Bernie's supporters rage against Arizona voting delays

[w4rma]

Source: Politico

Calling Arizona's administration of last night's Democratic primary "a disgrace," Bernie Sanders suggested Wednesday that turnout was significantly tamped down as a result of the long lines voters faced.

While Sanders didn't directly question the outcome of the race -- which Hillary Clinton won easily, 58 percent to 40 percent -- the Vermont senator and his angry supporters implied that thousands of voters may have been denied the opportunity to cast ballots.

Starting out the day at a news conference in San Diego, Sanders described how he got an email from an Arizona woman who waited five hours to vote.

"We do not know how many thousands of people who wanted to vote yesterday in Arizona did not vote. We don't know if they wanted to vote for Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump or whoever," he said. "But in the United States of America, democracy is the foundation of our way of life. People should not have to wait five hours to vote and what happened yesterday in Arizona is a disgrace."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/bernie-sanders-supporters-arizona-221163

[onehandle]

1. RAGE!

[Viva_La_Revolution]

3. are you implying that rage is not the appropriate emotion

to people losing their vote?

[daleanime]

6. Yes.

[Betty Karlson]

137. But happy to hide replies implying as much...

Which is also telling...

[PatrynXX]

10. Yeah kinda sick Hillary supporters see no problem with this

Yes Rage is a good word for it. It's unAmerican it's anti Democratic , and very illegal people believe. So if someone from both sides does not question this you will not get them to budge. So I hope Hillary supporters come to their senses what just happened here. Or Republicans will win hands down. I already think that way but this time even with the polls it'll end up a wash out. You complain now things can get fixed maybe. You complain in November too late wait 4 yrs.

[rhett o rick]

21. The new motto: The ends justify the means. nm

[Buttons3345]

70. I beg to differ

Everyone should be able to vote. If the lines were that long then they should have found a solution to the problem.

[Blue State Bandit]

71. Yeah, literally. Voter suppression's AOK if it's for Hillary.

“There is no present threat to voting rights and civil rights in Arizona’s elections,” said Jarrett Maupin, a civil rights activist in Phoenix. Maupin appeared to absolve Purcell and elections director Karen Osborne of any wrongdoing even though just an hour earlier he had called for them to resign.

I bet he got a phone call.

http://www.12news.com/news/civil-rights-activist-forgives-arizona-elections-organizer/98913425

[pnwmom]

80. All of these people had the option of filling out an online form

so that the state would send them a paper ballot to return by U.S. mail.

Bernie's campaign blew it by not educating its voters about the simplest way to vote. No long lines necessary.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

86. it's the candidates job to teach each state how to vote?

That's not what i learned in civics class.

[pnwmom]

87. Yes, a capable campaign will make sure its supporters know how to vote,

and will follow up to make sure they do.

This is Campaigning 101. It's campaign malpractice to ignore GOTV.

And in Arizona it's easy to be automatically sent a ballot for every election, and to return the ballot by mail. No lines required.

Bernie should be asking his people why they didn't inform his supporters about this.

https://recorder.maricopa.gov/earlyvotingballot/permanentevlistinfo.aspx

Arizona now has a law that allows a voter to place their name on a "Permanent Early Voting List". This means that once a voter is on the list, they will receive an early ballot by mail for any election in which they are eligible to vote. Approximately 27 days prior to the specified election, a ballot will automatically be mailed to the voters on that list.

Having the ballot early allows time to review the ballot, study the issues, research the candidates and vote at one's convenience. All voted early ballots must be received in the office of the County Recorder, other officer in charge of elections, or deposited at any polling place in the county of residence, no later than 7:00 p.m. on Election Day.

In order to be included on the "Permanent Early Voting List", the voter must make a signed written request specifically asking their name be added to the permanent list. The request must include the voter's name, residence address, and mailing address within the county they reside (if different from the residence address), date of birth and their signature.

Click on the "Permanent Early Voting List REQUEST FORM" link below to download the form or complete the form online and print a copy to sign and mail.

It is not required to use this specific form to make a request. If one does not have access to print this form, the voter can contact our call center at 602/506-1511to have one mailed OR make a written request asking to be added to the permanent list. Again, the request must include the voter's name, residence address, mailing address within the county they reside (if different from the residence address), date of birth and the voter's signature.

[FlaGranny]

102. I am on the receiving

end of Sanders e-mails. There was a blast of e-mails in my state about early voting, where to go, etc. Besides, voters should not have to worry about voting early. That's just crazy. Early voting in my state is a disaster with only a few voting areas open and long, long lines. In person voting at your own precinct is usually fast and easy where I live, so I decided voting on election day was the fastest and easiest route.

Not sure why voters should get an early sample ballot for their party, if their affiliation had been changed to "other" without their knowledge. Blaming voters for this is off the wall.

[pnwmom]

147. It's not the same in Arizona. Early voting means getting a ballot in the mail,

filling it out, putting a stamp on it and mailing it in.

Does that sound too hard?

[mhatrw]

145. So because they could have mailed it in, it's fine that voters were disenfranchised on election day?

I have read this argument about 20 times now so far on DU.

