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Related: About this forumGaetz Case Renews Attention On GOP Fake Candidate Election Schemes: NYT - Rachel Maddow - MSNBC
Rachel Maddow explains how the sex trafficking investigation of Rep. Matt Gaetz has reportedly also touched on an apparent scheme to run a fake Democratic candidate in an election to help the Republican candidate by draining votes from the actual Democratic opponent. Aired on 04/09/2021.
rampartc
(5,435 posts)but independents and 3rd parties do have a right to run, and most candidates, even democrats , are known to misrepresent their positions.
countering this is a little difficult, as we don't want to provide free publicity for the fake candidates (don't underestimate the voter appeal of a known fake candidate, mickey mouse gets a countable number of votes in many elections, and "vermin supreme" has a perennial following in the new hampshire primary.)
i suppose i recommend solid positive campaigning by the real candidate with endorsements from known community leaders.
Dreampuff
(778 posts)All candidates do have the right to run, but in South Florida they were afraid a man by the last name of Rodriguez was going to win so they chose a candidate with the same last name to confuse voters who didn't pay close attention. Needless to say, since the votes were split between the two with the same last name, the Republican candidate won. I believe this just happened in the November election.
onetexan
(13,058 posts)rampartc
(5,435 posts)we would all get sample ballots with the preferred candidate's ballot numbers in large boldface type. many of our candidates had colorful nicknames on the ballot as well.
the good ol' days, i suppose.
lapucelle
(18,319 posts)An Orlando man listed in state records as one of just four contributors to an independent candidate in last years hotly contested Florida Senate District 9 race says hed never heard of her and didnt give money to her campaign.
Jestine Iannotti, who did no campaigning and repeatedly declined interview requests, reported raising just $700 from four individuals, including one who told an Orlando Sentinel reporter this week he wasnt registered to vote and had never made any political contributions. He said he didnt know that a Division of Elections website lists his name and home address as the source of a $100 donation to Iannotti until a reporter showed it to him.
I dont know who she is, Todd Karvoski told the reporter who visited his Orlando apartment.
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The group, Atlanta-based Proclivity, sent $550,000 to two committees that mailed ads to voters in three Florida Senate districts, including District 9. All of the ads touted shadowy NPA candidates with promises that might appeal to liberal voters, saying the independents would fight climate change, hold the police accountable, and guarantee a living wage.
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundles office filed charges last month against the NPA candidate in one of the South Florida races, Alex Rodriguez, and former state Sen. Frank Artiles, who is accused of paying nearly $45,000 to Rodriguez to file to run for the Senate District 37 race as a ghost candidate.
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Foglesong, who couldnt be reached for this story and has declined to comment on the matter in the past, is a registered Democrat. But in 2019, he contributed $1,000 to Brodeur, who returned the money a couple of weeks later. Last June, he gave $300 to Iannotti, records show.
Iannotti also reported a $200 contribution from Steven Smith of Seminole County. A woman who answered the door at Smiths apartment and identified herself as his mother said she didnt think her son gave money to any political candidates, saying he has always had limited funds.
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Outright fraud about contributors identities is generally rare; accidental omissions or other sorts of administrative or data entry mistakes can sometimes happen, particularly for campaigns collecting substantial amounts of money or inexperienced filers, Morley wrote in an email to the Sentinel.
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-prem-ne-jestine-iannotti-sweden-20210408-x574dxn4qndgfot6y4gwh5hkte-story.html
gab13by13
(21,402 posts)someone is putting up thousands of dollars in ads supporting them.