Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen sued state election officials Wednesday, demanding they comply with federal election laws and double-check the identity of tens of thousands of registered voters before the November election.
Van Hollen accused the Government Accountability Board (GAB), which administers state elections, of shirking its legal obligations and opening the presidential race up to potential fraud.
Van Hollen's suit is frivolous and politically motivated.
The state's Republican Party asked the GAB to follow new guidelines established by the Help America Vote Act of 2002. The GAB investigated, and decided to stick to its current system of cross-checking voter information until the entire voter database is as accurate as possible.
That hasn't happened yet. Board Executive Director Kevin Kennedy wrote Van Hollen that 22 percent of everyone checked since Aug. 6 failed, mostly because of typos in the system and names that weren't entered exactly the same across different databases. If the checks Van Hollen is demanding were to go through, many voters would be erroneously disqualified. In fact, four of six GAB members were rejected in a test.
Van Hollen happens to be Republican. He is the state co-chairman of Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign. There is a clear conflict of interest.
Why would the Republican Party seek to stop hundreds of thousands of legally-registered voters from making their voice heard? Why would a Republican attorney general file a lawsuit to enforce his view of the law after the GAB said no thanks to the Republican party request?
Because a majority of legal voters vote Democrat. In every presidential election since 1988, the state has voted for a Democrat for president.
Van Hollen knows McCain needs all the help he can get to win Wisconsin, a state some political pundits consider to be a key battleground come the Nov. 4 election.
Attorney generals shouldn't hold a prominent position in any political campaign, Republican or Democrat.
Since he does, Van Hollen should recuse himself from this lawsuit, and all election-related litigation this year.
Van Hollen accused the Government Accountability Board (GAB), which administers state elections, of shirking its legal obligations and opening the presidential race up to potential fraud.
Van Hollen's suit is frivolous and politically motivated.
The state's Republican Party asked the GAB to follow new guidelines established by the Help America Vote Act of 2002. The GAB investigated, and decided to stick to its current system of cross-checking voter information until the entire voter database is as accurate as possible.
That hasn't happened yet. Board Executive Director Kevin Kennedy wrote Van Hollen that 22 percent of everyone checked since Aug. 6 failed, mostly because of typos in the system and names that weren't entered exactly the same across different databases. If the checks Van Hollen is demanding were to go through, many voters would be erroneously disqualified. In fact, four of six GAB members were rejected in a test.
Van Hollen happens to be Republican. He is the state co-chairman of Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign. There is a clear conflict of interest.
Why would the Republican Party seek to stop hundreds of thousands of legally-registered voters from making their voice heard? Why would a Republican attorney general file a lawsuit to enforce his view of the law after the GAB said no thanks to the Republican party request?
Because a majority of legal voters vote Democrat. In every presidential election since 1988, the state has voted for a Democrat for president.
Van Hollen knows McCain needs all the help he can get to win Wisconsin, a state some political pundits consider to be a key battleground come the Nov. 4 election.
Attorney generals shouldn't hold a prominent position in any political campaign, Republican or Democrat.
Since he does, Van Hollen should recuse himself from this lawsuit, and all election-related litigation this year.