No, that doesn't make 5 hour voting lines OK. That is cheating! Clinton Dem party machine supporters knew Clinton would have an advantage among early mailed in ballots, so they conspired to suppress turnout on election day.

How are such actions defensible in a supposed democracy?

[pnwmom]

146. What is ridiculous is blaming this on Clinton. Why should Clinton have had an advantage

in early mailed in ballots? All Bernie's campaign had to do was GOTV and encourage its supporters to use mail-in ballots. ANYONE could easily do that with an online form or by making a phone call.

[mhatrw]

149. For the same reason Republicans have the advantage in absentee ballots everywhere!

Are you really suggesting all people have to go 100% absentee wherever absentee ballots are available if they expect to have their votes counted?

Which party would gain an advantage in the general election if those rules were put in place?

[pnwmom]

150. We have all mailed in ballots in WA and OR and that doesn't benefit either party. There is

nothing different about Dems that makes us require polling places instead of mailing in ballots. It's just a habit that can be changed.

[mhatrw]

157. Thanks for richsplaining that to us!

Of course having no polling places disenfranchises anyone without a stable address. But those kinds of people are mostly young, poor and disadvantaged, so who cares? Right?

[pnwmom]

158. How do people register to vote without an address? Whatever address they use for that

can be where their ballot is sent.

This is the official WA state guide to voting for homeless people. Besides mailed-in ballots, the state does offer a few locations for in-person voting.

http://www.homelessinfo.org/resources/publications/2014-2015-SKCCH-Voters-Guide.pdf

[mhatrw]

161. Yeah, send that ballot to the corner I frequent or that couch I was surfing on 3 months ago!

It will be sure to get to me that way.

If you cannot see see voting by mail only as the Repuke disenfranchising scam it is, I don't know what to tell you.

Repukes think because they have homes and wallets and IDs and credit cards and bank accounts and passports and land lines and cars that everybody else worth of the "privilege" of voting must have all these things as well. So what's the hassle to bring have to bring 2 forms of ID and a credit card to prove you are eligible to vote? And what's wrong with voting by mail? It's so much easier to fill out the ballot while your coffee machine is brewing up a pot! And if you can't do that, just drive 40 miles to nearest polling station and stand in line all day to vote. I mean, voting is a privilege, not a right! If we make it a little simpler for the privileged, who cares if we make it much harder for the underprivileged? Right?

[certainot]

138. all dems should be enraged this continues and only those

who aren't familiar with ongoing and long history of voter suppression by republicans aren't. it's the only way they can win.

it is possible that the republicans set in place some of their suppression too early, anticipating that the dem primaries would be over and no one would notice until it was over after the general.

at that point they always have the advantage- 1200 talk radio stations screaming "dems are trying to steal the vote- stop the recounts!!!!"

and americans just stay home on their asses waiting for the 'official' results

to implement one of their suppression strategies this early knowing it would get attention this early is bad strategy on their part.

[restorefreedom]

160. hillary 2016: by any means necessary. nt

[Dont call me Shirley]

42. Yes, very righteous outrage. The DLC suffers from Paul Weyrich Syndrome.

[BeanMusical]

73. Lame!

[Petrushka]

112. 'Nuts, nuts, nuts': Anger in Arizona builds over long voter waits

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/03/23/ducey-rips-long-voter-lines-calls-them-unacceptable/82160766/

[semby2]

2. Huh

Why is this phrased as if only Bernie Sanders supporters are complaining? Everyone is upset.

These problems are the direct result of Republican voters and their elected officials gutting the Voting Rights Act.

[PatrynXX]

11. Yes thats interesting

Know a number of Hillary non fanatical supporters who are upset. To question is as American as the pie.

[SCantiGOP]

105. Clinton campaign is in no way responsible

This was an action by the GOP-dominated state of Arizona, and a result of the Supreme Court action removing pre-clearance requirements from the 64 Civil Rights Act.

It sure would be nice if people would get some facts before spewing their RAGE everywhere.

[KPN]

25. Has Hillary spoken out about it

or called for an accounting?

[RoccoR5955]

35. No! And she never will! n/t

[Nyan]

60. She won't.

She didn't have any problem with bullshit shenanigans in IW, NV, MA. Her husband went so far as to brazenly break electoral laws. Why would she have any problem with unfair electoral process? None of that matters as long as she wins. Cuz, you know. She really wants to win. That's what this is all about. She wants to win.

[BBG]

65. No, really...

.. She wants to win.

[BeanMusical]

75. "Her husband went so far as to brazenly break electoral laws."

[Chicago1980]

111. Don't speed or you're breaking the law.

Don't jaywalk or you're breaking the law.

Have charges been brought?

[polichick]

4. That's "rage?" Nice try.

[modestybl]

5. This was massive voter suppression...

... that benefited HRC tremendously ...

[Cryptoad]

9. amazing ,

u know who going to vote for whom.......

[SCantiGOP]

29. And she won by almost 20%

So I don't think this was a Florida 2000.

[modestybl]

32. Recent Dem Registrants were Bernie Supporters...

... by large margins. Early reports from all over the state that people who had recently registered as Dems were listed as "NONE"

But hey, apparently HRC supporters totally okay with cheating and voter suppression in order to "win"... good luck getting those who joined the party to voter for your corporate money soaked candidate in November....

