Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Philadelphia where Intimidation is Rewarded, Fraud Dismissed and now Election Officials Don’t Vote

Philadelphia has long been famous for problems with vote fraud and voting but it is the extremes they take it to that is noteworthy.  It is not just that they illegally bus people to vote multiple times from poll to poll.  It is not that even liberal Obama defenders such as MSNBC’s Chris Matthews admit it and dismiss it.  It is not just that voter intimidation occurs as seen in the infamous New Black Panthers Party case.  It is not that one of the intimidators gets his charges dropped for no explained reason and gets elected a local Democrat official.

Now, the newest ridiculous case is not fraud or intimidation but it is still noteworthy. 

Anthony Clark, who heads the three-person panel in charge of Philadelphia elections and voter registration, apparently isn't really into, ya know . . . voting.

The Committee of Seventy wants Clark to leave at the end of his term if he can't disprove a report in yesterday's Philadelphia City Paper that he missed the last five elections.

"It's astonishing that the head of the board that oversees Philadelphia's elections doesn't vote," Ellen Kaplan, the watchdog group's interim president and CEO, said in a statement. "Clark should be the first to set an example for city voters about the importance of voting. He can't credibly deliver this message when he doesn't vote himself."

Clark, a Democrat who is up for re-election next year, hasn't voted - in person or by absentee ballot - since the 2011 general election, City Paper reported. He did not return an email or phone call to his city office requesting comment yesterday.


One reason Clark may not be voting is he already knows the result.  Or I guess Ohio Election Official and recipient of a standing ovation Melowese Richardson six votes per election were to make up for Clark.  Jokes aside, Clark’s failure to vote is not criminal or even unethical but it does call into question his commitment to the process in a place that needs a dedicated election official.  

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