www.journaltimes.com/articles/2004/09/30/local/iq_3133196.txt
Print this story Authorities reviewing voter registration forms By Rob Golub RACINE - Prosecutors and sheriff's deputies are reviewing suspicious voter registration forms turned in by a group called Project Vote, and the city of Racine has banned the four registrars allegedly responsible for the forms from turning in any more. City officials have been overwhelmed with thousands of new voter registration forms in recent weeks, and they have determined that some of the forms are suspicious. Separate inquiries conducted by city employees and The Journal Times have uncovered voter registration forms that appear to have been filled out and supposedly signed by voters without the voters' knowledge. They're going to be assigning an investigator," said Deputy District Attorney Michael Nieskes. "We will take an active role with the investigator on it." Nieskes said possible felony charges under state forgery and election laws could bring penalties of up to six years and a $10,000 fine.
Image Image Under state law, "registrars" who do not work for government may approach you, ask you to fill out a voter registration form, and turn in the form for you. Mayor Gary Becker said he believes registrars may have been grabbing names from the phone book and registering them to make some easy money. Registrars from Project Vote are paid a base rate and are expected to register a certain number of people per day, said Project Vote State Director Doris Alexander. Alexander said her organization targets first-time black voters for registration nationwide, and that turning in incorrect voter forms runs contrary to the purpose of the organization. Alexander said Damien Jones, the Project Vote coordinator for the cities of Racine and Kenosha, was fired Friday after she learned of the problems. Alexander also said she has hired a new coordinator and the registrars who worked for Jones no longer work for Project Vote. "Everything that Damien was a part of is gone," she said. In our orientations we make our people aware that they will be prosecuted. Anything that we can do, we're working with the city clerk to resolve this matter." Kenosha City Clerk Jean Morgan said she received some voter registration forms from Project Vote and her office routinely rejects any forms that don't look right when they first come in. But she said state law generally does not require identification for voter registrations turned in by registrars, so there is no way to know for sure if forms are improper. She said Kenosha officials do initially check to see "if it matches up, if it's a city address," but they are not investigating all the forms already turned in. The Racine City Clerk's office has been conducting an internal investigation into allegedly improper voter registration forms. Allegations include: * Project Vote turned in 1,389 voter registration forms as of Sept. For some names, the phone at the number on the form rang with no answer, or the number was disconnected, or the name was not in the phone book. Lisa Seay, reached by phone, said she never filled out a voter registration form, even though a form had been turned in with her name, address, an incorrect birthday for her, and, supposedly, her signature. Deputy City Clerk Carolyn Moskonas forwarded a small collection of voter registration forms she considers suspicious to the Racine County District Attorney's Office on Wednesday. Nieskes, the prosecutor, said investigators will look at much more than the small collection sent to his office. He said they will work as quickly as possible with the importance of Election Day in mind. But he said it's hard to say at this point how much can be accomplished before the election. "There may be a lot of paperwork to go through at this point," he said. Nieskes said the State Elections Board has been informed and agents from the state Department of Justice may also investigate. For the 2004 election, Project Vote has registered more than one million people nationwide and close to 30,000 people in Wisconsin, Alexander said. The organization has focused on the southeast within Wisconsin. Moskonas said she is appreciative of the efforts of Project Vote, despite the controversy. "We don't want them to stop what they are doing," Moskonas said.
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