[Cryptoad]

44. when did they start making up declare who u support in order to register. ?

just to be truthful,,I dont believe that.

[All in it together]

76. You have to register under a political party to vote in a caucus or primary.

New registrants are more likely to be Sanders supporters and Campaigns have a list of their supporters, and the voter registrations could have been tampered with. There's too many errors to be accidental.
Also voting machine totals can be easily changed. See Amy Goodman's show.

[pnwmom]

82. If they didn't check the box for affiliation the default setting was independent. n/t

[Lorien]

14. Far more blatant than anything Shrub ever got away with. She will always be known as

ILLEGITIMATE no matter what happens.

No wonder the Hillfolk don't want our votes: THEY KNOW THAT IT'S RIGGED!

[Andy823]

20. Everyone should be able to vote

What happened in Arizona was a disgrace, but it had nothing to do with Hillary, the DNC, or any Democrat it was the republicans who run the state, and the primaries that screwed things up. Placing the blame on anyone but those republicans is also a disgrace.

[Pauldg47]

53. At around 11pm mms showed Bernie 24% behind...at the end it was 8% closer....Question.....

...since Bernie was gaining, would he have had a chance at receiving more delegates?

[-none]

106. And yet the DNC did nothing.

The Democrats running the show did not even register a complaint or anything. Hillary "won" and that was all that mattered to them. Placing the blame on only the Republicans is the disgrace. Why? Because this is not the only state voters were disenfranchised in. And still no complaints from the DNC.

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

126. You're right, Hillary isn't to blame

However, it's quite likely she directly benefitted from this voter suppression and her silence speaks volumes. If she were honest and honorable she would have made a public statement condemning the voter suppression as soon as it was apparent that it had occurred.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

22. Because it's easy to spot Bernie supporters and turn them away.

They're the ones that look just like everyone else.

Do you know how paranoid you sound?

[w4rma]

26. Bernie supporters *are* somewhat easy to spot. They don't tend to be over 65 and retired. (nt)

[Dr Hobbitstein]

30. I am neither.

I support Hillary.

Your argument is as invalid as your conspiracy theories.

[w4rma]

39. That's why I said "tend to be". There are nearly always exceptions.

And demographical polling isn't a "vast-right-wing conspiracy".

[liberalmike27]

72. It is Well Known

The huge majority of Bernie voters are young--that said, I'm 60, have been listening to him, and know his positions well, and advocate for him. But spotting young people, well, that is pretty easy.

The Clinton's have repeatedly been stretching the law one way or the other, putting Bill Clinton too close to polling locations, futzing with Caucuses, not to mention her tactical campaigning, accusations of racism and sexism, where there is neither.

It's going to be difficult for many to vote for her, but it's mostly because of the way she campaigned. It didn't have to be that way. She made the choice to act that way.

[Bohunk68]

99. Right on, brother! I'm 72 and a staunch Bernie supporter.

But, gee, I must not be 72, I must be 22, according to some of the posts, since I support Bernie. Glad I'm not, because the policies of the status quo are messing up our planet big time.

[-none]

108. I happened to be over 70 and retired.

My sense of fair play and right and wrong are being heavily violated this go round.
I'm so old I remember when election were mostly honest and usually on the up and up. That has not happened since 2000.

[modestybl]

27. Recent Dem registrants were Bernie supporters...

.. to an overwhelming degree. Early yesterday poll watchers were reporting people who had registered as Dems were being told that they were NOT, and being turned away in droves.... this was happening EVERYWHERE in AZ, not an accident.

10s of thousands by estimates from people on the ground... this isn't paranoia, this is reporting..

...but continue to be contemptuous of voters... please...

[Dr Hobbitstein]

31. There were reports of long time Dem voters who registration was wrong as well.

Once again, you can't easily spot Bernie supporters. You can make assumptions, but we know what that gets us.

[w4rma]

40. More voters under 30 have voted for Bernie than for Clinton and Trump, COMBINED.

If you meet someone under 30, they are, ~9 out of 10, going to be supporting Bernie.

[Dont call me Shirley]

48. It's so "funny" that valid Election Fraud is being skewed as Conspiracy Theory. Those who scream

Conspiracy Theory are generally those who have something to hide.

[Kittycat]

58. What isn't funny

Is that so many Hillary supporters, and Hillary herself can't seem to be bothered, and many are down right dismissive of all the people that had issues yesterday. I should note that most of those individuals reported on in the press did not indicate which democrat they supported. There were so many reports, there wasn't an obvious "profile" one way or another. It appeared to be wholesale party disenfranchisement to me.

As Democrats, we should all be outraged. Voting Rights has long been a major party platform, and should never, ever be an issue that would serve to divide us, regardless of candidate. Yet here we are. One side can barely give a damn, and the other side does. One candidate spoke out, the other has been silent.

In case anyone has forgotten what a democrat is in regards to this issue:

https://www.democrats.org/issues/voting-rights

[Dont call me Shirley]

59. The DLC, DNC, DWS has gone the way of Paul Weyrich....."I don't want everybody to vote"

[AzDar]

64. Thank you. I shouldn't have to add that I knew several whom had met all deadlines/requirements

and were either DENIED outright, or forced to use a Provisional Ballot...In some cases ( not to anyone I know personally) they were told that the Provisionals wouldn't be counted. it was straight-up FRAUD/SUPPRESSION...plain and simple.

