbursed =  $864

There was also $1132.45 transfered to the PCRP account 1/7/06 for Admin. /Voter drive

http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-b…

During that same filing month of January, 2006, under receipts,  the Placer County Republican Party received 2 payments, $2500 and $5000, = $7500, from the Superior California PAC.   That is John Doolittle’s PAC.   They had total disbursements that month of $4302.

~~~~Conclusion~~~~

• So, what do we know? From examining the FEC financial filings for this organization, The Placer County Republican Party was paying at least one of the protestors, Josh Kregger,  in January, February, and March of this year, 2008, for “Voter Registration Drive” work.

•The Placer County Republican Party HAS paid a Karen Atteberry for “voter drive/ administrative” work.  Somebody not exactly specified is getting paid thousands of dollars for “administrative/voter”  work per the FEC filings.   Another consultant is getting paid thousands of dollars for GOTV “management.”

•The Placer County Republican Party HAS paid the man in the photo, Steven Arreguin, in previous years for the same type of work, but is not logging it officially this year. During January and February of 2006, Arreguin was paid by the Placer County Republican Party for “Voter Registration” while he was on probation for a conviction for voter registration fraud. During that time, both Ken Campbell and John Doolittle  gave money to the PCRP account.   Steven Arreguin has also been convicted of voter registration fraud in January 2008 for activities he was performing in Placer County in  2003, during the time of the CA governor’s recall election (a race in which Tom McClintock ran in, placing 3rd behind the winner, Gov. Schwarzenegger, (R) and Cruz Bustamente, (D).

•Tom McClintock (R) is running for office again, this time only in this district instead of statewide. This is still an interesting coincidence.

•Steven Arreguin is claiming he has worked for the Placer County Republican Party THIS SPRING doing voter registration and has not been paid, yet he also says that 2 weeks ago the McClintock campaign also has promised to pay him and that has not happened.

•Steven Arreguin is not claiming he’s any type of angel.  He just wants to get paid for work he claims to have performed so far.  He is willing to ask publically why he has not been paid, when other people also working on this activity have been.  This is a good question.

•As of June, 2008, the Placer County Republican Party had $2615  cash on hand.  As of July, 2008, they had $1191.   They are currently running low on money.  They are also running solicitations right now on their Republican websites for voter registration workers.  Notice how Karen Atteberry is mentioned on this page :

http://www.sacrepublicans.org/…

And on this one.     http://www.placergop.org/offic…

•The Tom McClintock for Congress Campaign, from studying their FEC financial report filings,  HAS paid the Placer County Republican Party at least $5000  (in May 2008) for GOTV type activities.   There is proof of a financial relationship between the 2 organizations concerning voter registration activities.  Doolittle’s Superior California Leadership PAC is also NOT DEAD YET.  It has received donations recently this year from an El Dorado County Real Estate developer in May,  and from Rep. Wally Herger (R, CA ) in March 2008.  Doolittle’s Superior PAC has so far given money to the Placer County Republican Party account in Feb 2007 this election cycle, but it’s still solvent, up, and ready to donate with a $6000 + balance.

•If the Placer County Republican Party is using people to collect voter registrations and then there is no official acknowledgment of their activities, plus there are OTHER people getting paid to “administrate”  such activities,   it is reasonable for people to ask just what is being done with those registrations in the interim.   We have a responsibility to each other to make sure that every registration of a voter makes it to the proper place on time and is not delayed or neglected, resulting in a loss of registration without the potential voter having any inkling as to what is really going on if it were to come down to the voting day when they found out. Or if they just didn’t receive their mail- in ballot.

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0451 last pic



“Republicans Not Paying Republicans. Why?”   Now, that’s a good question.                    

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(photos by diary author. Disclosure. Nobody paid me to write this, either. )

cross posted at dailykos, EENR blog

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Links

http://www.theimnews.com/Archi…   this is a pdf of the Inter Mountain News of Burney, CA January 2008 archives, had the article about Arreguin’s previous convictions on violating election law.

http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-b…   This is the FEC disclosure for Committee C00395590   Placer County Republican Party Federal Acct.  (plug in this number into the electronic file retrieval  for the documents I was working off of)

http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-b…    This shows this Committee has supported 3 candidates in the past and currently:

John Doolittle (R) Congressman CA- 04, not running again

Bill Jones, (R) failed Senate Candidate in 2004

Tom McClintock (R) candidate to replace Doolittle

Mama link page for Electronic filings by Placer County Republican Party Federal Acct

http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-b…

This is a developing story out in Riverside.

Some Coachella Valley voters were duped into registering as Republicans, the Riverside County Democratic Central Committee alleged Wednesday.

The party is launching an investigation into the 2,312 new Republican voters that were registered countywide between July 14 and Aug. 11, many in Coachella Valley cities that typically swing Democrat.

They’ve also contacted the Secretary of State and District Attorney’s office. Riverside County DA spokesman Michael Jeandron said he could neither confirm nor deny any investigations.

Democrat party officials raised the questions after getting numerous reports that people were standing outside of stores saying they were collecting signatures for child abuse-related petitions, only to turn around and use the names for voter registration.

(Question: is Michael Jeandron related to Gary Jeandron, the former Palm Springs police chief who’s now running as a Republican for State Assembly in AD-80?)

Now, exactly what the point for this would be is an open question.  If they’re registering voters without telling them, it could perhaps get problematic later if these voters tried to legitimately register as Democrats.  That might throw up a lot of mud about doubled registration forms and voter fraud.  The other possibilities are that Riverside County Republicans want to maintain their voter registration lead, or simply that paid signature gatherers wanted a few extra dollars for themselves for turning in additional voter registration forms.

Nonetheless, it’s very curious.

While shopping at the local Wal-Mart, (Eric Antuna) was asked to sign a petition protesting the early release of child molesters.

He agreed – until he was told he would have to fill out a registration card to prove his identity so the petitioner could be paid.

“Do you mind if I put you as a Republican?” Antuna said the man asked him.

The Democrat did mind.

This is an ongoing investigation and I’m sure the Riverside County Dems will have more.

UPDATE: This is not the first time questions have been raised about GOP voter registration efforts in Riverside County.