Huffington Voter Fraud Allegations

I’m appalled! The Democrats should be furious. I’ve just read Mike Huffington’s latest commentary (“Fraud Is Bigger Than One Vote,” Dec. 27) and it’s a convincing piece of work. I now realize that those people who won the recent voting races were swept in by disembodied spirits, four-legged creatures and non-English-speaking aliens. Yet, though cheated of their rightful places in the government, the Democrats have said nothing. The only person who has the courage to speak out is Republican Huffington. You’ll note that Pete Wilson, Dan Lungren and the rest are blithely ignoring the problem.

Democrats should be galvanized into action--starting with Kathleen Brown. A great injustice has been perpetrated. But wait--there’s a strange contradiction! Somehow, the “ghost voters,” so favorable to Republicans, seem to have made one ghastly collective decision--the decision to go Democratic in the Senate race. Why, even the animals voted for Dianne Feinstein. Is it possible they know about the Desert Protection Act? Well, it’s a mystery worthy of a psychic solution.

But I’m in agreement with Huffington. The voter rolls should be further examined by the “voter fraud task force.” In fact, I think the election should be held again. After reading the commentary, I’m convinced that the Republicans have come into power through abuse of the voting process. And it’s an obvious blot on the formerly respectable reputation of the “ghost,” which has been known for haunting houses but not voting booths. Still, one must wonder and ask with just a tiny bit of cynicism, would Huffington be this brave--fighting the good fight for democracy and justice--if the phantom voters had put him into office?

CAROL LaFOLLETTE

Los Angeles

* Are we really to believe that Huffington would be engaged in this ferreting out of alleged voter fraud had he won his bid for the U.S Senate? I rather doubt it and it is obvious to most of us that his moral outrage is nothing more than a desperate, last-ditch attempt to deny the legitimacy of Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s well-deserved reelection. Given his campaign style throughout the election, I am pleasantly surprised that he did not go so far as to accuse Feinstein personally of having tampered with the election. With all respect, Mr. Huffington, might I suggest that if you really want to help eliminate campaign and election fraud, that you graciously concede this election and vow never to seek public office again.

RICHARD E. DODSON

Ojai

* Huffington and his cohorts keep referring to irregular voter registrations. This is silly and meaningless.

Because I moved and changed political parties in 1992, during that year I registered to vote three times. What matters is that I voted once in each election.

I have registered voters as an unpaid volunteer for years. Most people register because they moved or changed political parties. This always results in more than one registration per customer, but it rarely results in more than one vote.

Some organizations pay people to register voters. This encourages the registration of dead people, dogs and non-citizen immigrants (keep in mind that legal immigrants who are not citizens also cannot vote), but those who are registered for that reason are usually unaware that they are registered, especially the dogs and the dead. Therefore, they never vote.

After all this time, Huffington and Harold Ezell have not found evidence of irregularities in voting, only in registration, which signifies nothing. Huffington lost. It’s time for him to get over it, muster up enough grace and good taste to concede, and go home to Texas. Californians are sick to death of his whining.

FRANCES LONGMIRE

Los Angeles

* Huffington is way off base. The motor-voter act is the kind of procedure needed to implement and achieve, efficiently, voter registration reform. The motor-voter act provides for clean and accurate voter rolls over time. Under this act, corrections to our voter registration file are made any time we apply for state services, such as a driver’s license or renewal. What could be a more efficient system of managing various databases than to make a correction to these files at the time of a single transaction?

If Huffington proceeds with his allegations and lawsuit, he will cost the state millions of dollars and do nothing to implement voter registration reform.

PATRICIA McCABE

Huntington Beach

* Has it occurred to Huffington, or anyone else for that matter, that some of those votes he alleges were fraudulently cast in the last election may have been for him, rather than against him?

GARY GARSHFIELD

Irvine