[Democat]

79. You sound like a right wing troll

Take your pro-Trump posts back to the Primaries forum where you belong.

This site is for Democrats. Clinton and Sanders are both Democrats.

If you're against a Democrat winning in November, go to a Trump forum where you will feel more at home.

[w4rma]

89. All criticism of Hillary is part of the "vast right-wing conspiracy". None of it is ever valid.

[Democat]

91. Our goal should be for either Democratic candidate to beat Trump

Bashing Democrats is not helpful to that goal.

[w4rma]

92. That's why I'm supporting Sanders. Clinton can't win against Trump.

Even if she does win, then she makes bad deals with the Republican Congress on trade, Wall Street, fracking, and other corruption favoring her big donors.

And, as the second most unpopular major party "front runner" since at least 1985, she'll cost Democrats even more seats all around the nation.

[reACTIONary]

121. Clinton can't win against trump....

Bernie can't win against clinton . .... therfore, bernie can't win against trump.

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

127. Wow, that's some seriously airtight logic there.

[reACTIONary]

156. Try this..

Trump can't beat bernie, bernie can't beat clinton, therfore trump can't beat clinton.

But , serriously....

The big question about Trump is whether he can win a general-election fight. If these numbers don't change, one would assume not — especially if you consider the Selzer question pitting him in a one-on-one contest against Clinton. In that matchup, Clinton wins by a staggering 18 points, the biggest gap between the two in any poll since last June.

The only political entity less popular than Congress and the GOP? Donald J. Trump.

http://wapo.st/1WKMxYM

[-none]

114. Our goal should also be honest elections.

Condoning the corruption is bashing Democrats

[Zira]

153. +10000

[freebrew]

117. A Lot of us can't afford...

another 4 years of status quo.

[liberal from boston]

120. Go Bernie

I read that exit polls had Bernie winning in AZ. Exit polls in Missouri also had Bernie winning.

[freebrew]

159. I was up when 68% ...

of the vote here(MO) was counted. Bernie was up by 18%.
I figured he had won. Went to bed.

Imagine my shock when HRC was announced the winner.
Something ain't right, IMO.

[Zira]

151. Actually, he sounds like he's informed on what's going on at the polling places.

There are too many problems where people couldn't vote, to just dismiss this.

Perhaps you should google instead of assume all is well. Many see a sabotaged election. That's what I'm gathering from what I read on Common Dreams and other sites.

[840high]

41. It was. It stinks of fraud.

[OwlinAZ]

49. Hillary's peeps knew that early voting was the key.

Neither are her supporters overburdened by conscience.
(That is evident by the media bias that is so hard to stomach.)
Live and learn. Bernie is strong but he can't do it all himself.
Keep up the good work friends.

[yardwork]

67. That is completely nonsense.

[pnwmom]

81. How did it benefit her? Why is it that her voters and not Bernie's

knew to fill out an online form so they would receive paper ballots to mail back at their convenience?

[modestybl]

88. Because most of the early voters went to HRC...

... and the election day voters leaned more toward Bernie.. of the exit polling that was done (and there wasn't a lot) showed Bernie significantly ahead. That isn't surprising with an insurgent campaign... HRC had ~!00% name recognition, most Dems in AZ probably didn't know who he was last fall. But early on, all over the state, poll watchers were reporting people being turned away in droves because they didn't come up as "Democrat" ... there were HRC supporters among those, but it affected Bernie supporters disproportionately. If it is determined that most of those were people who had recently changed to Dem, that increases the hit to Bernie supporters.

[pnwmom]

90. Why didn't Bernie's campaign encourage its supporters

Last edited Thu Mar 24, 2016, 04:52 AM - Edit history (1)

to fill out the online form and mail in their ballots? They were just as capable as Hillary supporters of doing that.

The nationally televised debates and town halls have been going on since the October debate in Las Vegas, so there's no reason Arizona voters wouldn't be familiar with Bernie by March. He should have spent more money on GOTV and less on flooding TV with last minute ads.

Yeah, that probably brought a lot of Independents to the polls, in unsuccessful bids to vote in the Democratic primary. His campaign should have been encouraging them to become Democrats and to request mail-in ballots.

The Rethugs screwed up in how they ran the election, but Bernie could have mitigated the damage with an effective GOTV operation concentrating on encouraging them to sign up online for mail-in voting.

[w4rma]

93. I still can't tell the Hillary supporters from a typical Republican. (nt)

[pnwmom]

94. And I can't tell Bernie supporters who are complaining that this is somehow

Hillary's fault or Debbie's fault from Republicans who are always hating on Hillary.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

122. You hit the nail on the head! Hillary and Debbie are in cahoots!!

[modestybl]

119. But those ballots would have been tossed...

If they didn't show up as registered Dem...

[mhatrw]

148. As if the Clinton campaign did not know they would win going away if only early voters were counted.

As if the Clinton campaign did not know that Sanders would significantly close the gap if there was a big turnout on election day!

