This brief was in USA Today this morning.
Let's all pray for her. And certainly not exult in her potential downfall.
Coulter may face charge of voter fraud
Conservative columnist Ann Coulter has refused to cooperate in an investigation into whether she voted in the wrong Florida precinct and may be prosecuted for voter fraud, Palm Beach County Elections Supervisor Arthur Anderson said. He said that his office has been looking into the matter since the Feb. 7 Palm Beach Town Council election and that he would turn over the case to the state attorney's office by Friday.
Knowingly voting in the wrong precinct is a felony. Anderson, a Democrat, said a letter was sent to Coulter on March 27 requesting that she clarify her address for the voting records “or face the possibility of her voter registration being rescinded.” She and her lawyer have yet to respond to several inquiries, he said.
6 comments:
umm.. so.. she voted in the wrong precinct for a Town Council election on Feb 7th? Dang. I didn't know famous people even bothered with those elections. How does this even get caught, much less prosecuted? (On a side note, why do all these stories break- "may be prosecuted"? If they need to be prosecuted, break it when the decision -is- made to prosecute.. Then it's not just a smear... I "may be stopped for running a red light today"... but until it happens, I haven't been, and it shouldn't be a news item. Smell of a smear anyone? So.. in order to vote, you register. To register, you have an address. As far as I can see, the issue must be over whether she gave an invalid address. This should have been caught when she registered, no? Everytime I vote, my name is checked off a list with my address right by it. Of course, this problem could be solved by showing ID's with your correct address?
Anyhow, the story lists the penalty as "possibility of her voter registration being rescinded" this.. would be horrifying.. if she couldn't reregister somewhere else.. If this is a crime (felony as suggested) where is the possible jail time?
Unfortunately, this seems to be a poorly researched smear attempt at this point. Hopefully, we'll have concrete details soon, with a legitimate idea of charges and actual prosecution. If not, the story will be simply another conservative Rathergate/Limbaugh gate by the media. Remember when Limbaugh -might be prosecuted- for Viagra?
Also.. I'm not sure what downfall this would be for Miss Coulter.. no one who listens to her now would stop.. and no one who hated her before will hate her more. The only downfall would be a felony conviction and jail time. However, any defense lawyer she can afford... Heck.. If she hired me.. I could not fail to get this charge dropped. Another example of the news media predicting in a story what they want to happen. Ann needs our prayers as much as Joe Lieberman does for his re-election hopes.. heh :)
As much as I'd like to gloat shamelessly (you're clearly a much better person than I am in that respect, Luaphacim), I have to agree that this is not likely to change anyone's opinion of Coulter. I'm interested to see how this plays out, though. (Also, it said they've been looking into the matter since the February 7th election, but that doesn't mean that that was the only election they have concerns about.)
I can't agree that this sounds like a smear, though. "I may be stopped for running a red light later today" is a false analogy--the event in question has already taken place, and there is an ongoing investigation. I'll grant that no conclusions have been drawn, but the fact that Coulter and her lawyer aren't cooperating doesn't look good--and I would say that even if it were a liberal columnist in question. When someone asks for your address and you refuse, any rational person is going to ask why, and I don't think it's out of place for USA Today to be doing so. Now, it may well be that Coulter and her lawyer are looking to file a harassment suit (or something along those lines) because they feel she is being unfairly questioned in this case, and that's why they haven't responded or commented, and if that turns out to be the case I will absolutely concede Marshwiggle's point. Time will tell.
My point was that -may be prosecuted- is the same as -I may be stopped-.. Not that her actions haven't already taken place.. The smear is in the -may be prosecuted- those three words are what make the story juicy. :)
LQ is right. The real issue is why she isn't cooperating with authorities? It's either because she has something to hide or because she's simply being an ass. Either way seems like vintage Coulter to me.
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