The GOP sought a list of more than 20,000 new registrants in Wisconsin. Among those tagged as suspect were four of the six retired judges who make up the state’s bipartisan election board. The Wisconsin Republican Party’s brief warned that, if the presidential election is very close, “the deciding votes may well be cast by ineligible voters registered illegally.” It alluded to “criminal behavior” involving registrations, citing factual support consisting of three news accounts: one about a woman charged with submitting phony forms, one saying registration workers were being investigated for possible fraud, and one quoting a Republican spokesperson saying the hiring of former felons to collect voter applications — even if not illegal — “doesn’t smell right.”
The Wisconsin trial judge rejected the lawsuit on technical grounds, but noted that she was unpersuaded by the GOP’s mentions of “criminal activity.”

What better way to cover your own efforts to cheat than to accuse your opponent of cheating first?

Wisconsin Attorney General J. B. Van Hollen, a Republican official who initiated the failed suit, announced Tuesday that he would deploy more than 50 state law enforcement agents and collaborate with local prosecutors to guard against fraud on Election Day. It was unclear what the agents might do, and Van Hollen’s office did not return a call from ProPublica.

Law enforcement officers deployed on Election Day to guard against VOTER fraud, or ELECTION fraud? How about voter intimidation? Where do we draw the line?

Fake Registrations an Unlikely Vehicle for Fraud

Numerous election experts, including Barnard College political scientist Lorraine Minnite and Justice Department veteran Gerald Hebert of the Campaign Legal Center, told ProPublica that fake registrations were an unlikely and unwieldy means of stealing an election.

Such a scheme would have to involve a substantial crew of fraudsters — tens of thousands of people — willing to risk the hefty prison sentences and fines if caught.

The most insidious effect of a long string of questionable elections and hostile public relations/campaign spin tactics is our suspicion of the electoral process. Wit a fearful public, an unprecedented number of crooked politicians and lobbyists under indictment or convicted for crimes and abuse of office, and a powerful corporate media that profits from campaign advertising on both sides, how do we regain a sense of trust—and guarantee that our elections are free, fair, and accurate?

McCain adviser Michaelson believes that the real way to prevent stolen outcomes — or the perception of them — is to abolish the partisan oversight systems that prevail in most states. Officials, he said, “are the final barriers to election fraud. But we have districts where it’s really hard to find a legitimate Republican or a legitimate Democrat. Even if on paper you have [bipartisan] checks and balances, you really don’t.”