[Cryptoad]

7. that shit been going on here in AL

the last two elections. u aint seen nuttin yet , wait until NOV

[PatrynXX]

12. well your gonna help that along

if you don't complain now

[Cryptoad]

18. who said I wasn't complaining?

[stopbush]

13. Any problems affected all candidates equally, so there's no change to the outcomes.

However, a system that makes it difficult to vote needs to be fixed.

The question is why there were such long lines. If the long lines were due to independent voters who had no right to vote in a closed primary, then it's not the system that needs to be fixed. It's a matter of informing and educating voters to the rules of a particular state.

If the long lines were due to the state not making provision to accommodate registered Ds, Rs and Greens to vote in a primary that they had every right to vote in, that's something else.

[w4rma]

15. The fact that the results *tightened*, as election day voters were counted, means you're wrong. (nt)

[paulthompson]

24. The problem did not affect Sanders and Clinton equally

See here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511559426#post21

Clinton did much better with the early voting in Arizona (probably something like 70% to 30%), whereas Sanders did better with election day voting (a partial result showed him getting just slightly more than Clinton, about 50% to 50%). So the more people casting their vote on election day, the higher his final percentage. Since there was a good number of early voters, the final result was a mix close to 60% to 40% for Clinton.

Of course, all voter suppression is bad, but it just so happens in this case it probably cost Sanders some delegates compared to Clinton.

[modestybl]

28. Not true... election day voters were majority Bernie supporters...

... look at the numbers... the Prescott Courier exit polls showed Bernie winning over 60-40%...

[OwlinAZ]

52. No it didn't.

If you don't know that, you haven't worked in campaigns much.

[Gregorian]

16. The part that's missing is Hillary supporters. Don't they care?

This isn't about party. How many people waited all day to find out there was some bureaucratic problem.

What if this was a republican attempt to keep Trump down? It's wrong no matter what.

[-none]

115. Then why didn't the DNC/DWS complain about it?

What I see is DNC/DWS supporters making excuses and defending what happened. Their person "won", after all.

[Gregorian]

143. Good point. Well that's one less theory.

[Else You Are Mad]

17. Any time people are disenfranchised...

... people should be outraged. I would be just as outraged if Republicans were disenfranchised in the same manner as Democrats were yesterday. This isn't an issue of people being sore losers, this is an issue of people's rights being violated. Preventing a person to vote is the most heinous of crimes, and should not be tolerated no matter the people or their political affiliation. Disenfranchising eligible voters is anathema to all America stands for. Anyone that is not disturbed by yesterday's events should realize that.

[Leontius]

19. Excuse number 5,196 for Sanders losing.

[zalinda]

23. And number 5,196th reason to hate on Hillary supporters. Grow up. eom

[elljay]

56. You don't get it

1. Voter disenfranchisement is WRONG, period. It is irrelevant for whom they wanted to vote.
2. The delegates were apportioned by the candidates percentage of votes. Thus, it is possible that either candidate lost delegates.
3. Did you like Bush v. Gore? Well, if we don't care about fair elections, we will not have them any more.

[-none]

116. Appearently, for some people, Voter disenfranchisement is not WRONG, if your guy wins because of it.

That makes me wonder what other moral failing they have.

[libodem]

33. I get it

We did the the long line in Idaho.

I can't imagine my frustration if I had waited for 3 hours and was then turned away.

I don't like the caucus process. I was way up in line, because we went early. We were still there, at least 2 hours, standing in the wind, to get in and vote.

Idaho rocked for picking Bernie. I think Arizona should have gone the same way. They have to be more progressive than us. Everybody is.

[liberal N proud]

34. Again?

[man of few w]

37. Losing nomination

Sad.

[jwirr]

36. Proud that we are fighting voter suppression. Everyone

should be doing this. Hillary?

[captainarizona]

38. I saw hundreds of voters walk away from 4 hour lines

And this was just one polling place. Also many bernie supporters were told by poll workers they were not alowed to vote for bernie they were told they were registered as independents.

[blackspade]

45. All Democrats should be outraged!

If you're not pissed about this then you stand with and condone Rethug voter suppression.

[pnwmom]

83. What is so outrageous about mail-in balloting? That's all we have in WA and OR

and most people think it's great.

[Bohunk68]

100. You keep harping on this. Because WA and OR have it, the voters in those states

are far more aware than voters elsewhere. C'mon, you know better. Not everyone is a political wonk like those of us at DU and fully aware of all the arcane election laws. You and many of us are well versed, well, great for us. But, we also have to consider that not all people are political wonks and would just like to be able to vote without a shitload of roadblocks.

[blackspade]

103. Is AZ WA or OR?

No. The issue isn't mail in balloting, it's the deliberate disenfranchising of 'in person' voting by limiting polling places.

This is another rethug voter suppression strategy but I see that you appear to be all for it.
Why is that?

[elmac]

46. More reasons why

voter turnout will be low in November. Not good.

[HawkMode]

47. I would be outraged as well

I would be outraged if while i was standing in line to vote the winner was already picked.....

I would be outraged if i waited in line for four hours only to find my party affiliation had mysteriously been changed...

I would be outraged if i HAD to wait for four hours to vote.

Hillary supporters are easy to spot because they seem to lack legislative knowledge of the 90's and 00's. They're like the sports fan who blindly cheers for there home team(Democratic party) without recognizing the failures of the party. They vote for social issues which ARE important, but fail to see the extraction of wealth being sucked from the lower classes up to the top. That extraction has been attributed to much of her husbands administration. Now i admit, legislation is NOT written by the executive branch and much of these failures of governance came from a republican congress, but MY candidate loudly fought each of those proposals and told the American people what would happen if these laws were passed. Guess who was right? That why i'm caucusing for Bernie in my State of Washington this Saturday.

Here's a challenge Hillary supporters. What is it exactly that has you voting for her? And please spare us any of her campaign ideas that have been stolen from Bernie. Because at this point she has nothing other than entitlement. As the party is concerned she's just next in line.

[Dont call me Shirley]

50. Well said and welcome, HawkMode...

[JEB]

66. Some seem to love her "what would Kissinger do" foreign policy. nt

[tech3149]

69. Thanks for that spot on response

I try desperately to stay out of these political pissing contests because they are just a time suck and get me pissed off, and you wouldn't like me when I'm angry.
Thanks for voicing my sentiments and logic in one post.
This issue transcends politics by an order of magnitude. At issue is how much corruption will we accept. There is no way that similar situations around the country are simply widespread incompetence.
It's beyond obvious that the existing power structure will do whatever it takes to retain power. There is no allegiance to party, country nor community that will restrain them.

Welcome Aboard! I hope you have the energy for the fight.

[retrowire]

51. I never thought I'd say this...

But I think the entire state needs to just do it over again.

[agracie]

61. Yes ^^^

[PatrickforO]

54. Well, there's a White House petition, and each and every one of us can also

call, write and/or email President Obama and ask that the DOJ enter the fray.

Because it is a disgrace. There is no excuse. No excuse. Ever. For bullshit like this.

Hey, Arizona - reducing the number of polling places is NOT where to cut costs.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

55. Why isn't Hillary bothered?

[-none]

118. Because she benefits from the this.

That's why.

[oldandhappy]

57. Sign up to vote by mail!!

Please!!!

[Babel_17]

62. Not a good day for Arizona's officials who were responsible

Hopefully we get some clarity here.

[billhicks76]

63. Clintonites Say Nothing

If they benefit from republican corruption and crimes they stay smugly silent. How quaint. The Clintons are a disgrace right now. It will be interesting to see if truth and justice prevails or not.

[yardwork]

68. Everybody should be enraged about this.

[LiberalFighter]

74. I don't see how this benefited Hillary Clinton directly.

It might impact both equally or nearly equally or it might impact one more than the other.

Considering the demographics it might impact Clinton more than Sanders in regards to seniors and minorities. Seniors might find waiting in line more of an effort than the younger. Would younger be more likely to wait in line than the general population. I'm not sure. It had been I thought that younger people were not as likely to be persistent. But maybe that has changed with electronic devices that they can play with and be distracted. Maybe the impact might be about the same.

Arizona also has a high percent of minorities than most other states. Hispanics are about 30%, African Americans about 5%, and Native Americans about 5%.

[TDale313]

77. I'm pissed no matter who it benefited. It does seem to have impacted Dems more than Repubs

But voter suppression is always wrong. What bothers me is that Hillary supporters are not more upset about this shit. She'll be facing all kinds of shenanigans like this in Nov if she gets the nomination.

[LiberalFighter]

78. Well I think what matters are the voters in Arizona.

There are enough complaints and the local Democratic Party is involved in the matter. Maybe after sufficient investigation it might be kicked up to the Justice Dept. I don't think they care whether it is Bernie or Hillary supporters. They are upset especially in Maricopa County about it. They just need to figure out how to make life miserable for the County Recorder that was responsible for making the decision about the number of voting locations.

[pnwmom]

84. Why are you and others ignoring the fact that anyone could vote by mail?

All they had to do was fill out an online form (or go to election offices) and they'd be sent a paper ballot to return by US mail.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

123. And EVERYONE also has the right to vote in person!

And there should be enough polling places, and their votes should count!

What's your reply? blah blah blah, again?

[pnwmom]

134. Actually, no one does in the state of WA or OR. There are no polling places here.

Only paper ballots. And that's how we like it.

But I agree that the elections administrators in Arizona messed up big time.

Apparently trying to have a hybrid system is unworkable. If they want to save money, and make it easier for everyone to vote, they should switch to WA's system. Mail verifiable paper ballots to every registered voter for every election. Have the ballots returned in double envelopes (including an inner "privacy" envelope" and an outer envelope with the voter's verifiable signature) by mail or at election boxes in the cities. Let voters go online to make sure their votes were received and counted.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

136. Oh jeez!

We are talking about Arizona, not Washington. Yes, the system is unworkable when someone decides to eliminate 70% of the polling places in a county of 4 million. You Clinton supporters have ABSOLUTELY NO SHAME. I don't know how you call yourself a democrat, explaining away election fraud so dismissively. But, if Hillary wins, you will have your fascist leader. I hope you enjoy it.

[pnwmom]

139. Thanks for your typical over the top response. And calling HRC a "fascist." Nice touch. n/t

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

142. Yes, that was over the top. I'm sorry, but I'm quite en"RAGE"ed right now about Arizona.

Hillary is many things, but she's a VERY far cry from being a fascist. But she is certainly a corporatist, which is bad enough.

Again, my sincere apologies.

[jillan]

85. What political movement? Where is this revolution Bernie is talking about.

[SCantiGOP]

104. "the Republican Shillary"

No credibility, and no interest in anything else you have to say. You probably just earned yourself a hundred or so Ignores.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

124. You can't handle the truth! Cognitive dissonance at it's finest!

[Chicago1980]

109. Your comment reads almost like the right-wing trolls that I've seen posted elsewhere.

[Darb]

132. Gumby-like reach.

Pshaw.

[LiberalElite]

96. Looks like a good time to post this again:

[Vinca]

97. Hillary's supporters should be in a rage about it, too.

I wasn't paying attention to the situation and was horrified when I saw the coverage on Rachel Maddow's show. Waiting in line for 5 hours in the hot sun of Arizona to vote? I imagine lots of people left. I don't know if I could have stood in line for that long. Then they cut off voting while people are still trying to find a parking space to park to vote. It's highly unlikely all of those voters were Bernie's. Hillary people must have suffered as well. This shouldn't be an us or them kind of issue. Voting is a right and that right was trampled on Tuesday. An investigation by the AG is in order.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

125. But see - they already "won" - so why would they want to take the chance of a revote?

[Darb]

133. True dat.

She has it in the bag.

[Uncle Joe]

98. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, w4rma.

[kpola12]

101. Don't just rage, nullify.

Arizona Democrats need to nullify their primary. They should then reschedule an open caucus around the same time as California. Don't forget this is the States fault due to cut backs from the voting rights act so sue the state to pay for the caucus. Good luck.

[riderinthestorm]

107. Good! People should be angry. nt

[billhicks76]

110. MoveOn Allegations True?

Nevada video is but the rest???
"
" Open Letter to Bernie Sander's Campaign from Supporters:

We, as your supporters/volunteers/donors and advocates for the People's movement are DEEPLY concerned about what appears to be systemic election rigging within the Democratic primary and the failure of the Sanders' campaign to address problems as they have revealed themselves.

State by state, we have witnessed serious issues with caucus rigging (video evidence emerging showing Clinton staff miscounting votes/allowing Clinton voters to go into caucuses unregistered, misinforming caucus participants of rules resulting in invalidating Sanders votes). The violations were so severe in Iowa that the editorial board of the newspaper that endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Presidency, the Des Moines Register called for an independent audit and full investigation to determine what went wrong. In Nevada, we have video of Clinton supporters being allowed to vote in the caucus unregistered and miscounting vote. The concerns about manipulations by the Clinton campaign in Nevada resulted in Nurses United (the Nurses' union that endorsed Sen Sanders) to request independent polling monitors be brought in to oversee elections in remaining primary states.

In addition, we have seen a consistent trend of exit polling not matching election outcomes in Arizona, Massachusetts, Missouri, Iowa and Illinois indicating wins for Senator Sanders in these states. Additionally, exit polls in other states indicate much closer outcomes than reported results. In Massachusetts, we witnessed unadjusted exit polls indicating a double digit win for Bernie Sanders and hand counted precincts in Massachusetts going to Senator Sanders by 17% over Hillary Clinton. In Arizona, exit polls conducted by the Daily Courier indicated Sanders winning by 62% over Clinton’s 37% yet current results are indicating an inexplicable double digit win for Clinton. Exit polling has been consistently correct in predicting Republican primary outcomes from the same outlets conducting the Democratic polling. This is a major red flag.

We also have video evidence that Bill Clinton broke the law by campaigning INSIDE Massachusetts polling places and shutting down polling stations for several hours as he canvased these precincts. Despite this being against state law, the severe disruption in voting that occurred, and a petition of over 100,000 people demanding that the state take legal action against Clinton for these violations, nothing was done. This emboldened Bill Clinton to repeat the same behavior in precincts in Illinois, and Hillary Clinton was seen campaigning at a precinct in North Carolina during voting on that state's primary day. Voters felt enormously disrespected that the Clinton's interfered with our voting process and upset the Sanders campaign did not hold them to account for illegally disrupting our voting process.

Additionally, there is a serious concern about purged voter roles with voters in every primary state thus far reporting incidents where individuals were either removed from the roles or did not have their registration update changes in status that would have allowed them to participate in the 2016 Democratic primary. Florida and Arizona was the most egregious in voters reporting removal from the roles with many citizens being denied the vote entirely or only allowed to vote on provisional ballots. Additionally, in Arizona we witnessed mass suppression of the vote as the state provided only sixty polling places for participation in contrast to the 200 that were available for the 2012 uncontested Democratic primary election. Voters reported waiting in lines for up to six hours. The mainstream news media predicted a victory for Clinton with available exit polling data indicating a Sanders win and thousands of voters still waiting in line to cast a vote. This reeks of wag the dog politics, and we have zero faith that the outcome in Arizona is any way indicative of the actual results of that election.

Additionally, we are finding that vote by mail and absentee ballot registration is consistently favoring Hillary Clinton THREE to ONE and this is occurring EVEN in states where Sen Sanders is winning in double digit blow out margins over Clinton.

This is a short list of the issues and problems that have been reported in the Democratic primary thus far. Please refer to this blog for sources, videos, documentation, and video evidence compiled by state. The claims made in this petition are documented on this site.

https://electionfraud2016.wordpress.com/

As supporters of this movement, we are troubled by the failure of the campaign to address these issues as they have arisen. We are puzzled why hand recounts of sample precincts were not requested in states where exit polls and election outcomes did not match. The machines we vote on are subject to tampering and remote hacking and election results have been shown to change by simple calibration of these machines. We are disturbed that the campaign failed to follow up with recounts in Missouri when exit polls showed a clear Sanders win in this state, and election precinct totals showed statistically improbable changes to favor Clinton in larger voting areas such as St Louis. If the campaign did not want the voters to incur the cost for a full recount in this state, it would have been prudent to request hand recounts of ballots in precincts that presented red flags. Our concern in Missouri, and indeed all the primary states, is not to pick up one or two extra delegates, but reveal what we believe could be mass election fraud.

Given the amount of evidence, it has come to the point of irresponsibility by the campaign to continue to ignore this issue. Volunteers and supporters have given literally hundreds of thousands of man hours and millions of dollars in donations to drive this campaign to success. We have a right to expect the campaign will employ every possibly means of safeguarding our vote. Therefore, we request the campaign:

Fully contest the election results in the state of Arizona. The amount of voter suppression and problems in this state demand a full revote.

File for hand counts in states where exit poll results did not match election outcomes where it is legally allowed. If the campaign does not want to pay or recount entire states, we implore the campaign to request counts in states that presented red flags in reporting statistically improbable changes that favored Hillary Clinton. (St Louis in Missouri, Chicago in Illinois, etc). Immediately pursue any redress available in Massachusetts to the full extent of the law

Conduct exit polling in future primary states and immediately request sample hand counts of precincts if election outcomes do not match polling results to document for any possible fraud and challenge results wherein such fraud is documented.

Immediately respond to any future illegal behavior from the Clinton campaign (Bill Clinton illegally canvassing polls, video evidence of caucus rigging from Clinton campaign) and reports of mass voter purging or vote suppression by pursuing any/all legal avenues to provide redress.

It is the campaign's duty to ensure that they utilize every avenue available to protect our vote and ensure that our movement to elect a People's representative to the Presidency isn't thwarted by illicit or illegal tactics from any entity.

In solidarity

The People. "

Verifiable??!!!

[Zira]

144. +10000

[Petrushka]

113. Petition: Investigate voter fraud & voter suppression

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/investigate-voter-fraud-and-voter-suppression-arizona-3222016-democratic-party

[rock]

128. So it's possible that

Hillary beat Bernie a lot worse?

[KarenS]

140. We will never get to know. n/t

[Sunlei]

129. I found the polling place numbers. Maricopa County had one site per every 21,000 voters.

Most counties surveyed by The Arizona Republic had enough polling places to average 2,500 or fewer eligible voters per polling site. Maricopa County had only one site per every 21,000 voters.

[LongTomH]

130. And they're getting ready for more dirty tricks in NY, CA, PA and MD

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1280156276

So far, we're seeing changes in voter registration, like unto what happened in AZ. Wanna bet there won't be enough voting places in those states, too??

[Darb]

131. More rage? Really?

[stonecutter357]

135. Bernie's supporters rage

[Loki]

155. See my post below.

We have been RAGING about this since 2000.


(w4rma) Where the hell have you been? Or are you implying that this is some kind of brand new phenomenon? You've been here as long as I have, and I know this isn't something new. It's happened all over this country and in every election cycle and especially in repuke held states.

Here to refresh your memory:

2008: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/opinion/26tue4.html?_r=0

2012: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/08/2012-voting-lines-study_n_3039410.html

2012: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/11/no-one-in-america-should-have-to-wait-7-hours-to-vote/264506/

[mudstump]

141. Oregon...

a state with vote-by-mail. I'm surprised that more states don't follow. Voting is easy. You can sit down with your voter's pamphlet and ballot in the comfort of your home....when it is convenient. Read about the issues, google if you need to, seek advice, then vote and mail in your ballot. Polling places are ripe for shenanigans.

[EndElectoral]

152. Everyone should be collectively enraged over this. See mayor of Phoenix wants DOJ to investigate

Shame it is titled Bernie's Supporters.

Defeats the entire effort of all of us against voter suppression.

[Loki]

154. We have been RAGING about this since 2000!!!!

Where the hell have you been? Or are you implying that this is some kind of brand new phenomenon? You've been here as long as I have, and I know this isn't something new. It's happened all over this country and in every election cycle and especially in repuke held states.

Here to refresh your memory:

2008: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/opinion/26tue4.html?_r=0

2012: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/08/2012-voting-lines-study_n_3039410.html

2012: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/11/no-one-in-america-should-have-to-wait-7-hours-to-vote/264506/